There is a lot of flooding happening in Western PA. For many, the first and only thought once the water is going down is “What do I do?” The second thought may be “Do I have insurance for this?”
For some of you, there may be good news. Many insurance companies will cover a loss if the source of water is sewer lateral problems. That occurred in a previous home I owned. Un-Flood-It of Tarentum Pa did the cleanup and by working with my homeowner insurance company, the loss was covered by insurance.
Click Here to Download PDF of my article about that cleanup
Other policies may cover if the damage happens if it is the result of another contributing reason that is covered by the policy. Policies that have mold exclusions or limits often have provisions to cover mold IF the cause of the mold is an event that IS a covered loss. An example of that is if mold is a consequence of a burst pipe...or flooding from a lateral sewer line. The bottom line on this is that reading a homeowners insurance policy from from to end may be a tedious and boring exercise, but may gain you information that gets you insurance coverage.
What is next after the flood and heartache
Let’s summarize this subject of flooding with a collective “YUK”! There are not many events in home ownership that are more disgusting and heartbreaking than any flooding. In addition to sewage backing up from your drain, almost all flood water has sewage from the main sewer system in it.
Whether you have insurance coverage or not, taking the correct steps as promptly as possible will minimize the heartache and expense. Saving your contents, valuables pictures and other keepsakes is a major part of that effort. When there is a major area wide flooding event like we now, finding a professional to help may be difficult if not impossible. To help with that, there are Envirospect.com article links below for help: Click on the links below:
Homeowner Guide to Flood Recovery in Your Home
Cleaning Contents in Your Home
6 Top Questions about Mold Cleanup.pdf
Getting a Home Healthy after a Sewage Contamination
It was a great house. Entering the home, you would see that it is beautifully finished, finely furnished, and neat as a pin to boot.
It was in the middle of an expensive, exclusive neighborhood.
The client came to the door dressed in a name brand label business suit that looked just as you would expect a successful professional living the American Dream to wear.
His doctor tested his blood and told him that it appears (clean, expensive house or not) that he had a mold exposure.
Neither him or his wife believed they had mold in the home. They did know that there was something making him sick…..which was why he went to the doctor.
The picture above is the visible mold during the mold survey or assessment. Testing revealed that it was Stachybotrys, also known as “Toxic Black Mold” and was hidden in the space behind the furnace and hot water tank. You can see from the picture, it was visible…if you crawled back behind the hot water tank. The problem was nobody had looked in that area.
Because the mold was near the forced air furnace, the ductwork at the furnace pulled the mold spores, endotoxins and mycotoxins into the ductwork and then through the house. Air tests showed mold spread to the master bedroom and exercise rooms.