Words: Tim Fagan

Water is one of the most essential resources on Earth, but it can also be one of the most destructive.

Whether water seeps into a building from a plumbing leak, a flood or another act of nature, water damage can cost home or business owners thousands of dollars in clean up and repair if left unattended.

However, as anyone who works in property restoration knows, water damage doesn’t stop once the flood has subsided or the plumbing is fixed. In addition to the substantial repair and material replacement costs, home and business owners may need to replace furniture and electronics. There is also the risk of losing important documents and collectibles.

Whether you’re a property restoration company owner or a property manager, the job of reconditioning a home or business doesn’t end with restoring the walls and floors. You should consider partnering with a contents restoration company to assist in restoring your clients’ salvageable belongings to their pre-loss condition.

Same mould story

A common issue after a water leak is that the building’s smell and structural integrity can come into question. These problems arise not just from exposure to water, but also from the growth of mould and mildew, which can create an unpleasant and unsafe environment.

Mould can attach itself to any organic, carbon-based material. In addition to spreading across a building’s walls and ceilings, mould can damage electronics, leave its mark on artworks and destroy important documents. Prolonged exposure to toxins produced by mould, such as mycotoxins, can lead to various health issues, including allergic reactions, respiratory infections and long-term problems like immune deficiencies or even cancer.

As a restoration professional or property manager, you must act quickly to mitigate water, remove contents from affected areas and begin structural restoration without delay.

Best laid plans

While natural disasters and plumbing mishaps are unavoidable, we can work with clients to minimise their impact on buildings and contents.

If you are a facilities or property manager, you should already have a disaster contingency plan. You need to know how to contact your insurance company and a reputable water damage remediation company to get rid of water damage before it causes structural damage or leads to a mould infestation.

That said, your plan shouldn’t end with the property restoration company drying out the building’s walls, ceilings and floors.

Property managers and building restoration professionals should work closely to list all the contents damaged in the building and determine if these items can be restored or if they will need to be replaced.

Water damage annually costs Australian homeowners millions of dollars, with insurance claims rising sharply due to floods and other weather-related events. Make sure your home or business stays safe from prolonged water damage by acting quickly, understanding the extent of the damage and developing a mitigation plan before disaster strikes.

What to save

Anyone who has lived through a flood or major storm knows the importance of planning. While many businesses have developed crisis plans to guide staff on what to save, who to call and when to act, homeowners are not always so prepared.

That’s why it’s important to take the time to work with your clients to triage their belongings, determining what should be removed to protect them from mould spores, what is already damaged, what can be saved and what will need replacing.

Companies offer pack-out services that help home and business owners inventory and move valuables, furniture, electronics and even clothes into safe, climate-controlled storage while the building undergoes restoration.

And if some of these contents are already damaged, a contents restoration company can take them off-site for restoration, so they can be returned to the home or business once the structure has been dried, cleaned and repaired.

Restore their faith

Restoration professionals often work with home and business owners who have experienced devastating events. From flood damage in New South Wales and Victoria to bushfires in Western Australia, property restoration companies and their employees regularly encounter the resilience of their clients.

While most property restoration companies focus on rebuilding the physical structure of a home or business, there are other items affected by disasters that need attention.

By partnering with a contents restoration company, you can offer clients the chance to rebuild using their existing possessions. Items that can often be restored include:

• Artwork: Art restoration professionals can clean and reframe damaged pieces, restoring them to their original condition.
• Electronics: Damaged refrigerators, computers or phones don’t always have to be replaced. With new technologies, contents restoration companies can restore these items to their pre-loss state.
• Furniture: Wood and upholstery are particularly vulnerable to mould and can absorb unpleasant odours from mildew or smoke. A contents restoration company can remove the odours, refresh the wood and return furniture to its former glory.
• Textiles and collectibles: Rugs, clothing, stuffed animals or antique collections can often be salvaged using modern restorative methods.
• Documents: Important papers, family photos and certificates that were once unsalvageable can now be saved using techniques like desiccant drying, thermal vacuum freeze-drying and absorption drying.

Restoring damaged items can be more affordable for your clients than replacing them, especially when it comes to irreplaceable items like family heirlooms or photos. Restoration costs are often just 15 to 25 percent of replacement costs, according to estimates from industry sources.

When disaster strikes, clients may fear that the items they cherish most are gone for good. By partnering with a contents restoration company, you can assure them that their home or business will be restored, along with their valuable and sentimental belongings.

About the author:

Tim Fagan is the president of Blue Kangaroo Packoutz, a contents restoration company, 1-800 WATER DAMAGE, a property restoration company and 1-800-BOARDUP, an emergency restoration and cleanup service.

A version of this article first appeared in Cleanfax Magazine.

Photo by Wes Warren on Unsplash.