Restoration Questions, Answered
Water, flood, mold, fire and storm damage, staying safe, insurance records and sending a request.
Leaks and Water Damage
What should I do first after water damage?
Stop the water if you can: close the shutoff valve, or the valve on the line that failed. Turn off power to wet rooms at the panel if you can reach it without standing in water, take photos before anything is moved, and call. The sooner extraction and drying start, the less has to be torn out.
What makes water damage worse the longer it sits?
Time. Drywall and pad keep wicking water, so the wet area grows. Particleboard swells and does not go back, and hardwood cups. Clean water turns dirty, and mold can start within a day or two. The sooner the drying starts, the more of the house stays.
Can wet drywall be dried, or does it have to come out?
Drywall wet with clean water and dried early can often stay. It comes out when the water was Category 3, when the board has swollen or sagged, when mold has started, or when the insulation behind it is soaked. Then a flood cut, a straight cut above the highest wet reading, removes the damaged part and opens the wall to dry.
What about carpet, hardwood and cabinets?
Carpet wet with clean water can often be dried in place; the pad is usually replaced after gray water and always after black water. Hardwood that has only started to cup can sometimes be dried flat with floor drying mats. Particleboard cabinet boxes swell and are replaced, while solid wood cabinets can often be dried once the toe kick is off.
After a Flood
Can furniture be saved after a flood?
Solid wood and metal furniture can often be cleaned, disinfected and dried slowly, out of direct sun so the wood does not split. Upholstered furniture, mattresses and box springs that sat in floodwater soak it up deep inside and are usually thrown out. Particleboard pieces swell and come apart.
What about photos, papers and keepsakes?
Rinse mud off photos gently with clean water and lay them flat to dry, or seal them in plastic bags and freeze them until there is time to deal with them. Important papers can be frozen the same way. Hard keepsakes can be washed and disinfected.
Can clothes and linens be washed?
Often, yes. Rinse out the mud, wash them in hot water with detergent, and throw out anything that still smells or stains after another wash. Take dry-clean-only items to a cleaner and say they were in floodwater.
Mold
Can mold follow a leak?
Yes. Wet drywall, insulation and carpet pad that stay damp in Houston humidity can start growing mold within a day or two. That is why moisture is checked behind walls and under floors, not just on the surface, before anything is called dry.
Does bleach kill mold?
On a hard, sealed surface such as tile, a bleach solution can kill and lift surface mold. On drywall and wood it does not reach the growth inside, and its water can feed what is left. The EPA does not recommend bleach as a routine way to clean up mold. Never mix bleach with ammonia or other cleaners.
How can I tell mold from a water stain?
A water stain is usually flat and tan or brown, with a darker ring at its edge, and stops growing once the leak stops. Mold looks fuzzy or speckled, in black, green, gray or white, smells musty and spreads. A moisture meter settles it: a dry stain is only a stain; a wet one means an active leak, and mold may follow.
Can I paint over mold?
No. Paint, even mold-resistant paint, covers the growth without removing it, and the mold keeps growing behind it while the moisture is there. Fix the source, remove the growth, dry the material, then paint.
Fire, Smoke and Soot
Why does the smoke smell come back weeks after the cleanup?
Because some residue is still there. Smoke works into wall cavities, attic insulation, ducts and anything porous, and warm, humid days release the smell again. Lasting odor control means removing that residue, changing the filter and cleaning the ducts, deodorizing with thermal fogging or a hydroxyl generator, and sealing cleaned framing with an odor-blocking primer before new drywall goes up.
Which belongings can usually be cleaned?
Hard, non-porous things clean well: dishes, glass, metal, sealed wood furniture and most hard plastics. Clothing, curtains and linens often come clean with the right laundering and deodorizing. Mattresses, pillows, foam cushions and paper take smoke deep and are harder to save, and anything charred or melted is usually a loss. Photograph and list what you throw away.
Storms, Roofs and Trees
How long can a roof tarp stay on?
A tarp is a temporary repair that keeps water out until the roof is fixed, not a substitute for the fix. Sun breaks the material down and wind works the battens loose, so check it after every storm and get the permanent repair scheduled.
There’s standing water in the attic. What should I do?
Keep people out of any room where the ceiling sags, turn off the breakers for lights and fans under the wet area, and set buckets under the drips. Don’t step between the joists: the ceiling drywall won’t hold your weight. Wet insulation keeps the ceiling soaked, so it usually has to come out before the attic and the ceiling below can dry.
A tree fell on the house. Who do I call first?
Call 911 if anyone is hurt, a power line is down or you smell gas, and keep everyone out of the rooms under the tree. Getting a tree off a roof is a job for a tree crew. Once it’s off, the restoration side starts: tarping the opening, removing the water and drying the structure, then rebuilding what had to come out.
Is It Safe to Stay?
Is it safe to stay in the house with water on the floor?
Not in rooms where the water reaches outlets, cords, appliances or the breaker panel, or where a ceiling is sagging. Stay out of those rooms until the power to them is off. With sewage or floodwater inside, leave the affected floor until it has been cleaned.
When can we go back in after a fire?
Only when the fire department says the building is safe to enter. Even then, soot and smoke residue irritate the lungs, so keep children, older relatives and anyone with asthma out of smoky rooms until they are cleaned.
What if I smell gas?
Leave at once, without switching lights or appliances on or off, and call the gas company or 911 from outside. Don’t go back in until they say it is safe.
Can we stay in the house with mold?
A small patch in one closet usually doesn’t force anyone out; keep that room closed. A large area of growth, mold in the AC system, or someone in the house with asthma or a weak immune system are reasons to stay elsewhere until remediation is finished.
Should we leave after a tree hits the house?
Yes, if the roof or a wall is pushed in, a ceiling is sagging, or power lines are down on or near the house. Stay well away from the lines and report them to the electric utility.
Can we live in the house during the repairs?
Often, once the emergency is over. It depends on the water category, the rooms involved and the equipment running, all part of how a restoration job runs.
The Job, the Claim and the Rebuild
Do you work with insurance claims?
Many of our jobs involve a claim. The damage is documented with photos and moisture readings as the work goes, and the records are kept organized so you have them when the adjuster asks.
Do you rebuild after the drying?
Yes. Once the structure is dry, the crew rebuilds what had to come out: drywall, insulation, flooring and trim, so you are not left with open walls and a second contractor to find.
Can we stay in the house while it dries?
Often, yes, when the water was clean, the power is safe and a bathroom and the kitchen work. Expect noise: the equipment runs without a break until the readings say the job is dry.
When is it better to stay somewhere else?
After Category 3 water or sewage in living areas, during large mold containment, when the kitchen or only bathroom is torn out, or without power. Infants and anyone with asthma often do better elsewhere.
Do we have to leave during odor treatment?
For ozone, yes: people, pets and plants stay out until the rooms are aired out, because ozone irritates the lungs. Hydroxyl generators can usually run with people at home.
Does insurance pay for somewhere to stay?
Many homeowner policies include additional living expenses when a home can’t be lived in during repairs. Ask your adjuster early and keep the receipts.
Rentals, Offices and Shared Buildings
How should we tell tenants about the work?
Tell each affected tenant which rooms are involved, what equipment will be running and that it has to stay on, and how access will work. Ask them to photograph their own belongings and call their renter’s insurance, since the building’s policy usually doesn’t cover a tenant’s contents.
Can part of the building stay in use during restoration?
Often, yes. Plastic containment and negative air can seal a work area off from the rest of a floor, and drying equipment can run in one suite while the others stay in use. Exits and fire doors have to stay clear. A kitchen fire or a sewage backup in a restaurant usually closes that space until it is cleaned.
Do tenants have to move out?
Not usually for a clean-water leak. Sewage, mold containment over a large area, a unit without water or power, and ozone treatment are the common reasons a tenant stays somewhere else for part of the job.
Who pays when water from one unit damages another?
That depends on the cause, the lease or the HOA’s rules, and the policies involved, and the adjusters sort it out between them. Photos and moisture readings for each affected unit make that easier for everyone.
Where We Work
Which parts of Houston do you cover?
Homes and businesses across Houston, including Bellaire, West University Place, Meyerland, Montrose, the Heights and Memorial. Not sure about your address? Call, or put the ZIP code in the request form.
How do I check whether my address is covered?
Enter your ZIP code in the Address or ZIP Code field on the Book a Visit form, along with what happened. If you would rather ask first, call (281) 984-6097 and give the street address.
My neighborhood isn’t named. Should I still call?
Yes. The neighborhoods named are examples, not a complete list, and Houston is a large city. Call with the street address and ask whether it is covered.
Do you cover addresses outside the I-610 Loop?
Yes for Memorial, Meyerland and Bellaire, all outside the Loop. For any other address outside it, call and ask.
Do you work on rental and business properties in these areas?
Yes. Customers include landlords, property managers and small businesses such as offices, restaurants and shops, as well as homeowners.
Sending a Request
What should I put in an email asking for help?
Say what happened and when, which rooms are affected, and whether water or smoke is still spreading. Attach a few photos of the damage and the source if you can see it, add the property address and a phone number, and send it to contact@bellairerestoration.com.
What should I put in the description?
What happened and when, which rooms or units are affected, and what the material is where it got wet or sooty: carpet, tile, hardwood, drywall, cabinets. If you know the source (a supply line, the water heater, the AC drain, the roof), say so.
Should I send photos?
Yes, if it is safe to take them. The form takes text only, so email them to contact@bellairerestoration.com with your name in the subject line. Wide shots of each room help more than close-ups.
Do I need my insurance details ready?
Not to book a visit. If you have already opened a claim, put the claim number in the description; the damage is documented with photos and moisture readings either way.
The water is still running. Should I fill in the form?
No. Shut the water off if you can do it safely and call (281) 984-6097. The first safe steps cover the shutoff, the power and what to move.
Ask About Your Own Damage
Call with what happened and when, or book a visit and describe it in the form.