What Happens to All of My Personal Property After Storm-Related Flood Damage?

7/14/2020 (Permalink)

Strong storms impact our area several times each year. SERVPRO has the training and equipment to restore your home.

Not Only the Structure of Your Home in Raleigh Suffers During Flood Damage--SERVPRO Has a Broad Range of Strategies to Clean, Dry, Disinfect, and Restore Your Belongings to Their Function and Well-Loved Appearance   

Weather patterns are ramping up as this year's hurricane season evolves. Although Raleigh is rare to suffer a direct hit from a named storm, that does not mean the area is free of significant flooding risks during the torrential rains and high winds that pose issues as the storms move up the Atlantic coast. We also endure weather events moving in from the west. Any time heavy rains and substantial winds impact your property, interior flooding can result. 

Do I Throw Out the Wet Items in Storage and Living Areas? 

Among the many reasons it is wise to hire a professional flood damage firm for Raleigh residences affected by storm damage is the calm, experienced outlook our managers and technicians bring to your disaster. You and your family are overwhelmed by the damage to roofs, windows, and siding, and the shock of seeing treasured items mired in inches to feet of contaminated floodwater. Where you might see a hopeless situation, we can use our considerable resources to save your belongings. Our ability to mitigate ongoing fire damage of contents by various means and return much of your items to preloss condition minimizes out of pocket expenses. It can restore treasures you feared were lost. 

Sounds Great -- But How Do You Accomplish the Restoration of Flood Damaged Contents? 

Although the following recommendation might feel invasive, SERVPRO often suggests that our residential customers consider a partial or total pack-out of loose items, furnishings, clothes, rugs, papers, and more after flooding. We propose this approach for several reasons: 

• Halts the continual absorption of water and contaminated residues on the contents when the items remain in your home, especially as cleanup efforts stir debris
• Removes porous materials from the standing water or persistent moisture 
• Permits our production facility technicians, who are contents restoration specialists, to evaluate the damage done to the full range of items, and use the many resources available to clean, dry, disinfect, deodorize, and return the articles to their former function and appearance
• Opens up spaces inside your home, so the technicians remove water, clean residues, and positioning drying equipment without impediments. Thus, they need not move items repeatedly, allowing flood mitigation and remediation tasks to flow rather than stop and start frequently. 

What if I Have Neither The Time Nor the Ability to Do a Pack-Out? 

We understand that you are overwhelmed and unprepared to undertake a massive pack-out operation. Our crews complete the packing and transporting, shielding you and your family from the stress and physical labor, and keeping your loved ones far from the contaminated waters that can contain chemicals and pathogens. When determining where to move the items, we consult with you. If you have a clean, dry, protected space on your property, staging your belongings there can be adequate.  

How Are the Packed-Out Items Tracked?   

Our production facility is available for heavily soiled or damaged items culled from the inventory. Otherwise, we can bring all the property off-site for processing and climate-controlled storage.  

How Are the Packed-Out Items Tracked?   

Our Contents Claim Inventory Service (CCIS) provides digital documentation of the articles moved out. Through a combination of old-fashioned lists, photography, and barcoding, we manage your items carefully. The CCIS helps as we work with insurance carriers, permitting us to record details about the condition of articles post-flooding, the best practices interventions we propose to restore the items, and the results of our efforts. If we cannot restore personal belongings, the evidence is all in the file, and we keep you and your insurance company informed and in the loop at all times in the process. 

What Kinds of Interventions Are Available at the Production Facility? 

Replacing walls or floors at your Raleigh home after a flood might be necessary, but it is uncommon to have a sentimental tie to your home's structure. Your possessions are different, imbued with memories, and thus irreplaceable. We continuously seek out ways to save these precious things that make your house a home: 

• Freeze-drying of documents, books, and pictures 
• Immersion and ultrasonic cleaning of loose, non-porous items
• Fabric and textile cleaning and drying using a specialized wash and drying system
• Small chamber drying, disinfection, and deodorization, permitting close monitoring and faster results 

The experienced, well-equipped, and prompt work crews from SERVPRO of East Raleigh / Zebulon are precisely the professionals you want to welcome into your home after flood damage. We await your call 24/7, lines at (919) 250-0455 answered 365 days a year.