What is a contents pack-out, and when do I need one?

A contents pack-out is the step where a restoration company takes your belongings out of a damaged home. The crew photographs and inventories each room, packs items, moves them out, cleans what can be cleaned, stores them, and brings them back once the repairs are done. You usually need one after a fire, smoke or water loss that has damaged your belongings, or that is going to make it impossible to repair the house with furniture and boxes in the way.

Your part comes first. What you photograph, list and keep before the crew arrives decides how smoothly the insurance claim goes later.

What a pack-out includes

The details differ by company, but a full pack-out usually has these parts:

• Inventory. Each item or box is logged with its room and condition, often with a photo. This is the record your insurer will want.
• Sorting. Items are separated into those that can be cleaned, those that need a specialist, and those that are a total loss. Total-loss items are not thrown away until the insurer has had a chance to look.
• Packing and removal. Fragile pieces, electronics, clothing and papers are packed to suit their type, then moved out of the house.
• Cleaning. Items that can be saved are cleaned off site, using different methods for textiles, hard goods, electronics and artwork.
• Storage. Belongings are held in a secure, clean space until the house is ready.
• Pack-back. After repairs, items are returned and put in the right rooms.

A smaller version, sometimes called a "pack-in-place" or "move-out and move-back," moves furniture around inside the house or to a garage so a repair crew can work, without taking everything away.

When you need one

A pack-out makes sense when:

• Smoke, soot or fire residue has reached belongings. Items left in the house stay exposed to it.
• Water has soaked or humidified contents, and drying equipment and demolition are about to start.
• Repairs need the rooms empty. Flooring, drywall, paint or cabinet work is hard to do around furniture.
• The house cannot be lived in for a while and you need your things kept safe.
• The loss involves sewage or other contaminated water. The EPA says that if the water and/or mold damage was caused by sewage or other contaminated water, then call in a professional who has experience cleaning and fixing buildings damaged by contaminated water.^[4]

You may not need one when the loss is small, clean and confined to one room, and you can move the contents yourself.

What insurance may pay

Check your policy before you sign anything. The Virginia Bureau of Insurance explains that your policy divides your claim into two separate parts, one for the house itself and one for the personal property or contents.^[1] You can also submit a claim for the cost of storing your personal property until your home is ready for occupancy.^[1]

Cause matters. The Bureau notes that standard homeowners policies do not cover flood damage,^[1] and Ready.gov likewise says homeowner's insurance policies do not cover flooding.^[3] If a flood is the cause, you need a separate flood policy.

For how contents are valued and paid, and what to expect on price, see how much a contents pack-out costs after a fire or flood in Virginia.

What to do before the crew arrives

First make sure it is safe. Check with the fire department to make sure your residence is safe to enter.^[2] Then call your insurer: Ready.gov advises that if you are insured, contact your insurance company for detailed instructions on protecting your property, conducting inventory and contacting fire damage restoration companies.^[2]

Then build your record. The Bureau of Insurance says to take photographs to show the way things look before you begin cleaning and repairing, and be sure to keep receipts for all of your clean-up expenses.^[1] If you do not have a household inventory, try to picture the contents of every room in your home, and then list and describe all the items that were damaged or destroyed.^[1] Try to remember when or where you bought each item, how much you paid for it, and how much it will cost to replace it.^[1]

Do not throw things out in the meantime. Do not throw away any damaged goods until after you make the inventory of your items.^[2] The Bureau adds that you should not dispose of any items that you believe may be a complete loss until the company representative has examined them.^[1]

Things a pack-out cannot always fix

Some belongings do not come back. The EPA says absorbent or porous materials, such as ceiling tiles and carpet, may have to be thrown away if they become moldy.^[4] The EPA says that if you are unsure about how to clean an item, or if the item is expensive or of sentimental value, you may wish to consult a specialist.^[4] Ask the pack-out company which items it will send to a specialist and what that adds to the cost.

Stop and call a pro if

• Anything was in sewage, floodwater or other contaminated water. Do not handle it yourself; hire a professional experienced in contaminated-water cleanup.^[4]
• Mold covers a large area. The EPA points to its commercial and school remediation guidance where mold growth covers more than 10 square feet.^[4]
• The fire department has not cleared the house. Stay out until it says the residence is safe to enter.^[2]
• Smoke or soot covers many rooms, or the house needs structural drying, in which case contents work is only one part of a larger restoration job.
• You cannot tell what is salvageable or the items are valuable or irreplaceable. A specialist is a better call than guessing.^[4]

Next steps in Virginia

To find out who handles this work, read who does contents pack-outs after a fire or flood, and see what to do first after water damage or what to do after a house fire in Virginia. Browse restoration services or more restoration answers.

When you are ready, describe the loss once and local restoration businesses quote it.