How big of a facility do you need to conduct contents restoration? And, if you want to work with hard and soft contents, which should you get started with first? Annissa Coy answers these two questions.

In this episode of Ask Annissa, Annissa Coy answers the following question: “I was wondering how you handle so many different specialty type things that we need to clean when it comes to contents restoration. For instance, I have a home that had a light fire and they have a six-foot, mounted bear that was in the living room.” 

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.