Is it me or do water restoration companies feel like high pressure salespeople?

Maybe you’ve experienced a sudden leak that happened in your home – a failure of a plumbing fitting or a toilet backed up and became more than a little spill to clean up. You did the responsible homeowner thing and reached out to a plumber to fix the source and then a water damage company for mitigation of wet building materials.

Most are very prompt. Company representatives show up, perform an inspection and begin telling you what is affected, the severity and that the risk of waiting a few days could make things worse, and potentially more costly to remediate. Work needs to start asap to avoid further water migration and microbial/mold risk. You are unsure whether to open a claim under your home policy, but the reps haven’t even shared a cost figure with you yet. At this point, it doesn’t sound like it’s cheap and you’re told that the cost ranges are wide, especially if you want your contractor to follow industry standards and have the job done right.

Welcome to the wonderful world of water restoration. This is normal and let me explain why.

Every restoration professional can tell you that no two jobs are the same, even though many may look very similar. There are so many variables to consider in a short amount of time if you are first on site, such as category and class of water – how contaminated is the water and how saturated are the affected building materials? Is regulatory testing for lead-based paint and asbestos needed? Is containment required to separate affected vs unaffected areas? What is salvageable and what needs to be demolished/removed? How big is/are the affected area(s)? How much equipment is needed and how long is the expected dry out?

These are some of the big moving parts that the restoration professional is mentally juggling during that initial callout on scene, while you discuss the scope of work, timeframe and potential costs. You come to understand that waiting is risky, but starting right away from a homeowner standpoint feels risky too. Who are these people? Can I trust them? What is going to happen to my living space and just exactly how much is this going to cost?

As a restoration professional, I encourage you, please do your homework on who you hire! You need to be able to feel like you can trust the people who will be accessing your home on the daily for a week or two. Ultimately, I do agree and advocate for a quick approach to water damage. The faster you can decide, the greater the chances (depending on water source) of restorability of drywall, carpets, cabinets, tile, flooring, etc. We’ve saved kitchens, ceramic tile and hardwood floors all because the homeowners acted quickly.

One caution on waiting is that salvageability potential decreases significantly due to microbial damage, and there is high potential for a claim to be denied by your carrier. Please familiarize yourself with your homeowner’s policy so you understand how your coverage works. That way, you can confidently make important decisions quickly for your family when needed and help preserve the financial value of your home.

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