Heavy rain and flooding have meant a boom in business for many in the equipment supply and carpet cleaning industry, while others feel their business will pick up once the waters begin to recede.
"We've got more (flood business) than we need at this point," said Dennis Allen, a manager at Servpro of North Chattanooga and Bradley County.
Servpro, a fire and water cleanup and restoration company, began receiving calls last week about leaking roofs and flooded basements. Mr. Allen said he received 20 calls about flood water in one day late last week. Monday he received 30 more.
He said three crews worked Monday until 11 p.m. taking care of all the calls.
"We don't turn anyone away," Mr. Allen said. "We just put them in line and get to them as quick as we can."
Homeowners' insurance policies typically cover damage caused by leaking roofs, but unless there is a separate flood policy, it usually doesn't pay for flood damage. That's why Mr. Allen said most of his flood customers only want him to get the water out. They do the cleanup themselves, he said.
"They are paying for it out of their own pocket," he said of the service that can cost anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to a several thousand.
"Times are hard, and they want to do as much of it themselves as they can," he said.
That has benefited stores such as Home Depot, where operations manager Tony Belk said cleanup supplies are flying off the shelves.
He said the 7421 Commons Road store was out of sump pumps and dehumidifiers on Tuesday, and the store had only two steam cleaners left.
He said the store is selling lots of bagged sand and wet-dry vacs and noted that there is a good supply of mold foggers.
"This happens to us about once or twice a year," he said about the run on cleanup equipment.
John Lanham, a manager at Lowe's on 2180 Gunbarrel Road, said his store is out of sand and only has a few sump pumps remaining. He also said inventory is low on wet-dry vacs.
"The store manager and district manager are working with other stores that have not been affected as much to try and get a shipment in by (Wednesday) night," Mr. Lanham said.
He said steam cleaners have not been renting or selling very fast, but he expects that will change next week after the waters crest when more people turn from flood prevention to cleanup.
Harry Conner, franchise owner of the Stanley Steemer at 7611 Lee Highway, said he has experienced a slight increase in business from the flooding, but he expects things to boom next week.
"I guess when Chickamauga Creek recedes, we'll really pick up," he said.
Officials said Chickamauga Creek was expected to crest Tuesday.
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