The Flood Co. Blog

Archive for the ‘Water Damage Utah’ Category

I can understand people being careful and cautious about their water damage insurance coverage and how it works. They often times are concerned whether its a covered water damage event for insurance purposes; and then what will it cover. Water damage can spread and get worse by the hour, so collecting estimates and trying to make sense of them is not a good idea. My “customer of the week” was an Ogden Utah water damage and was trying to analyse estimates to see if there is something they might could do themselves. For one thing the estimate is just that; an estimate. The insurance company is not going to reimburse an expense that was not incurred. This couple shared with me that they had a water damage about a year ago. It also was a covered water damage event and was submitted to their insurance. They were reimbursed for the damages and did the work themselves. They also shared with me that they did the mitigation and repairs themselves, and when the work was all completed they were only out of pocket about $2000. That sounds like a “lose, lose” proposition. Their deductible was $500. If they did nothing themselves, called a professional service, had the home professionally dried, repaired and cleaned; their total out of pocket cost should have been $500. What a deal, they got to do everything themselves and and pay $2000 instead of $500. This couple hasn’t learned from their first $1500 mistake, it looks like they may be on their way to duplicating their mistake again.

Lesson to be learned: Don’t take on the water damage insurance process alone. You may luck out, but very often you will lose. Hire a professional. Even if the numbers on the surface seem to be OK, you may still lose. If you botch your mitigation and don’t dry some structural areas quickly enough(And you may not of even been aware they were wet to begin with.). You could lose, because the insurance company would have covered the drying services, but will probably now not cover the mold removal. You only have one chance to get a water damage mitigation right, use a professional.

Water damage  Utah occurs whether the flooding resulted from pipe breaks inside the property, or from waters entering the home called black water, because it is contaminated with bacterial and physical hazards. Cleaning up after black water flooding requires additional safety precautions against injury or disease.  Water damage Utah cleanup procedures need to be started immediately to prevent the growth of mold, regardless of the type of flood waters.

Safety Procedures

• In the event of black water or when clean water has been standing and allowed contamination to grow, take certain safety precautions. Do not allow the water to come in contact with the skin, and especially any wounds. In addition to wearing rubber gloves, wear face masks to prevent inhaling mold and bacteria. Wear protective clothing  to be removed at the location, to prevent mold and bacteria from being spread into other clean environments.