Knowing how "wet" something is makes a big difference.

Water flows towards the path of least resistance, therefore it can sneak under flooring or run along walls into neighboring rooms causing further damage. If moisture isn't dried properly your home or business can run a greater risk of mold and mildew damage later. At the very least, untreated water damage can cause musty odors and warping of flooring.

Any reputable restoration company should be using a moisture meter to measure the amount of moisture in walls or flooring. Simply touching the surface can be very deceiving as our sense of touch is not sensitive enough to correctly know how wet something is. A typical moisture meter looks something like this:

The two prongs at the top will detect the amount of moisture present and some meters also have a non-penetrating feature that when touched gives a reading. Having the correct moisture detection equipment is the first step in starting the restoration process. 

For more information check out the Clean Trust (formally the IICRC) website and Servpro of Ravenswood.