Here's what each word on your estimate means.
Search the term you were told, or open the group it belongs to. If the answer isn't here, read us the line and a technician will explain it.
Category 1, 2, and 3 water
How clean the water is, which decides what can be dried and what has to come out.
Class of loss
How much wet material there is, on a scale of one to four.
Extraction
Pulling the water out with pumps and wands, before any drying equipment goes in.
Structural drying
Drying the building itself: framing, subfloor, drywall, and concrete.
Dry standard
The number your wet materials have to come back down to.
Wicking
Water climbing up through a material against gravity.
Flood cut
Removing the bottom two feet of drywall so the cavity behind it can dry.
Mold assessment
Testing and inspection by a licensed assessor, who writes the protocol.
Mold remediation
The cleanup: containing the area, removing what cannot be cleaned, drying the source.
Protocol
The assessor's written instructions for the cleanup.
Clearance
The test after the work, confirming the protocol was met.
Spore trap sample
An air sample read in a lab, compared against an outdoor sample from the same visit.
Containment
Sealed plastic barriers keeping the work area separate from the rest of the building.
Mitigation
Stopping the damage from getting bigger: extraction, drying, cleaning.
Scope
The written list of what will be done, room by room and material by material.
Adjuster
The person deciding what your carrier pays.
Public adjuster
Someone you can hire to handle the claim for you, paid a percentage of the settlement.
Deductible
The share you pay before coverage starts.
ACV and RCV
What your material is worth today, versus what a new one costs.
Sudden and accidental
The phrase most water claims turn on.
Assignment of benefits
A document letting a contractor bill your carrier directly and deal with them for you.
Air mover
The low fan aimed along a wall or floor.
LGR dehumidifier
The machine doing the actual drying, and the loud one.
HEPA air filtration device
A HEPA filter box, also called an air scrubber, that cleans the air inside a contained area.
Moisture meter
The handheld tool behind every reading in your file.
Thermal imaging
An infrared camera showing where to point the meter.
Daily monitoring
The return visit where every wet material is read again.
IICRC certification
The standard that defines drying to a measured goal.
Someone read you a term you didn't recognize?
Read us the line off the estimate. A technician will tell you what it means and whether it belongs on your job.