Specialized teams of artists, electronic technicians or textile restoration personnel are trained to analyze items based on many types of damage: heat, soot, smoke, humidity, breakage and water. The most elusive damage is from soot. Short term, lingering soot in items will cause a smoke smell to persist in the room. Medium to longer term, up to six months or a year, these soot particles can cause corrosion in electronics and the item can stop working.

“Hoarding cleanup is not an easy task, and it is best done by restoration professionals who have the expertise and equipment to perform the job efficiently and safely. By no means was this particular case the worst I have seen in my tenure, but the timeline from the property management company was tight, so we needed to get to work quickly and efficiently,” Ben Doebler writes.

In this personal, heartfelt Ask Annissa episode, Annissa Coy talks about evacuating her home in the face of the Ford Corkscrew Fire. An experienced fire damage restoration and contents cleaning professional, Coy has worked with property owners through many wildfires and more home fires than she can count. This was the first time Coy and her family were personally impacted.

Purchasing and implementing technology, and adding more services in-house is not just an investment in your future; it just might secure your future. Complacency and delay will separate companies in our industry into two categories we can sum up in six words: Be a Netflix, not a Blockbuster. Let’s embrace technology and bring more contents in-house to become the contents restoration experts carriers and policyholders want to work with.

Annissa Coy responds to an employee hoping to convince his owner that an ultrasonic machine is worthwhile. “I don’t understand how a company that does contents cleaning doesn’t have or doesn’t use an ultrasonic machine,” Annissa notes.

RSFG continues to expand its umbrella of insurance restoration services and as it evolves, it recognized the need to improve brand awareness and recognition with a single name that represents the company's multiple services – Prism Specialties.

Not having textiles tested after a cleaning could expose people to a wide range of chemicals and health risks. This could, in turn, expose restoration contractors and insurance companies to considerable liability.

When it comes to fire restoration, most companies think the big money is in the reconstruction side of the loss. However, the contents part of the claim has two to three times the net profit margins and can be completed in a fraction of the time. So why is this part of the industry so underserved?