Category: Water Damage Restoration

From Flood to Fix: Navigating Emergency Water Cleanup Services

Post author By Bryan Rambow
Post date December 11, 2024

Emergency water cleanup services are your lifeline when water damage strikes unexpectedly. They include rapid response teams, specialized equipment, and strategic procedures designed to mitigate destruction and restore your home to its original condition. Here’s what you need to know right away:

Rapid Response: Quick action minimizes further damage and is crucial within hours of a water event.
Professional Assessment: Trained experts evaluate the extent and type of water damage.
Water Extraction: Powerful equipment removes standing water to prevent mold and further structural harm.
Drying and Dehumidifying: Ensures all moisture is eliminated from the air and materials.
Restoration: Returning your home to a habitable state with repair and reconstruction.

Having a water emergency disrupts your home and peace of mind, and knowing what steps to take can make all the difference.

As the CEO and owner of Yeti Restoration, I’m Matt Heinbaugh. With years of experience helping homeowners steer the challenges of emergency water cleanup services, I bring a wealth of knowledge and a commitment to excellent results and open communication. Let’s explore what you need to know in times of water-related crises to help restore normalcy and protect your investment.

Understanding Water Damage

Water damage can happen for many reasons, each requiring a different approach for cleanup and restoration. Let’s break down the causes, types, and contamination levels of water damage to understand how it impacts your home.

Causes of Water Damage

Water damage can originate from various sources, often catching homeowners off guard. Common causes include:

Burst pipes: These can flood areas quickly, especially during freezing weather.
Leaking appliances: Dishwashers, washing machines, and water heaters can fail, releasing water into your home.
Natural disasters: Heavy rains, storms, or floods can lead to significant water intrusion.
Sewage backups: These are not only damaging but also pose health risks due to contamination.

Types of Water Damage

Understanding the type of water damage is crucial for effective cleanup:

Clean Water Damage: This comes from sources like broken pipes or rainwater. It’s the least harmful but still requires swift action to prevent issues like mold.
Grey Water Damage: This involves water from appliances or sump pump failures. It may contain contaminants that require careful handling.
Black Water Damage: The most serious type, often involving sewage or floodwaters. It contains harmful bacteria and requires professional cleanup.

Contamination Levels

Water contamination levels determine the safety measures and cleanup techniques used. Here’s a quick look at each level:

Category 1 (Clean Water): Safe at first but can become more contaminated if not addressed quickly.
Category 2 (Grey Water): Contains some contaminants and poses health risks if ingested.
Category 3 (Black Water): Highly contaminated and hazardous, requiring specialized cleanup.

Emergency water cleanup services are essential to address these issues promptly. They ensure that water is removed, areas are dried, and contaminants are handled safely.

Understanding the causes, types, and contamination levels of water damage is key to a swift and effective response. This knowledge helps in making informed decisions, reducing damage, and safeguarding your health and property.

Emergency Water Cleanup Services

When water damage strikes, time is of the essence. Quick response is crucial to minimize damage and reduce costs. That’s where emergency water cleanup services come into play. They provide a lifeline, offering immediate help to tackle the problem and prevent further issues.

Quick Response

In any water emergency, a delay of just a few hours can significantly increase the severity of damage. Quick action is essential. According to industry experts, “Immediate action is crucial. A delay of just a few hours can greatly increase the severity of damage.”

A fast response helps to:

Prevent mold growth: Mold can begin to develop within 24-48 hours of water exposure.
Reduce structural damage: Quick drying prevents water from seeping into walls and floors, reducing the need for extensive repairs.
Minimize health risks: Fast cleanup reduces the chance of contaminants spreading.

Mitigation

Mitigation involves stopping the source of water and limiting damage. This stage is all about controlling the situation and preventing it from worsening. Key steps include:

Water extraction: Removing standing water using industrial-grade pumps and vacuums.
Dehumidification: Using specialized equipment to remove moisture from the air and affected materials.
Stabilization: Ensuring the property is safe and secure to prevent further damage.

Restoration

Restoration is the process of returning your home or business to its pre-damage condition. This step may involve:

Cleaning and sanitizing: Ensuring all affected areas are safe and free from contaminants.
Repairs and reconstruction: Fixing damaged structures such as walls, floors, and ceilings.
Final inspection: Ensuring all work meets industry standards and the property is safe for occupancy.

Emergency water cleanup services are more than just a cleanup. They are a comprehensive approach to ensuring your property is restored quickly and safely, protecting both your home and your health.

Next, we’ll dive into the cleanup process itself, detailing how water extraction, drying, and mold prevention work together to restore your space.

The Cleanup Process

Water extraction, drying, and mold prevention are the backbone of effective emergency water cleanup services. Each step is crucial to ensure your property is restored safely and efficiently.

Water Extraction

When a water emergency occurs, the first step is to remove standing water. This process is called water extraction. Using high-powered pumps and vacuums, professionals swiftly eliminate water from your space. This immediate action is vital to prevent further damage and reduce drying time.

Imagine a burst pipe in your home. Within minutes, water can seep into carpets, walls, and furniture. Quick extraction is the key to saving these items and reducing potential costs.

Drying

Once the water is extracted, the drying process begins. This step involves using industrial-grade dehumidifiers and air movers to eliminate any remaining moisture. Proper drying is critical to prevent mold growth and structural damage.

Experts use a method called the PuroClean QuickDry System™, which manages dehumidification and temperature to ensure the best outcome. This system helps dry materials like drywall, wood, and carpets quickly, often within three days or fewer.

Mold Prevention

Mold can start growing within 24-48 hours of water exposure. To prevent this, professionals apply antimicrobial treatments to affected areas. This step is crucial to ensure your home remains safe and healthy.

Mold not only damages the structure but poses health risks, especially for those with allergies or respiratory issues. Swift action in water extraction and drying plays a significant role in mold prevention.

By understanding and following the cleanup process, you can better protect your property from long-term damage. Next, we’ll explore why quick action is so important in minimizing damage and health risks.

Importance of Quick Action

When it comes to water damage, time is your enemy. The faster you act, the better you can protect your property and health.

Damage Timeline

Water damage is like a ticking clock. Within minutes, water can spread throughout your home, soaking everything in its path. Walls, floors, and furniture can absorb water rapidly. If not addressed quickly, the damage can escalate.

Within hours, water can cause swelling and warping in wood, ruin carpets, and damage electrical systems. The longer water sits, the worse the damage becomes. In just a day or two, mold can start to develop, leading to even more problems.

Cost Minimization

Quick action isn’t just about saving your belongings; it’s also about saving money. The longer you wait, the more expensive the repairs can become.

Immediate response can help minimize costs by preventing secondary damage. For example, quick drying can protect structural elements like floors and walls, reducing the need for costly replacements.

Health Risks

Standing water and moisture aren’t just bad for your home; they’re also bad for your health. Mold and bacteria thrive in damp conditions.

Mold can develop in as little as 24 hours, leading to health issues like allergies and respiratory problems. It’s especially dangerous for children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing health conditions.

By acting quickly, you can minimize exposure to these health risks. Professionals use specialized equipment and techniques to ensure your home is safe and healthy.

In the next section, we’ll dive into frequently asked questions about emergency water cleanup services, helping you understand what to expect and how to stay safe.

Frequently Asked Questions about Emergency Water Cleanup Services

When water invades your space, knowing what to expect can ease the stress. Here are some common questions about emergency water cleanup services.

What exactly does emergency water cleanup involve?

Emergency water cleanup is all about fast response and effective action. It starts with water extraction, where professionals use powerful equipment like truck-mounted and portable water extraction units to remove standing water. Next comes the drying process, using air movers and dehumidifiers to remove moisture from the air and surfaces.

Professionals also focus on mold prevention by applying anti-microbial solutions. They ensure that hidden moisture, which can lead to mold growth, is addressed. Thermal imaging cameras and moisture meters help find moisture in hard-to-see areas.

Safety measures are crucial. Experts wear protective gear and follow strict protocols to handle contaminated water safely. They assess the water damage category—from clean water to grossly contaminated water—and adjust their approach accordingly.

How fast should I expect a response?

Time is of the essence in water damage situations. Immediate response is key to minimizing damage. Yeti Restoration understands this urgency and offers 24/7 availability. In most cases, you can expect professionals to arrive within two to four hours of your call.

This rapid response helps stop further damage. It prevents water from seeping deeper into your home’s structure and reduces the risk of mold growth. Quick action can save both time and money in the long run.

What should I avoid doing after water damage?

After water damage, it’s natural to want to jump in and fix things. However, there are some safety tips and common mistakes to avoid:

Don’t enter flooded areas if there’s a risk of electrical shock. Always ensure the power is off before entering.
Avoid using household vacuums to remove water. They aren’t designed for this purpose and can cause electrical hazards.
Don’t open doors or windows during the drying process. Professionals use a “closed drying system” to control the environment effectively.
Refrain from touching contaminated water. It can carry harmful bacteria and pathogens. Leave the cleanup to the professionals.

By knowing what to expect and what to avoid, you can steer the aftermath of water damage more confidently. In the next section, we’ll explore the conclusion and how Yeti Restoration stands out with its exceptional service.

Conclusion

When it comes to tackling water damage, Yeti Restoration is more than just a service provider. We are a family-owned business committed to helping our community in Cincinnati, OH, and the Dayton metro area. Our approach is personal and caring, not a cookie-cutter franchise model.

Exceptional customer service is at the heart of what we do. We understand that dealing with water damage can be stressful and overwhelming. That’s why we prioritize clear communication, empathy, and support throughout the entire cleanup process. Our team is always ready to answer your questions and guide you through each step.

Our non-franchise approach allows us to offer a level of personalized service that larger companies often can’t match. We treat every home and business as if it were our own, ensuring that you receive the attention and care you deserve.

With a focus on quick response times and expert mitigation, Yeti Restoration is dedicated to restoring your property and peace of mind as swiftly as possible. If you ever face a water emergency, we’re just a phone call away.

For more information on how we can help you, visit our Water Damage Restoration page to learn more about our services and how we can assist you in your time of need.

Water Damage Restoration

How to Deal with Insurance Companies During the Home Restoration Process

Post author By Jamesb
Post date April 15, 2024

Determine if your water damage is covered by your home insurance policy

Not every storm damage expense is what’s called “a covered loss”. You have a contract with your insurance company, which employs exclusionary language that makes navigating insurance for home repairs somewhat more complex. To qualify as a covered loss, the insurance representative (or you) must confirm that this damage to your house was:

1) Sudden

2) Recent

3) Accidental

You need all three. While a leaky roof might be recent, it may not be sudden – indeed, some damaged roofs are not caused by natural disasters, but by negligence. Even if multiple contractors had seen the roof in the past 10 years, a squirrel eating through a shingle last month could leave you bearing the full cost of repair. However, a branch falling through the same spot checks all three boxes!

Do your best to figure out what your policy limits are for “dwelling” and “other structures” coverage – don't rely 100% on your adjuster

Your settlement amount will be determined by the invoiced costs of mitigation and repair work necessary, as well as damaged contents, and additional living expenses. All insurance companies spell out the total amounts available for each bucket of funding on the “Dec Page” or Declarations Page, way at the front of your contract.

Your homeowner’s policy is the most useful place to find this information, although, after a huge natural disaster or massive personal property claim, you may find you need additional funds. Requesting a certified copy of your policy will often reveal a bonus 10% of your coverage.

This might be best done with your mitigation partner, a friendly claims adjuster or a public adjuster. They’ll know more about your state’s Department of Insurance regulations and the step-by-step process you’d need to follow to do this job well.

Don't file your home insurance claim immediately

We always recommend calling a restoration company first (ideally Yeti Restoration!). Your insurance company notes every interaction you have with them. For most companies, when you start the claims process, even if you later cancel, you produce a “zero claim” which may increase the policy rates for both you and the other members of your household.

For that reason, we recommend seeking professional help to establish a pre-claims process involving assessment by a restoration contractor who can help advise on your claim validity, potential total costs (what expenses may be out of pocket), and whether you might want to turn this over to your insurer.

“Additional Living Expense” (“ALE” or Loss of Use) coverage entitles you to maintain your standard of living

Your home insurance company (outside of certain situations, which are fairly rare) is expecting to cover the costs for all ‘above normal’ expenses you incur on this claim. You shouldn’t have to use your own money to cover the costs of this storm damage until you hit the limits of the policy you’ve opted for.

Your mortgage company is still expecting to get paid by you every month, and your insurance coverage needs to be paid, even while you may have to be re-housed. Costs like renting another home while repairs happen as part of this claim, or making a payment for a new internet connection at a temporary house, are additional living expenses, known as ALE. These costs should be covered in your home insurance policy.

If you are now living further from your job, you should save receipts for additional gas in your car. Save receipts for the laundromat, and even for eating out when you wouldn’t usually do that. Many a small payment accounted for makes a big difference in your overall settlement amount, and it’s available to you because you paid your home insurance. This is fair treatment for you, added by your insurance agent in the contract to cover you from bearing the full cost of a claim like this.

The difference between “replacement cost” and “actual cash value” coverage affects how much and when you'll be paid

This payment, in most policies, should be adjusted until it matches your replacement cost.

Some policies, however, are written to save money. They’re cheaper for everyone involved, called an “Actual Cash Value” policy. Your homeowner’s insurance claim in “actual cash value” claims, will pay out the value of the damaged items as they sat yesterday (before the destroyed property was discovered). You may think of this as the Facebook Marketplace value of the item, different to its replacement.

For example, the freestanding bathtub in your primary bedroom may have a replacement cost of $3,000 but, because it’s been used, a cash value of $800. The “actual cash value” policy will pay you $800 and no more, while the replacement value policy will pay an initial $800, followed by an additional $2,200 to cover the full replacement cost of the item.

This payment, in most policies, should be adjusted until it matches your replacement cost.

Take photos of the damaged area and any damaged possessions

Throughout your insurance claim, take photos! We document all insurance claims thoroughly with photographs, any temporary repairs and using moisture readings. Through this process, we are trying to confirm there is no insurance fraud, ensuring the homeowner’s insurance claim is as smooth as possible when it comes to payment and money transfers.

Hopefully, the adjuster wants to do their job efficiently and serve the homeowners by making that payment as quickly as possible, but they do need to be able to justify the repair or overall expenses. This can be made much simpler by well documenting the step-by-step process of repairs and mitigation.

Water Damage Restoration

The Benefits of Timely Home Restoration: Why It Pays to Act Fast

Post author By Jamesb
Post date March 30, 2024

What Does Water Restoration Mean?

Water damage cleanup is synonymous with the water restoration process. If you carefully review a fire damage insurance claim, you’ll often find that the water used to put the fire out results in more extensive damage and costs more money than the fire. Water restoration experts know how to mitigate damage on your property to save money for all parties.

They’ll use specialized equipment to stop mold growth and structural damage (both considered secondary damage in the insurance world) to quickly dry the affected walls and floors in your home.

How Long Do I Have To File A Home Insurance Claim?

The first step after a disaster in your property is to safely mitigate damage. Your insurance company requires this of you per your contract with them. You don’t need their permission to make good informed decisions on this. Many homeowners mistake the role of the insurance company to be a gatekeeper when the carrier is actually the liable contract partner in the claim, obligated to pay for complete repair and mitigation for your house and business.

Once you’ve completed the task of mitigating the overall cost of the emergency, filing claims can happen up until 12 months after the date of the water damage (or any disaster) event.

You may want to seek professional advice from your local restoration company, even when they begin to serve you with equipment and initial repairs. As we’ll state in the next heading, if selected well, the professional in your doorway will see more insurance claims this week, and act as a crucial link in those claims, than you’ll likely see in the next ten years – so you can lean into their expertise.

Benefits Of Working With A Professional Water Damage Restoration Company

Home restoration projects are fairly complex at the conclusion of a water damage emergency. Just like you can DIY your taxes, you can of course DIY anything. Professionals are going to bring crucial value and professional tools and equipment that you may not want to risk living without. As someone sensible said to me, even if you can rent similar equipment, you can’t rent similar experience.

While you may be able to restore some items yourself, professional certifications exist throughout the claims process for a reason. Building materials respond variously to restoration efforts. Drywall actually gains 80% more strength after being wet, and dried again. Carpet is the same. But while it’s wet, carpet is easily delaminated, and drywall is very brittle. If the drying process takes too long, your family will risk a life with mold growth in both substrates.

The equipment used to restore everything possible to good condition and bring you the benefits of quick home repair and mitigation is extremely expensive and requires routine maintenance to keep ready for operation when disaster strikes. Trained teams exist solely to respond on your behalf.

If you contact restoration professionals before you file your insurance claim, you’ll also benefit from their insurance experience. A great professional restorer will be able to advocate for you, in the way that the insurance company has an adjuster who can advocate for their side of the policy.

At Yeti Restoration, we walk through the insurance claims process more times in a week on the job, than most people will in their professional lives. While we don’t have insurance certifications, we do have a wealth of knowledge on the restoration process, and know how to serve you with your insurance company and their adjuster regarding your particular water damage.

Safety and Water Damage Categories

There are three categories (and four classes, but we’ll ignore those for now) of water to consider when we think of water damage cleanup. All restoration experts agree on these categories:

Category 1 – generally considered to be safe/ clean water
Category 2 – unsanitary, but from a clean water source
Category 3 – grossly contaminated water

While Category 1 exists, it has to make contact with something. And invariably, that something makes it dirty (like a floor). For this reason, Category 1 water is essentially a lab condition that won’t exist in most water damage cleanup events.

However, part of the value of a great water damage restoration company is knowing when drywall or carpet can be saved (which is common in Category 1, and sometimes for Category 2). Professionals come with the drying and cleaning equipment, coupled with knowledge to assess where the obvious benefits are for the house.

Conversely, there are times that even Category 1 water damage cannot be reasonably dried – think about a compacted wood/ particle board cabinet that swells after contact with water damage. Or insulation behind the walls that will keep hold of water long into the future and prevent a reasonable assertion of a dry standard in your house.

And then there’s Category 3 – grossly contaminated water damage cleanup, where we have to assume that all porous substrates are to be safely demolished and removed without further affecting the house. This is best left to the professionals before full cleaning can occur and then repairs.

A toilet overflow or drain backup would be a good example of Category 3 water damage. Professionals can establish a protocol for emergency cleanup of the water damage, and determine which materials can be reasonably salvaged, like plastic totes, porcelain and metal shelves, while carpets and pads cannot be.

Water Damage Restoration

The Emotional Toll of Home Damage: How to Cope and Move Forward

Post author By Jamesb
Post date March 18, 2024

Coping With Home Damage Stress

We started Yeti Restoration after our normal routines were interrupted by one of the disasters our clients go through in any given week. We had the same anxiety that any family would face in dealing with a disaster in their home. The events of that night of flooding, and the process of physical recovery, alongside the emotional distress are unable to be forgotten.

Our expectations that a restoration contractor would step in to help control the physical injury to our building (even if they couldn’t help with emotional distress like perhaps a clergy member could) were somewhat dashed when our salesperson became more of a salesman than a person in our moment of crisis.

Our little construction company picked up some of the burden and our daily activities began to get reshaped around serving family and friends with disasters in the same way as we would want to be focused on, to feel good about who’s in our home, knowing someone helpful cared enough to manage our situation with compassion and excellence at once.

Common Emotional Reactions

Depending on what support you have around you, and if you have children in the home after a flooded basement or house affected by fire, your focus will be totally different. We commonly see that healthy relationships in the community change everything.

The sense of being seen appears to relieve stress and depression dramatically. Over and again, even in more expected major life decisions, having good people and loved ones physically nearby changes the nature of the loss, providing support and helping with recovery.

We see people typically manage stress and maintain composure, coping outwardly when we first arrive on the scene of a disaster. Emotions and feelings often surface as people realize the impact this disaster will have on their daily lives and daily responsibilities. As they take us into the most affected areas of the home, their place of rest and retreat becomes a place of anxiety and overwhelming feelings; sometimes anger.

The risk to your home, even if temporary, is real. The anxious thoughts of relocating, or having to accept that the walls you painted, and the carpet you installed, are damaged – perhaps beyond repair – often make people lose sleep, and it seems that this emotional distress damages their self-care routines.

The stress this puts on a family (moving out of their house, relocating their animals, needing to stay with family and friends) is a loss of control in their daily life. And it’s hard to maintain their daily focus, and responsibilities at their job, or find relief in a different space, even if it’s temporary.

Accept New [Temporary] Normal Routines

The point of this article is mostly to prepare people going through these disasters. Yes, there’s distress. But if I have any tips, they would start with accepting the disaster for what it is. Be glad you have friends and family and lean into the offers of kindness. We do our best to stay in a stance of service, but our emotions are different. I remember what coping was like when we went through this with our family and friends. Our process was a month or two long, but for some people, your home will be in recovery for a year by the time the insurance company agrees to pay appropriately, and the contractors are all lined up.

The events of the loss are a lot to have to cope with, but it’s important to talk with your job, and your family, to get enough sleep, and to figure out what healthy coping strategies you need to employ for your children.

Your relationships don’t change, but the places that your children play, or where you sleep will change for a moment. We see that some people choose to live in an RV on their driveway to keep their mental health in check. For some people, living so close makes them feel stressed. They want to keep their loved ones away from the house and find a new environment that’s clean and safe while they get the support they need, and try to keep the children in the same school (possibly without a bus service) or get caregivers in place to serve their needs for a season.

Some People Are Unable To Live In The Home Like Normal

If you have insurance, you likely have coverage for ALE; Additional Living Expenses, written into your policy. Talk with your agent and adjuster to make sure this is being proactively acted upon, and seek the wisdom of experience in your restoration contractor, who deals with this often.

Many adjusters won’t suggest or offer this straight away, but the nature of a large loss often dictates you’ll need to move out of the space. A good adjuster or restoration contractor will come up with ideas to help you move out quickly into a hotel, before transitioning to an AirBnB or furnished medium-term accommodation. This should be something that gives you the sense of being at home, and sustains your lifestyle as closely as possible, giving you the best shot at maintaining your self-care and serving your mental health.

When you find yourself in this position, your restoration contractor can be a good support if they know of companies that can help with relocation services, and provide tips on healthy places close by that you can move into quickly in a crisis.

Water Damage Restoration

How Long Can You Leave Water Damage?

Post author By Jamesb
Post date February 13, 2024

Risks of Untreated Water Damage

As well as risking structural damage like wood rot, there are real risks of untreated water damage causing a health hazard through mold growth. In their ground-breaking research over the past 20 years, on health problems created by improperly remediated water damage, Dr Scott McMahon and Dr Ritchie Shoemaker uncover the impacts of poor indoor air quality on our bodies.

Plumbing Problems and Water Damage

Some plumbing leaks, left untreated, can generate health hazards fairly quickly. Professional restoration groups, and your insurance company, recognize three categories of standing water:

Category 1

Clean water, from a known clean supply source. This could be a burst pipe or water from plumbing fixtures. You can have significant damage from clean water, but as long as the water damage restoration process begins quickly, you can avoid the dangerous combination of building materials growing mold spores.

Category 2

Water that is questionable or known to have a mild level of contamination, foundation damage allowing rainwater in (from the ground, potentially bringing oils and lawn chemicals), all reasonably assumed to carry health risks. This could be water from the bath tub, washing machine overflow, or dishwasher leak. These waters, even when dried, can pose allergic reactions, and like all water damage, will compromise the structural integrity of various building materials immediately, and others over time.

category 3

Grossly contaminated water, with bacterial growth; like flood water from natural disasters, or sewage. These are easy to identify, tend to smell, and present immediate health risks and obvious common consequences at the onset of water damage, even before any long term effects.

Do These Water Stains Mean I Have Toxic Mold?

We’re glad you asked. Water stains often come from pigment being released from one substrate or substance into another, like lumber getting wet and staining drywall. Your personal belongings do the same in the laundry; sharing colors. So stains are signs of water damage (usually moisture you can first see on paint), but not necessarily bacteria.

However, prolonged exposure to moisture (or flooding, or other water damage) will certainly produce mold growth, and those mold spores (or their mycotoxins) become airborne as they eat, or as they dry.

How Quickly Does Water Damage Progress?

From hundreds of water damage insurance claims, we’ve seen that left untreated, flood water or plumbing leaks will wick up drywall at a rate of roughly 1 inch per hour for the first 12 hours after an event. Of course, the scale of concern varies with how much water you have, what kind of air movement there is, what health issues the occupants have, and if this has happened before.

Further structural damage will occur much more quickly if the home’s structural integrity has been compromised previously in the affected area. This can be true in basements. But the more severe water damage claims are surprise events caused by hidden dangers.

The risks of untreated water damage are dramatically mitigated if you act quickly. Mold growth will occur within 72 hours of the water damage event. Mold remediation is always an option, but it almost universally requires demolition, which creates more work to achieve your pre damage condition.

Depending on the type of water damage, and the building materials used, professional restoration work may achieve a dry environment without risk of mold, and without having to remove floors and walls. The most common consequences of waiting are mold and demolition. These both present risk of respiratory issues for some (if not most) occupants, and they often can be avoided.

Water Damage Restoration

When Disaster Strikes: The Restoration You Need

Post author By Jamesb
Post date January 17, 2024

Unexpected Calamities: The Ross Clothing Store Experience

Sometimes the maintenance team really can handle it.

And sometimes you have to hit the holy crap button.

We’re your partner when that happens.

On New Year’s Day, Ross Clothing Store called when the 2″ water main was vandalized in a building they were getting ready to outfit and open. They’d received advice from another restoration company to tear out all drywall up to 48” off the ground, so the situation was dire. This would have required cutting the security netting behind the first layer of drywall, leading to the removal and reinstallation of the entire wall structure to replace it with unbroken security netting.

Rapid Response: Mobilizing in Crisis

Within one hour of receiving the distress call, we mobilized two box trucks loaded with drying equipment and began assessing the space. Our primary goal was to salvage the 25,000 square feet of double 5/8″ drywall while keeping the security netting intact. Fortunately, the water damage was limited to the lower 24″ of the walls, and was clean water.

Innovative Solutions: The Power of Tents

We devised an elaborate system of “tents” around the perimeter of every dressing room, office, storage area, and the sales floor. These enclosures effectively trapped the heat generated by our dehumidifiers, and contained the dry air – this meant that we didn’t have to dehumidify the total air volume of the rooms, with their 18’ ceilings.

Results That Speak: Saving Time, Money, and Business

Thanks to this approach, we successfully saved all drywall, except in the room where the loss occurred, and created significant savings for Ross Clothing Store, both in terms of repair expenses, and time.

By avoiding the need for extensive reconstruction, we can minimize disruptions to your business operations, saving you from working in mess and lost revenue.

We’re your partner when you hit the holy crap button.

Here 24/7. And good to go.

Water Damage Restoration

The Importance of Hiring a Professional for Water Damage Restoration

Post author By Jamesb
Post date May 15, 2023

Heavy rain, burst pipes, or a washing machine overflow. Whatever caused it, who should clean-up this water emergency? When left untreated, water damage can lead to mold growth, health hazards, and structural issues – so it’s pretty vital to get this taken care of quickly – but by who?

And we get it – it’s hard to trust someone to come into your home. We started Yeti Restoration after our own basement water emergency, a bunch of years ago – so we understand the importance of being prompt, professional, and productive.

So, should you hire a pro, or DIY this thing?

Here’s a few tips when dealing with a water damage emergency and possible insurance claim:

Professional

There’s a big difference between adding equipment (even the right equipment) and drying your space in time to prevent mold growth. Just equipment is not enough – you must add wisdom and knowledge.

Water damage restoration requires specialized knowledge and equipment. Professionals have the expertise and specific tools, such as floor mat systems, heated wall injection, and large dehumidifiers, to fully dry your property. They can assess the damage, identify the source of the problem, and execute a customized restoration plan for your situation.

Productive

A professional water damage restoration company will ensure that your property is thoroughly dry. They will not only remove the visible water but also address any hidden moisture that can lead to mold growth behind walls or under certain types of floors. They will use specialized equipment to dry out your property in a way that simply cannot be done DIY. This will save you money and keep your property healthy for your family.

Insurance claims assistance

Dealing with the insurance claims process can be stressful during a water damage incident. A professional water damage restoration company can assist you with your insurance claim and make sure you’re compensated appropriately according to the contract you agreed to with your insurance carrier. They can help you navigate the complex insurance process and provide you with documentation and evidence to support your claim so you can get this resolved with less stress.

Yeti Restoration

Don’t let water damage steal your peace of mind. Hire a professional water damage restoration company like Yeti Restoration for prompt, professional, and productive emergency water claims. We understand, and we’re ready to help you.

Determine if your water damage is covered by your home insurance policy

Do your best to figure out what your policy limits are for “dwelling” and “other structures” coverage – don't rely 100% on your adjuster

Don't file your home insurance claim immediately

“Additional Living Expense” (“ALE” or Loss of Use) coverage entitles you to maintain your standard of living

The difference between “replacement cost” and “actual cash value” coverage affects how much and when you'll be paid

Take photos of the damaged area and any damaged possessions

What Does Water Restoration Mean?

How Long Do I Have To File A Home Insurance Claim?

Benefits Of Working With A Professional Water Damage Restoration Company

Safety and Water Damage Categories

Coping With Home Damage Stress

Common Emotional Reactions

Accept New [Temporary] Normal Routines

Some People Are Unable To Live In The Home Like Normal

Risks of Untreated Water Damage

Plumbing Problems and Water Damage

Category 1

Category 2

category 3

Do These Water Stains Mean I Have Toxic Mold?

How Quickly Does Water Damage Progress?

Unexpected Calamities: The Ross Clothing Store Experience

Rapid Response: Mobilizing in Crisis

Innovative Solutions: The Power of Tents

Results That Speak: Saving Time, Money, and Business

Professional

Productive

Insurance claims assistance

Yeti Restoration

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