Saving your belongings after water damage

In plain English

In the S500, "contents" means personal property and fixtures that aren't part of the building plans: furniture, appliances, electronics, clothing, food and the rest. A leak usually reaches them along with the building, and many things that are only damp at first can still be saved if they are evaluated and protected quickly, before secondary damage sets in. A sensible response is often the difference between restoring an item and paying to replace it. The process starts with a documented visual inspection; contents are inventoried before they leave the building, cleaned and dried, sometimes stored until a professional decides on repair or replacement, and disposed of by set procedures if they can't be saved.

The S500's steps: work out the category of water and sort items by how likely they are to be restorable; judge what they're made of — porous (clothing, upholstery, leather, taxidermy, paper, much fine art) soaks up water fast, semi-porous (unfinished wood, concrete, brick, OSB) soaks it up slowly but can grow mold, non-porous (finished wood, glass, plastic, metal) barely absorbs it; compare the cost of cleaning with replacement; decide whether to clean on site or at the restorer's plant and by what method; dry to an acceptable moisture level; send specialty items such as fine art, electronics, rare books and irreplaceable keepsakes to specialists; and get written authorization from everyone involved before anything is thrown away.

Whether an item can be restored depends on the category of water, how long it was wet, what it's made of, the cost of restoring it, the cost of replacing it, and the kind of value it holds — sentimental, legal, artistic, cultural or historical. Each item ends up in one of three groups: restore (dry, clean or refinish if needed, and return in acceptable condition), dispose (not worth restoring, or the owner doesn't want it), or preserve (irreplaceable but can't be fully restored). The owner and other interested parties take part in these decisions, ideally with a specialist's advice for high-value items. The longer things stay wet, the worse the odds: swelling, cracking, dye bleeding, breakdown and mold. Moldy items are separated, contained and documented under the S520.

Before anything is moved, the restorer or a specialist should inspect it, document its condition (and its actual or perceived value), photograph high-value or damaged items, and consider drying it where it is. The inventory — description, quantity, condition, location in the house and an inventory number for each item, box or group, often with photos or video, moisture readings, the damage found and restorability — should be done before removal, with a chain of custody, signed by the client before the restorer takes responsibility, and kept with the job records. Contents are packed, moved and stored so they aren't broken, lost or contaminated; wet items are dried before packing; and nothing goes back into a room until that room is restored.

Clean water (Category 1): dry the item first, re-evaluate, then clean. Category 2 or 3: clean first, then dry, to remove contamination and keep it from spreading during drying. Drying means getting surface water off, then using dehumidifiers, heat and airflow. Drying contents in place alongside the building saves cost and disruption; otherwise a separate drying area is set up, from a contained room with controlled humidity, airflow and temperature to vacuum freeze-drying chambers for books, documents and electronic media.

Cleaning aims to physically remove as much soil, contamination and odor as possible. Restoration means getting an item as close to acceptable as practical — not necessarily making it look better than before — so any appearance work comes after cleaning and drying to the goals. New damage found or caused along the way is documented and reported.

On-site cleaning keeps items on the property, avoids packing, transport and storage costs and lowers the risk of breakage or "mysterious disappearance" — but it can delay structural work, is less efficient than a well-equipped plant, and items left in affected areas may need several rounds. Cleaning at the restorer's plant lets the building work start sooner and run at the same time, and allows specialty systems — but adds inventory, packing, transport and storage costs, raises the risk of breakage, loss or theft accusations, and makes the restorer responsible for the items. Either way, contamination must not spread to clean areas. Cleaning outdoors is done away from the building, with weather, safety and the alarm that people in protective suits can cause in mind, and with PPE for anyone handling contaminated items.

The cleaning method depends on what the item is made of, the category of water and where it's being cleaned, and often takes a combination. Cleaning chemicals must follow the law and the label, and the restorer must give the customer the label or safety data sheet on request.

Air-based methods include HEPA vacuuming (or vacuums that exhaust well outside the house) and air washing — blowing contaminants or moisture off with an air stream. Air washing throws particles into the air and can drive contamination deeper into padded items, so with Category 2 or 3 water it belongs outdoors, on a downdraft table, or behind proper engineering controls. Liquid-based methods use water plus physical action: immersion, ultrasonic cleaning, washing, damp wiping, steam, non-water solvents, low-pressure flushing, high-pressure washing (which splatters and raises humidity, so mostly outdoors) and hot-water extraction. Once items are clean and dry, the restorer may refinish, polish, wax or touch them up to meet the client's expectations.

Porous items, textiles especially, depend heavily on the category of water and whether contamination is present, and they are stored apart from unaffected items. Once dry, they are usually cleaned by thorough vacuuming or soft brushing, then by liquid or abrasive methods if needed, then dried quickly. That covers books and papers, photos and scrapbooks, clothing and fabrics, rugs and tapestries, upholstery and mattresses, wicker, art and unfinished wood. After Category 1 or 2 water, the cleaning method follows the material and the manufacturer's instructions, with deodorizing for heavy odors. After Category 3 water, porous and semi-porous items that can't be fully cleaned (saturation, staining, discoloration, fiber damage) should be thrown out; clothing and household fabrics may survive submersion washing, and high-value or sentimental items may justify specialist restoration. The restorer should recommend that an IEP verify porous items after Category 3 cleanup.

Non-porous items are checked first too: glass and plastic can etch or stain after long exposure and mold, and metal can corrode beyond saving, since mold produces acids. After Category 1 or 2 water they are generally restorable with air or liquid methods. After Category 3 they can be remediated the same way, then cleaned of product and biocide residue, dried fast and refinished as needed. If porous parts bonded to them can't be saved, the item is discarded. The owner's manual may list cleaning methods or warranty issues.

High-value items are worth a lot of money; irreplaceable ones carry historical, sentimental, cultural, artistic or legal value. Specialty services — in-house or outsourced — exist for art and paper conservation, collectible dolls, freeze-drying books and documents, area rugs, electronics and machinery, data recovery, collectible or vintage firearms, and musical instruments. Cleaning starts with removing soil and contaminants, heavy odors may take several rounds, and an IEP should verify and document decontamination before an item goes back to the owner. Leather, taxidermy and other organic items mold easily and may not be restorable; some items need a specialist just to judge whether they've been restored, and if they can't be, the parties agree on what to do with them.

Items that can't be saved are inventoried and photographed and removed — ideally before restoration starts — but never thrown away without permission from the client or other responsible parties, given by signing a form that lists them. If an owner wants an item back that hasn't been restored to an acceptable condition, the restorer should explain the circumstances, put the possible consequences in writing, and try to get a signed waiver. Waste is carried out so it doesn't contaminate clean areas, sharp items are packed so they can't puncture the bags, bags are never thrown or dropped, and debris that can't leave right away is stored somewhere reasonably secure. Ordinary water-damaged material has no special disposal rules beyond federal, state and local law; contaminated material follows the contamination procedures.

Art and collectibles: the inventory records artist, title, subject, date, size, medium, markings, distinguishing features, condition history, value and a photo, with a copy kept somewhere safe away from the collection; a conservator keeps one too. Books, documents, film and electronic media damage quickly, so they come out of humid or contaminated areas during drying and recovery starts as soon as possible. They're packed to the recovery specialist's specification, and the S500 recommends lining up those specialists in advance; the National Archives and Library of Congress publish guidance.

Draperies that stayed dry are hung up or moved away. Wet synthetic panels are best wetted evenly all over and machine-dried; natural fibers can shrink or water-stain permanently, though specialty drapery cleaners can sometimes steam and re-stretch them, and old, sun-weakened drapes may not survive. Mattresses, box springs, pillows and upholstered furniture can be extracted, cleaned and dried after Category 1 water if restorable, but are generally not restorable after Category 2 or 3 water — for high-value pieces, the owner is involved in that call (the IICRC S300 standard covers upholstery).

Wood furniture is blocked up off the wet floor and wiped dry. Solid wood can usually be cleaned, dried and treated with cream refinishers for white moisture marks, with bigger refinishing jobs sent to a specialist. Pressed-wood furniture that has already swelled is normally not restorable — discussed with the client first — and after Category 3 water it is discarded.

Pianos need a specialist to move or restore them; they're kept at 35–55% relative humidity, and the goal is to bring back the tone, the action and the finish. If a restorer must move one, it goes sideways on a padded skid board with the legs and pedal lyre removed, well blanketed and secured, and the owner should inspect it at the piano restorer's shop before it comes home. Other instruments are documented and either dried in place or sent to a specialist the client approves — high-value ones as soon as possible. Pool tables can be as simple as drying in place or as involved as new cloth, re-leveling, new rail rubber and slate honing; fully rebuilding an antique table can lower its collectible value.

Area rugs and tapestries are best cleaned in a specialist's plant (the IICRC S100 standard covers rugs and carpet), with thorough extraction and fast drying, deodorizing and repeat cleanings as needed; submersion cleaning spreads less contamination. A high-value rug saturated with Category 3 water that the owner wants saved gets submersion pre-cleaning, an antimicrobial soak and a second submersion cleaning, and may need IEP testing with written proof of decontamination. Loose carpet hit by Category 3 water is discarded and replaced, like installed carpet.

Wet clothing is sorted into darks, colors and whites and laundered by the care labels with detergent; laundry sanitizers, or oxygen bleaches (sodium perborate or percarbonate) for fabrics that can't take chlorine, help with microbes and odor where the manufacturer allows, and hotter water helps up to the label's limit. Dry cleaning follows the label and the industry's standards, including liquid CO2 and other newer methods. Like laundering, the point is to physically remove contaminants and odor, not to kill microbes, so repeat cleanings may be needed — a call made with the owner.

Furs hit by clean water should go to a specialist; on site, they can be shaken out and hung to dry naturally, and if soaked, blotted from the inside (not the fur side) with clean white towels. Skip mothballs and cedar — the smell clings. Afterward a professional may need to condition and re-glaze the skin. Mounted animals and fishing trophies are documented, inventoried and sent to a specialist, since wet stuffing has to be replaced; repairs can include new eyes, fins, groundwork or recoloring.

Wet appliances and electronics are a specialist's job. They should be moved out of humid areas as soon as practical, since damage sets in fast, and tested, evaluated and cleaned before it does — TVs, stereos, computers and printers, refrigerators, washers and dryers, small appliances, and power tools.

Aquariums that must be moved are emptied first, with the fish removed by the client, so the tank seals don't fail; valuable tanks and fish go to a specialist until the work is done, and tanks that stay get a care schedule worked out with the client. Firearms are the client's to collect and move out of the work area — if no one can, the crew asks management — and only people who know how to handle them should. Restoration goes to a specialist (local police or gun clubs can recommend one), and the law on handling and transporting firearms applies. Visibly deteriorated ammunition calls for caution: police or a bomb squad can judge whether it's unstable, and a specialist can check it before it's returned.

Key points

• Evaluate and protect belongings fast — many damp items can still be saved.
• Each item: restore, dispose or preserve — decided with the owner.
• Signed inventory before anything leaves; nothing returns until the room is restored.
• Category 1: dry, then clean. Category 2/3: clean, then dry.
• On-site vs in-plant cleaning: cost and convenience against speed and specialty equipment.
• Specialists exist for art, documents, rugs, electronics, data, firearms and instruments.
• Nothing is thrown out without a signed, itemized authorization.
• Taking back contaminated items: get the risks in writing and a waiver.
• Category 3: most porous items, mattresses, upholstery and loose carpet are discarded; IEP verification is recommended for porous items and high-value pieces that are kept.
• Books, documents, film and media: out of the damp fast, to a recovery specialist lined up in advance.
• Pianos and fine instruments: specialists only; pianos at 35–55% RH.

Official text

This topic is covered in our own words because the standard behind it is copyrighted; we cite it below rather than reproduce it.

Citations

• IICRC S500, ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration — Secs. 14.1–14.3.3, contents introduction, restoration process, restorability, time of exposure, removal, inventory and storage, pp. 75–77. Best practice
• IICRC S500, ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration — Secs. 14.3.4–14.4, drying or cleaning first, drying, cleaning, on-site versus in-plant, outdoors, cleaning methods, pp. 77–78. Best practice
• IICRC S500, ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration — Secs. 14.4.1–14.5.2.2, air- and liquid-based methods, appearance enhancement, porous, semi-porous and non-porous contents by category, pp. 79–80. Best practice
• IICRC S500, ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration — Secs. 14.6–14.9.8, high-value and irreplaceable contents, unrestorable contents, disposal, specific handling of art, books and media, draperies, mattresses and upholstery, case goods, pianos, pool tables, rugs, pp. 81–83. Best practice
• IICRC S500, ANSI/IICRC S500 Standard for Professional Water Damage Restoration — Secs. 14.9.9–14.9.13, clothing and porous articles, furs and trophies, appliances and electronics, aquariums, firearms and ammunition, pp. 84–85. Best practice

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