Trouble started when a resident at a Perry Hall Assisted Living Facility stopped-up the Kitchen Sink and left the water running unattended causing water damage to 2 units.

The intent was to fill up the sink with warm soapy water to wash dishes. But the laundry timer went off, and the resident was distracted. Unfortunately, the resident left the water running in the kitchen sink and left the room to attend to the laundry.

After nearly 20 minutes of folding & stacking, he returned to the kitchen to find the water damage. The sink water had run over the sink & counter, down to the tile floor and the adjacent carpet & padding, which acts like a sponge. There was water damage also in the surrounding drywall, which also acts like a sponge.

The water damage was reported to the Facility Maintenance Manager who rushed to the 3^rd floor to stop the flow of water and to remove as much standing water as possible. He then reached out to Elegant Restoration and our emergency response team arrived on the scene in less than 30 minutes.

And then there was the downstream effect: THIS apartment is on the 3^rd floor.

At an average of between 6 & 12 gallons per minute flow rate, and 20 minutes running unattended, the resulting 120 – 240 gallons of water was not only a problem for the 3^rd floor apartment, but also to the resident below on the 2^nd floor. They were away for lunch and unaware of the water flowing through the ceiling.  She discovered the water damage in the ceiling the moment she walked through the door.

As you can see in the above photos, a significant portion of the ceiling had to be removed, the area dried, and then replaced with new drywall. To ensure that there would be no additional damage to the apartment, all the unaffected areas areas are covered to prevent further damage while the work is being performed.

Several sophisticated tools were employed to track the extent of the water damage. A handheld moisture sensor was used to accurately measure the humidity in both the air and in objects.

A thermal imaging unit with infrared technology actually allows our IICRC Trained & Certified Technicians to “verify” hidden moisture in and behind objects, like tile, padding & carpet, molding & drywall.

Once the standing water was removed and the scope of the water damage was thoroughly scanned & recorded, the drying process began. A combination of high velocity air movers and high-capacity dehumidifiers were deployed to speed the drying process in both units. It takes only 24 to 48 hours of high moisture levels, especially in a warm environment, to start the growth of mold. Removing any standing water and drying are critical.

Our IICRC Trained & Certified Techs keep detailed moisture reading logs on both affected units. This means taking baseline readings and returning to both units every 24 hours to take additional readings. There are industry guidelines established for how quickly the readings must come back down to acceptable

levels. This is done to minimize the opportunity for microbial growth to develop.

With several days required to properly dry and then repair the water damage to both apartments, both residents had to be relocated to other accommodations during this process.  The assisted living apartment below on the 1^st floor had minimal damage to the ceiling only, due to the swift response of the Facility Maintenance Manager and the fast arrival of Elegant Restoration.

The photo below was taken of the 2^nd floor apartment near the end of the repair work; the paint on the walls a ceiling is still wet!

Elegant Restoration has crews on standby, 24/7/365 for rapid deployment to emergencies and disasters of all types. Our highly trained crews respond to water damage, fire damage, storm damage or vehicles, industrial & mechanical accidents, and more.

866.712.4911

Bob Sansbury,

Commercial Account Partner