THE GO-TO-GUIDE FOR PERSONAL PROPERTY RESTORATION Vol.

10, Issue 5

Provided by your Contents Restoration partner

 The Touch
Have you ever thought about how many times a contents professional handles an
item from the time he (she) enters a home or office, to the time they leave?
If you asked yourself the same question about a moving
company you could quickly answer – a mover packs things
in boxes…loads the boxes onto the truck…transports
them…unloads them…the end (of course some movers put
things in storage then later load them back on the truck).
Sound about right?
And should a worker accidentally drop a
ten pound watermelon on a five pound lap
top computer (and both were damaged be-
yond repair) you would actually get twice
as much reimbursement for the watermelon
than you would for the computer (they
reimburse by the pound – about a dol-
lar or two per pound – not by replace-
ment cost).
The laptop story is significant for
two reasons. First, as you know, a res-
toration insurance policy reimburses
the owner for the cost of replace-
ment if an article cannot be
repaired. Second, moving
professionals don’t have the
time or training that a con-
tents professional has – they
are trained to pack up and move
out, not protect, clean, preserve
and conserve.
Now let’s take a look at how many
times a contents professional handles
various items (we’ll use numbers to keep
score): 1). They inspect, inventory, photo-
graph, wrap or cushion, and pack into boxes.
2). They load the boxes into the trucks. 3). They
unload to a). Storage or b). Deodorization
room, then to storage. 4). Either place items
in a vault or bring the vault down with a
forklift, then place items into the vault and
replace the vault in a safe area. 5). At the
appropriate time the boxes are taken from
the vault and transported to the cleaning
stations. 6). Items are unpacked. 7). Each
item is meticulously cleaned by one of sev-
eral processes (with cleaning solutions, ul-
trasonics, spray wash, etc.) 8). All items are
re-wrapped, re-cushioned and repacked in
new containers. 9). Boxes are transported ei-
ther back to the vaults or to a deodorization
room – then to storage. 10). On “move back”
day, all boxes are taken from the vaults and
loaded onto a truck. 11). Items are unpacked
and replaced in appropriate places based on
inventory charts and photographs.
And, of course, there is always the pos-
sibility that some items will have to be
outsourced to an specialty service provider
for repair, in which case 13). Items are pre-
pared for pick–up by in-house transporters.
14). Loaded into a transport. 15). Unloaded
16). Repaired. 17). Re-wrapped, re-cushioned
and repacked. 18). Reloaded into a transport
19). Unloaded. 20). Placed back in storage vault.
And each move (each “touch”) is another
opportunity for breakage or other damage
– this is no time for companies whose front
line workers are trained only to transport
materials, this many “moves” calls for the
discerning eye and trained hands of a con-
tents professional.

Onsite Storage Containers = Risk for Wood Furniture

By Barb Jackson CR

Temporary storage containers left on-site are sometimes viewed as the condensation can cause imprints in the finish. Refinishing
as a viable option due to limited insurance coverage, the prefer- would reverse this, but it is a costly mistake.
ence of an adjuster in an effort to reduce storage fees, and some- When wrapping furniture, it is important to use a moisture bar-
times the preference of the insured, who may feel more comfort- rier against the surface of the wood.
able knowing their contents are nearby. All parties need Other risks are rodents and pests, and limited security. Locks can
to evaluate the risks involved with on-site storage be cut, items can be stolen. If retrieval of contents is nec-
containers. essary, access to the contents is
Wood furniture is vulnerable to heat very limited and becomes a time-
and cold. The fact is that there consuming proposition.
may be extreme changes Solution: Store in a secure,
Vol. 10, Issue 5

in temperature and humid- climate-controlled facility. All

ity levels, which cause the professional contents processing
wood to expand, contract companies have such facilities.
and crack. And even when they are “maxed
Contents professionals out,” they will know which mov-
know that wrapping furni- ing companies and storage fa-
ture in plastic is not rec- cilities are up to their standards
ommended for long term of excellence.
2

Can a Wet Cell Phone Be Restored?
So you have beach front property and the
latest hurricane turned your living room
into a short, shallow swimming pool, and
your favorite Blackberry is resting at the
bottom of the murky water?
You say your beloved iPhone was sub-
jected to the indignities of smoke, ash and
an indiscriminant spray from fire hoses?
Well, the Internet offers such interest-
ing “fixes” as, “…use your hair dryer to blow
the water out…” or “…press on the screen
to force out excess droplets…” and “…wrap
it in warm blankets or towels to absorb the
water…” and one of our all time favorites,
“…use a vacuum to suck the water out,” (a
household sweeper is more likely to short
out from pulling water into hardware that
was never designed to get wet!)
A hair dryer will actually force water
deeper into the cell phone.
Blankets and towels generate static, and
a static spark can easily damage the inner
workings of a cell phone.
Most , if there are any contaminants,
like those found in sea water, or sewage,
they will damage the cell phone perma-
nently if they are not removed prior to the
drying process.
Smoke and soot, when combined with
water, generates an acid that will corrode
the circuits in computers, televisions and
phones, rendering them useless.
Now, let’s take a look at what a contents
pro does. First, he (she) will get it out of
the water! The more time it is in there, the
more time water has to find its way into the
hairline spaces in the case. Second, he will
get the battery out – that cuts way back on
the odds of “frying” the delicate mechanism
inside (by the way, an owner’s first instinct
is to turn on the telephone to see if it still
works – a contents pro would never make
such a “rookie mistake”).
Next, the professional would remove the
sim card (all your telephone numbers, ad-
dresses, etc. are on there, and even when
the phone itself cannot be saved, the in-
formation on the sim card is often worth
far more to the owner than the case and
hardware.)
After that, the cell phone is opened and
the components are washed with special
solutions to get the smoke, soot, and other
contaminants out (most probably with an
ultrasonic machine or special solvents and
compressed air). And only then is it placed
in a special drying chamber that won’t
overheat or melt the fragile components.
Canadian University
Study Shows Bleach
Is Best
“Bleach-based products proved the most
successful in lowering the concentration of
noroviruses, according to a new study,” says
Beth Hall of Associated Press.
CBS just released information about re-
search conducted at Canada’s Laval University.
Researchers there tested bleach, alcohol based
and ammonia based commercial cleansers --
bleach was the hands down winner in com-
bating noroviruses.
Bleach lowered the concentration of no-
roviruses (the ones that cause stomach flu,
“gastroenteritis”) on a stainless steel surface
by a factor of 1,000. By comparison, the other
cleansers were 100 times less effective.
In a news release lead researcher Julie Jean
said, “Our results are of particular concern
considering that some 40 per cent of the com-
mercial surface disinfectants on the market
are alcohol - or ammonium-based.”
This new study shows what the contents
restoration decontamination workers have
known for a long time – a home or building
contaminated with raw sewage or biological
contaminants can’t be cleaned with alcohol
or ammonia. But the pros still opt for “hu-
man friendly” virus and germ killers over the
toxic effects of raw bleach.
They use biocides that
are 99.99% effec-
tive in killing
viruses with
none of the
drawbacks
of their
poisonous
cousin.

BioPreferred
If you haven’t heard about it already, you soon will. The USDA has a new designation,
“BioPreferred.” They give this “stamp of approval” to items such as sanitizers, glass
cleaners, adhesive removers, carpet and upholstery cleaners, etc. Only substances that
are “biobased,” (made from natural substances) can qualify and government agencies
are mandated to purchase such products.But the contents pros are way ahead of them
– if a cleaning product is “eco-friendly,” (green) or “bio-friendly,” (human friendly), the
odds are very good they have been using it long before it got the “BioPreferred,” label
from the U.S. government.
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 Coming Up In the Next Issues
of Contents Solutions
H1N1 RETURN
Contents Pros Prepare

SO GREEN IT’S BLUE!

High Tech Contents Cleaning

BARB JACKSON’S WORLD CLASS

CONTENTS PROCESSING SECRETS

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