Emergency Water Damage Restoration Services in Fort Wayne
What To Do During A Water Damage Emergency
Avoid Hazards
Hazards include electric shock, slippery floors, unsanitary water and unsafe structures. Be extra careful!
Stop The Source of Water
Locate the main water shut off valve inside your home or workplace. Look for this inside your garage or utility room.
Call Distinctive at 260-250-4664
This should be done immediately after discovering water damage and stopping the source of water. If you cannot locate your water shut off valve, we can help! We are available 24/7 and 365 days of the year to provide our water damage restoration services. So that we can be prepared, it is very helpful if you text us photos and a clear video of all affected areas to give us a good idea of the scope of the damage.
Call a Reputable Local Plumber
If your water damage was caused by a sump pump failure in your basement, call a local plumber immediately to replace it. If Distinctive arrives at your home or workplace first, we can set up a temporary sump pump until your plumber arrives.
Remove Unaffected Belongings
Removing belongings and furniture from the affected areas into safe, dry spaces will help us begin the restoration process. The sooner all affected rooms are emptied, the sooner we can begin to extract and dry the space.
Call Your Insurance Agent
Verify your coverage and file a claim if necessary. Do not wait to hear from your insurance company to take action. As the insured you have a responsibility – you are authorized and required by your insurance company to take prudent action to minimize loss. Failure to do so may absolve the insurance carrier from liability. Inform your insurance company you have chosen Distinctive Cleaning & Restoration to restore your home. Distinctive works with all insurance companies. We will help you navigate the (sometimes) confusing world of insurance and, since you are our customer, we will be your advocate through the entire process!
What NOT To Do During A Water Damage Emergency
- Do NOT wait to call a plumber and a professional restoration company. The longer you wait to call for help, the more extensive and costly the damage will become.
- Do NOT disturb visible mold. Mold spores are invisible to the eye and, if disturbed, can be transferred to other areas of your home or workplace.
- Do NOT use your regular carpet vacuum on wet carpet or floors. Only use a wet/dry Shop Vac or similar type vacuum.
- Do NOT assume all is well after using a Shop Vac on carpeted areas and setting up a fan. If there is a pad under your carpet, it is like a sponge and will still be soaking wet. Structures like walls and ceilings may also need professionally dried in order to avoid further damage.
- Do NOT allow children or pets to enter affected areas. We want every member of your family to stay safe!
Water Damage Restoration Services Process
It is important to note that every water damage emergency is different.
The source of water, the severity of the damage, and the length of time that passes from initial damage to restoration mitigation all play a part in how the restoration service process will be handled.
The process outlined below includes every possible step that could be taken. However, every step may not be necessary for every customer and situation.
Our water damage restoration services include extracting water and drying structures without unnecessarily tearing out structures that could otherwise be dried in place. This saves time and money and gets our customers lives’ back to normal sooner.
1. Inspection
A thorough inspection includes determining the exact cause of the water damage and ensuring that repairs have been made to stop the source of water. The damage is categorized as either clear, gray or black water. Photos of all damaged areas will be taken. We use our moisture detection tools to find what all is wet. Initial moisture readings are recorded that will be used to track the progress of drying on each future monitoring visit. Progress is monitored daily. We use the moisture meter readings and the science of Psychrometry to determine the best way to provide our water damage services and dry the affected areas as soon as possible. Psychrometry is the science that takes into account the relationships of temperature, humidity, air movement, and time and their effect on various structural materials.
2. Water Extraction
Water can only be removed from a space or structure in two ways: extraction and/or evaporation. It is 1200 times easier to physically remove the water than to evaporate it with fans and dehumidifiers alone. To illustrate: Imagine how much longer it would take to dry your clothes in your dryer if most of the water had not been wrung out beforehand by the spin cycle on your washing machine. Sopping wet clothes would take a LOT longer to dry! Similarly, the most important step in restoring water damage is a thorough extraction of water using the best tools and extraction equipment.
Our powerful truck-mounted extraction equipment removes water from the flooded area. We use the Hydro-X Xtreme Xtractor, which is a self propelled, weight assisted extractor that removes water from the carpet and, more importantly, from the carpet pad. A regular carpet cleaning wand will not remove water from the carpet pad.
3. Remove Unsalvageable Carpet and/or Carpet Pad
The carpet and/or carpet pad may need removed and discarded if:
– The source of the water was unsanitary (sewage back up, etc.)
– The carpet pad has a moisture barrier (commonly used as a protection for pet urine)
– The carpet is de-laminated (when the secondary backing of the carpet separates from the primary backing)
– The carpet has been permanently stained from furniture stain or color has transferred from the dyes in area rugs or art pieces
4. Remove Baseboards
Depending on the depth of the water in the affected area, the baseboards may or may not need to be removed. Water deeper than two inches may cause the insulation inside the wall and behind the drywall to get wet. If this is found during the inspection process, the baseboards will be carefully removed. Wet insulation will be removed and the wall cavity dried. The baseboards will be reattached after drying is complete.
5. Protect Furniture & Salvageable Items
Your furniture and salvageable items from the affected areas will be carefully moved to a safe, dry area. If any furniture that is not practical to move remains in the affected area during the drying process, we will place foam blocks or plastic tabs under the legs to allow airflow to dry the furniture and prevent the stain on wood legs from bleeding onto the carpet.
6. Set Up Containment
The entire affected area is isolated to create a drying chamber. This helps us to focus the drying on one controlled environment, which increases the efficiency of our drying equipment and helps us dry the affected area faster. This can be done by simply closing doors to the affected area. If that is not possible, plastic sheeting can be installed to create a partition.
7. Apply a Disinfect to Affected Surfaces
If necessary, Benefect is applied to affected surfaces. This is a safe, non-toxic, botanical disinfectant. It is approved to be applied on any hard, non-porous surface such as contaminated water damaged construction materials for disinfection. It also controls & inhibits odor-causing water-born bacteria, mold & other odor-causing organisms on a variety of porous and semi-porous materials including: wood studding, sub floors, trim, lumber, tack strips, concrete, and paneling. It is also suitable for deodorizing such surfaces as carpet, carpet pad and other semi-porous furnishings.
Benefect has been proven to kill over 99.99% of bacteria & surpasses the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s efficacy requirements for broad spectrum hospital disinfectants. Benefect is an approved product for use on carpet and will not void your warranty.
8. Set Up HEPA Air Scrubbers
HEPA Air scrubbers catch airborne particulate matter that may be stirred from the air movement. This helps keep your home clean and healthy.
9. Set Up Drying Equipment
Distinctive does not unnecessarily tear out materials like walls or ceilings during the water damage restoration process. Depending on the situation, it can be necessary to remove unsalvageable walls and ceilings. However, most of the time, a giant tear out is just unnecessary and costly. Instead, we have been extremely successful with drying structures in place. We use dehumidifiers, large axial fans, and even more specialized equipment. Our method of structural drying and our knowledge of psychrometry helps us get your home or workplace back to normal sooner than later!
10. Monitoring
We monitor each water damage restoration project daily. We use our moisture meters to check on the drying progress, record drying conditions, and rearrange drying equipment to continue efficient drying. Monitoring continues until the affected area is completely dry. This is different for each project and depends on a variety of factors. When the affected area is completely dry, we remove all drying equipment from your home or workplace.
11. Make Repairs or Reinstallations
If the carpet or carpet pad was removed, it will be replaced at this time. Any drywall, trim, or painting repairs will either be completed or referred to trusted contractors. Baseboards and doors will be reattached.
12. Clean Carpet & Replace Furniture
Distinctive will clean your carpet from the affected areas and any other areas or furniture you’d like cleaned at that time. We always suggest applying a protector to your carpet or furniture to help it stay cleaner longer. Your furniture will be replaced to its original location within your home or workplace.
13. Invoicing
During the water damage restoration process, extremely detailed & 100% accurate records are kept. When the work is done, a completed, detailed, itemized invoice will be submitted. We will include any photos or videos taken before, during, and after the work. If you make an insurance claim, we can help you and your agent or adjuster with the claims process.
What Makes Distinctive's Water Damage Restoration Services Different
- Care & Concern
We care about the outcome of each customer’s water damage. We understand the chaos and frustration it can cause for your family, so we want to get you back to normal conditions as soon as possible, without sacrificing quality. - Training & Certifications
Alan Falls, our owner, is an IICRC Master Certified Water Damage Restorer. Only 3% of the international restoration industry ever attain this distinction. He has traveled the country, regularly attending courses on water extraction & structural drying to make sure he has the most current & up-to-date expertise to help our customers in need. - Experience
We’ve restored hundreds of water damaged homes & businesses since 2000. Some were as simple as a toilet overflowing to as complicated as a basement full of six feet of water! - The Best Equipment
Without the right equipment, it is impossible to do a phenomenal job for our customers. We have always invested in only the best, top-of-the-line equipment, which will help return your home to a clean and dry condition faster. - Restoration Doesn’t Mean Construction
We do not want to turn your home into a construction site. Unnecessarily tearing out structural items that can simply be dried in place creates high costs and can stretch the project out over many months. If possible, we will dry the structures in place, which will result in returning your home to a clean and dry condition much faster.
Pricing
- During regular business hours – anytime Monday-Friday, 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM – our emergency water damage service call is $145.
- Anytime outside of regular business hours, our emergency water damage service call is $195.
- Every single water damage scenario is different. Pricing is based on the scope of the damage and what is required to dry the affected areas, which is based on a unit-based (per sq ft, per day, per hour) price list.
- It is not possible to give an accurate water damage restoration estimate over the phone. It is best to inspect the water damage in person to determine what will be required to extract and dry the affected areas.
If you are experiencing an emergency water damage right now, please call Distinctive immediately at 260-250-4664
Water Damage Restoration FAQ
- Each situation is different and must be evaluated after a thorough inspection is completed. We make every effort to complete the restoration process in a week or less, however, this depends on the severity of the damage.
It depends on the total cost for restoration, your deductible and your claims history.
Find out if your house is in a flood plain and at risk by entering your address to see a flood map at https://msc.fema.gov