For home damage victims in Pittsburgh, knowing the ins and outs of restoration is a top priority. The purpose of this blog is to educate homeowners on the practice of contents damage restoration: what it is, what it is not, and the value of outsourcing this job to professionals. Here are some basic frequently asked questions in the industry:

What is contents restoration?

Content damage restoration is a broad term for remediating the “stuff” in a home. It is a necessary part of returning your life and home back to normal after a water or fire damage incident. Severe damage often compromises the home’s structure and common household items. These items range from social security cards to microwave ovens to stuffed teddy bears. It requires specialists to restore items to their pre-damaged state. Since the tasks in this field vary greatly, quality content damage restoration necessitates state-of-the-art facilities and equipment.

What does it include?

• Fine art: It can be painful to witness damage to fine art pieces, but fortunately much can be done to salvage these priceless items. In our case, “fine art” relates to paintings, photographs, statues, murals, and taxidermy.
• Document recovery: Have you ever misplaced your wallet (or gotten close)? Within a matter of seconds, you plan phone calls to your credit card provider, the bank, and the courthouse. You probably fretted about all the points you had racked up on your favorite restaurant punch card and been disappointed at the loss of the cash tucked away inside. In this case, the wish of restoring important documents, personal identification information, and money was nearly impossible. However, when these critical documents and others are in your possession—just badly damaged—they can likely be restored by a content damage restoration specialist. Even charred and shredded documents have a likelihood of being restored.
• Electronics: If you’ve already tried all the internet tricks to restore your electronics and yet they remain lifeless and unresponsive, call a contents damage specialist. Often a team approach occurs. Communicating with insurance companies allows us to discuss the pricing and feasibility of recovery. Even when damage seems irreparable, data recovery is still possible.
• Other common household items: Simple household items including kitchen cutlery, toys, furniture, and clothing fall under this category. Restoring these items on your own can be a headache. Determining which techniques and chemicals are appropriate for each household item can be both time consuming and intricate. Even diligent attempts at restoration can fail to remove the smell of smoke or pockets of moisture.

What is the process?

Each restoration company has their own process of remediation. Our methods are listed in this paragraph. First, professionals will determine which items need to be exported to a warehouse facility. An experienced pack-out team will oversee the relocation of household items while paying particular attention to items that need to be removed immediately to prevent further damage. As part of this process, pictures will be taken of each room to identify damaged items. Experts at our climate-controlled facility will determine whether to restore or replace contents. Items are considered both for monetary value and for sentimental value. After this assessment, experts will begin restorative work.

Restoration in Pittsburgh

The value of personal items, heirlooms, and documents cannot be overstated. As such, it is imperative that professional and responsible care be taken to ensure the integrity of items. GS Jones in Pittsburgh possesses the necessary skills, facilities, and training to provide high-quality content damage restoration to a wide variety of valuables. Give us a call today