01. Make Safe

Before anything else, prioritise safety.

• Avoid contact with electrical outlets, plugs and appliances.
  
• In severe flooding, evacuate the property if necessary.
  
• Depending on the source of the water, there may be harmful contaminants. A burst water pipe in a house, is often considered a freshwater flood and contaminants at this stage are not such an issue, until it starts sitting for an extended period of time. Floodwater from weather or sewerage pipes bursting, contain all matter of toxins and are what we call grey and black water floods. Wear protective gear if you must enter the affected area and wash your hands well and often.

02. Call Chem-Dry for Immediate Assistance

The next critical step is to act fast to minimise damage. Chem-Dry’s nationwide team is available 24/7 for emergencies.

• Offering a 24/7 rapid response service, our technicians arrive promptly with advanced water extraction and drying equipment to start removing the bulk of the water, apply an anti-microbial treatments, install HEPA air scrubbing units to limit airborne pathogens if applicable, and start drying out wet materials to mitigate the damage immediately.
  
• Quick action by you, and us, prevents issues like mould growth, structural damage and secondary damage, saving time and costs in the long run. It can be tempting to try and extract water with a wet-vac or attempting to dry it yourself with a heater or dehumidifier that you may have on hand, however water has a way of travelling. Walls and floors might feel dry to the touch but penetrative readings or thermal imaging will show that moisture has often tracked. To bring surfaces and building materials back to dry standard, a significant amount of effort is needed to extract moisture which is best achieved with professional extraction and drying equipment. Should water damage not be properly addressed when the incident occurs, and there are issues down the track, this is often considered secondary damage and unlikely covered by your insurance policy.
  
• In severe flooding instances, we may need to mark out an area of GIB for removal by a builder, or make small holes in a wall to push air into a cavity. Our team will complete some of this work but also work with your insurers preferred builder where required. In most flood and leak instances, we can simply dry rooms with less invasive drying techniques.

03. Document the Damage & Project Management

Accurate documentation is vital for insurance claims.

• Once on site, our team will complete a Health & Safety Assessment, draw up a site sketch highlighting the wet areas, take moisture readings from areas throughout the property, and on return visits, update this table to show moisture readings tracking towards dry standard. Our technicians will take photos, capturing the affected areas and damage.
  
• If you are lodging a claim with your insurer, they will be able to log into our custom job management Portal, to check in on the progress of your job. This makes it easy for you, as we provide all the information they need to process your claim.
  
• If you have contents insurance and items are damaged, it is a good idea for you to take photos and compile a list of all items impacted by the flood to help with your claim.
  
• At the end of the job, Chem-Dry will also provide a Power Usage chart so that your insurer can understand the equipment used on site, for reimbursement of the electricity used as part of your claim.
  
• Chem-Dry can organise skip bins, packing and storage, contents restoration and everything in between so that much of the process is project managed for you. We also know the best antique clock restorers in the business, dry cleaners, ultrasonics cleaners – so that you can be reunited with your most loved possessions.

The good news is, Chem-Dry deals with these situations day in day out. We can help you work out what is required whilst keeping an eye to limiting damage, cost and time, returning your property back to a sense of normalcy.