Sorting, cleaning, drying and recording the furniture, documents, electronics and keepsakes that water has reached in a home.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Contents restoration is the work of deciding what can be cleaned, dried or saved among the belongings a water loss has reached. Each item is sorted by material and by how long it was wet, and a record is kept for the homeowner. In Tampa, humid storage areas and the wet season make many items harder to save, so the sorting happens early. Calls are answered 24/7 on (833) 490-5225.
A water loss does not stop at the walls. It reaches the furniture, the boxes on the floor, the rugs, the books on the bottom shelf and the family papers in a drawer. Those belongings are often worth more to the homeowner than the building material around them, and they are harder to replace. The first question is not whether an item can be saved, but whether it can be saved in time, because items that stay wet grow mold and lose their shape.
In Tampa the humid air is a particular problem for contents. A room that is closed up to dry can hold moisture around the belongings for days, and a box on a damp floor can soak through. The work therefore begins with sorting: items are moved out of the wet area to a dry place, and the decisions about what to clean, dry or discard are made item by item.
The sorting is recorded. Each item is listed by room, material and condition, with a photograph where it helps. That record is what the homeowner keeps for the claim, and it shows what was kept, what was cleaned and what could not be saved, so the decision is not left to memory weeks later.
Wet belongings can carry mold and bacteria, so wear gloves and a dust mask when handling soaked papers, upholstery or carpets, and wash hands after handling them. Do not run electrical devices that were wet, and keep them unplugged until they are checked. Do not use a heater or a hairdryer to dry papers, because heat can damage them and create a fire risk. Keep children and pets away from the sorted items. This page describes the contents work and does not cover the repair of the building.
Items are moved out of the wet area as soon as the crew can clear a path, to a dry room or a dry space in the house. Boxes that were on the floor are taken first, because they wick water up from the wet surface and spoil fastest.
Each item is sorted into groups: items to clean, items to dry, items to freeze or handle with special care, and items that cannot be saved. Paper, photographs and electronics are sorted separately, because each needs different handling.
Hard furniture and sealed items are cleaned with products suited to the material and dried in a controlled room. Upholstery and rugs are dried with air movement, and some items are taken out for specialist cleaning where the homeowner agrees to it.
Wet paper is kept cold and dry where possible, since it sticks and mold grows on it quickly. Electronics are not switched on until they are checked, and their batteries are removed. Photographs are dried individually, not stacked.
A list of the items is kept with the room, the material, the condition and the decision. Items that will be discarded are photographed and listed, so the homeowner can show what was lost when the claim is made.
Hard, sealed and solid items that were wet for a short time are often saved. Soaked upholstery, swollen particleboard and paper that has stuck together are often lost.
The chance of saving an item depends on the material, the depth of the soak and the time it sat in water. Solid wood with a sealed finish that was wet only at its base can often be cleaned and dried, and glass, metal and ceramic items generally survive a water loss well. Padded furniture, particleboard and paper that has soaked through are at much greater risk, and the crew explains each decision before the item is discarded.
Because mold starts quickly on wet materials in humid air, and items that stay damp lose their shape, color and strength. The longer the wait, the fewer items can be saved.
A box of papers left on a damp floor can be ruined within a day or two in humid conditions. Upholstery that stays wet can start to smell and grow mold, and wood that stays wet can swell and split. Sorting and moving the belongings to a dry space at the start is the step that keeps the most items in usable condition, and it is also the step most often delayed while the house is being dealt with.
Carefully and individually. Wet paper is kept cool and dry, and photographs are separated and dried one at a time, since stacked prints stick together.
Papers that are wet should not be dried in a hot room or stacked, because heat and pressure make them stick and can damage the print. The crew places them in a cool, dry space with air moving around them, and separates photographs and documents where they can be separated safely. The most important papers are handled first, and the homeowner is asked to identify them on the day the crew starts.
Not until they have been checked. Water inside a device can cause corrosion that does not show at once, so a device that was wet should be checked before it is switched on.
A device that was on a wet floor or in a flooded room should be left switched off and unplugged until a qualified person has checked it. Batteries are removed where that is possible, and the device is dried in a controlled space. The homeowner is told that a device that was wet may fail later even if it works now, and the warranty of the manufacturer is for the manufacturer and not for this work.
A list of the belongings by room with their condition, photographs before and after, and the crew's decision on each item.
The list is the core of the claim record, and it shows the homeowner's loss room by room. Photographs taken before the items are moved are the best evidence of their condition, and any receipts or old photographs of the items help the adjuster. The insurer decides what is covered, and the insurance claims guide linked from this page sets out the general pattern.
Sofas, chairs and rugs take water into their padding and backing, and they hold it for longer than hard items. Some can be cleaned and dried, while soaked padding usually cannot be brought back, and the decision is made on site.
Paper absorbs water quickly and sticks, and mold starts on it within a short time. Wet papers are kept cool and dry while they wait for drying, and the most valuable ones are handled first.
Electronics that were wet are not switched on until they have been checked, and some are dried in a controlled space before testing. The homeowner is told that a device that was wet may fail later even if it works at first.
The humid air of Tampa makes damp belongings spoil quickly, so the sorting in this city is done in the first day rather than after the house has been dried.
Storage rooms, closets and garages in Hillsborough County are where belongings sit on the floor, and those are the rooms where a water loss most often reaches the contents.
A wet season from June to November means a second rain can wet items that were already sorted and set aside, so the record is updated after each storm.
Call any hour and explain what is going on. You get a clear price before any work starts.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Pumping standing storm water out of garages, ground floors and lower rooms across Tampa and Hillsborough County, starting with the water that is still moving.
Removing water from a ceiling and the wall cavity below a roof leak, drying the framing and mapping how far the water travelled.
Checking for mold after a water loss, cleaning or removing what it has reached, and keeping the assessor and the remediator apart where the rules require it.
Removing the water a water heater, washer, dishwasher or refrigerator line leaves on a floor, and drying the cabinets and slab it reaches.
A water damage job is priced by its drivers, not by a fixed figure: how much water came in and how far it spread, what kind of water it was, how long it stayed before anyone acted, which materials it reached and how humid air slows the drying.
A homeowner's water damage claim turns on the cause of the water, whether it was sudden or gradual, and whether the policy carries an endorsement for flood or backup.
Sometimes. A sofa that was wet at its base may be cleaned and dried. A sofa whose padding is soaked through usually cannot be saved, and the decision is made item by item on site.
Not long. Wet paper sticks and grows mold quickly in humid air, so it is kept cool and dry while it waits. The sooner it is handled, the more of it can be saved.
No. Leave a wet electronic device switched off and unplugged until it has been checked. Switching it on can cause a short or damage that would not have happened otherwise.
Rugs that were wet are sorted, dried and cleaned where the material allows, or taken out for specialist cleaning with the homeowner's agreement. Rugs with soaked padding are usually discarded.
Tell the crew before the item is removed. The item is photographed and listed, and the homeowner can keep it aside if it is safe to do so. A discarded item should still be recorded for the claim.
The work is between the homeowner and the local company that carries it out, and this line does not warrant any work performed. The disclaimer page explains the arrangement in full.