Advice after water damage to floor (flooring, how much, dehumidifier, laminate)

[mekia02]

Hi, My sewer line backed up in my lower bathroom right before Thanksgiving. The flooring in that area is tile and the bottom of the vanity (wood) was contaminated. I cleaned that small area up and bleached all surfaces. I understand the bleach could not do much for the vanity but I was hoping that the water contact with the vanity was so short that it did not soak into the wood to far. I called out a plumber to unclog the line. Then the day after thanks giving I had another mainline backup. This time it did not look or smell like sewage, I had started a load of laundry so I figured most of the water was from the washing machine. The bad part is that I did not catch this until the point were the the water had come out of the bathroom, into the laundry room ( so far all tile), then under the wall into the office and out into the den ( under walls and the flooring here is laminate). The laminate was damaged, puckering, pulling apart, it has started chipping. The plumbers used a camera in the line and saw that a one way flap was being held open by toilet tissue past that there were tree roots growing into the main sewer line which is the most likely reason why my drains in the house drain so slowly. I did get tree root killer. I will have to have the main sewer line replaced. An adjuster came and inspected the damage and is figuring out how much my HO insurance will pay for the repairs.

My concern is that I will have to pay my deductible and so I want to make sure that all the work is necessary. It has been over 1mo, the adjuster was telling me that the flooring would be pulled up and dryers and dehumidifiers would be brought in for 3 days to dry the floor out before new flooring and a new vanity are installed. After the second incident when I was cleaning up, i placed a dehumidifier in the areas set it at 20% humidity and it barely pulled up any moisture. Now 1 mo after the water damage is there still likely to be water under the floor? I am sure if I call a restoration place and ask them there will be some who say that they will need to dry out the floor but how do I know if that is true or if they are just trying to charge me for more? I will still call around but I wanted to know if anyone else has experience with this. I may also call my adjuster and ask him.

Thanks

[jasmom87]

The floor has to be dried out completely. Water under the tile sitting on the substructure can stay wet a long time and produce mold. We had a water heater rupture. Got the carpeting up and under the carpeting was a tile (not grouted - glued) on the concrete. They were still wet underneath a week later. Took up tile, and let the floor dry completely out prior to repair.

We found one of the chairs that I thought I had moved out of the way had water on the wood base and it was still wet a few weeks later. Water really soaks in and moves around. Your adjustor sounds like he knows what he is talking about.