Water damage drying for Fordham apartments
A ceiling that dripped last night can turn into a mold problem if the wet stays. A drying company works on getting Fordham walls and floors dry.
Signs this job fits a building in Fordham
Water coming through from the apartment above
In a building of ten or more apartments, where 80.3 percent of local units are, one burst supply line can wet several floors.
A wall that stays cool and damp after the pipe is fixed
Mending the leak does not dry the cavity around it.
Peeling paint or bubbling plaster near a roof edge
Old parapets and flashing let water into top-floor walls long before anyone sees it.
A musty room with no visible leak
Slow plumbing seepage inside a wall can keep it wet for weeks.
Common questions
My Fordham ceiling leaked once and stopped. Do I still need drying?
Possibly. Materials that stay damp past the first couple of days are where mold starts, and a ceiling that has stopped dripping can still be wet above.
Is drying the same as mold removal?
No. Drying removes water. On a hired job, mold over about ten square feet is handled by a licensed assessor and a separate licensed remediator.
Dry-Out in Fordham
The usual water problem in Fordham comes from inside the building, not from the street. Only 3 flood insurance claims have ever been recorded in ZIP code 10458, and FEMA's map shows minimal flood hazard at the center of Fordham. What residents report instead is leaks and cracks: in the Fordham and Bronx Park area 23.0 percent of homes reported leaks in 2017 and 23.6 percent reported cracks or holes, both above Bronx averages.
Timing is what the drying job is for. The EPA's target for wet materials and furnishings is a day or two, 24 to 48 hours, and in a stacked apartment building the practical task is finding every floor the water reached, not just the one with the stain.
Drying and mold work are separate questions. A drying company manages water and moisture. If mold has already appeared, and covers more than ten square feet, the state's licensed assessor and remediator route takes over, and the drying company's moisture readings can become part of the assessor's picture.
In a Fordham building of three or more apartments the owner must keep homes free of mold, including safely repairing water leaks, and in a building of ten or more apartments, mold over ten square feet goes to separate licensed firms. Source: OpenFEMA NFIP redacted claims, Federal Emergency Management Agency, National Flood Hazard Layer, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Environment and Health Data Portal, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, New York State Senate, New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development, New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene