Moisture, Mold and Water Damage

When it comes to identifying the signs and probable causes of water damage and moisture-related indoor air quality problems in your home, there are several practical solutions that any homeowner can take to reduce moisture and make the home less hospitable to mold. Many household problems can be solved if you adopt strategies to prevent excess moisture in the home, perform maintenance or minor repairs and/or hire a professional restoration company to make repairs.

What most homeowners don’t know is that moisture is continually being released inside your home – between 2 to 10 gallons every day. In a heating season lasting 100 days, when your home is typically closed up, 200 to 1,000 gallons of moisture can be trapped. A cord of wood stored in your home, for example, can release more than 71 gallons of moisture. Unfortunately, excess moisture can lead to both air quality problems and mold.

There are two types of water damage problems...to find out what they are, read the rest of Moisture, Mold and Water Damage
















Advanced Restoration and Cleaning . com provides 24/7 mold, flood and carpet drying services to the Tampa Bay area including Brandon, Lutz, Riverview and Valrico.

Flooded House and Water Damage Valrico, Florida

We had an emergency call a few days ago for a flooded house in Valrico, Florida.  The homeowner called 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT and we responded immediately.

Once our water damage restoration crew got on site, we quickly realized the flooding was worse than expected.  The majority of the house was lined with about 3″ of water!

The damage began over the weekend when a water leak sprung up from a broken water line under a bathroom vanity.  The water line break quickly flooded two bedrooms, the hallway, the kitchen and of course, the bathroom.

Water line breaks can be caused primarily from excess heat, corrosion, freezing, weak joints, land slips and tree roots.  Unfortunately for homeowners, water line breaks are often unpredictable.

Read the rest of Flooded House and Water Damage Valrico


If you have flooding or have questions about mold or water damage restoration Valrico, please contact 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT today!

Valrico Water Damage - Ceiling Stain

Last week, we were called out for a case of water damage in Valrico, Florida when new homeowners discovered an unsightly water stain in their living room ceiling.

"You know, we actually noticed it when we bought the house but because it was a bit of a reno job, we just figured it was nothing and we could paint over it," said one of the homeowners. Had the husband and wife team, looked more closely at the stain upon purchase, they might have thought twice about just painting over it.

In July of 2012, the homeowners purchased a house that was half renovated as the previous owner ran out of funds to complete the renovation. The homeowners were impressed with the renovations that were done and figured that what was left would be easy enough to tackle. Unfortunately for them, most of the renovations were done improperly – common in the house "flipping" era of 2005 + where people hastily "renovated" homes with cheap finishes to quickly turn a profit. The shoddy renovations quickly exposed several problems with the house which were only discovered once the homeowners took possession and moved in mid-August. They finally called in our expert water restoration team when the figured that the unsightly stain in their living room was actually water damage.

Read the rest of this article: Living Room Ceiling Water Damage in Valrico

Condo Flood Damage in Wesley Chapel

The other night, we received a water damage emergency call from Wesley Chapel, Florida.  A condo owner went to use his washing machine and somehow the water overflowed through the machine and flooded a large area of his new condo.  Not good.

He called us and we sent a flood cleanup team out right away.

When the team arrived, a lot of damage had been done already.  The washing machine that had leaked was a conventional model (not front loading) which typically consumes about 40 gallons per wash cycle.  It was evident that these 40 gallons had flooded his condo.

As a side note, front loading washing machines cut water use by nearly 40 percent and use only 20 to 25 gallons.



Back to the flooding, our team immediately sprung into action.  They had to remove water soaked items and remove all excess water.  The team then proceeded to work through the night to completely dry out the area and perform remediation to prevent mold growth.  Mold will begin to grow within as little as 24 hours of water damage if the area is not remediated.  Fortunately for the condo owner, our team was able to completely restore the area by the next day.  While it was a long night, everyone was pleased that no further damage was done.

So what happened in the first place to cause the flood?

Find out here: Condo Flood Damage in Wesley Chapel

If you do experience any water leaks or overflows, contact us, the water damage insurance specialists, at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.  We will get you to better than new condition in no time!

Water Damage Land O’ Lakes: Leak Leads To Bathroom Flood

This weekend was a busy weekend! Saturday evening, our team received an emergency call about water damage Land O’ Lakes regarding flooding in the bathroom of a rental home.  We sent out a restoration technician immediately.  When he arrived to the property, he encountered a much larger problem.  Here is the story:
When the tech arrived to the rental house, he was greeted by the renters who had just moved in that day.  When they had gone to use the hot water, no water was coming out.  They called their landlord who advised how to turn it back on and to their absolute dismay, water suddenly started pouring out from underneath the sink vanity in their guest bathroom! Water was coming up through the floor and they could hear it running in the wall.  They immediately shut it off and their landlord called us to come out to the scene.
When our tech arrived to perform mitigation, he first had to investigate and try to find out what was causing the water flooding.  Unfortunately for him, and as is common for all of us in the restoration business, he had to get a bit dirty as he had to go into the crawlspace underneath the home.  Sure enough, there was a flood lining the entire crawlspace.  After a while, he was able to determine that the hot water line to the washing machine and dishwasher was broken and leaking.  When the renters turned the hot water on, it had caused the leaking to begin.  Even though it was a few minutes between the renters finding the leak and turning off the water, the amount of water damage that had occurred was extreme.  The situation would have to be completely restored.
Read the entire article: Water Damage Land O’ Lakes

If you need any help with mold remediation or water damage restoration, please call the professionals at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.  We are there for you day and night.

Water Line Damage Palm Harbor

We recently received an emergency call from homeowners in Palm Harbor, Florida.  They had been out of town and came home to severe mold growth on the walls of their kitchen.  There was also evidence of flooding.
We sent our expert water damage restoration technicians out to the home and found out that while the homeowners were away, the water supply line to the refrigerator ice maker had broken.  This resulted in a huge flood.  The water left standing quickly created a hospitable environment for mold to grow.  The results was water damaged cabinets, flooring and mold growing everywhere.
Here are some photos we took:

See the rest of the photos and article here: Water Damage Palm Harbor
If you need help with a house flood or mold damage remediation, please contact the water extraction specialists at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.  We are standing by 24/7 for your call!

The Problem with Water Damage Spring Hill

Stunning Spring Hill Florida is home to many residents who can enjoy its beautiful parks and beaches.  Being located in an area prone to harsh rains and weather, we decided to take a look at how it breaks down for this wonderful city on the Gulf side of Florida.



1.  Water damage Spring Hill can happen any time of the year.
2. Spring Hill has a high level of annual precipitation with it’s average being 52.26 inches. This compares closely to Florida’s average precipitation of 54.73 inches.
3. The average humidity in Spring Hill is 75.34%.
4. 3.12% of total Spring Hill area is water.

Read facts 5 - 14 on Water Damage Spring Hill

Water Damage Remediation Spring Hill provides complete restoration services to Spring Hill, Brooksville and all of Hernando County, Florida. Contact the flood mitigation and mold remediation specialists today!

Prevent Water Damage Problems in a Basement

Last week we discussed how basements are exceptionally susceptible to flooding and moisture build-up issues in Basement Water Damage and Flooding – Part 1. Today we will go over ways to prevent water damage in your basement.


There are several ways to help prevent water damage problems in a basement. The first rule of thumb is no dirt basements. Although these are less common in this day in age, it is good to point out that dirt floors not only hold a huge amount of moisture but also can give off a variety of gases. When building a basement, make certain that you have a floor drain with a trap installed at the lowest point of the floor. Without a floor drain, any water that is spilled inside cannot get out. If needed, install a sump pump and make sure that the sump cover is tightly sealed. Sump pumps are often used where flooding due to a high water table might be a problem. In addition, waterproof the outside of the foundation walls and install a perimeter drainage system.

Read the rest of the article: Prevent Water Damage Problems in a Basement

If you have any further questions on keeping your home dry, contact the water cleanup specialists at 247 Water Damage . net.  We are standing by for your call.

Water Damage And Basement Flooding in Houses

If you live in the Tampa Bay area, you may not be accustomed to seeing many homes with basements; however, believe it or not, there are several homes throughout the area that do in fact have basements. Most homes in Florida are built without basements due to the high water table.

Building codes insist that dwelling floors be built above storm surge elevation. If a basement is allowed to be built, it usually is built as a “non-livable” space, so, in other words, homeowners can have the basement for extra storage but no bedrooms.  Unfortunately, while basements provide extra room for storage and a cooler place to hang out on hot days, they also have their share of moisture related problems.

When it comes to basement troubles, moisture and water damage are the most common problems.
The moisture most commonly enters from exterior sources though can also be produced inside as well. Often, most homeowners are unaware that the soil around the basement walls can contain a large amount of moisture. The reason for high moisture content in the soil could include surface water that is seeping down into the soil or even from a high water table. A high water table could be explained by heavy rains that cause the water table to rise higher than the basement floor. Often, water can find its way inside a basement by gravity or through a crack or flaw in the water protection layer of the foundation.

Read the rest of the article: Basement Water Damage and Flooding - Part 1

Check back next week when we describe Ways to Prevent Water Damage in Basements

If you need any water damage restoration help, contact the mitigation specialists at 247waterdamage.net.