The other issue will be the repair and who will do them. You will have to get a contractor out to inspect unless the remediation company does repairs as well. Your adjuster will probaly have referrals for contractors if you don't have one. Each adjuster is different and sometimes you get someone fairly green in the industry. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions as reviewing documents and insurance estimates can be very confusing.

I have only had to do air testing a few times over the last 10 years and I have seen hundreds and hundreds of water claims. It depends on many factors. If you have ashma or sensitive children it doesn't hurt to ask but you may have to pay for it yourself.

I have worked on the insurance side and the construction side of insurance restoration. If you have any questions I would be happy to help if I can.

Most companies will follow the standard procedures and usually don't come in with less equipment than neded. They get paid very well for each piece of equipment and for the length of time it runs. If anything they usually bring too much.

Keep calling your adjuster. Has she been out yet to inspect and see the loss? If not I would try and get that done ASAP. They should be onsite within 48hrs to see what's going on. I guarantee she is busy and assumes the mitigation company is handling everything. This is a business where the sqeeky wheel gets the grease. If you don't get a response soon go up the ladder to the supervisor. Most adjusters are handling anywhere from 30-100 files just like yours so unless you keep calling your file may get set to the side. Get a cell number for the adjuster as well because I bet she's out in the field most of the time and not at her desk. Messages are fine but adjusters get a lot of phone calls and going through messages and returning calls can take a long time. I tell people to try and call until you get an actual response. I don't know your adjuster but most in the industry never answer the phone, they let all calls go to voicemail and return the calls later. It's a very busy job so be the squeeky wheel and your file will stay near the top.

If that doesn't work after a few days I have a few other ways to get things done but you don't need those just yet. Express your concerns to the mitigation company and you should be fine. Don't think the worst just yet but keep taking those notes and pictures.

I am a contractor in the restoration business for decades and seen thousands of residential and commercial insurance loss claims. I have handled losses from less then a thousand dollars to losses in the millions. IMO too many property owners trust their insurance company to properly handle their claim. Most insurance companies, (not all) have contractor programs for one reason and one reason only, to control their costs. I can only count on one hand the number of insurance companies that really care about doing whatever it takes to satisfy their customer after a claim.

When you file an insurance claim, it’s parallel to filing a claim in court demanding money for damages. When in court, both parties have their own independent representation to protect their interests. In the insurance industry, (and the only industry I know of) most property owners allow the other party to represent their interests. Who do you think the insurance adjustor is going be devoted too, you or the company who trained them and signs their paycheck?

For the most part, insurance companies don’t train adjustors how to properly mitigate or repair property damage. Adjustors are not highly trained in construction and if they do have some construction skills they were not taught by the insurance company. Insurance adjustors are trained how to manage the claim. Insurance companies train their adjustors how to negotiate. The primary job of the adjustor is to limit the insurance company’s costs. PERIOD

I could spell out volumes of other concerns to look for but I’m sure you want to know how your property should be restored. Your description of how they are drying your property is my first big red flag. That process of pulling pad and floating carpet used to be the industry protocol years ago. Some insurance companies prefer their contractors still do it this way. If my company is involved in a clean water loss, we never dry a property in this fashion anymore. We stopped this process about five or six years ago. We follow our proven industries protocol, not what the insurance companies want or what a franchises home office dictates.

The proper way to mitigate a clean water loss is to extract the water from the carpet and pad using the proper equipment. This equipment is not just a wand and extractor but a heavily weighted piece of equipment that will removed most of the water from the carpet and pad while it’s in place. This equipment is rather expensive and some restoration companies still haven’t made the investment. Placing a fan under the carpet can stretch the carpet and do other damages that only show up well after the contractor has gone down the road.

Think about this, after a clean water loss, the drywall, plywood sub floor, wood framing carpeting and padding get wet. The carpet and padding is the most porous and by far the easiest to dry. You’re not removing all the other materials, why remove the material that’s the easiest and fastest to dry? If a water loss is properly extracted and dehumidification and air movement is properly set up and no vapor barriers are present, all standard building materials will be dry in 3 days. My company guarantees it. There are some materials such as hardwood flooring, plaster and concrete to name a few that can take longer to dry.

The other red flag from your post is the area was 90 degrees and days later the carpet and pad was still wet. This is the perfect environment for mold growth. If the carpet and pad are still wet this far into the loss, you have no choice but to get ride of it and check for mold problems. If the carpet has been wet this long there is a good chance the backing is delaminating anyway. Make sure if any exterior walls were saturated that the insulation behind those walls are not wet. Most of the time, insulation will need to be removed to dry properly. If any vapor barriers are in place such as gloss paint will also inhibit proper drying.

If you want to talk this weekend, send me your contact information to mas5461@yahoo.com and I will call or email you.