Carpet cleaners ruined baseboards

[crumb]

What is the name of your state? Utah
I hired a carpet cleaning company to clean some carpet and the tiles in my two bathrooms. After they were done and left and paid I noticed my baseboards in the bathroom were warped and damaged. I told them what happened and they sent somebody over to take pictures for their insurance company and they said their insurance would call me. No call. After 4 weeks of the runaround I wrote a negative review and miraculously I was able to get them on the phone. The guy said his insurance company is not responding so he is going to send his crew over to fix the baseboards. Do I have to accept this solution? To have this dishonest company bring their crew doesn't seem like a good idea. Do I have other options?

 

[xylene]

Have you gotten an independent estimate for fixing the baseboards?

 

[crumb]

Not yet.

 

[xylene]

It would give you a lot more leverage.

 

[crumb]

I am getting an estimate today

 

[justalayman]

The baseboards are warped?

I doubt there is anything the cleaners could do to warp the baseboards. Warping wood takes the presence of moisture over an extended period of time. It won’t happen in few hours with the minimal amount of moisture the cleaner would have caused. Heck, I could spray baseboards with a hose and it not cause warpage if it is cleaned up in a few hours.

Wood in a bathroom is exposed to high humidity on a regular basis. It is more likely that is the cause of the warpage.


What other damage is there?



No you don’t have to allow them to fix the damage they caused.

 

[xylene]

The baseboards are warped?

I doubt there is anything the cleaners could do to warp the baseboards. Warping wood takes the presence of moisture over an extended period of time. It won’t happen in few hours with the minimal amount of moisture the cleaner would have caused. Heck, I could spray baseboards with a hose and it not cause warpage if it is cleaned up in a few hours.

Wood in a bathroom is exposed to high humidity on a regular basis. It is more likely that is the cause of the warpage.


What other damage is there?



No you don’t have to allow them to fix the damage they caused.

Incompetently handled steam cleaning can most assuredly warp wooden baseboards PDQ.

 

[justalayman]

Incompetently handled steam cleaning can most assuredly warp wooden baseboards PDQ.

Not buying it. Have you ever tried to steam bend wood? If you have (and I have) you would agree with me. It takes considerable time to actually cause moisture to permeate the wood. Then, for it to warp, the moisture would have to penetrate deeply into the wood. Moisture in the surface layer of the wood won’t cause it to warp. It must soak deep into the wood.


The warpage is most likely caused by the regular steam and possible liquid water the wood has been exposed to. This is likely a typical situation where a customer doesn’t notice the condition of their property until somebody does some work for them. Then when they inspect the work, they notice the preexisting damage and blame it on the worker.

The good thing about this is you can tell if the wood has been exposed to moisture over a period of time or this was the first time it was wet. Depending on the cost of the repair the floor cleaner may just eat it but if the cost is more than they wish to bear, they have a means to defend the claim

But even better: the plaintiff has to prove the carpet cleaner caused rhe damage. Having worked in construction for decades, I could easily prove if it was new or preexisting damage and I could throw doubt onto a claim if they don’t actually bring in a piece of the warped wood.

 

[xylene]

But even better: the plaintiff has to prove the carpet cleaner caused rhe damage. Having worked in construction for decades, I could easily prove if it was new or preexisting damage and I could throw doubt onto a claim if they don’t actually bring in a piece of the warped wood.

I agree with this part, hence why OP needs an independent estimate.

But I disagree about the effect of steam. Dry steam from a high pressure grout cleaner can ruin wood, substrate, etc... very very fast. It has to be handled carefully. 4oo degree steam at a few dozen bar overpressure can cut into wood, let alone warp it.

 

[crumb]

The baseboards aren't solid wood. Probably some kind of particle board.

 

[justalayman]

The baseboards aren't solid wood. Probably some kind of particle board.

If they aren’t wood, the next most common I’ve seen is mdf. (Medium density fiberboard, it’s like very hard compressed cardboard). After that I would guess polystyrene. Polystyrene is plastic.

I wouldn’t ever suggest mdf for a bathroom. It sucks up water like a sponge. The manufacturer can claim water resistance all they want but I’ve seen too many cases where mdf was exposed to moisture and fell apart to trust them. The humidity alone in a bathroom would be devastating. You can still tell old damage from new damage though.

But given it is not all that strong, it is difficult to install it and it not be warped or wavy from the get go.

Polystyrene is water resistant but it too is hard to install straight. Polystyrene is a type of plastic so it’s usually identifiable. PVC is another type of plastic used. The plastic types are difficult to install and have it look good as they flex quite easily. They are water resistant/proof though but they are easily dented.

 

[crumb]

My estimate to fix the baseboards is $500.

 

[crumb]

What would happen if I filed an insurance claim to my home owners insurance and told them it was damaged by this company?

 

[Zigner]

What would happen if I filed an insurance claim to my home owners insurance and told them it was damaged by this company?

Nothing - because your deductible is likely at least $500

 

[crumb]

It doesn't look like he wants to pay me the $500 for another company to fix it. Is my best option to take him to small claims court?