Water Damage in Your Insulation

1/13/2021 (Permalink)

There is a lot of confusion about insulation that’s been soaked or damaged by floodwaters or leaky plumbing. Is it still a good insulating material? Does it breed mold and mildew? Will it eventually damage other structures such as drywall or tile floors?

Mold In the Aftermath of Storm Damage

Mold is a big deal and its removal is critical. It can be spotted in a variety of ways. Sometimes it discolors your ceiling or walls, or it shows up as black spots on areas throughout the home, or as rot on damp wood. If the insulation is replaced or thoroughly dry, it can’t harbor mold. But it’s easy to be confused about whether water-damaged insulation is safe to keep in place. A qualified mitigation company can use certain tools, such as a moisture meter, to detect whether the insulation within a wall is wet.  Homeowners may have to resort to opening a wall to visually inspect the damage.

Insulation Is Made of Various Materials

Insulation is not just a cashmere lining for your home. It comes in a variety of different materials and is installed in various ways.

For instance, there is fiberglass, cellulose, foam board, cotton, or spray foam.  Each type of insulation must be treated differently after water damage. Some of these materials are organic and they make a fine breeding ground for mold.

There is also the risk of toxins in water-damaged insulation. Floodwaters can carry potential toxins that remain in the insulation after the water recedes. It’s the nature of insulation that it retains moisture for a long time after the flood is gone.

Assessing and repairing water damage should take priority for homeowners who’ve been hit by a flood or storm. It’s not just a matter of aesthetics, though the odors and discolored walls and wallpaper are certainly unpleasant; it’s important to your family’s health and safety that the insulation is handled by expert hands.

Is Insulation Worth Keeping?

We help the homeowner to analyze a multitude of issues concerning the repair, salvage, construction, disposal, insurance, and restoration. As for the question of replacement: Does water-damaged insulation necessarily need to be removed, with new materials installed throughout the home? This is not a question to be taken lightly. We can help you decide whether to remove and replace insulation after we’ve begun the job of assessing damage and drying out the entire structure.

Cleanup and restoration after water damage is a comprehensive job. It requires skills, tools, and experience in a variety of disciplines. Few companies have the resources like those of SERVPRO of Mandarin!