How to Handle Water Damage from Sprinkler Systems

6/16/2021 (Permalink)

Contact SERVPRO today for commercial water damage restoration!

Sprinkler system water damage can happen to any commercial property in Atlanta.

Sprinkler systems are designed to protect your property from fire, but they often end up causing commercial water damage instead. In this blog post, we will discuss what types of sprinklers can cause water damage and how these systems work so that you know what to do when water damage from sprinkler systems occurs!

What types of sprinkler systems use water?

Perhaps you recently acquired a new commercial property in Atlanta and are curious what type of sprinkler system to install, or you are curious about your current sprinkler system. There are two main types of sprinkler systems, dry and wet systems. If you are looking to avoid water damage from a sprinkler system, it will be best to install a dry system.

Wet pipe systems are the most common choice but they can cause commercial water damage. Wet pipe systems work by heat activation. When a fire begins, a sprinkler head will release water that is stored in the pipes.

How can water damage from a sprinkler system occur?

The professionals at SERVPRO receive many calls a year regarding water damage from sprinkler systems. We will receive calls when a commercial property has a fire, and the sprinkler system puts the fire out, and for accidental water damages from a sprinkler malfunction.

A common reason when a sprinkler system will accidentally cause water damage is when the system is overheated. Sprinkler systems are designed to put out a fire and when they detect high heat levels. An overheated sprinkler system assumes that the property has a fire and goes off, causing gallons of water damage. A positive attribute of wet pipe systems is that not all sprinkler heads go off at once because each sprinkler head is activated independently. Other common reasons why water damage from sprinkler systems occur are: 

• Freezing
• Corrosion 
• Poor installation 
• Mechanical damage

What to do during sprinkler water damage?

When a commercial property has water damage from a sprinkler system, the property manager or building owner must act quickly by turning off the sprinkler water sources so that further damages do not occur. It will also be an excellent time to turn off the electricity to avoid electrocution and elevator issues from water damage.

After the appropriate valves have been shut off, you need to call a reliable restoration company to come and mitigate the damage.

After you call a water restoration company, call the insurance company that covers damages for the commercial property. The assigned insurance agent may ask for pictures and videos of the damages for their records. It will also be a good time to create a list of all of the damaged items during this time.

The best restoration company for sprinkler system water damage clean up.

In Atlanta, the commercial property owners and property managers have made the team at SERVPRO of Downtown Atlanta their go-to resource regarding all emergency water damage restoration. The IICRC certified professionals at SERVPRO know that they need to act quickly when water damage from a sprinkler system occurs to avoid mold growth.

Contact the professionals at SERVPRO if you are worried about water damage affecting your property. We offer a free service called an Emergency Ready Profile (ERP) to help our commercial property owners quickly mitigate water damage. The ERP will have a plan in place for when water or fire damage does occur.

An ERP will include:

• The location of all emergency shut off valves
• Contact information
• Parking locations
• Emergency exits
• Blueprints

SERVPRO of Downtown Atlanta is available 24/7, hours a day, 365 days a year.