You had a pipe burst and now have water throughout your home, now what?
You can call your insurance company and start a claim with them. They will issue you a claim number. This doesn’t mean the “loss” is covered, but it gets the process started. The insurance company will most likely ask you to call a restoration company (sometimes they will give you a list of preferred vendors).
You called your insurance and now have to call a restoration company to come fix your home. It’s important to make sure the restoration company you call knows what they are doing. If the company doesn’t dry out your home properly, it can lead to secondary damage, rot and microbial growth.
After the initial standing water has been extracted, the drying process becomes invisible. Restoration companies control humidity, air flow and temperature to dry building materials. They do this by using air movers, dehumidifiers, and some other specialty equipment. And they measure the conditions of the drying process using specialty tools called moisture meters and thermal-hygrometers.
All this goes to say, the restorer has to control drying conditions and understand the science behind drying. The restorer uses their tools to know how much moisture is in the air and how much moisture is in materials, as well as a bunch of other metrics (there’s a little more to it than that, but you get the idea).
There are tons of resources to help you find a good restoration contractor.
A good step is to find an IICRC Certified Firm. The IICRC is the industry standards body and have experts create education and standards for restorers to follow. Being a Certified Firm means they have completed education and been vetted by the IICRC (they look at what IICRC certifications the company has, business licensing, insurance and a few other things.) You can find a certified firm on the IICRC website.
You can also check their business and contractors licensing with your local government office (some contractors licenses are issues by cities, counties or states.) Some jurisdictions don’t even require a contractors license, so do a little research on your local laws.
Check their reviews online! This is a super simple and effective way to see the reputation of the company. Keep in mind that a couple bad reviews among tons is still probably okay, but if they have bad review after bad review, you may want to stay away from them.
Of course, you could do everything above and still end up with a not so great restoration company working on your home, but it’s a good start to find someone you trust!
If the company shows up and starts making promises that everything will be dry at a specific time, or doesn’t use moisture meters or thermo-hygrometers, call another company to give a second opinion!
Water damage needs to be taken care of as quickly as possible which is why most restoration companies have 24-hour emergency response!
