How to Decide What to Save and What to Toss

11/10/2020 (Permalink)

No matter how well you prepare for storm season, a strong storm with heavy rainfall can still cause significant water damage in your building. Part of the flood cleanup process is content cleaning. It is likely that some items will need to be thrown away, but many items can probably be salvaged. There are a few factors that determine what can be saved and what must be tossed.

Surface of Item

The item itself is a prime predictor of whether or not it can be restored. Items with the following features are more vulnerable to flood damage:

• Porous surface
• Lack of finish or protective coating
• Delicate material

If an item has one of these features, storm restoration specialists may still be able to save it. If you can safely do so, try to dry the item gently to stop water damage from spreading before technicians arrive to commence content cleaning.

Contamination Level

The level of contamination also affects how likely an item is to be salvageable. If your building flood is the result of a pipe break, items can usually be saved as long as they can be dried. Items affected by storm damage, however, are more likely to be contaminated with black water and thus more likely to need to be thrown away.

Exposure Period

The longer an item sits in water or remains in a humid room, the more damage it is likely to sustain. If you delay in calling experts for a few days, you are probably going to lose many more items than if you call them right away. Quick response is vital for more successful storm cleanup.

Content cleaning is one of the steps of the restoration process, and deciding what to keep and what to throw away is a decision best made by the experts. To increase your chances of saving more items, call the professionals as soon as possible after a storm.