1-800-Packouts

Nationwide contents and personal property restoration franchise shares best practices for ensuring safety and promoting a smooth recovery in the wake of a significant flood

ATLANTA — 1-800-Packouts, the nationwide leader in contents restoration, highlights guidelines for homeowners whose properties have experienced intense flooding—including tips for ensuring personal safety and for streamlining the recovery process.

“We’re well into hurricane season now, and even for homeowners who are outside the direct path of tropical storms, there can still be looming threat of major rainfall,” said Stefan Figley, president of 1-800-Packouts. “Between severe storms and plumbing mishaps, any home can be at risk for flooding, making it imperative for homeowners to prepare themselves with some guidelines and best practices.”

After a major flooding event, homeowners will naturally want to get back to their home to begin the restoration process as quickly as possible, but safety is always the top priority. Homeowners who live in a regional flood zone should wait until their city or municipality gives the go-ahead to return home. Upon doing so, it’s important to avoid floodwaters whenever possible, as they may conceal toxic chemicals or sharp debris.

“In terms of immediate safety, it’s important to temporarily turn off the utilities, preventing the risk of fire or electrocution,” said Figley.

Homeowners who have a flood policy are advised to begin the insurance claims process as quickly as possible, especially when regional flooding means that other local homeowners are bound to be filing claims at the same time, congesting the claims processing system.

Specific suggestions for ensuring a prompt claims process include:

• Collecting extensive photo and video evidence of damaged areas and submitting them with the insurance claim.
• Creating a list of damaged assets, especially high-value items (like expensive electronics) or items with great sentimental value (like family heirlooms or photo albums).
• Keeping clear records and receipts for any items that require immediate repair or replacement.

Depending on the severity of the flooding, homeowners may be able to attempt cleanup on their own, using wet-dry vacs to remove moisture and disinfecting surfaces to prevent bacterial growth. For more extensive damage, many insurance policies will cover a water damage mediation professional—though it is always prudent to review the specifics of the policy.

“For repairs to specific assets or household contents, including items with sentimental value, it’s important to ask the insurance company about bringing in a contents restoration service,” Figley said. “Beginning the claims process quickly can get a packout service to the home sooner rather than later, maximizing the odds of precious items being salvaged.”

To learn more about 1-800-Packouts, visit https://www.1800packouts.com.

Leading contents restoration company helps rehabilitate irreplaceable heirlooms, allowing family to preserve cherished memories

WAREHAM, Mass. — Housefires and other calamitous events can result in untold damage to personal property—including assets of enormous financial value as well as those with outsized sentimental worth. For one Massachusetts couple, a housefire resulted not just in structural damage but in a cherished collection of ceramic figurines becoming compromised by soot and smoke. Though the collection initially seemed irredeemable, it was salvaged and given second life when the couple enlisted the services of 1-800-Packouts of Southeast Massachusetts.

The incident involved a couple from the Wareham area, whose house unexpectedly caught fire one night. For more than 40 years, the couple had amassed a huge collection of delicate ceramic figures, including a full ceramic Christmas village — each item in their set a cherished gift from a child, grandchild or close friend. These priceless treasures—and the memories attached to them—were initially thought to be lost to fire and smoke.

“These items weren’t just holiday decorations, they were symbols of love and time spent through the years,” said Angie Celia, who co-owns the franchise with her husband, Joe. “When we received the ceramic figures, they smelled of smoke and were discolored by soot. We knew our mission wasn’t just to clean the items, but to preserve the memories attached to them.”

After removing the items to an external facility — preventing further infusion of smoke and soot — the 1-800-Packouts team began the process of inventorying the items, cleaning them and deodorizing them — ultimately taking items thought to be permanently ruined and restoring them to like-new condition.

“Memories matter, and following a fire or other catastrophe, that’s often what people most want to salvage and restore,” Joe Celia said. “We are grateful to play a part in that, and to be a source of comfort for homeowners experiencing crises.”

To learn more about 1-800-Packouts, visit https://www.1800packouts.com/sema.