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(05-09-2020, 04:35 PM)WxMan Wrote: No advice, just that my heart goes out to you and your family. Glad that nobody was hurt.
Big Plus ONE. Good luck to you.
If it can't kill you it probably ain't no good. Better living through chemicals.
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Location: Trout Creek, Montana
Sorry to hear about your ordeal, glad every one is ok. My experience with motors and machinery is from ski lifts and melting snow. When this happens we blow out all the water / snow as good as you can. Turn on the heater and get them dry as possible. Spray all bare metal with LPS #2 or WD 40 or something like that. Don't forget to spray the under side of the machines also. Wipe them off and fire them up. Most of the bearings are sealed. Unless the machines were sprayed with pressured water, like from a fire hose directly at the bearings they should be ok.
Treat others as you want to be treated.
“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.” — Mae West.
24- year cancer survivor
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That's just awful; so sorry you're having to go through this. But thank goodness you and your pets are OK. Stuff can be replaced.
John
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Sorry for your loss. Glad everyone was safe. If you do not have adequate insurance coverge they will likely pay out the totalled amount and you will be on your own as to how you want to handle the money. Retired as GM of a restoration company so I am well versed in the process. Hopefully you have replacement cost insurance on the dwelling and are just short on contents coverage. Even with replacement cost policy in place the company can refuse to pay full replacement cost if you are not insured to a certain percentage of actual replacement. This stops someone from insuring for $100,000 and needing $500,000 in replacement money. Find out exactly how you are underinsured. This could make a huge difference in how you proceed. Contact a reputable restoration company in your area. You will be surprised what they can clean and save for you. Yes it is not cheap but is cheaper than replacement. We always guaranteed there would be no smoke smell when items were returned. You cannot do this yourself. You do not have axcess to the equipment you need. The machine we used to clean clothing cost over $30,000. It was computer set and would put the proper chemicals into the machine at the right time. Your motors and the like could be submerged in a ultrasonic cleaning tank. Yes submerged in water with the correct additives. It works. Obviously if things got so hot there was heat damage then the motors would be trashed. You would be surprised that while you know heat rises you probably don't know how much. A lot of times the heat a couple of feet off the floor like most of your motors would be is not as high as you might think. If you are short of money you could disasemble and bring them the motors thus saving you some money. remember motors are designed to resist some degree of heat. Again if you are short of money talk to the restoration company and they might be willing to sell you what you need to clean the actual tool. Trust me you cannot go anywhere and buy what you need. What they have will be much better. Good luck and hopefully you will find out you have eneough coverage and let the restoration company do all of the work. It would make this awful time easier for you. Let this story be a wakeup call to everyone here. to check their insurance policy and make sure they have adequate coverage limits. Please read your policies. One of the most boring things you will probably ever do but it is something that needs doing. I am guessing there are probably less than 5% of you who have actually done that. Read and do not just skim. You might miss something. If something is not clear to you call your agent and have them explain it. Yes they are written by lawyers and can therefore be confusing
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Just a brief note to add to Turner52's comments. I also have insurance in my past. When you are ready to read the policy...read the EXCLUSIONS first, then you have an idea of what your are looking for.
"I tried being reasonable..........I didn't like it." Clint Eastwood
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An unfortunate reminder of how much we take for granted, and how quickly it can go away. Good that everyone's okay.
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Thank you all for your insights and thoughtful comments. We are going to be Ok...we saved or were able to recover more "essential" things than I initially realized. Of course, we lost more stuff than we can even remember to list -- I'm sure sometime in the future, we will look for something and realize it's gone. And yes, I agree with the cautionary messages above...check your policy! Sit down one day and spend a few hours listing out the value of some of your possessions and then reconsider the limits of your policy. I probably should have had 2 or 3 times as much insurance on our contents. Lesson learned the hard way!
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Some years back I had a small basement fire. What did the most damage was the corrosive smoke. All my steel tools that were not plated got a layer of rust on everything.
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I read your post title and my heart sank. I'm sorry for your loss, glad no one was hurt, and pretty sure that you all must have been terrified. One bit of advise, don't make any important decisions until you've had some time to collect yourself. -Howard
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Very sorry to hear this, glad everyone is safe. All will eventually resolve, material things can be replaced.
Credo Elvem ipsum etiam vivere
Non impediti ratione cogitationis
