Dos and Don’ts right after building damage caused by Fire, Water and Mold

Common Misconceptions Mitigation and Restoration- Fire, Mold, and Water

Over the years, there has been an abundance of misconceptions and non-truths involving property damage and restoration procedures. Professional restoration companies are trained to see beyond the misconceptions and misinformation that often complicate an insurance claim. Failure to act quickly or take the right actions due to misconception can lead to secondary damage that could have been avoided.

A professional restoration technician will prioritize mitigation over restoration ensuring damage costs do not escalate.
• Mitigation is extremely time-critical; it stops further damage and reduces additional loss. It usually needs to be performed within 24 hours or less- further delay will further complicate the mitigation effort.
• Restoration, on the other hand, puts the damaged items back to a pre-loss condition. It is less time-critical, but still important and should be done as quickly as possible.

Some of the major misconceptions:

Misconception #1: Replacing is less expensive than salvaging.

Cleaning is a mitigation process that yields excellent results and is cost-effective - especially when compared to the cost of replacement. For example, when soot or mold is not properly cleaned from delicate fabrics and surfaces, secondary damage can occur. Replacement is usually the only option. Hundreds of dollars of cleaning can become thousands of dollars of replacement due to delayed action. Today’s restoration professionals are able to effectively clean and remove contaminates - saving expensive replacement costs.

Misconception #2: If you get your carpets cleaned, they get dirty faster.

Techniques, equipment, and materials used by today’s professionals to clean carpets are far superior to those used in the past. In the past, inefficient carpet shampooing left a soap residue that attracted soil more rapidly than prior to cleaning. Restoration professionals now use a cleaning process that both flushes and rinses carpets, and prevents that from happening.

Misconception #3: Once the carpet is dry, that noisy equipment needs to be removed.

The greatest failure in restoring water-damaged structures is to remove drying equipment before the drying is complete. Carpet and cushions dry quicker than other structural materials and are not an accurate gauge of whether the structure is dry (e.g. floors and walls). The danger with ineffective drying is that it can easily turn a small loss from water damage into a very expensive mold claim. Professional restoration firms use specialized measuring equipment to determine if moisture content has been returned to normal standards. These meters and sensors are used to document and record the data that determines when to remove the equipment.

Misconception #4: Once a structure has been damaged by fire, it will always smell like smoke. So there is no need to rush to clean it.

There are frequent testimonials about smoke damage restoration efforts that have failed because odor remains. Smoke odor and residue are the products of incomplete combustion. They are acidic and are far more damaging than ordinary dirt or dust. Prompt cleaning actions can reduce losses if this acid is removed or neutralized. Odor removal is much more complicated than just turning on one machine and hoping to achieve satisfactory results. Restoration for smoke odor has to be thorough and complete. All contaminated areas need to be cleaned, deodorized, and sealed (where applicable). It is important that all odor molecules are neutralized, whether airborne or absorbed.

Professional restoration firms are the best assurance when it comes to mitigation and restoration. Due to their continuous technical training, they do not repeat the erroneous theories and mistakes of the past. Using the latest equipment and techniques, they make sure that the job is done correctly and completely - the first time.

In summary, documenting your damage, securing your structure, and removing drywall and heavily water damaged carpets will save you money and prevent mold damage from overtaking your home or business. You can do some of this yourself but some of this work is best left to remediation companies. If these experts are certified remediation experts, most insurance companies will reimburse you for this service.

As you begin to learn about the dangers and prevention pertaining to Fire, Water and Mold damage in your home or business, you will better understand what steps to take to protect your family, employees, pets, personal belongings, business records, equipment, building structure, landscaping and surrounding areas. More importantly, in addition to knowing what steps you can take to aide in prevention, many of these same techniques will help you to mitigate risks in case of an emergency related to fire, water or mold damages should they happen to you. As stated earlier in this series, the more you know about the dangers of Fire, Water and Mold, the better prepared you will be when disaster strikes and in addition to mitigating risks, you may one day help save the life of someone you love as well as yourself, because disaster can strike anyone, anywhere at any time and it is up to you to gain the knowledge to protect your family, home and business and know when to call the professionals who can only respond after the emergency strikes.
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