The key to solving this problem is to have a reputable, trained and certified restoration company ready to dispatch to solve any of your disaster needs. By contacting these

resources well before you need them, and having disaster protocol and after hours contact numbers established (not only for the restoration company, but for decision makers in the management company) you will reduce the reaction time, and have the project well poised to be completed, sometimes even before your tenants are aware that their work space is involved. An additional benefit to establishing this relationship will be expedited scheduling and availability in a city-wide disaster, like the floods of 1998 and 2002. Too many good companies have had to wait while those that were prepared in advance receive first service.

Reaction time plays the most important role in water damage. By contacting your restoration professional as soon as you are aware of a potential problem, you can use this company’s knowledge and resources to properly react to any disaster. This could be the difference of thousands of dollars and weeks of recovery time.

The most important fact to understand is that some molds begin to germinate and spread within 24-48 hours of a water intrusion. By reacting quickly, the water restoration professional can usually have the temperature, humidity, and moisture levels reduced to the levels where mold will not be the immediate threat (or concern of your tenant). As we all know, it is much easier to deal with simple water damage than a microbial concern. For example, reacting within 6-12 hours of an occurrence may be the difference of whether a sheetrock wall can be restoratively dried, versus having to dry this wall and remove the affected materials in a future remediation project. By reacting quickly, the removal of building materials, and subsequent higher recovery costs and time delays, can be prevented. These costs and delays could be incurred from relocating tenants, having to hire an environmental consultant, instituting a remediation project, new materials for the rebuild, installation and cosmetic treatments. By using a certified restoration professional, the management professional can actually save much more in time, money, and tenant satisfaction, than using a lower priced resource without the training and knowledge.

In stark contrast, a non-certified company familiar with cleaning methods may extract the water, and treat the carpet with an anti-microbial solution, but completely overlook the potential of trapped moisture within the wall cavity that exists mere inches from the treated areas. After a 24-48 hour period, the area appears to be dry, but conditions still exist that are conducive to microbial germination and reproduction. Five to seven days pass with all areas appearing to be taken care of, then a spot of mold appears on the sheetrock behind the base molding. This continues to spread from the inside of this cavity out, until your tenant sees it. Obviously, there are many ways that a person could react to seeing mold, but with the recent media coverage of mold issues, the chances are high that this person will respond negatively. After paying to set containment in this area, a month passes for the consultant to produce a report and finally, two weeks later, a certified remediation contractor is hired to remove the environmental threat. After the remediation, a 10-12 day delay to receive clearance-testing results. Then it will take a week to 10 days to replace the materials, paint, and have the area ready to give back to your tenant.