Whether or not a specific element in a home can be saved during a flood depends on how porous its material is. According to Mac White of Greenpoint Restoration, a water damage restoration company in Charlotte, North Carolina, the more porous a material is, the less likely it is to be salvageable.
On the most delicate end of the spectrum are porous materials like textiles, drapes, rugs, and drywall. Drywall is essentially a paper-like material that can get damaged beyond repair very easily when water and mold growth are involved.
Cabinets, on the other hand, are considered semi-porous. What that means, according to White, is that they can generally be saved as long as they are dried out quickly enough after the flood occurs. Drying out cabinets in a timely manner helps minimize the effect of swelling, which can make it impossible for cabinets to sit properly even once they have dried.
Not all cabinets are created equal though, and certain types of cabinetry materials do stand up better to water than others. As far as cabinets are concerned, White says that those made out of particleboard are more likely to swell and are therefore less likely to be able to be saved after a flood. In some instances, it may be possible for a water damage repair company like Greenpoint Restoration in Charlotte to save the cabinet fronts, even if the cabinet boxes themselves have to be replaced.
Higher end cabinets are more likely to be made out of plywood, and White says this means that they are less likely to suffer the type of damage that can’t be repaired during a flood. Nine times out of 10, White says that a water damage repair company will be able to save plywood cabinets as long as the company is called out quickly enough.
Once a company like Greenpoint Restoration arrives at a flooded home, the cabinets will have to be disinfected, cleaned, and dried out before the homeowner can expect to be able to use them again. Whether that process will be effective depends on timeliness and how quickly the restoration company is able to mitigate the problem.
White says that the disinfectants that his company uses on cabinets and other structural components in homes are much stronger than those sold in stores, and that the disinfectant itself is a key component to any water mitigation process. When people try to disinfect their cabinets without hiring a professional, they most commonly use bleach. The reality, however, is that bleach is very corrosive. Not only are the vapors harmful to humans and pets, but mixing bleach with ammonia can actually create a deadly gas. Because of this, White does not recommend that homeowners try mixing their own cleaning chemicals together when trying to disinfect flooded cabinets.