Are There Different Extractors for My Poughkeepsie Residential Water Removal?

6/12/2020 (Permalink)

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With standing water or saturation in your Poughkeepsie home, our SERVPRO team must utilize multiple tools to prepare the property for drying. 

Before many other mitigation or restoration processes can begin in your Poughkeepsie home following a water loss, the appropriate steps must be taken to address standing water and pooling. Because there are dozens of potential extractors that our SERVPRO team might use for a loss site, there are considerations that must get made to determine the best water removal tool. 

The process hinges on finding the most efficient and thorough solutions regarding water removal in Poughkeepsie homes and other actions like drying. With multiple options ranging from powerful extractor trucks to more handheld, mobile solutions, we can meet the need of your home with a confident approach that results in a faster path to drying and restoring the house. 

How Do You Choose the Right Extractor for the Job? 

Extraction is a critical element of water loss mitigation, making it one of the first actions taken when our SERVPRO team arrives. Choosing among the available equipment involves several factors, including where in the house is damaged, if it is surface or trapped water to face, and what materials have become exposed. There are many possible extraction units available to our technicians, but often the choice lies between three primary types:

• Submersible Pumps 
• Wet Vacuums 
• Truck-Mounted Pumps

When Is the Best Time for Submersible Pumps? 

With standing water, removing it to a manageable depth is a priority of our responding technicians. To accomplish this, when clean water is the culprit, we can focus our water removal efforts on the capable abilities of submersible pumps. Electric pumps in this line are the most versatile, offering a consistent and continual draw of standing water. Additionally, electric submersible pumps can often reach more challenging areas like the basement and attic with longer discharge lines. This versatility can make it a smart choice to begin water removal as soon as our technicians arrive at the damaged site. Submersible pumps offer:

• Quiet Operation
• Continual Water Removal 
• Options Such as Electric or Gas-Powered 

When Do Wet Vacuums Fit the Situation Best? 

While our technicians might first look to bigger extraction units if widespread standing water is a concern, wet vacuums play an equally vital role. Submersible pumps can only work in depths of two inches or higher, and shallower than this and the pump loses prime to continue pulling water from the area. While submersibles can then be vital in removing standing water to this two-inch depth, it is tools like wet vacuums that must remove the water the rest of the way. Wet vacuums also have the versatility of being the extraction force for many of the specialty tools used in water removal. Some of the key advantages of using these units include:

• Mobility – many of the extraction tools that our SERVPRO professionals use are anchored to specific points where they get used until they get relocated. Wet vacuums offer a faster path from one damaged area to the next.Technicians can carry these portable tanks from one damaged area to another to quickly address both surface water and trapped moisture in flooring/wall materials. 

• Versatility – Even in situations where standing water might be at a depth suitable for submersible pumps, wet vacuums might be able to reach the damaged areas. The size of the units in smaller, confined spaces, can help to remove surface water to allow for focused drying efforts with air movers, dehumidifiers, and other moisture removal equipment.

• Attachments – One of the advantages of using wet vacuums is their ability to support multiple attachments that can better manage lingering surface water or trapped moisture in flooring materials like hardwood and carpeting. Carpet wands, for example, can pull trapped water from carpeted flooring to allow drying efforts to be more productive and take less time.

When is the Truck-Mounted Pump Necessary? 

Widespread water losses can be a challenge to witness in your home, but that is often when our SERVPRO professionals utilize our larger truck-mount extractor. Capable of removal rates of 300 PSI, we can remove high volumes of water over short periods. These tools are ideal for shorter distances to maintain as much available pressure and prime as possible to increase the removal rate. 

Water removal is not cut and dry for your property and can involve multiple tools and equipment. Our SERVPRO of NW & SE Dutchess County team can provide a fast and reliable response with the full range of extraction tools to protect your home and its belongings. Give us a call anytime at (845) 635-4550.