Slidell Storm Restoration Services Prepare Walls and Floors for Renovations
When your Slidell home takes a hit from a severe storm, water can seep behind walls, beneath floors, and into every material it touches. Our crew at Lightspeed Restoration of Covington approaches storm damage cleanup with specialized procedures to restore your home’s structure and ensure it is safe and ready for renovation. We use tried-and-true methods and state-of-the-art tools to efficiently return your home and its contents to a clean, safe condition.
Drywall Extraction After Storm and Flood Exposure
Stormwater almost always compromises drywall, even when it appears visually intact. That’s because drywall readily wicks moisture upward through capillary action. If water reaches the floor level, you can expect it to travel as much as two feet higher, depending on how long the materials stay wet. Our technicians cut above this saturation line, performing precise flood cuts to remove all damp drywall. Flood cuts are typically made well above the water line to capture unseen moisture and microbial growth that would otherwise develop behind baseboards and inside wall cavities.
Floor Cleanup and Preparation for Drying
Floor restoration after storm damage begins with identifying salvageable surfaces. Porous coverings like carpets are often removed and discarded, especially if contaminated with storm runoff. Vinyl may also necessitate removal if the water has penetrated beneath it and impacted adhesives and the subfloor. If intact and properly adhered, ceramic tile can often be cleaned, dried, and sanitized in place. Any adhesive, padding, or organic subfloor materials beneath must be evaluated for microbial load and dried accordingly. Our technicians monitor moisture levels on surfaces and in the air during the drying process to make sure materials are restored to appropriate moisture content for their structural integrity, as over-drying can create secondary damage to materials like wood subflooring.
Drying Affected Rooms with Precision Airflow
Water removal is only the first phase. Extraction of the bulk of water can take multiple passes, accelerated by controlled demolition, but drying removes the remainder.
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Our technicians set up laminar airflow (LAF) using air movers positioned for maximum surface contact. These devices force moisture out of materials and into the air uniformly to not overwhelm low-grain refrigerant dehumidifiers.
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Dehumidifiers remove the moisture from the air and isolate it by passing it over refrigerant coils. Contact with the coils creates condensation that is collected for removal, while the unit itself expels warm, dry air into the affected area, which the air movers then circulate.
After drying, we sanitize all affected surfaces. Ultra-low volume (ULV) fogging distributes antimicrobial agents as a fine, water-based mist that reaches into cracks and wall voids without increasing moisture levels significantly and eliminates malodors in spaces impacted by storm runoff or microbial growth.
If your Slidell property has been affected by storms, our team at Lightspeed Restoration of Covington is ready to help with proven methods, certified technicians, and the right equipment for the job. Call us today at (985) 323-6356 for expert storm damage cleanup.