Upon discovery of water damage, an immediate inventory should be taken, if possible. At the same time, steps should be taken to have the material placed in cold storage, preferably frozen at  -20 degrees Fahrenheit.

The ideal storage containers are vinyl milk crates which can be purchased at most office supply stores. They stack easily and are readily transported. We do not recommend cardboard boxes.

If materials that are damaged are books there should be a separation every 15 pages, using freezer or wax paper, to prevent adhesion. Absorbent material, such as paper towels, is not advisable. The books would then be placed flat in the crates. If the materials are papers they should be placed in green hanging folders/slings and hung in the crates.

After inventory has been taken and the materials placed in cold storage, you may determine which materials need to be freeze-dried. To make this determination you may base it on the replacement cost and availability against the fee for freeze-drying. Costs vary according to the type of paper and volume.

If your insurance company has been contacted, then AFD will need the claim number and additional information from the insurance company. This additional information includes name of insurance company, name of adjustor/claim validator, claim number, and authorization number.

American Freeze Dry is available 24 hours a day by telephone. Our normal working hours are Monday through Friday, 8:30AM to 4:30PM and our phone number is 856-939-8160. We can also be reached at 1-866-939-8160. Our emergency phone number is 609-458-0510. Based on the information you provide, we can usually offer a rough estimate.

If you do not have access to storage containers or need to have our crew come to your location and package the material, we can do so at an additional cost. We also have freezer space available for your use.

Once American Freeze Dry has been awarded the job, we will travel to the site and pick up the material for processing. On a small scale, arrangements can be made to ship the material by UPS.