James Cummings is the general manager of Servpro of Ahwatukee & South Tempe in Arizona, a branch of Servpro, the national fire and water cleanup and restoration company. Here, he explains how his company determines which objects damaged in an emergency are restorable.
The restorability of contents is dependent upon several factors including, but not limited to:
- The category of water (clean, grey, or black)
- The time of exposure to smoke, water, or other damage
- The composition of the material
- The cost of restoration
- The value or cost of a replacement
- The object’s sentimental, legal, artistic, cultural, or historic value
During the course of the initial inventory of the affected contents, we note any items that appear to have pre-existing or pre-loss damage. A photograph is taken and the responsible party is notified of the damage that we have found. During the cleaning of contents after a loss, we will likely remove day-to-day soiling. If the removal of pre-existing soiling requires significant extra effort, our crews are instructed to move on.
During the cleaning process, we instruct our crews never to touch guns and ammunition. Because of this, we request that you remove any such items from the area we are cleaning. Also, any cash, jewelry, valuables, and heirlooms should be removed from the areas we are cleaning before the job is started. Emergency cleaning and restoration companies are generally not responsible for these items.
Keep in mind that determining exactly what can be saved until everything is dry is usually impossible. We will set a follow-up date for further cleaning so we can monitor the drying process. In addition, the restoration process will be scheduled for when the drying is complete. Restoration can include floor preparation, tack strip replacement, carpet and pad installation, seaming, carpet cleaning and restoring, and furniture and contents cleaning.
During the course of our survey and cleaning, we will sometimes be required to open doors, cupboards, and other closed areas to qualify and/or restore the damage. If any of these areas contain personal items that you would prefer to relocate before we start work, please let us know.
Although our supervisors inspect all work, you should accompany the supervisor on the final walk-through and bring any overlooked items or concerns to the supervisor’s attention.
Please also keep in mind that we are neither insurance adjusters nor agents. We cannot authorize anything to be replaced, repaired, or painted. Our job is to preserve and protect, stop further damage from occurring, and to restore damaged items to their prior condition when possible.
The exact price of restoring your property following a water damage emergency is virtually impossible to determine on our first visit. However, in order to give you an idea, we will review our damage report to provide you with an initial estimate during our first visit, if requested. The scope of work can change due to unforeseen circumstances. We will forward the final bill to you and/or your insurance carrier once the work is completed.
Maintaining your personal health and safety is of great concern to us. All occupants and pets should stay away from the work areas to protect their health and safety during the work process.
