It's Just Water

1/18/2021 (Permalink)

Water damage visible when viewed through a Thermal Imaging Camera

It’s just water, but it makes a huge mess!  Even a small leak can create a massive amount of damage and pose serious health concerns for the long term.  It is important that those cleaning up water damage have the proper training and equipment.  This is not a job for your typical general contractor!

The cosmetic aspects of a remediation project are fairly obvious to identify but what about what you can’t see?  Water saturated insulation, flooring, and sheetrock can be a breeding ground for harmful mold that may not become apparent for a long time.  This growth may also cause health issues including respiratory and auto-immune issues.

One way SERVPRO uses technology to assess the extent of water damage is with a Thermal Imaging Camera (TIC).  This roughly $2,000 piece of equipment uses varying colors to show heat changes, making dampness visible.  A local handyman or general contractor will not have this type of technology.

Wet areas in the building material do not warm and cool the same way adjacent dry areas do and this makes them visible when looking through a TIC.  The photo shown here is from recent water damage at a local school here in NJ.  To the naked eye the area shown appeared to be undamaged.  However, when viewed as a thermal image the pattern of water soaking into the material from the flooded floor above becomes apparent.  Had this area not been removed and replaced it could have created mold issue for the staff and students.