Not long ago, I was on a job site with an adjuster who was scoping the loss with me. I confidently informed the adjuster that we would be removing the non-restorable baseboard and underlayment from this Category 1 water loss. Immediately, I was hit with a question from the adjuster; well, it was a power statement followed by a question. “You know, you’re taking out those materials, but when I did my applied structural drying (ASD) course we dried everything in place. I think you should at least try drying those materials before determining to remove them.”

I should mention that I am friends with the adjuster, so I let both the statement and the question sink in.