Water Damage Requires Expertise: Steps to Ensure You Choose the Right Restoration Provider

1/16/2023 (Permalink)

Team arrives at Santa Rosa County emergency call to administer water damage restoration with top-notch equipment.

Follow These Tips to Make Sure You Consider All Aspects of Your Needs as You Choose from Among Santa Rosa SW Water Restoration Companies.   

Water damage rarely gives its victims time for a deliberate response. One minute you are busy running your Santa Rosa business, and the next, you are splashing through several inches of water from a ruptured water heater or a burst supply pipe. Seasonal storms strike, and some years your number is up as you watch high winds and torrential rains deposit floodwaters inside your house, top-down, and bottom-up. As each minute passes, both the structure and contents of your business are taking a beating. The intensity of the damage is beyond your DIY skills. You must get professional help, but how to choose from among many alternatives?

Is the Location of a Water Restoration Company Important?

Some water restoration companies in the Pensacola area seem to have no permanent presence in the area, announcing their services with a knock on the door or a sticky flyer attached to your mailbox. Although you might jump at a chance to engage a restoration company at the height of your crisis, finding and partnering with a reputable local company is crucial.

• You can talk directly with management, not just a salesperson.
• You can check into the firm's reputation with your local BBB and talk with friends, neighbors, co-workers, and family members who used the company's services in the past.
• You can ask to talk to recent customers or view local testimonials for a good sense of the company's results and work ethic.
• You can continue your relationship with a local restorer if questions or concerns arise after your project completes.

Is There One Crucial Feature Beyond Location that Separates High-Quality Water Restoration Companies from Also-Rans?

As you sort the water damage restoration options available to you, a deal-breaker is any indication that the company you consider lacks licensing or restoration training, especially no certification from theInstitute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Check to see if the company and its technicians have mastered this international restoration standards-setting organization's rigorous coursework.

At SERVPRO, we obtain certification for our business and our employees, update ourselves regularly, and avail ourselves of e-learning and continuing and advanced education courses:

• Initial Franchise Training at SERVPRO's Corporate Training Facility
• Employee Certification Training
• IICRC Training -- basic to master levels

Local and Appropriately Trained -- Check! What Else Should I Require When Choosing a Restoration Company?

Inquire at a minimum about two other key features:

Does the Water Damage Restoration Company Invest in Innovative, High-Quality, and Large Capacity Equipment?

Although the fundamental actions needed from a water restoration company are water extraction and structural drying, the tools with which technicians achieve these tasks can differentiate between a fast recovery and a long slog. Failing to remove the water and begin efficient drying within 24 to 48 hours risks secondary damage like mold growth and progressive deterioration of building materials. To facility fast progress, we stock:

Commercial-grade truck-mounted extractors with a holding tank capacity of 60 to more than 100 gallons, should containment and legally prescribed disposal become necessary

• Portable extractors that technicians can wear like backpacks, gaining access to confined spaces
• Negative pressure air systems can focus suction on wet areas of multi-layered wood floors and pull flooding out of building cavities when connecting hoses through drilled or cut holes -- reversing the pressure to positive to direct warm air into cavities for drying
• Significant inventories of air movers and several different types of dehumidifiers to achieve structural drying

Not surprisingly, all water restoration companies cannot offer the same services. SERVPRO of Santa Rosa County SW wants to earn your business through our training, experience, equipment, and commitment to our community.

Call us to schedule an assessment today!