Boxes and stored household papers
Cardboard boxes on a basement floor soak through quickly. The contents are removed in the first hour where possible, and the papers are dried flat, sorted and logged, with a note of which pages could not be saved.
Serving Lake County
Wet Contents and Document Drying in Hammond, IN
Sorting, drying and logging wet furniture, stored boxes, papers and keepsakes so the owner can decide what to keep.
- Basement water
- River and storm flooding
- Frozen and burst lines
Get a fast quote
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Wet Contents
Wet Contents and Document Drying: what it covers
Quick answer
Wet belongings in Hammond are sorted by material and by how long they stood in the water, then dried, cleaned or packed out. Paper and documents need separate handling, because they lose their form quickly when they are wet. Every item is logged with a photograph and a decision, so the owner and the insurer share one record.
A basement that floods takes the stored life of a house with it. Boxes on the floor, the furniture against the wall, the photographs in the cabinet and the papers in the drawer are all wet at once. The first thing a household needs is a way to sort them, and that is a job for the first day, before anything dries or spoils.
The 2008 flood reached basements across Lake and Porter counties, and the belongings in those basements were the part of the loss that people had to sort by hand. The sorting is slow, but it is the step that decides what can be saved. Hard items can often be cleaned and dried. Porous items often cannot, and the owner needs to know which is which before deciding.
The method is the same for every household: lay the items out, group them by material and by how long they were wet, photograph each group and decide. The decisions are written on a log that stays with the claim, so that nothing is thrown out without a record of what it was.
- Service area
- Hammond & Lake County
- Availability
- Phones answered 24/7
- Phone
- (833) 490-5225
Warning signs
Signs you need wet contents and document drying
Wear gloves when sorting wet items, since boxes and furniture can carry mold and silt. Do not handle paper or furniture from a sewage-affected room without protective equipment, and wash hands before eating.
- Cardboard boxes gone soft, swollen or stained at the bottom edge
- Papers and books that have stuck together or lost their edges
- Upholstered furniture with a damp smell that stays after the surface dries
- Photographs with a sheen or with the emulsion beginning to lift
- Wooden furniture with a swollen or split panel near the floor
- A basement shelf or cabinet with mold starting on the back or the inside
Options
Types and options for wet contents and document drying
Upholstered furniture and rugs
Sofas, chairs and rugs that took water hold it in the padding and the backing. The padding is often removed and replaced, and the frame is dried and checked for swelling or mold.
Photographs, keepsakes and family records
Photographs, letters and keepsakes need a gentle process. The owner decides what is worth the effort, and the items are dried in a clean area with no direct heat, then logged with a note of their condition.
One call and it gets handled.
A crew is dispatched as fast as one is available, and you approve the estimate before any work starts.
What can be saved from a wet basement?
Hard items made of metal, glass, plastic and sealed wood can often be cleaned and kept. Porous items that stood in the water, such as cardboard, pad, upholstery and paper, are much harder to save.
The test is how the item is made and how long it was wet. A metal tool that sat in clean water for an hour can be washed and oiled. A cardboard box that stood in floodwater overnight is usually lost, and the papers inside it are the part to rescue first. Upholstery takes water into its foam and fibers, and the drying time is long even when the cover looks clean.
The owner makes the final call on anything of value. The record notes the group, the condition and the reason for the decision, so that a later question about an item can be answered from the log.
How are wet papers and documents dried without damage?
Paper is dried slowly, flat and with air moving across it rather than heat. The pages are interleaved where practical, and the process is kept away from direct heat and sunlight.
Wet paper swells, sticks and loses its surface, and the ink can run if it is rubbed. Drying it flat with blotting paper between the sheets, in a room with moving air and without heat, is the usual method. Bound books are dried closed or standing open, depending on their condition.
Documents that matter legally, such as title papers or identification, should be copied before any drying is done. The owner should check with the issuing office about replacement copies, since a wet original may not be accepted as it is.
Family records, school papers and anything handwritten should be separated first, since a copy cannot always stand in for the original. A short note of the owner's priority list helps the sorting go faster, because the most important items are then decided before the rest are handled.
What happens to the furniture that was against the wall?
Furniture against a wet wall is moved out, dried on its own and checked for swelling and mold. It is not returned to the room until the wall and the floor behind it have reached their dry goal.
A wooden cabinet or bookcase against a damp wall can hold water in its back panel and its base for weeks. The furniture is turned, the back is opened if needed and the base is checked for swelling. A cabinet that has swollen at its joints may not return to its shape, and the owner is told that before any decision is made.
Upholstered furniture that stood in water is usually removed from the room to a dry area. Its padding is checked, and the frame is inspected for rot or staining. A sofa that was dried in place without its cushions removed is more likely to show mold later.
How should the owner handle the claim for belongings?
Keep the photographs, the log and any receipts, and do not discard anything until the insurer has seen it or has said in writing that it can go. The log is the document that makes the claim clear.
Insurers typically ask for a list of the items lost, with their age and what they cost to replace. The log can provide the first half of that list, with the condition written at the time. Receipts and photographs of the items before the loss help fill in the rest.
Policies differ on how personal property is valued, and the policy and the insurer decide the amount. The restoration record is the factual part of the file, and the owner should keep a copy of it with the policy.
Our process
How our wet contents and document drying visit works
Lay out and group the items
Items are moved to a dry, ventilated area and grouped by material: hard goods, upholstery, textiles, paper and photographs, and electronics. Each group is photographed where it lies, before it is handled further.
Decide what is cleaned, dried or packed out
Hard goods are cleaned with water and detergent and then dried. Upholstery and textiles are dried if they took clean water and removed if they stood in silt or sewage. Paper and photographs are handled as a separate group, with the owner present for the decision.
Handle paper and photographs with care
Wet paper is separated and interleaved with blotting paper where it is practical, and it is dried flat or hung without rubbing. Photographs are kept apart, and the owner is told that a specialist can sometimes recover images from a wet print.
Dry the furniture and the room
Furniture is set in the air moving path, away from the wall, and turned as it dries. The room is dried on readings, so the furniture is not put back against a wall that is still wet.
Log every decision
Each item is written on a log with its group, its condition, the decision and the date. The log goes to the owner with the photographs, so the claim can be settled from one document.
Lake County
Why wet contents and document drying is different in Northwest Indiana
Basements in older Hammond houses often store boxes, seasonal clothes and family papers on the floor, and those are the items that go first in a basement flood.
Basements across Lake and Porter counties flooded in September 2008 (regional public radio report), and the sorting method on this page is written for the stored-belongings losses that a basement flood produces.
Where we work
Wet Contents and Document Drying across Lake County
- Wet Contents in Hammond
- Wet Contents in East Chicago
- Wet Contents in Calumet City, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Munster
- Wet Contents in Lansing, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Highland
- Wet Contents in South Holland, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Whiting
- Wet Contents in Hegewisch (Chicago 60633)
- Wet Contents in Dolton, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Griffith
- Wet Contents in Riverdale, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Dyer
- Wet Contents in Schererville
- Wet Contents in Harvey, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Chicago South Deering (60617)
- Wet Contents in Markham, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Blue Island, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Merrillville
- Wet Contents in Robbins, Illinois
- Wet Contents in Gary
- Wet Contents in Lake Station
- Wet Contents in Hobart
- Wet Contents in Crown Point
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Related
Related services
Flooded Basement Cleanup
Removing silt, saturated finishes and stored contents from a flooded basement, then drying the walls, floor and framing to a recorded goal.
Sewer Backup Cleanup
Clean-up after sewage comes up a drain, with contaminated material removed, the room sanitised and the drying recorded.
Structural Drying and Dehumidification
Controlled air movement and dehumidification that run until the wall, floor and framing readings reach their dry goal.
Mold After Water Damage
Mold concerns after water damage, handled by drying the wet materials and asking clear questions about who does any testing or removal.
FAQ
Wet Contents and Document Drying FAQs
Can wet photographs be saved?
Sometimes. Clean-water prints that are dried quickly and kept apart can often be saved. Prints that stood in silt or sewage are harder, and a specialist may be able to help with the most important ones.
Should I throw away wet cardboard boxes?
Usually, yes, if they stood in the water. Remove the contents first, and photograph the boxes before they go, since they may be part of the record.
Can I put wet clothes in the dryer?
Only if they took clean water and the dryer is safe to use. Clothes that stood in silt or sewage should be bagged and sent for cleaning or discarded, not dried in the house.
How do I dry a wet rug?
Take the rug out of the room, lift the pad, and dry the rug in a ventilated area, face up. Rugs that stood in river water or sewage are usually discarded.
Will the restoration company keep my items?
Items are kept only as long as the owner needs them to be, and nothing is taken off the property without a log entry. The owner is told where each item is stored.
Should I photograph everything before it is moved?
Yes, where it is safe. Photographs taken in place show how items were arranged and what was touching what, which is useful when the insurer asks about a particular item. A short video of the room at the start is also worth keeping.