Commercial Floods: When Can Employees Go Back to Work?

7/29/2021 (Permalink)

Ceiling damage after a storm in a Layton, UT home

If you have sustained black water damage at your Layton, UT, business after a flood, you may be wondering when your employees can return to work. You will likely need to do a couple of things to return the workplace to its pre-flood condition, and the two main steps involved are demolition and disinfection, both of which can be enhanced by the use of air filtration devices.

Familiarize yourself with these different phases of restoration to understand what you need to do to restore your property. Once complete, your employees should be able to go back to work in a timely manner.

1. Demolition

Demolition involves removing water and items that have been affected by black water. It also includes disposing of property that has sustained water damage. This is an extremely important first step when trying to restore your commercial building to a state that allows your employees to enter it. An air filtration device can help speed things up by causing enhanced drying of wet areas of the structure. This is typically a good time to bring in a commercial storm damage company to help you make sure that everything is cleaned up as thoroughly as possible.

2. Disinfection

The next step in the flood cleanup process is disinfection, which helps eradicate any existing infected areas and prevents others from being contaminated in the future. Best practices include cleaning all damaged or wet areas with products approved by the EPA. An air filtration device can help during this stage by purifying the air and reducing the risk of impure particles sticking around your property.

The best defense against black water is to be prepared in advance so that you know what you can do to reduce the risk of water damage and how you can prepare the premises so your workforce can get back to being productive. In cases where you are unfortunately already facing flooding issues, the action plan above will typically be your best bet in returning your company to its normal state in the least amount of time.