Contents Removal and Storage Log in Loveland, OH

What should be done before the crew arrives?

Move valuable and small items up if it is safe, and photograph each room before anything is moved. Do not lift heavy furniture standing in water, and do not switch on electronics.

A quick photograph of each room, with the water line visible, is more useful than a perfect list written later. Keep the photographs with the date and time.

If items must go to the curb first, photograph them and write down what they were. A discarded item with no record is hard to claim for.

How are items cleaned?

The method depends on the material. Solid wood and metal are washed and dried, glass is washed and sealed surfaces are wiped. Porous items that held silt are usually removed.

The crew uses products suited to the material and does not mix cleaning products. Dried silt is brushed off before washing, because wet silt smears into grain and fabric.

A cleaned item is dried in a ventilated place and checked for odour before it returns to the building.

Where is the storage kept?

In a dry, secure and ventilated space chosen with the owner, which may be a clean room, a garage or a storage unit. The location is logged and items are kept off the floor.

A storage unit suits larger jobs. It should be dry and secured against pests, and items should carry their log number.

Keep the storage period short where possible, because a longer stay raises the chance of more cleaning or disposal.

How does the insurer look at contents claims?

The insurer looks at whether the item was damaged by the water, whether it can be cleaned, what it would cost to replace and whether the policy covers contents at all.

Keep receipts or photographs of valuable items, because the insurer may ask for proof of ownership. The log of removal, storage and disposal is part of the claim.

Ohio's Department of Insurance takes complaints about claim handling after the insurer has been asked to explain in writing.

Handling contents that can be saved

Items that can be cleaned are cleaned and dried away from the wet room, and each is logged.

Some contents can be saved with cleaning and drying: hard furniture, some books, some electronics once they are checked by their maker. The crew sorts each item into a saved pile and a removed pile, and it notes the reason. A photograph is taken of each item before it moves.

Items that are saved are dried in a clean room away from the work. Their drying is logged with the room they are kept in, so the homeowner can find them later.

• Photograph each item before it moves
• Sort into saved and removed piles with a reason
• Dry saved items in a clean room away from the work
• Log the room each item is kept in
• Do not use electronics until a maker or trade has checked them

Storage and return of contents

Stored contents are returned on a written list, and nothing leaves without a record.

Contents that are stored during drying are returned on the homeowner's signed list. The list matches the log, so each item can be checked off on return. Any item that is damaged on return is noted at the same time, with a photograph.

Storage is arranged on site, and the homeowner is told where the items are kept. No item leaves the house without a record.

• Return items on a list signed by the homeowner
• Match the return list with the original log
• Note and photograph any damage on return
• Tell the homeowner where each item is stored
• Keep the log with the claim file