Month: September 2013

What does Immediate Damage Containment mean?

The Immediate Damage Containment (IDC) consists of removing the excess water/sewage, decontamination and installing dehumidification. The Damage Containment has to be completed immediately to prevent further damage, contamination and expenses. Most insurance policies require the insured (yourself) to unilaterally initiate “reasonable and prudent procedures necessary to mitigate the loss.” In other words, to preserve, protect and secure the property from further water damage and reducing the overall claim cost. Therefore, if you have coverage for this type of loss, your insurance company can’t deny your claim because you have not followed your policy requirements for coverage. (However, structural drying and secondary damage containment may be also necessary within 12 hours of the water loss. Check your policy for the details.)

During the IDC, your technician will be blocking and tabbing your furniture and possessions and removing the excess water/sewage to prevent further damage. He/she will also be moving all of the contents to the middle of the room to prepare for structural drying and/or renovation.

Your technician has been specifically trained and equipped to physically remove as much water from your home or business as possible. The primary responsibility of your Immediate Damage Containment Technician is to do a basic floor inspection, chart the affected areas and recommend the safest and quickest way to remove the excessive water. He/She will also install Low-Grain Dehumidification. He/She will give you an upfront estimate ONLY for the immediate damage containment before he/she begins the water removal.

Many items that look badly damaged may be able to be completely restored. Unfortunately, some items may be beyond restoration. However, in most cases, the damage can be avoided if the restorative drying process is begun without delay.

We can begin to reverse the effects of water damage by controlling where the water will “wick”. Wet will go to dry if it can, even if it is climbing up a wall. When high velocity commercial air movers (fans) are placed at the base of a wall that is wet, it can begin to reverse the wicking. Meaning as the air mover begins to dry the area directly in front of it; the near-by moisture begins to wick towards the new dry area. Remember, wet will go to dry if it can. Once that area is restored to its original moisture content, thereby preserving the structural integrity, the air mover is then moved to the next wet area.

Low-Grain, high temperature dehumidifiers are also placed in the affected area. These dehumidifiers remove the wet cold air and replace it with hot dry air. The hot dry air is then circulated to the air movers, which speeds up the drying process. Low-Grain simply means the unit puts out a much lower specific humidity or Grains of Moisture per pound than regular dehumidifiers. Our dehumidifiers remove the wet cold air and replace it with hot dry air. The hot dry air is then circulated to the air movers, which speeds up the drying process. Low-Grain simply means the unit puts out a much lower specific humidity or Grains of Moisture per pound than regular dehumidifiers. Our Grain depressions are as low as 28-30 grains per pound compared to that of your home air conditioning systems or your store bought dehumidifier which can produce as low as 60-65 grains per pound (specific humidity). The benefit for your, your home or business is that it dries within days rather than weeks or months. There is no chance for fungal growth. With the Phoenix and Injecti-dry System we can also dry structures such as hardwood floors, sill plates, sub-floors etc., that can’t be dried with the convectional refrigerant type dehumidifiers.

On average, we can dry the structure and contents of a saturated home or business in three to four days. 82% of the clean water damaged homes/businesses we dry, will need no repair at all, or only minor repairs such as spot painting and/or carpet cleaning. If additional repair is needed, Tuft Aide, Inc. has the qualified personnel to get the job done right!