Burst Pipe Clean-up

[Ponyboy]

A sprinkler pipe burst in my mother's condominium building across the hall from her on Tuesday night. A lot of water went from the second floor to the lower garage. I went over yesterday and water had entered her unit soaking the carpet pad, carpet in about 12 inches and the lower six inches of sheetrock along one wall. A restoration company is at the building running dehumidifiers and fans, but no repair work has begun as of today.

I have seen a lot of restoration companies just dry stuff out and leave it in the building. I think any wet pad, carpet or sheetrock should be removed.

This building is home to many seniors with health problems. I need some help with any regulations for flood damage repair or proper repairs to prevent mold growth?

[hausdok]

Try googling FEMA Flood Remediation Guidelines

I seem to remember coming across some kind of document put out by FEMA wherein they addressed this issue.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[mgbinspect]

I did disastor restoration work for State Farm, Nationwide and others from 1989 - 1993.

If the carpet and pad got drenched, then normally the pad gets pitched and the carpet treated and thoroughly dried. Back then a lot of carpets were backed with jute, which would pretty quickly fall apart if it remained wet for very long. That's no longer a concern thanks to newer fiberglass backings. So, fungal growth is the big concern now, but usually if they treat it and dry it quickly everything will be fine. It should be professionally cleaned when dry.

If you had someone like Servepro or ServiceMaster come in, they're probably doing it right.

Disaster restoration work is a science all its own. And, rest assured that those companies usually make a strong case for overkill, with both revenues and liability in mind.

If the carpet just became damp, there may not be a legitimate case for replacement.

But, for what it's worth, in the insurance industry, the pain in the a** squeeky wheel definitely gets the grease whether it's needed or not. I saw a lot of people get free upgrades and new stuff just by being unreasonable and unbearable, which I always knew we ALL pay for in the end. ;-D

Let your conscience be your guide.

(Pardon the previous typos. I'm typing with two thunbs on my phone.)

[smcrae]

I currently work in the industry. With a clean water loss, it won't be a problem to dry things given the right conditions and they know what they're doing. Often the pad is removed, but with the right pad and extraction equipment, it can be saved. As long as the drywall gets dry, ideally within 3 days it sould be fine. The IICRC sets the standards for the industry.