Water Damage Restoration 101 What about my memories?

Water damage is uncompromising and can be devastating. The stress incurred by loss of the use of your property is bad enough but the loss of irreplaceable pictures and family heirlooms can be a tremendous strain. This article will outline some steps you can use to prevent loss to such items.

- Prevention is the key -
Per the adage, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of Cure," the best way to prevent loss of irreplaceable pictures and family heirlooms is by eliminating or severely reducing the ability to lose said items. Preventing the ability to lose or damage such items is the key to enjoying the maximum pleasure and benefit such items convey for the longest amount of time.

- Image all irreplaceable documents and pictures to your PC -
Most people have some form of scanning device in their home or place of business but for those who do not, and for those who do not have the time, interest, or technological ability to do it themselves, there are low cost services that will image these items for a nominal cost.

- Synchronize your iDevices, cameras, and other electronic devices to your PC -
iPhones, iPads, touch devices, and other similar items that allow the user to take pictures, download personal items, or otherwise express themselves creatively, are lost, stolen, and damaged every day so all of the personal data contained on such device is forever lost. For most people, synchronizing such device is as simple as plugging their device into their PC. More advanced users may have turned off the autostart process but can reactivate the service by simply running the original application.

- Regularly backup your PC -
People seem to forget one basic tenant of computer law... computers are machines... it is not if they will break down but when. Many times computers break down at the most inconvenient times and unless the user has backed up their PC to some external source - i.e. flash drive, file server, Internet backup, etc., all of the files, documents, pictures, etc. on such PC are lost until such time their PC is fixed or their data is retrieved. The entire nightmare scenario can be avoided by simply backing up the PC.

- Keep all original and PC backups in a safe storage area off the premises -
This should go without saying but many people keep the backup directly next to the source. While this may not matter in the scenario of a computer crash, should the user experience fire or water damage, then it is reasonable to assume that something that killed the source can kill the backup. It is a best practice to keep the backup in a safe place separate from the source.

- Use only copies or electronic images -
Now that all irreplaceable pictures and family heirlooms are safely backed up and stored away, the enjoyment of such items should not be lost in the attempt to protect such items. The electronic reproduction of such items will afford the utility such items provide with the peace of mind knowing that the originals are secure from loss or damage. Truly a win-win scenario.

Unfortunately, these words of wisdom may come too late for your needs. Should this be the case, then a professional water damage restoration company may be able to refer your electronic devices to a qualified recovery center for possible repair or data recovery. Any paper or non-electronic items, however, may be lost depending on the conditions of the loss. It is clear that the best key to recovery is prevention.

This article is composed by and offered as a public service by Jimmy K. Jimmy K is the Independent Owner and Operator of Emergency Response Restoration (http://www.emergencyresponserestoration.com/), 2665 N Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32118. Jimmy K is a true consumer advocate who is not afraid to battle the insurance company to ensure the proper restoration of the consumer's water damaged home office or asset.

Water Damage Restoration 101 Why use a Water Damage Restoration Company?

While in the midst of a recent job, the insurance adjuster came out and asked why we are continuing to dry when the floor looked dry upon the adjuster's visual inspection. An insurance adjuster, presumedly, is better qualified and has more experience in water damage restoration than a homeowner who is dealing with an emergency remediation service for the first, and hopefully final, time. The sincere question of said adjuster prompted this article as if someone who is supposed to be professionally educated and experienced in this arena does not understand what dry means, then it stands to reason that the in duress homeowner does not know and can reasonably question the time and effort we expend in doing a professional water damage remediation.

Let's face it, money is always a consideration. Any person, in a purely fiduciary and cost accounting point of view, could make the reasonable determination that removing water from a structure can be accomplished by simply using a store rented machine, a shop wet vacuum, or by any carpet cleaning service found in the phone book. This reasonable and cost controlling assumption that any of the water removal methodologies just outlined is correct as any of the aforementioned water removal methods should be able to remove the top layer of water but NONE of those water removal methods can remove the water that has penetrated the flooring, base boards, or drywall. Unfortunately, the moisture not removed by these methods is, often times, the underlying catalyst for costly structural damage and can create the optimal conditions for mold growth. While this approach to save money is understood and appreciated, this approach is unnecessary as, in many cases, a professional water damage remediation company can handle such work for little to no out-of-pocket cost to the homeowner.

In addition to the cost savings the professional water damage remediation company may afford the homeowner, a professionally trained and intra-industry certified company will know the industry established dry standard for the region they serve and will ensure that the moisture content of the affected area will be dried to the established drying standard and not to a level that looks, feels, and otherwise appears dry upon a casual inspection. The benefit of this is simple... the potential for structural damage is abated and the potential for mold growth is minimized thus saving the homeowner untold expenses in home repair and medical costs.

So what does dry mean? When is something dry? Dry does not mean a moisture content of zero as even in the desert there is moisture - if you know where to look and how to extract it. Dry, in the context of water damage remediation, refers to a point in the intra-industry drying standard at which the moisture content is stated to be dry. Each region, by virtue of its unique ecology, has its own established drying standard. The outline of each region is beyond the scope of this article but any interested party can easily find the established drying standard for their region online. It is to this point that a professional water damage remediation company will dry to, or beyond, to ensure your home indemnified to its preloss condition. Then, and only then, is your affected home / structure able to be deemed as dry.

As outlined in this article, there really is a lot that goes into a water damage remediation service... far more then is apparent at first glance. Now that you have a reasonable understanding of the time, money, and risk you can offset via the contracting a professional water damage restoration company, you now know that your fiduciary responsibility and cost saving intent is BEST served by using a professional water damage remediation company whenever water damage occurs.

This article is composed by and offered as a public service by Jimmy K. Jimmy K is the Independent Owner and Operator of Emergency Response Restoration (http://www.emergencyresponserestoration.com/), 2665 N Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32118. Jimmy K is a true consumer advocate who is not afraid to battle the insurance company to ensure the proper restoration of the consumer's water damaged home office or asset.

Psychologically Surviving the Storm Recovery

While Tropical Storm Emily seems to be lessening in strength and may not effect Florida in any way, the existence of Tropical Storm Emily shows that hurricane season is here and by all estimates, this hurricane season is expected to be active. There are a bevy of available guides that outline hurricane preparedness and what to do before the storm hits but few of these guides outline how to psychologically survive the environmental and financial effects of being hit. The loss of property, personal heirlooms, and independence that stems from surviving a hurricane is devastating enough but they, unfortunately, can be the tip of the iceberg. Many of these stressors outlined in this article are not considered until the situation arises. It is our hope that someone may read this article and find some solace in the guidelines presented.

1. Bored, frightened, and hungry children
In this era of seemingly endless multimedia distractions, many the kids of today are ill equipped for the harsh conditions of the mundane outside world. For the parent who just witnessed the irreversible destruction of their home, personal possessions, and other fruits of their lifelong investment, the inane banter of children whining about being bored can add immense unnecessary stress to an already unbelievably stressful situation. The best solution to this problem is a deck of cards. While Uno, Crazy Eights, and other specialized card games exist, in this reality, space is everything so a simple pack of playing cards can be employed for long term entertainment. The versatility of a standard deck of playing cards is unmatched by any specialized cards and can bring a much needed escape from the harsh post storm conditions.

2. Pets
The financial burden of caring for a pet in a devastated economy can wreak psychological havoc amongst pet owners when they find themselves competing for the same food and water resources as their pet. The pet owners surely has the best intention for the well being of the pet but when the worst has happened and the owner is forced to choose between self preservation and pet preservation, often times it is the pet who suffers. The best solution is to prevent this scenario from happening. Find a pet shelter, find a pet boarding facility, or make arrangements to move the pet to a friend or family member's home - in an unaffected area - before the storm hits. The immeasurable psychological damage of this scenario is easy to stave off with simple prevention.

3. Looting
If you are in an affected area, you need to move to a shelter, friend or relative's house, or to a hotel room where available. While the macho concept of protecting the homestead is honorable and appreciated, the lack of food, clean water, and the constant image of loss is too much on even the toughest psyche. Nothing adds insult to injury better than hunger pains and communicable diseases obtained in a disaster. The need or desire to protect your nonfunctioning and completely unusable 60" HD LCD TV is foolish, it can be replaced... pick up and move on. The best defense against loss is photographic or video evidence. BEFORE the approaching storms hits, photo catalog all of your possessions, heirlooms, expensive electronics, and vehicles; scan all sensitive documents and pictures to your PC; and make a text file of all your Internet usernames and password and then burn all this evidence to a robust medium like DVD. The contents of said DVD can be used for insurance claims, restoration or recreation of lost heirlooms, and is small enough to be easily protected and transported. While other backup methods, including remote backup exist and are reasonable, recovery from these methods can fail when there is no Internet activity, no electricity, no working computers, and your overly stressed mind cannot recall your name let alone Internet passwords. This DVD can put your mind at ease.

4. Money
In a time of disaster the adage of "Cash is king" is never more apparent. All of the modern luxuries of credit cards, debit cards, and electronic bill payment fail when there is no electricity and no ability to withdraw money from an ATM. The solution is cash. You should maintain a cash reserve in your home for emergencies. This reserve does not need to be large, in fact, too much cash would make you a target so a small coin collection or paper currency reserve should be enough to help you get to an unaffected area in order to regroup and survive.

Surviving a disaster is trying enough. The strategies outlined in this article are presented in the hope that this information helps someone who suffers such challenge survive and recover with as little displacement, loss, and psychological scarring as possible.

This article is composed by and offered as a public service by Jimmy K. Jimmy K is the Independent Owner and Operator of Emergency Response Restoration (http://www.emergencyresponserestoration.com/), 2665 N Atlantic Avenue, Daytona Beach, FL 32118. Jimmy K is a true consumer advocate who is not afraid to battle the insurance company to ensure the proper restoration of the consumer's water damaged home office or asset.