Just suppose you got back from vacation and found three inches of water in your home. What would you do first? Hopefully, you’d call your trusted home insurance agent! But what would you do next? Would you use a Yellow Pages to find an NYC water damage restoration contractor? Or maybe jump on Google or ask for suggestions on Facebook?
Here some great tips to help you to protect your rights as a homeowner.
- What is the IICRC?
- What’s one dangerous mistake contractors that are not IICRC certified might make?
- How can a homeowner turn off their water immediately?
- What is the most important call a homeowner needs to make when they have water damage?
What’s the IICRC?
“The first thing we would encourage them to do is to pick a water restoration pro that has been certified by the IICRC,”
What does the fancy acronym stand for? “It stands for The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification,” The official website tells us that the purpose of the IICRC is to set and promote high standards, ethics, and practices for the inspection, cleaning, and restoration service industries. According to the website, “As an ANSI-accredited Standards Developing Organization (SDO), the IICRC has led the way in establishing the main industry standards and reference guides for professional carpet, upholstery, and fabric cleaning, water damage restoration, and mold remediation.”
Can you give us an example of dangerous mistakes contractors that aren’t IICRC certified might make?
“There are different categories of water damage. There’s Category 1, 2, and 3. They’re not all treated the same. For example, Category 2 water is considered “gray” water, perhaps from a leaky washing machine hose. On the other hand, Category 3 water is sewage water. So, if a toilet backed up, you couldn’t simply disinfect, mop up, and install a dehumidifier! Instead, there would be special restoration steps that are required so that the consumer is protected from health risks. Someone who’s not certified may not know that and could unintentionally threaten the homeowner’s health.”