Water damage

[A440A@AOL.COM]

<< a Steinway D, was stored beneath an air-conditioning

water line and the line burst flooding the piano.   There was water all over 
the soundboard

and some students were sopping it up with paper towels.  

My question is this:  can the leathers and felts be re-used after they dry?

Also, although there was no rust showing on the strings, how can I convince

them that all the strings should be replaced?  >>

Greetings, 
     The rust will show up in a month if at all. 
     The felt and leather that got wet are history,  replace them all.  The 
keys should have been taken out and clamped lightly together, so as to 
minimize warpage if it should occur.  The keyframe and bed can be put 
together with small wedges under the dags and the cheekblocks secure, again, 
hopefully avoiding a lot of warpage. 
   The bass strings that got wet will probably die peacefully and quickly.  
If the pinblock was wet, I would replace it too.  
Standing water on the soundboard isn't good, but not necessarily fatal if 
dried quickly.  Let the insurance company know that full evaluation of the 
damage will take some time.  Check your bearing now, and compare it with what 
you find in a month.  Significant inconsistancy in the numbers may indicate a 
board that has found a new way to resist string pressure!!
Good luck,  don't skimp, this could be $10-20K  worth of damage. 
Regards, 
Ed Foote