I am thrilled to report this month that the basement sewage saga is over, and life has moved on with a little help from some friends. My calls for help with disinfecting and deodorizing the basement were quickly met, and I was thrilled to (even through poor circumstances) get the opportunity to try out a few of the products I hear you all talk about.

Perhaps one of the very best parts of this (hey, looking for the silver lining here), was the chance to get rid of other lingering odors in our new home. While not necessarily unpleasant, the smells and odors left by the previous owner tended to drum up some unpleasant feelings for me as parts of the purchase went a little south after closing. I didn’t want any reminders of the past owner, and was anxious to get our “smell” into the house. The hydroxyl generators allowed us to deodorize the entire house, right down to shutting them in a couple bathrooms to deodorize the cabinets which, over the years, had produced an odd odor to say the least.

This was a reminder to me that restoration companies are capable of much more than “just” (I say that very lightly) restoration work! When it comes to odor removal, there are many opportunities to use equipment you already have for other types of (ahem private pay!) jobs. But I digress, and will leave that conversation for another issue.

In the meantime, it looks like I’m not the only one who has had a little first-hand industry-related experience. Check out Dave Dybdahl’s ongoing saga that now involves his home AND business on page 12. Nothing like being dealt a sewage problem on top of an already existing hail claim! Fortunately for you, Dave’s experience is helping him help you get paid faster, and wade through the murky waters when a mortgage company is involved on an insurance claim.

On that same note of getting paid, Alena Wilson makes her R&R debut on page 18, to help you better understand Xactimate pricing and how to create well-rounded estimates to get paid.

See you on the floor at The Experience!