When employees and guests enter your commercial property, they expect it to be a clean, healthy environment. Unfortunately, wall water damage can occur without notice for many reasons, leaving your property looking unkempt in more ways than one. The problem with water-damaged walls is that the excess moisture can also lead to significant structural damage and costly repairs.
Thankfully, Insight Restoration offers commercial restoration services in Minneapolis. With our years of experience repairing water-damaged walls in local businesses, we understand how dangerous water can be. Our guide below explains how water damage can affect your business.
Why Moisture-Damaged Walls Are a Problem for Business Properties
Your business’s interior walls could sustain water damage in several ways, including:
- Plumbing problems like burst pipes and leaky faucets
- Faulty dishwashers, water dispensers, and other appliances
- HVAC leaks
- Roof damage
- Natural disasters
- Major uncleaned spills
Wall damage due to water might seem harmless, yet it can cause an array of problems, from business closure to health risks. Here’s how.
Mold and Mildew
When commercial properties experience a flood, leak, or other problem that causes too much moisture to linger indoors, mold or mildew can quickly develop. It doesn’t take much moisture for mold colonies to form in damp, dark environments since mold spores are everywhere. Spores only take a few days to stick to a moist wall and spread more spores throughout the building, leading to colonies behind walls and on surfaces.
Excessive mold can be damaging in two ways. First, the fungal growths can weaken construction materials and jeopardize the structural integrity of ceilings, flooring, and walls. Depending on the moisture’s location, your property could have a mold problem before you detect visible signs of growth.
Second, exposure to excessive mold and mildew can cause health problems for those who are sensitive or allergic to the spores. Employees and customers could experience the following even if they don’t have allergies:
- Asthma attacks
- Eye, nose, and skin irritation
- Respiratory problems
Degradation of Construction Materials
A water-damaged wall doesn’t need to have a significant mold problem to be dangerous. Excessive moisture can seep into drywall, causing the material to warp, crack, or bubble, which weakens the structure.
If the water reaches your property’s ground level, it could even seep into the foundation. Foundational water intrusion often results in cracks that reduce the structure’s strength and durability. If that happens and you don’t remedy the problem immediately, your whole commercial building’s stability could be in jeopardy.
Disruption of Daily Operations for Water-Damaged Walls Repair
The last thing you want to do is shut down your business to address water-damaged walls and the secondary problems from the moisture. Unfortunately, many businesses have to temporarily close to repair water damage.
Though a business shutdown isn’t inherently dangerous, it can produce unwanted consequences. For instance, stopping daily business operations can seriously affect your profits. The business’s unexpected financial strain could be significant if you account for the reduced revenue stream and the cost of restoring a water-damaged property.
Damage to Other Systems and Appliances
Your walls hide much of your commercial property’s electrical system. They house outlets, switches, and electrical wiring. Unfortunately, introducing water to electricity can be disastrous.
It doesn’t matter if the moisture in your walls causes electrical components to corrode or short circuit. It could create fire hazards, electrical shocks, or electrocution. Even a small leak can compromise the efficiency of your business’s electrical system under certain conditions.
Get Wall Restoration From Water Damage From Minneapolis’ Go-To Experts
If your business has a water-damaged wall, you can’t wait too long to take the appropriate action. Your first step should be to contact our reliable experts for prompt water damage repair and restoration services.Our certified disaster recovery experts have years of hands-on training and experience restoring properties with water damage in and around Minneapolis, Minnesota. Our crew can also provide removal and remediation services for mold from water damage, making us a one-call solution. Call (763) 205-6584 today to request services from our Insight Restoration team.
