How To Restore Your Company’s Water-Damaged Documents

9/23/2019 (Permalink)

If you’ve experienced water damage in your business, you know how disruptive the cleanup can be. Whether from a flood or a burst pipe, water can cause significant destruction to your property. Wet documents can be particularly vulnerable because paper quickly deteriorates when wet. If your Rosemont, IL, business has sustained water damage, and your documents were affected, this brief discussion may help you understand where to start.

Documents That Can Be Restored

When water damage occurs, a hierarchy develops as you attempt to protect and save your valuable property. It’s important to work with your water remediation expert to address water-damaged documents right away. The following types of documents can be professionally restored:

• Paper items such as contracts, financial records and certificates
  
• Film-based items such as X-rays and photographs
  
• Books and periodicals
  
• Maps, posters and blueprints
  
  

It may help to mention upfront what types of wet documents you have. Your remediation professionals can guide you with the next steps to take.

Restoration Methods That Work

Most document specialists use state-of-the-art equipment for document drying, sanitization and restoration. A team will gather and transport your items to a facility with large, industrial freeze dryers. Freezing slows down the deterioration of paper products and buys some time to prepare the restoration process.
The frozen documents will then be dried through a specialized warming and evaporation process. As moisture evaporates, it is vaporized and diverted to prevent further contamination. Finally, the documents can be sanitized using an irradiation method.
Since security is a critical element of document services, a HIPAA certified staff member will likely oversee the process. It’s important to trust that your items will be handled confidentially.
If a flood or a plumbing problem has caused water damage to your company’s documents, you may benefit from contacting a restoration specialist right away. If the wet documents were contaminated by flooding or sewage, professional help is essential due to the high level of contamination. If you act quickly, document restoration teams can help you dry and restore your valuable paper-based items. You might even end up feeling “Like it never even happened”.