Did you know…

Less than 5% of all water restoration contractors have actually received training or been educated in the correct water restoration methods? Now that is a scary thought for me. Here people are, in the midst of a crisis, and NOW they have to also think about the qualifications of the people entering their homes. Or worse yet, they sound good and you think you can trust them, when they are actually not on your side at all. Think about it. They are a business; they are serving their best interest; to get paid for work. The insurance company is a business; they are serving THEIR best interests; to pay as little as possible. You are thinking about your best interest and that of your home and family… who is serving your best interest?

Three days after they first arrive, the water damage restoration contractor will return to your location and take all the equipment back, pronounce everything to be “all dry”, show you some documents, and have your sign off that everything is supposed to be hunk-ee-doree. Right? Wrong. When this happens, do you know what you are looking at? Do you KNOW your house is dry?

A week later, a very strange strange smell becomes noticeable. The one you just can’t quite put your finger on, but you clean everything in the house because, shoot… we just had a flood from the toilet overflowing; overfilled bath tub; water heater breaking; bad rain, whatever. So it could be ANYTHING!!

Two weeks go by, and now you are out buying air fresheners at the store in bulk and still cleaning like mad people.

Three weeks go by and everyone in the house is sneezing, coughing, and the stench – although light to me, definitely smells like mildew. You frantically search the house for the “wet” thing only to find nothing.

It’s four weeks after your little water damage incident that was not found until we got home. There it was, mold on the baseboards in the corner of the wall and the counters. But we hired professionals! How could it still be wet?

So you called the company used. The technician tells you he just followed the company procedures and to talk to the main office. It’s frustrating and all you find out is that since you signed off, you own the problem now. It is no longer a water damage problem; it was a mold remediation problem. Which was an entirely different service that will require demolition and maybe more to restore the home!!

So you call your insurance company. Get them on your side right? Wrong again. Not only do they agree with the company that you chose to use, but they blame you for not knowing and verifying the work was done properly to prevent the mold. Of course you have mold coverage but that is another deductible AND it pays the contractor less, so there is a HUGE likelihood of additional costs out-of-YOUR-pocket to make your home look the same it did before the water damage occurred!

I know you feel totally screwed over by both of the contractor and the insurance company. It’s like they were in cahoots with each other. So education before this happens is what we all need. Learn the lessons from some unfortunate friends, and ask yourself “What is my next step in this?” “Who can I trust to protect ME, My home, and my interest?” The answer is simple. It is Me… and we are all so ignorant on this it is ridiculous. Little did we know that many companies are on insurance companies “preferred vendors list”. Many of them are because they do exactly what it takes to not rock the boat and get paid. Now, that is not a necessarily bad thing at all. We all want to get paid for work performed. We, as consumers, property owners, and yes -even renters- have got to be smarter than those we are paying to protect us!

From my research, it’s not wrong. In fact companies all across the nation, in hundreds of other industries, do the exact same thing and perform business in the same way. It is simply up to us, the consumers to be educated and know the difference. So, I’m going to share with you what I have learned, and that you don’t know. Stay tuned for more.