For floods, backed-up sewers, and other forms of extreme water-based environmental events, many people focus on how it disrupts homes. However, it’s not just residences that are affected by these events. In many cases, businesses as much—or more—than the owner of a home.
If you’re a business owner, here’s what you need to be aware of to help better prepare for prevention and resolving water damage to your business.
Dealing With Commercial Water Damage
Property Damage
Many people only think a significant flood that forces people onto rooftops is catastrophic. However, the reality is even a “small” flood that brings just a few inches of water can be bad for any building, and this is especially true for businesses.
Even if water doesn’t even come up to the knees, water damage can wreak havoc on underground floors like basement and storage levels. Carpeting is likely to be heavily damaged, perhaps even beyond recovery if the flood lasts too long. Electrical wiring may be beyond repair, meaning no electricity in some or all parts of the building until a complete replacement occurs.
Health Issues
A flooded business presents a health risk to customers, clients, employees, and even the management. Flood water is not treated for safe consumption. This can mean the microbes that naturally occur even in freshwater sources like rivers and lakes are present.
More dangerously, however, is wastewater from sewers that may be in the water that’s entered a property. Wastewater can make people ill through drinking it or even unprotected physical contact. If your business is making customers and employees sick, you won’t stay open for long.
Downtime
When a residence is flooded, this impacts the people living there, as they need to find a new place to sleep, eat and live. However, when a business site is damaged by water, such as a flood, this means that customers can’t get what they need from the facility. It also means the business itself can’t operate if the equipment is damaged. Perhaps most importantly, employees can’t work and get paid. As a result, the company itself can’t operate and generate a profit.
The biggest issue with commercial water damage is that, at best, it decreases the operational efficiency of the property, lowering potential profits. At worst, staying open and working simply isn’t possible until all the damage has been rectified.
The longer a business stays closed, the more everyone loses. Even when a business’s physical location isn’t significantly water damaged, associated partners, such as suppliers, may not have been so fortunate. As a result, a company can still suffer from delays or cancellations on much-needed supplies.
This is why, even more than for residential properties, business properties should take every precaution in preventing unnecessary water damage.
More importantly, however, businesses should understand that the best way to recover from water damage is to act quickly. A quick response means more things can be saved, salvaged, or even repaired rather than replaced.
Contact Us For Commercial Water Damage Restoration
If you need a professional assessment of water damage in your place of business, contact us. Dryfix Restoration can help with a quick, professional evaluation and an action plan.