How containment helps the restoration of water damage

1/28/2021 (Permalink)

A containment in a residential home with a zipper opening.

When water damage occurs in a building, there are certain techniques that restorers implement to achieve restoration goals in a timely manner. Here at SERVPRO of Northwest Portland, each water loss restoration project plan is organized by a Project Manager. One technique that our PMs implement to reach drying goals is containment.

If you’ve ever dealt with hazardous materials, such as microbial growth, asbestos, or lead, you are likely familiar with containment. It’s a crucial way to do as the word means - contain the contaminated area and create controlled entryways to the affected area, which prevents the spread of cross-contamination to other areas in the building. 

Containments can also be useful in water damage mitigation. Often, it is used to create a controlled airflow and limit the amount of air filtering through drying equipment. 

When a containment is set up in a water loss job, it’s likely because the water loss is already limited to a certain area of the home. When that is the case, restorers will set up a polyurethane wall that reduces the room to a smaller space. They tape in an entryway, often a zipper opening, and set the drying equipment inside the containment.

By doing this, restorers are able to remove moisture from the air and material surface in the source area in a quicker, more targeted fashion. This prevents secondary damage, such as microbial growth, from developing.

If you want to see what a containment looks like, view the image attached to this blog. 

If you experience a water loss in your property, call SERVPRO of Northwest Portland as soon as possible so the right mitigation plan is implemented in a timely manner.