Water removal, drying and documentation for Spokane shops, offices and ground-floor businesses after flooding.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Commercial flood damage restoration removes water from ground-floor and basement spaces used by businesses, dries the structure and documents the event for the insurer. In Spokane it is most often needed after snowmelt, rain on snow or a river or creek rise. Calls are answered 24/7, and a crew is sent as soon as one is free.
A business that floods loses more than its floor. Stock, fixtures, equipment and the hours it is closed all cost money, and the owner needs the building dried quickly so that reopening can be planned. Commercial work is organized around that need, with the critical areas dried first and the rest scheduled around the owner's plans.
Ground-floor commercial space in the river valley and along the streets that carry runoff is exposed to the same water as homes. The Spokane County Flood Insurance Study describes snowmelt and rain-on-snow floods as the county's main high-water types. To report water damage to a business in Spokane, call (833) 490-5225. The line is answered at any hour, and a local technician is sent as soon as one is free.
Do not enter a flooded commercial space until the power is confirmed off and the structure has been checked. Keep electrical panels, refrigeration, gas equipment and any appliance in the water isolated until a qualified technician has inspected it. Wear protective gloves, boots and eye protection when handling stock or silt, and keep the work area closed to customers and the public. Do not use a generator indoors or in a shared enclosed space.
The technician walks the space with the owner, notes the areas that matter most to reopening, and records the water. Those areas are dried first, and the rest is planned around them.
Electrical equipment, panels, refrigeration and gas appliances in or near the water are isolated before work begins. The crew does not work on those parts itself.
Water is pumped or vacuumed out, and stock that cannot be saved is removed and listed. Stock that can be cleaned and dried is kept, and each decision is recorded for the insurer.
The floor, the walls and the framing are read with meters, and drying equipment is set in the critical areas first. The readings show when each area reaches target, and the plan is updated each day.
Photographs, the water line, the removal list, the readings and the drying log are given to the owner in one written record. The record supports the business's claim and the repair plan that follows.
A commercial plan starts with the areas the business needs to reopen, dries those first, and schedules the rest around them. The record is structured for an insurer and for the business's own planning, and equipment is sized to the space rather than to a single room.
A home has one owner, one set of rooms and one plan. A business has stock, equipment, customers and staff, and the plan has to fit around them. The crew asks which areas must be open first, which can wait and what the owner needs in writing.
The drying itself follows the same science. Materials are read with meters, equipment is placed where readings are high, and the plan runs until the structure reaches target. The difference is in the sequence and in the record.
Stock that is wet beyond saving is removed and listed for the insurer, and stock that can be cleaned and dried is kept. Fixtures and equipment are checked before they are used, and anything with electrical or gas parts is inspected by a qualified technician.
Food, paper, cardboard, fabric and porous packaging generally cannot be saved after flood water. Metal, glass and sealed packaging can sometimes be cleaned. The crew helps sort the stock and records each group, and the owner decides what to keep, subject to the insurer's view.
Equipment with motors, controls or gas connections is not restarted until a qualified technician has checked it. The crew records each unit and its water line, so the technician and the insurer start from the same facts.
The size of the space, the depth of the water, the number of rooms and floors, how much stock and equipment is involved, the number of critical areas and the drying time all change the work. The price is explained and approved on site before any removal starts.
A small shop with water in the front room and a few inches on the stockroom floor takes a short visit. A multi-room business with water through the rear, the stockroom and a basement takes more equipment, more readings and more removals, and the crew plans those in the order that serves the reopening.
Working hours matter too. Some owners need work done around trading hours, and the crew plans the equipment and the noise around that need. Any change in hours is agreed on site and reflected in the quote.
The insurer generally needs the water line, the removal list, the readings, the photographs and the drying log, along with the business's own inventory and records of stock. A complete record shortens the review and makes the claim easier to check.
Keep the photographs of the space before anything is moved, and a list of stock with its approximate value and age. The crew's record of the water and the readings goes with it, and the business's own records of sales and stock are useful for the business interruption part of a claim.
The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner handles consumer complaints about insurance claims, and a business policy follows its own terms. Ask the insurer which terms apply to your policy before you agree to any removal.
A qualified contractor for structural repairs, an electrician for the wiring, a plumber for drains and pipes, and the trade that governs any food or health equipment for those items. The cleanup crew records what it saw and recommends the checks, but the repairs are carried out by those trades.
Each trade checks its own part of the building before the business reopens. The crew's written record gives each trade a starting point, and shows which areas were wet, how high the water reached and what was dried.
The crew does not make the decisions on the building's safety for reopening. The owner should ask each trade to confirm its part in writing before the space is used again.
A shop or office on the ground floor takes water through its front door, its rear entry or the floor joint. The work focuses on the sales or working floor, the back room and the walls at the water line. The reopening plan is set around the areas that must be dry first.
Many businesses keep stock in the basement, where water from the ground or a drain collects. The stockroom is the first area to clear, and the shelving and pallets are moved so that the floor and the wall behind them can dry.
Food service spaces hold equipment, drains and utilities that need careful handling after flood water. The equipment is isolated and inspected before use, and the drains are checked. The crew does not decide health or food-safety questions, and the owner should check those with the authority that governs them.
Some buildings have a shared lower level with mechanical rooms and storage used by several tenants. The work is planned with the building owner, and the record shows which areas were affected and which were dried.
Ground-floor commercial space in Spokane is exposed to the same snowmelt, rain-on-snow and river water as homes. The Spokane County Flood Insurance Study names these as the county's main flood types, and a business on a low street or near the river is in the same situation as a house there.
The 1974 flood in Peaceful Valley mainly caused basement and street flooding, which is the pattern that affects low-lying businesses as well as homes. A basement stockroom or a street-level entry is the part of a business most likely to be affected.
In March 2017 the mayor of Spokane declared a flooding emergency as the Spokane River approached near-record levels in the city reach. Businesses in the river reach and along the streets that carry runoff are part of the local flood history, and their owners should plan for the next high water as well as the last one.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent commercial flood damage restoration, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Emergency removal of water that enters Spokane homes through the front door, garage or side entry during storms and high water.
Removal of wet finishes, stored contents and debris from flooded Spokane basements, followed by cleaning and drying.
Removal, cleanup and drying for Spokane homes and businesses flooded by high water on the Spokane River and its tributaries.
Controlled removal of wet wallboard in Spokane homes so the cavity behind it can dry and be checked.
Sometimes, for the areas that are dry and safe to use. The crew identifies which areas must stay closed and which can reopen, and the owner decides on that basis with the insurer and the trades involved.
The owner decides, with the insurer's view. The crew sorts and lists the stock and records what it recommends removing, so the decision is made on a written record rather than a guess.
Yes. The plan is agreed with the building owner, and the record shows which areas belong to which tenant. The crew works the common areas first where that helps the whole building reopen.
No. The crew dries the structure to target and records the readings, but the safety of the building for reopening is for the qualified trades and the authorities that govern the space. Ask each trade for its own written confirmation.
Say how many days the space was closed, which areas were affected and what stock was lost, and keep your own sales and stock records. The insurer decides what applies under the policy. The Washington Office of the Insurance Commissioner handles consumer complaints about claims.
If food, food equipment or the kitchen was in the water, ask the authority that governs food service in your area what it requires before reopening. The crew can record the equipment and the water, but the decision about food safety is theirs.