WATER DAMAGE RESTORATION PROCESS

Flood Doctor has led the water damage restoration industry in Northern Virginia, Maryland, and Washington DC for two decades. Please scroll down to see our water damage restoration process.

Over the last 20 years, we have put together a robust and proven process for handling the many different kinds of water damage cleanup projects that we come across.

We also continue to educate and train our staff on new techniques and technologies that become available in our industry. We are an IICRC certified firm.

STEP 1: EMERGENCY CONTACT

Property owners now have a choice of either calling our office 24 hours a day or submitting a loss report on our website to receive immediate help. We realize that calling an emergency response company and getting the voicemail is not very reassuring during times of catastrophe, major storms, and other natural disasters.

Even though our office staff is on call 24/7 there are just so many calls we can take at any given time. When hundreds of calls start coming in some of our clients inevitably get put on hold or hear a busy dial tone.

We have now incorporated our Service Request form into the website. This allows customers to give us all the necessary information to schedule and dispatch one of our Rapid Response units.

Our trained office staff will ask you some basic questions to determine the Class and Category of your water loss. This will help determine which technicians and what type of equipment is needed to mitigate the damages to your property quickly.

Projects are scheduled based on two factors:

1. 1. The severity of the loss,
  2. and the availability of team members needed for your particular project.

Once we schedule an appointment, we don’t miss it. Our appointments are always for the same day.

STEP 2: INSPECTION AND DAMAGE ASSESSMENT

A project manager will be dispatched ahead of our technicians to do a visual inspection and walkthrough with either you or your agent on site.

Your project manager will take photos and explain the scope of work.

Once his plan for mitigating the damages to your property has been explained and agreed to by you, or your agent, a Work Authorization is signed by both parties and work begins immediately.

Because water damage is a progressive condition and drying times vary depending on the types of materials, the quantity of water, degree of saturation, airflow volume and velocity, temperature, and indoor/outdoor humidity. It is impractical to give an accurate quote for services before completion.

However: We use an industry standard invoicing software called Xactimate. Prices for all materials and labor is predetermined. A list of most commonly rendered services and materials used can be provided.

STEP 3: WATER REMOVAL / WATER EXTRACTION

We will create a moisture map to determine saturation levels and areas that might have been affected but are not visible to the naked eye using the latest water detection technology.
Our Thermal Imaging detection method leaves nothing to chance. If it’s wet, we can see it.
Our technicians will begin Water Extraction using either our truck-mounted or industrial portable extraction pumps. Water is 500 times easier to extract while in its liquid form than when it turns into a vapor, and we try to remove it using dehumidifiers from the air.
We tend to spend most of our time during this phase of the project. The more water we extract, the faster we can dry your property.
Our after-hours hourly labor costs might be higher, but a lot of time and money are saved in the long run.

STEP 4: OPTIONS “SALVAGE OR REPLACE”

Our project manager will discuss the condition of your flooring and walls, and you will be given options and professional advice on what can be salvaged and what should be removed and replaced.

In most clean water losses we can easily save your building materials. However, the cost of replacing old carpeting, for instance, can be less than the extra days it would take to dry it.

STEP 5: DRYING AND DEHUMIDIFICATION

Based on the layout of your property and initial moisture readings, your project manager will determine how many Dehumidifiers and Air movers are needed to dry the place properly and efficiently.
A Dry Standard will be set using an unaffected area of the property. Once the affected area is in line with that Dry Standard, equipment will be removed.
Flood Doctor is the only Water Damage Restoration company to utilize wireless moisture reading technology. The data loggers and transmitters we place throughout your property were initially created to be used in highly sensitive server rooms and medical labs.
These data loggers continuously transmit the humidity, temperature, and moisture levels of different areas of your home directly to us. Thus reducing the number of visits we need to schedule with you. Saving you both time and money!

STEP 6: CLEANING AND SANITIZING

Once all areas of the property have reached our pre-determined Dry Standard, and equipment is removed, we clean and wipe down everything. Furniture, walls, ceilings, and floors.
A layer of natural Antimicrobial will be sprayed to stop any potential mold growth.
For our high mold-risk properties, additional lab tests will be recommended. Both culture and air samples will be taken to make sure your home is bacteria and mold-free.
An invoice will be created and presented for the Mitigation portion of the project using Xactimate.

STEP 7: RESTORATION

All non-salvageable building materials demolished and disposed of during the mitigation will be replaced. Flooring, drywall, paint, etc…
Your project manager will do a complete walkthrough of the property with you, or your agent to make sure you are 100% satisfied with our work.
An invoice will be created and presented to you using Xactimate.

What is Xactimate?