Water damage is unsightly, inconvenient, and at times, dangerous to your health. It can be even more inconvenient in a commercial building versus a home, as the issues can spread faster and farther in a large building. From the professionals at G.S. Jones in Pittsburgh, here are three items throughout the building that can cause water damage in your commercialized building:
Heating and Cooling Systems
It’s every employee’s nightmare here: excitedly getting a new cubicle, sitting down, and realizing you’re placed right under the air conditioner. In winter. In Pittsburgh. While your unfortunate geographic luck may be giving you a chill, your office’s HVAC system could be doing more damage to the building. HVAC systems use a series of ducts to pass air throughout a given area. The moisture from the air is then filtered through into a condensation reservoir. Over time, these ducts can begin to weaken and crack, and if ignored and not repaired correctly, can leak water throughout the entire system, causing water damage. In more extreme cases, if stagnant or old water is passed through the ducts, the system can become tainted with bacteria, spreading it throughout the office.
Sprinkler Systems
So your coworker may have left a bagel in the toaster oven, or plugged too many extension cords into extension cords into extension cords, or forgot smoking hasn’t been allowed indoors in Pennsylvania since 2008. Before you know it, you’re soaking wet, but the burnt bagel catastrophe has been mitigated. What now? Well, indoor sprinklers often use hundreds of gallons of water, which, while much less water than firefighters might use, is still a large enough amount to cause real damage to the workspace. Soggy furniture, waterlogged wood shelving, and soaked upholstery can require lengthy and in-depth repair, and should only be executed by commercial water damage repair professionals.
Drinking Fountains
Working hard at your desk? Maybe broke a sweat? Most commercial buildings will have some sort of drinking fountain apparatus in the workspace that you can take a sip from. But be careful; the fountain next to your office has been known to drip.
Leaky drinking fountains can crack easily, as the exterior is often made of at least some plastic material. After regular wear and tear, even a minuscule crack in the surface of the machine can cause water to leak onto the wall and ground. Porous surfaces, such as drywall and wallpaper, can retain water and become stained and warped. If the office happens to be carpeted, the carpet can grow mildew and begin to smell if not extracted correctly.
Commercial Water Damage Repair In Pittsburgh
Award-winning G.S. Jones Restoration and Consulting is a construction and consulting company that specializes in commercial water damage repair and restoration. The family-owned business has over 3,000 successful projects under its belt, and its 24/7 technician availability probably had something to do with it, as well as their quality guarantees. During the initial assessment, the qualified professionals utilize some of the highest quality technology and equipment during their reparation processes, including infrared cameras, moisture meters, and hydrometers.
The team members of G.S. Jones also develop a comprehensive plan for ideal water extraction and de-humidification for each individual job. A complete charting of humidity, temperature, and moisture content are then logged daily to monitor the conditions. One of the most important parts of a water damage repair and restoration process is keeping you informed, educated, and comfortable. Your business office may have unique water damage repair requirements that are very different from your house, but working with G.S. Jones Restoration and Consulting will make you feel at home.