Privacy Policy

Falls Poto Restoration is a locally owned and operated water damage restoration company headquartered in Potomac, Montgomery County, Maryland. We were founded in 2015 by owner Jon Rales and serve residential and commercial property owners throughout Potomac, MD and the surrounding communities including Bethesda, Brookmont, Cabin John, Darnestown, Derwood, Great Falls, Kensington, McLean, North Bethesda, North Potomac, Pimmit Hills, Rockville, Somerset, South Kensington, Travilah, Tysons Corner, Wolf Trap, and all of Montgomery County, Maryland and Northern Virginia.

Our team of 30 skilled, IICRC-certified restoration professionals provides emergency water damage restoration, water damage repair, basement flood cleanup, fire damage restoration, and mold remediation services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

For the purposes of applicable data protection law, Falls Poto Restoration acts as the data controller for personal information collected through our website and during our service engagement process.

We collect two categories of information: information you provide to us directly, and information collected automatically when you visit our website.

2.1 — Information You Provide Directly to Us

When you interact with Falls Poto Restoration through our website contact forms, phone calls, email, or in-person service engagement, you may provide the following categories of personal information:

2.2 — Information Collected Automatically Through Our Website

When you visit our website at waterdamagerestorationpotomacmd.com, certain information is collected automatically through standard web technologies including device and browser information, usage and navigation data, and cookie and tracking technology information. We describe our use of cookies in greater detail in Section 5 — Cookies and Tracking Technologies.

2.3 — Information We Do NOT Collect

Falls Poto Restoration uses the personal information we collect for the following specific, legitimate purposes:

We may share your personal information in the following limited circumstances:

4.1 — With Your Insurance Carrier and Adjuster

When you engage our restoration services in connection with a homeowners insurance claim and authorize us to communicate with your insurance carrier, we share the documentation necessary to support your claim — including moisture mapping documentation, structural drying logs, photographic evidence, written damage assessments, service invoices, and communication records. This sharing occurs only with your authorization.

4.2 — With Service Subcontractors and Specialized Partners

In certain circumstances, Falls Poto Restoration may engage licensed subcontractors or specialized service partners — such as structural engineers or licensed general contractors for reconstruction work following fire damage restoration or major water damage repair projects. We share only the information necessary for them to perform their specific role and require them to maintain confidentiality.

4.3 — With Technology and Service Providers

4.4 — When Required by Law

We may disclose your personal information if required to do so by applicable law, court order, subpoena, or lawful request from a governmental authority, or if we believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend our rights or property, prevent wrongdoing, or protect personal safety.

4.5 — In Connection With a Business Transfer

If Falls Poto Restoration is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will provide notice through our website and, where required by applicable law, seek your consent before your personal information becomes subject to a different privacy policy.

Our website at waterdamagerestorationpotomacmd.com uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience, analyze website traffic, and support our local SEO and marketing efforts for restoration services throughout the Potomac, MD and Montgomery County area.

5.1 — What Are Cookies?

Cookies are small text files placed on your computer, smartphone, or other device when you visit a website. They are widely used to make websites work more efficiently and to provide website operators with information about how their sites are being used. Cookies cannot execute programs or deliver viruses to your device.

5.2 — Types of Cookies We Use

5.3 — How to Manage Cookies

You can control and manage cookies through your browser settings, install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, or use the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page. Note that disabling cookies may affect the functionality of our website. Our website does not currently alter its data collection practices in response to "Do Not Track" signals.

Falls Poto Restoration retains personal information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it was collected, to provide our restoration services, and to comply with applicable legal, regulatory, accounting, and reporting requirements.

When personal information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to securely delete, destroy, or anonymize it in a manner appropriate to the sensitivity of the information and the medium on which it is stored.

Falls Poto Restoration takes the security of your personal information seriously. We implement reasonable and appropriate administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, destruction, and loss.

Falls Poto Restoration respects your rights with respect to your personal information. Depending on your location and applicable law, you may have the following rights:

8.1 — Rights Available to All Users (Federal and Maryland Law)

8.2 — California Residents — CCPA/CPRA Rights

If you are a California resident and interact with our website, you have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA), including the right to know, right to delete, right to correct, right to opt out of sale or sharing (Falls Poto Restoration does not sell your personal information), right to non-discrimination, and right to limit use of sensitive personal information. To exercise your California privacy rights, contact us at fallspotorestoration@gmail.com or +1 (227) 444-6360. We will respond within 45 days as required by California law.

8.3 — EU/EEA Residents — GDPR Rights

If you are a resident of the European Union or EEA and interact with our website, you have rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) including: right of access, right to rectification, right to erasure ("right to be forgotten"), right to restriction of processing, right to data portability, right to object to processing, right to withdraw consent, and right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority. We process your personal information on lawful bases including contract performance, legitimate interests, legal obligation, and consent. Contact us at fallspotorestoration@gmail.com to exercise your GDPR rights.

8.4 — How to Submit a Privacy Rights Request

To protect your privacy and security, we may need to verify your identity before processing your request. We do not charge a fee for processing privacy rights requests unless they are manifestly unfounded, excessive, or repetitive.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us without your consent, please contact us immediately at fallspotorestoration@gmail.com or +1 (227) 444-6360, and we will take prompt steps to delete that information from our records. We do not direct any of our content, advertising, or marketing toward children under the age of 13.

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, social media platforms, and external resources that are not owned or controlled by Falls Poto Restoration. This Privacy Policy applies only to our website at waterdamagerestorationpotomacmd.com and our direct business operations. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of third-party websites.

Our Social Media Presence: Falls Poto Restoration maintains profiles on the following social media platforms. When you interact with us on these platforms, the platform's own privacy policy governs the collection and use of your data:

Falls Poto Restoration communicates with clients and prospective clients by telephone as a central part of our emergency water damage restoration business. We comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and applicable state telemarketing laws.

Falls Poto Restoration complies with the CAN-SPAM Act in all commercial email communications. Our commercial emails clearly identify Falls Poto Restoration as the sender, include our physical postal address at 8501 Postoak Rd, Potomac, MD 20854, contain a clear explanation of how recipients can opt out, honor opt-out requests within 10 business days, and do not use deceptive subject lines or misleading header information.

Our website uses Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google LLC. Google Analytics uses cookies to collect information about how visitors use our website. We use this information to compile reports and to help us improve our website and service area content. Google Analytics is configured on our website with IP anonymization enabled.

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

Our website may use Google Ads remarketing features that allow us to display advertisements to previous visitors when they browse other websites on the Google Display Network. You can opt out of Google's use of cookies for remarketing by visiting Google's Ads Settings or the Network Advertising Initiative opt-out page.

As a professional water damage restoration company operating in Potomac, Maryland and serving clients throughout Montgomery County and Northern Virginia, Falls Poto Restoration handles certain categories of documentation specific to the restoration industry and insurance claim processes.

14.1 — Property Documentation

In the course of providing water damage restoration, mold remediation, fire damage restoration, and basement flood cleanup services, we create and maintain detailed documentation of your property's condition, including photographs and video footage of damage, moisture readings and thermal imaging reports, structural drying logs, written damage assessment reports, and reconstruction scope documents. This documentation is maintained as part of your service record and is shared with your insurance carrier and adjuster only when you authorize such sharing.

14.2 — Insurance Claim Coordination

When you engage Falls Poto Restoration's services in connection with a homeowners insurance claim, we act as your authorized representative in documenting and communicating the scope of covered damage. We share documentation with your insurance carrier only with your authorization. We do not make coverage determinations — those are made by your insurance carrier. All documentation we create remains the property of Falls Poto Restoration and is subject to this Privacy Policy.

14.3 — IICRC Standards and Client Records

Falls Poto Restoration's IICRC-certified technicians — holding WRT, ASD, AMRT, CDS, and FSRT certifications — follow industry-standard documentation practices for water damage restoration projects. These standards require the creation and maintenance of detailed project documentation. Client records created in accordance with IICRC standards are treated as confidential business records and protected in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Falls Poto Restoration is a Maryland-based business subject to Maryland state privacy law. The following provisions apply specifically to Maryland residents:

Falls Poto Restoration reserves the right to update or modify this Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in our business practices, applicable law, or technology. When we make material changes, we will update the "Last Updated" date at the top of this Privacy Policy, post the revised policy on our website at waterdamagerestorationpotomacmd.com/privacy-policy/, and where required by applicable law, provide more prominent notice of material changes.

Your continued use of our website or engagement of our restoration services after the posting of a revised Privacy Policy constitutes your acceptance of the changes. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information.

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact Falls Poto Restoration using any of the following methods:

This Privacy Policy and any disputes arising under or in connection with it shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any legal action or proceeding relating to your access to or use of our website or this Privacy Policy shall be instituted in the state or federal courts located in Montgomery County, Maryland, and you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.