Pricing for flood removal (water extraction)

[danlaw]

Good Afternoon All,
This morning I was called out on an emergency call to extract some water that had flooded into a Janitor's closet. I will be billing the fire inspection company who was out on their yearly inspection call and somehow broke a hose. The flood was minor and I was able to extract all of the water in with my shop-vac. I was out on site 30 minutes after I received the call and it took me about an hour to extract the water. This sort of work is not necessarily my forte, I just happened to be at the right place at the right time. I am thinking I will charge $65.00 for the emergency service call and $50.00 for labor. Please let me know if this seems too high. Thank you so much for your assistance.

-Daniel

[logan5127]

From what you say it sounds reasonable unless it was a long distance away.

We charge $125 for emergency call out. No matter if we do anything when we get there or not. We may not charge any extra if its just a small area that needs sucked up. We usually leave blowers, dehumidifier , pull up carpets and so on at a seperate charge. If we have to move items to get to an area we charge an extra charge for furniture/fixtures manipulation.

If you charge it as a dry out then you take on a whole other operation rather than a simple extraction of water.

[danlaw]

Thank you so much Dan. I really appreciate the information.

Best regards,
-Daniel

[alphacleaning2009]

Today I was cleaning the basement after it was flooded. I extracted all the water with my carpet extractor and I left Drieaz airfan on after I left. I will pick it up airfan tomorrow. My customer asked me if he needs dehumidifier.
Do you guys use dehumidifiers, are they needed and are they helpful?
What are some good ones and how expensive are they?

Thanks

[logan5127]

Unless you know what your doing when doing a dry out , you should tell the customer and write on invoice that you are only doing a water extraction and not a dry out.
Even if you have a super sucker truck mount and specialty tools such as water claw , you still need extra equipment. I don't know exactly what you are dealing with but most of the time basements are damp already. Is it concrete floors underneath.
You probably should have several blowers and large commercial dehumidifier (around $1500 to $2500). It is possible that the carpet should even be detached and air blowing under the carpet. The air would raise the carpet up . This is called floating a carpet. Top Down Drying is possible with the right equipment but in my opinion , Floating a carpet is best way to dry out. You should also have a humidity meter.
The way you have described this , most likely the carpet may feel dry on top after a day or two. This does not mean that padding or floor underneath is dry. After 72 hours of dampness , mold can start growing. This can present several liability issues. If you have told the customer that you were doing a dry out.
I no longer do water restoration. There is great money in it but lots and lots of headaches.
Now when I get a call I tell the customer that I can only do a water extraction. I do use another company that is certified in water restoration that I recommend to them.

[alphacleaning2009]

Wow Dan, that sounds scary! The water was there for around 24 hours. The area is approximately 300 sq ft. I extracted about 15-20 gallons of water yesterday and I only have one Drieaz fan there. The fan is working there for 24 hours a day and I'm going to the building twice a day (morning and evening) and put the fan in different locations. I'm planning to keep the fan there for 3 more days and I hope that it will dry it out. Hopefully I won't get myself in trouble. That's was the first time I dealt with flood and I don't want to deal with it in the future.

[logan5127]

One other thing to note. From what I understand, Your general liability insurance will not cover water restoration unless you have it added on and that cost a lot more than your regular insurance. Same with mold remediation.

[alphacleaning2009]

Yes, you are right, I don't have that kind of insurance.
Luckily, I told the guy that I will only do extraction. So I did it, I kept a fan for about 24 hours, I saw no big changes and I recommended the guy to get someone who can bring a lot of dehumidifiers and air fans and also seek some other professional advise from water restoration specialists.
I'm happy I didn't promise him too much.

Few more questions to you: "Can I get the same result with few slow drying strokes as I will get with water claw?".
When I have a stain that is wicking, can water claw provide much help?

[logan5127]

Mar 18, 2010 21:55:25 GMT -5 alphacleaning2009 said:

Yes, you are right, I don't have that kind of insurance.
Luckily, I told the guy that I will only do extraction. So I did it, I kept a fan for about 24 hours, I saw no big changes and I recommended the guy to get someone who can bring a lot of dehumidifiers and air fans and also seek some other professional advise from water restoration specialists.
I'm happy I didn't promise him too much.

Few more questions to you: "Can I get the same result with few slow drying strokes as I will get with water claw?".
When I have a stain that is wicking, can water claw provide much help?

Well , I have went over a wet carpet several times and slow with a wand and using a truck mount with lots of suction. I then set a small water claw on the carpet and was amazed at the water it was getting out. The water claw is designed to suck the water out ot the pad underneath.
As for wicking the claw may help some. Have nver used it on a carpet that is just being cleaned. Only on soaked carpets. The dryer the carpet the less chance for wicking. There are other things that can help with stopping wicking. Blowers to dry carpet fast; ecapu clean and other chemicals; and by extracting as much moisture as possible.