Restoring Wet Carpet After Water Damage Wet carpet can be a huge burden on anyone. Restoration after flooding can be cumbersome and tedious, but there are a few ways to make it easier. Here are our top suggestions on how to restore that waterlogged carpet. Assessing the Damage Is Key The first step to success is to stop to evaluate your wet carpet. It will help you understand the extent of damage caused by the spill or flooding. Make sure you take note of all the affected areas and remove any large furniture or objects that might be covering parts of the flooding or spill. The wet carpet should be fully exposed before moving onto the other steps. Using the Right Vacuum Vacuuming is usually the first thing people with a wet carpet. This step is partly accurate. However, you need to make sure that you use the right vacuum before cleaning the affected area. You need to use a super-powered (typically rented) vacuum with enough power and designed to handle water. Using the right vacuum can help get as much of the moisture out of the carpet as possible. It will also help speed up the drying process significantly, and reduce the chances of mold growing. A regular vacuum or shop vac will do the trick when the carpet is dry, but rent an industrial vacuum or a hiring a crew to use tools to get as much of the water out as possible. Removal and Drying Time If the water damage is extensive, you’ll need to consider removing the wet carpet if possible. Taking the carpet up and using fans and other tools to eliminate the moisture in the room will help save the flooring as a whole. If it’s not possible to remove the carpet, then you need to make sure to give it ample time to dry. Either Way, Check the Subfloor If possible, test to see if the subfloor was affected by the flooding or the spill. Sometimes it’s easy to pry up a corner of the carpet to test the subfloor. If the subfloor is affected, call a professional to help you assess the damage and make decisions about the next steps Cleaning and Sanitizing Take the time to clean any surfaces you can access, including the subfloor. You can take this time to clean and sanitize the area, especially if you’ve removed the carpet. The best way to clean and sanitize the carpet is with a steam cleaning. It helps to remove any traces of mildew or mold that might have gotten a chance to set in. While restoring wet carpet can be a massive undertaking, saving the carpet is typically always in your best interest. There are so many tips and tricks to making sure that your carpet is clean, dry, and won’t cause mold in your home. If the process seems too daunting, then call the professionals. At Get Restoration, our experts are willing to lend a hand and their expertise to help restore your wet carpet.
Is Hoarding a Fire Hazard? Hoarding is a significant threat to residents, neighbors, and especially firefighters. First responders run into a number of problems when there is a fire in an excessively cluttered home. Unfortunately for firefighters, these hoarding-caused fires are not a rarity because hoarding creates the perfect environment for fires to flourish. Read all about hoarding and why it is a fire hazard. What is Hoarding? There is so much more to hoarding than just clutter. It is a mental disorder that can be caused genetically, triggered by a traumatic event, or caused by another disorder. Hoarding includes the collection of large amounts of various items that accumulate in the home due to strong urges to save them. This behavior eventually leads to an overflowing home where rooms are no longer accessible and clutter disrupts daily activities. Is Hoarding an Issue for Firefighters? Hoarding is a major issue for firefighters. Excessive clutter blocks entrances and exits, which prevents firefighters from being able to access the home. Hoarding puts the firefighters at risk because of obstructed exits, falling objects, and excessive fire loading. Besides being difficult for firefighters to access the home, hoarding also makes it hard for them to search for occupants. This means that hoarding not only affects your safety but also those trying to help. Does Hoarding Increase Your Risk of a Fire? With so many excessive materials in the home, hoarding exponentially increases your risk of having a home fire. Fire flourishes when it is in a dry environment with plenty of kindling. All of the hoarded materials within a home create plenty of opportunities for fires to not only start but to also continue to burn. The excessive clutter also increases common accidental fires, often caused by electrical wiring, cooking, or even just lighting a furnace. Just having that extra flammable material around increases the risk of fire. At Restoration Experts, we know how serious hoarding is. We understand that a hoarder’s possessions aren’t considered clutter to the hoarder. That’s why we make sure that the home is not only restored to a livable, less flammable condition but that the homeowner’s wishes are respected. No matter how bad the hoarding has gotten, call the Restoration Experts. We tackle everything from waste to insect removal. Contact us today at 1-877-881-5183.
The Facts about Faulty Appliances and Water Damage Water damage is part of life, even if you live in a desert. The appliances we rely on for daily chores break down and flood rooms, no matter how old or new they are. Even minor water damage poses a tremendous risk to your home and your health. Here are the facts about appliances and water damage. Industry and Thrift Have Consequences Too People don’t make appliances like they used to. Today, washing machines, dishwashers, refrigerators, and other devices feature more plastic and less metal than they did ten or twenty years ago. Surprisingly, appliances purchased in the eighties often work as well or better than replacements bought four or five years ago. However, new and old machines eventually break down, usually when it’s most inconvenient. A consequence of continuing to use an old appliance is the ever-growing risk that you will come into the room and find a lake. There’s certainly nothing wrong with being thrifty, of course. Repairing a reliable machine may be better than searching for a new one. That said, it’s best to have a water damage specialist on call in case your washing machine tries to wash the floor of your laundry room, too. You can keep the old and reliable device with confidence that when an accident happens, you’ll be prepared to clean up the mess with the best help available. Water Damage Doesn’t End After a Flood Of all the terrible accidents that can ruin your home, water damage is one of the worst. While most people keep their appliances that use water in rooms with tiled, laminated, or concrete flooring, it’s important to remember that water is very good at finding gaps and crevices. Since dishwashers usually fit against unfinished sections of a wall and often over unfinished flooring, they are especially likely to cause severe damage during even minor accidents. Just mopping up the visible pool of water won’t stop ongoing water damage. By the time you notice a leak, it has more than likely found its way beneath flooring or into walls. A single washing machine flood can lead to mold, mildew, and even rot. Many families get a surprise when they move their dishwasher in preparation for a move or renovations. Small, frequent leaks can cause the most damage. For example, a leaky dishwasher can literally cause the floor below the appliance to fall apart, especially if the flooring consists of softer materials like plywood. To prevent this kind of damage, you need professional water damage restoration services. These experts have the skills to do far more than rip out damaged elements and add new drywall. They understand how water works, where it will go, and the best way to stop the worst damage before it happens. No one wants or deserves to find a rotten, moldy floor under their appliance. Whether you prefer the latest machines or reliable classics, leaks and breaks are inevitable. To protect your home, keep the number of your local water damage restoration expert on hand.
Top Causes of Commercial Water Damage Commercial water damage doesn’t come from the business-specific fixtures you may expect. Although the causes of such damage are painfully ordinary, their cost remains the same. Learning to spot and understand the top causes of commercial water damage may help cut losses in a future accident. Sewer Line Blockages/Flooded Bathrooms No one likes to think about the bathroom, but it’s one of the most frequent commercial water damage offenders. Legal codes require just about all businesses to have toilet facilities available for employees and potential customers as well. The more bathrooms there are, the higher the chances of a blockage in the sewer line. Such obstructions are all too common. Thankfully, you can solve most small ones through aggressive plunging or other basic maintenance steps. However, most blockages don’t get discovered right away. Some clogs also represent far too great an obstacle for any regular maintenance measures. These often lead to smelly flooding. To make things worse, even if only one toilet floods, you may still need to repair walls and flooring. At the very least, you’ll need specialized equipment to dry them expediently. Any lingering moisture in these areas may lead to mold and other health risks. Broken or Leaking Pipes Unless you operate a small business in a remote shed, you have some degree of plumbing in your building. These pipes probably lead to the bathroom facilities we just discussed, but it’s possible that they also support cooking areas, emergency sprinkler systems, outdoor sprinklers, and indoor wash stations. This list doesn’t even include any unique machinery or tools of the trade that require water. It doesn’t matter if an old pipe is in a private or commercial setting. When it deteriorates, it leaks. Eventually, it breaks. Depending on where the pipe breaks, you may have a hard time tracking down the source of your flood. After all, if a pipe bursts inside a wall, it could easily damage a lower floor before apparent symptoms of the problem emerge closer to the source. Water follows gravity, after all. Bringing in a professional is the surest way to identify a leak and address the full scope of the damage. Malfunctioning Sprinklers Although Hollywood has romanticized the indoor rain malfunctioning sprinklers provide, the movie industry is the only entity that enjoys these incidents. Of all the types of commercial water damage, this often causes the most damage. This indoor rain destroys paper copies of vital files, damages computers, and other electronics, and ruins flooring. Since sprinklers are mandatory safety measures, it’s impossible to just do away with them, and repairing some water damage is infinitely better than dealing with a burnt-down business. Still, it pays to bring in experts quickly to stop the sprinklers, clear the water, and halt any ongoing damage. Sewage problems, broken pipes, and sprinkler issues are the top causes of commercial water damage. Although they don’t all have the same, immediate consequences, they all deserve equal scrutiny and mindfulness. Even if a flooding toilet doesn’t threaten your computers, it can still damage your walls, floors, and even your wiring. There is no such thing as insignificant commercial water damage.
The Top Three Places to Check for Storm Damage Photo by Duncan Maloney https://unsplash.com/photos/dg5KvcVv7tU Storms are a part of nature that will never change, and with them comes the potential for storm damage. In the summer, heavy rain and hurricanes can be a threat to your property. In the winter, snow and ice can cause hazards that might put your safety in jeopardy. No matter what type of storm is on the horizon, water leaking and property damage is something you should check for immediately following every storm. The hazards of storm damage don’t stop with your property and the structures around you. Rain and storm water can carry contaminants that are hazardous to your health. Just think about all the places that water traveled before it entered your home. It can carry bacteria from sewer lines and storm drains or contaminants from oil, grease, fertilizer, and pesticides. It can cause structural damage to your home and be a breeding ground for hazardous microorganisms like mold. Checking for Storm Damage Your home serves as a shelter to protect you from the storm. Therefore, after the storm, you need to protect your home from the potential hazards that can be created from storm damage. Even if there is no visible sign of damage once the storm has subsided, it is important to take check around to be sure. If you identify storm damage early, you can make a repair and avoid the risk of losing the window of opportunity for an insurance claim. The top three places to check for storm damage are the exterior of your home, the interior of your home, and your roof. Storm Damage to the Roof The roof is the most vulnerable to damage because there are many things that can impact it. High winds, fallen tree branches, and rainwater can all create storm damage to your roof that can be dangerous. After a storm, when it is safe, take some time to go out and inspect your roof. Look for holes in the roof, split seams, missing shingles, or areas that appear to have water damage. Storm Damage to the Exterior Many homeowners report that they noticed storm damage to the exterior of their home when it was too late to file an insurance claim. Take some time to walk around your house and look for cracks, chips, or dents in the siding. Be sure you are doing this when there is enough light to notice the damage. Look for holes in stucco or damage to brick exteriors. Detached or damaged trim and gutters are more noticeable when you are checking for storm damage. And, pay attention to damaged windows and window casings. Storm Damage to the Interior Storm damage to the interior of your home is more apparent. You might easily notice water stains on the walls or floors, especially on ground floors. But take some extra time to pay careful attention to this type of damage. Water damage can be a hazard to the structure of your home and can damage your health when mold and mildew develop. Wet insulation, water seepage in the attic, and cracked skylights are also obvious signs of storm damage. And, like with the exterior, check your windows. Look for shattered glass, broken window panes, or damaged frames. Heavy rains, strong winds, and destructive hail can create hazardous storm damage to your property. Don’t let the damage affect your family and your home. Check for storm damage and call a professional restoration expert to help solve the problem.