By Robin Sukatski
February 2010 

Have you been a victim of the recent rains, a pipe leak, toilet overflow or other water intrusion?  Have you discovered mold in your home? These are things that should not be taken lightly or dismissed.  Water and mold can be very destructive elements in your residence or business. Below are some guidelines that water damage/mold remediation companies ought to adhere to and procedures that should be followed.

Remediation companies should be licensed (preferably a contractor’s license) and certified by the IICRC for mold remediation and water damage. In addition, they should have proper liability insurance, workers’ compensation insurance and pollutant insurance. Certified technicians should be used, as well as state-of-the-art drying equipment and moisture detection tools (thermal imaging). 

With regard to mold, it’s important to know that your remediation company doesn’t perform the clearance test, as this is a conflict of interest. Make sure licensed industrial hygienists are used for this test and do your homework to get the best price. Last but not least, it’s extremely important to know that the contractor is using Xactimate software. This is pretty much the only accepted estimating/pricing software in the industry; it’s regulated by the insurance industry, so all companies using it can’t manipulate the prices and insurance fraud is kept to a minimum. Some questions to ask if faced with water damage or mold in your home are:

- Is the contractor licensed?

- Is the contractor IICRC certified (Make sure there’s not just one person in the company who’s certified; this is important and can be misleading.)

- Is the contractor using Xactimate for estimating and billing? 

- Does the contractor have liability, workers’ compensation and pollutant insurance?

- Does the contractor perform background checks and random drug tests on its employees?

- Is the contractor currently a preferred vendor for any insurance companies or large homebuilders? (This will give you an idea of how well established it is and the quality of its service.)

- Is the contractor a member of the BBB and in good standing?

Something that homeowners are frequently unaware of is that they have the choice when using a contractor to work in their home if they make an insurance claim. If you know a qualified, licensed contractor, you have the right to employ its services and have the company bill the insurance company directly. 

Make sure you do your homework and ask the right questions. Remember, it’s your home and you should be in control of what company you hire and the quality of service provided. 

Robyn Sukatski is co-owner of Clean Earth Restorations, a full-service San Diego restoration company serving several insurance carriers, many large homebuilders and the general public.  Learn more at www.cleanearthrestorations.com.