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Water Remediation

The Dos and Don’ts of Home Water Damage Remediation

water droplets on a hard surface

The goal is to prevent water damage, but accidents occur every day, even when we are being the most careful.  When water damage occurs, it is important to react quickly to stop the damage from getting worse.  Here are some helpful tips when dealing with home water remediation.  Remember that safety comes first.  In addition, if any of these tips put you or your loved ones in harms way, wait for the professionals to arrive. 

The Dos of Home Water Remediation

  • Try to stop the water flow.  Know where the shut-off valves are for your home. 
  • Remove as much excess water as possible with towels or a shop vac.
  • Towel dry wood furniture
  • Relocate all move-able items to a dry place
  • Slide foil or plastic wrap between the furniture and the floor
  • Pin up draperies and upholstery skirts
  • Contact an Expert immediately.  Water damage will continue to get worse, even after you suck up the standing water.  Experts know how to get your property clean and dry, with the least amount of secondary damage…like MOLD. 

The Don’ts

  • Stay away from contaminated (sewer) water.  Sewer water may contain bacteria, viruses, parasites and other harmful contaminates.
  • Don’t use electrical appliances or outlets in or near wet areas
  • Don’t use your household vacuum to extract water
  • Keep wet items away from any absorbent surfaces
  • Don’t turn on your heating and/or air conditioning system if you think water may have entered the ducts
  • Stay out of rooms if the ceiling is wet or sagging.  Ceiling drywall can contain heavy amounts of water which may collapse on you.
  • Don’t leave absorbent materials like boxes, papers or pillows in the wet area
  • Don’t let children or the elderly enter the affected areas

In short, at Lightning Restoration, we understand the importance of reacting quickly to water damage, for the safety of your family and to prevent Mold from growing. Because of this, we guarantee a 2-hour response time to any emergency call and offer a free evaluation/inspection on every call. 

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Mold Blog Water Remediation

Don’t Get Caught with Short Water and Mold Coverage Limits

stack of money with calculator and notepad

Insurance coverages are constantly changing in the State of Florida.  If you are not keeping up with the terms of your policy, you may be in for a rude awakening.  It is especially important to review your renewal policy with your Insurance Agent every year. 

How Much Water and Mold Coverage is Enough?

We recently performed remediation in a home that had water and mold damage throughout half of the home.  The property owner was unaware that, due to the age of their home, they were only insured for $10k in water coverage and $10k in mold coverage.  These amounts may seem like a lot of money to work with in performing the remediation; however, it usually comes up short when needing repairs after the drying and cleaning.  In this case, the cost to replace the kitchen alone was over $20k. 

That left the property owners significantly underinsured.  After speaking with the Agent and Property Owners, we found that they were notified by mail that their policy limits were dropped down but failed to read the letter.  In this case, the property owners were not hurt too bad, as they were saving to do renovations in the home already.  Unfortunately, most are not that lucky, and property catastrophes rarely happen when you are prepared to deal with them. 

Changes in insurance coverages are becoming more and more common in Florida.  Insurance companies originally set limits based on the replacement value of the structure. Now, after a home reaches 30-40 years old, limits drop down to $10k. Lightning Restoration stays on top of the latest trends in the insurance industry to protect our clients from surprises.  When we recognize that a home reaches a certain age, we will contact the local agent to review the policy to make sure that all parties know the limits before performing work that may not be covered. 

Okay, So What Do I Do?

As a homeowner, we recommend that you review your policy every year with your Insurance Agent.  Inquire about your policy limits for different types of damage, including water, mold and fire.  If your insurance carrier has placed low limits on water damage, look at other carriers that will give you full coverage.  Some carriers will reinstate the full coverage with an inspection of the home by a licensed home inspector or plumber.  Also, don’t intentionally buy a policy with lower limits, just to save a small amount of money on premiums…it is rarely worth it.  We witness Murphy’s Law on a regular basis…don’t be one of those cases.  In the end, if you do get caught short on coverage, Lightning Restoration is here to help. 

We have discounted rates for all customers who are paying without insurance assistance.  We also have financing available from 13 different banks, who will have the funds in your account in just 3 days to cover the remediation and repairs.  Our love for our community and neighbors shows through in our ability to educate and help our customers daily.  Remember to call Lightning Restoration in your time of need. 

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