East Wenatchee and Leavenworth Home Inspections

Your home is flooded… what do you do?

Most people do not know what to do if there has been flooded from broken pipe, failed water heater or a burst washing machine hose.

Excessive water in the home that is not dealt with properly can lead to many issues and a complete disruption of the home. Calling in the correct professional to deal with this event will be crucial to how quickly you can return to your home.

I have performed home inspections on homes that have had this very thing happen. If not dealt with quickly and correctly it usually ends up that all the flooring coverings, sheetrock, cabinetry, insulation and possibly the sub-flooring will have to be removed and replaced.

As a home inspection professional (and former emergency response technician) I try to keep abreast of different practices when it comes to dealing with events such as flooding in a home. I try to provide to my clients information and contacts of true professional in different trades to help them with home ownership.

Yesterday I was invited by Lane Larson of JRCC, a fire and flood restoration company, to a class and demonstration of how they will dry a home or business after flood or water event.

Lane’s company uses a very logical approach to drying a home after a water event. The basic principle is to perform water extraction as quickly as possible and then to condition the home to maximize drying via heat, evaporation, ventilation and air exchanges.

They use a trailer to condition the air to about 2%RH (relative humidity). This super-dry air is circulated through a flooded building and then exhausted to the outside. This "open drying" concept leaves a clean, dry building in only a few days.

Here we see their demonstration trailer that we will begin to flood with water.

I was able to get to hose down walls and floors till water was running out of the trailer in a stream.

Here are some of their extraction devices.

Mold only needs 24 to 72 hours in the right moisture levels and temperature to render a home inhabitable and will need complete removal of all flooring coverings, wall materials, insulation and cabinetry.

Drying the carpet.

JRCC’s  goal is to dry your home’s structure, minimize instability, and lower humidity so that microbial growth does not develop. They monitor the relative humidity of a structure to ensure that proper drying is being performed. When they are completed they will have returned the structure to 12% or less moisture content.

By efficiently performing these step many times they can save the home from complete restoration. The home owners will be back into their home much more quickly and at a much lower overall cost.

JRCC    509-885-8911  Lane Larson
E-mail: lane@jrcconline.com                            JRCC Wenatchee Web site-  http://www.jrcconline.com/index.html

“Inspecting the World-One Home at a time”

NCW Home Inspections, LLC  is located in Wenatchee Washington serving Chelan County, Douglas County, Kittitas County, Okanogan County and Grant County Washington and the cities of Wenatchee, Leavenworth, Cashmere, Orville, Cle Elum, East Wenatchee, Quincy and many more…                             

NCW Home Inspections LLC-509-670-9572