You may find it hard to believe that a vehicle that has been through a flood and has been partially or entirely submerged into water may not end up where it is supposed to go: the scrap yard. More often than not, these cars are resold in salvage auctions or are cleaned up and made to look good as new and are identified as previously submerged.
There are a great many things that one must know about water damaged vehicles. A water damaged vehicle is a veritable hotbed for mold growth on the inside of the vehicle. This is especially true if it was allowed to dry naturally and simply go untreated. If the vehicle’s doors have been closed and the interior has been allowed to dry naturally, the odor will be very easy to detect without any form of training. Now, not everyone who sells you a car will be honest about it. They will sometimes try to mask the smell of mold, water damage, and any other unpleasantries that you could detect while inspecting the interiors of the vehicle you look at. It’s important that you simply walk away if a low end car smells pleasant, because it has most likely been masked. It is also recommended that you keep an eye out for rust on any part of the interior and especially on the exterior of the vehicle around the taillights. This a tell-tale sign of water damage. It is important to smell around the carpet, because if it has been improperly treated, it will most likely stink.
It is commonly thought that the engine of the vehicle will be perfectly operational if the water is simply allowed to dry out on its own. This however is not the case. It is in fact highly recommended that the car is restored by a professional, so that there is no risk of causing further damage to the vehicle. There can be all kinds of debris inside the vehicle that could cause more damage than necessary. There is also a high risk of bacteria, so see that this issue is addressed as well.
It comes highly recommended that you get the vehicle’s history so that you can know for sure if the vehicle has indeed been involved in a water oriented accident, but you should be aware that only if an insurance claim related to water damage was filed on the vehicle will the damage show up on the report. If the damage was not reported to the insurance company, it will not appear on the vehicle history report, either.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Water Damage and Home Insurance
One of the most frequent and well known causes of home insurance claims is water damage. It is not a pleasant experience to discover that not everything in your home insurance policy is covered, but it happens nonetheless. If an appliance such as a dishwasher begins to leak uncontrollably on a floor, or a pipe somehow bursts due to poor insulation during the winter and there is damage and mold left behind as a result, it is important to find out whether or not your insurance will cover it.
If a pipe was to burst during the winter while you were on vacation and you had not properly insulated it from the cold, you most likely will not be covered due to lack of preparation that would have helped to prevent this from happening in the first place.
You should be covered for any water damage caused by the seemingly disregardable act of letting your bathtub overflow, even if you were on the phone or cooking and not paying much attention and forgot to simply turn off the bath water. This accident is a fairly common occurrence.
Even in the common cases of a household appliance such as a dishwasher or washing machine suddenly malfunctioning and water gets all over the floor causing water damage, homeowner’s insurance will definitely cover this. Of course, you must pay for the necessary repairs on the machine on your own, but damage caused solely by the water is paid for by your insurance policy.
If the cause of the water damage is a leaky roof, and there is a heavy rain, you are covered by your insurance claim. You are also covered if rain seeps into your basement, if your basement floods into the basement and into the house itself. If a tree limb was to break off and damage your home and water damage to the structure resulted, then this would also be covered.
However, any water damage that may have been caused by a flood is not likely to be covered unless your insurance policy identifies a flood as a covered source of damage to your home. You must purchase flood insurance directly from the federal government, and your local community should be able to help you acquire any information as to whether they are a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
If a pipe was to burst during the winter while you were on vacation and you had not properly insulated it from the cold, you most likely will not be covered due to lack of preparation that would have helped to prevent this from happening in the first place.
You should be covered for any water damage caused by the seemingly disregardable act of letting your bathtub overflow, even if you were on the phone or cooking and not paying much attention and forgot to simply turn off the bath water. This accident is a fairly common occurrence.
Even in the common cases of a household appliance such as a dishwasher or washing machine suddenly malfunctioning and water gets all over the floor causing water damage, homeowner’s insurance will definitely cover this. Of course, you must pay for the necessary repairs on the machine on your own, but damage caused solely by the water is paid for by your insurance policy.
If the cause of the water damage is a leaky roof, and there is a heavy rain, you are covered by your insurance claim. You are also covered if rain seeps into your basement, if your basement floods into the basement and into the house itself. If a tree limb was to break off and damage your home and water damage to the structure resulted, then this would also be covered.
However, any water damage that may have been caused by a flood is not likely to be covered unless your insurance policy identifies a flood as a covered source of damage to your home. You must purchase flood insurance directly from the federal government, and your local community should be able to help you acquire any information as to whether they are a participant in the National Flood Insurance Program.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
Mold in the Apartment and Legal Liability
If you sign a lease to an apartment or a house, many believe you are bound to that lease, even if they discover the integrity of the apartment is not up to par. Even if they discover toxic mold. This, however, is not the case at all. If you have done as just described, it is important for you to know that is your landlord’s responsibility to inform you of any all possible health risks that the apartment may have, as they are liable to legal action if they do not provide a healthy place of living. Your landlord can indeed be held responsible if your family take ill as a result of the mold infestation in the aforementioned property.
In order to do this, one must prove that the mold exists in the area rented, because in most leases mold testing, removal, and regular inspections do not have to be covered by the landlord. In fact, the one who pays for these things is you. You must, however, be able to prove there is a mold problem to begin with.
And if you are able to prove that the rented property is indeed infested with mold, then the landlord is possibly liable for medical bills, loss of income due to sickness, damage to the tenant’s health, and any possible property damage brought on by the infestation. They can also be liable for other things, such as the difference between rent at the mold infested area and the new un-infested rented area, mold inspections, money required to move to a clean environment, and the remediation of the rented space paid for by the tenant prior to moving out of the infested room.
You should, however, first notify your landlord that there is a mold infestation by mail and provide proof of your claim inside the envelope. The mold sample you send will be tested and identified using a mold test kit signed by a mold laboratory. It is important to have a written report signed by a certified mold inspector along with a laboratory report. If the landlord does not acknowledge this notice, you can send a second notice stating you will withhold your rent until the infestation is dealt with in a timely manner. If the landlord chooses, still, to ignore the notice, send a final notice explaining that you will be vacating the premises and that you are either contemplating seeking or are actively seeking legal action.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
In order to do this, one must prove that the mold exists in the area rented, because in most leases mold testing, removal, and regular inspections do not have to be covered by the landlord. In fact, the one who pays for these things is you. You must, however, be able to prove there is a mold problem to begin with.
And if you are able to prove that the rented property is indeed infested with mold, then the landlord is possibly liable for medical bills, loss of income due to sickness, damage to the tenant’s health, and any possible property damage brought on by the infestation. They can also be liable for other things, such as the difference between rent at the mold infested area and the new un-infested rented area, mold inspections, money required to move to a clean environment, and the remediation of the rented space paid for by the tenant prior to moving out of the infested room.
You should, however, first notify your landlord that there is a mold infestation by mail and provide proof of your claim inside the envelope. The mold sample you send will be tested and identified using a mold test kit signed by a mold laboratory. It is important to have a written report signed by a certified mold inspector along with a laboratory report. If the landlord does not acknowledge this notice, you can send a second notice stating you will withhold your rent until the infestation is dealt with in a timely manner. If the landlord chooses, still, to ignore the notice, send a final notice explaining that you will be vacating the premises and that you are either contemplating seeking or are actively seeking legal action.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Connecticut Mold Remediation services and
flood and water damage cleanup companies across the united states.
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