Wednesday, April 24, 2024
ASK This Old House | Preventing Plumbing Disasters
Sunday, April 21, 2024
Home Restoration Services - Different Types, Services and Precautions
- Water Damage restoration services
- Fire and Smoke Damage restoration services
- Mold Damage restoration services
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9189026
Thursday, April 18, 2024
How to Salvage Your Valuables After Serious Flooding
Heavy rain and severe weather can upend your life. And if you're faced with mucking out your house and tearing out saturated drywall, recovering keepsakes and family treasures might seem like a task for a later day.
But saving your valuables can be a race against the clock—mold can form within 48 hours. To help, the Heritage Emergency National Task Force, cosponsored by FEMA and the Smithsonian Institution, has developed guidelines for how to salvage what you want and dispose of what can’t be saved.
The first step is to determine what type of water you’re dealing with—salty, dirty, or contaminated by sewage or chemicals. If your valuables have come in contact with toxic water during flooding, you might have to call a professional conservator because trying to clean them yourself can be a health risk. If the water was untainted, then take steps to reduce the humidity around your items as you work to clean and dry them. Here’s how from FEMA’s checklist:
Save Your Valuables
Prioritize. You may not be able to save everything after flooding, so focus on what’s most important to you, whether for sentimental or monetary reasons.
"We always hear about dollar-amount damages, but often the losses that affect us the most are the ones to which a dollar amount cannot be assigned," says Lori Foley, administrator of the Heritage Emergency National Task Force. "What do you own that you’d miss terribly if you lost it? Photographs of loved ones in frames, albums, or shoeboxes? Books and paintings passed down through generations? Grandma’s recipe box?"
Air-dry. Gentle air-drying indoors is best. Weather permitting, open your windows to increase indoor airflow. If it’s too hot and humid, use fans, air conditioners, and dehumidifiers. Avoid using hair dryers, irons, ovens, and prolonged exposure to sunlight, which can do irreversible damage.
Handle with care. Delicate items can be especially fragile when wet, so be careful when you handle them. Separate sodden materials by removing photographs from damp albums and taking paintings and prints out of their frames. Place white paper towels between every few pages of wet books.
Clean gently. Loosen dirt and debris on fragile objects carefully with soft cloths and brushes. Avoid rubbing, which can grind in dirt.
Salvage photos. Clean photographs by rinsing them carefully in clean water. Air-dry photos on a plastic screen or paper towel, or by hanging them by the corners with plastic clothespins. Don’t let the image come into contact with other surfaces as it dries.
Cold storage. Damp objects and items that cannot be dealt with immediately should be put in open, unsealed boxes or bags. If you can’t attend to items within 48 hours, you can put photos, papers, books, and textiles in the freezer and clean them later.
"In general, you can freeze many items that cannot be dried out in 48 hours – photos, books, documents, textiles," says Foley. "Freezing stops mold from growing, ink from running, and dyes from transferring. Freezing items allows you to buy some time to devote to other activities. When you are able, you can return to the frozen items and recover them on your own time."
Dispose of the Debris
Once the waters recede, residents will be able to go back into their homes and start cleaning up, and piles of ruined household belongings will be put on the curb. Cleanup can take months if not years.
Because mold creates a serious health risk, it’s important to remove wet items from your home as soon as possible. FEMA recommends not waiting for your insurance adjuster before cleaning up. Instead, document the flooding damage on your cell phone or camera. Before dragging debris to the curb, check with your municipality on how it wants you to separate items for the garbage haulers. FEMA recommends sorting items into the following six categories:
- Bagged household garbage such as food, packaging, and paper.
- Building materials and furniture, including drywall, carpeting, and mattresses.
- Vegetation debris such as tree branches, plants, and leaves.
- Hazardous household waste, including batteries, paints, and cleaning supplies.
- Large appliances such as refrigerators, water heaters, and air conditioners.
- Electronics such as TVs, computers, and stereo equipment.
For more information and resources, see FEMA’s After the Flood: Advice for Salvaging Damaged Family Treasures.
Article Source: https://www.consumerreports.org/cleaning/how-to-salvage-valuables-after-flooding/
Monday, April 15, 2024
Videos show California flooding, storm damage
Friday, April 12, 2024
Why You Should Hire Professional Fire and Water Restoration Services
A fire can have a devastating effect on a family, causing several losses. We sincerely hope that the fire you might have experienced in your house did not have any casualties and it was only property that was damaged. Though even property loss can be pretty frustrating and disheartening, you should know that most fire damaged houses can be restored to their old self. Your best bet to tackle damage caused by fire and water would be to hire the services of a professional fire and water restoration company. A professional fire and water restoration contractor will have the know how that will help them assess the damage to your property and take the most appropriate steps necessary to restore it.
Unless the damage was very minimal, it is highly recommended that you seek the services of a professional fire and water restoration contractor for the following reasons.
Damage caused by fire can be made much worse by home owners who attempt to restore the damaged area without the proper knowledge. Your insurance company will also recommend that you choose a fire and water restoration contractor to carry out the repairs and no do it yourself.
The cost of services of a professional restoration company might be steep at first glance but you have to understand that they will have the best knowledge to save you money with the whole restoration process. Fixing things up on your own might seem much more economical although you will quickly blow your budget as you discover more and more problems that you have to deal with. Even if it means forking over a decent sum of money, it is highly recommended that you hire the services of an expert fire and water restoration company to carry out your restoration.
If water was used to put out the fire, you will have to be worried about water damage in addition to the damage caused by the fire. Fire and water restoration contractors deal with both types of damage on an everyday basis and will quickly begin work to minimize and restore properties affected by both types of damage.
Restoration companies will advice you on what is salvageable and what can be restored. If you didn't consult with experts, you could be throwing away furniture and furnishings that can be easily restored at a fraction of the cost that it would take to replace them.
The odors from a fire can easily penetrate the structure of the house and only a professional fire and water Restoration contractor will be able to use deodorizers and ozone to completely remove the odor of fire and smoke from a property.
Last but not the least, a professional restoration company will allow you to carry on with your life without having to leave your job or business unattended which is exactly what you would have to do if you were trying to restore your house on your own.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5764207
Tuesday, April 9, 2024
Got Water Damage? Hire The Services Of A Professional And Reputed Fire And Water Restoration Company
- It is preferable that you only call for fire and water damage restoration companies that have a solid reputation in the field. Stay away from one man teams or free lancers who will promise you a great job only to give you a run around with poor results.
- Look for a company that will offer 24/7 services. Damage restoration is essentially an emergency service and a company that offers that service should ideally have service availability around the clock.
- Ask if the company has the latest equipment. Some small companies will often be short handed when it comes to quality equipment. A professional water damage repair company should ideally have state of the art commercial grade equipment such as dehumidifiers, blowers, truck mounted water extraction units, portable extraction units and other tools such as moisture gauges and humidity meters and emergency generators. If the water damage is significant, a good company will use a lot of equipment to bring about the best results in the fastest way possible. Hiring a small company that will have very limited equipment will mean longer water damage restoration times which will in turn greatly increase the related losses. When it comes to the effectiveness of a water damage repair company, their responsiveness and speed should be of utmost concern to you as it can save you a significant sum of money.
- Help with the insurance process - Fire and water damage restoration companies are not just important to fix up your house. They in fact play a very important role in your damage situation by helping you with the insurance process. Insurance, as you might already know, can be a very daunting process when approached on your own. You might not know how to fill out the forms correctly or you might ask for too little when you file a form. A good fire and water restoration company will appoint an insurance specialist or insurance consultant to your case. This person will then work with the insurance adjustor appointed by the insurance company. With the insurance consultant on your side, you can relax and be assured that a professional is helping you.
Guarantee on the insurance claim - There could be a situation where you might commission water damage restoration work before being approved by the insurance company. It can be a rude shock to receive a check for an amount that does not cover all the expenses of the restoration work. A professional water damage restoration will help you avoid that pickle of a situation by putting out an estimate that will be accepted by the insurance company. Also, they will guarantee their repair estimates in such a way that they will not charge you personally if the insurance company's check does not cover all of the expenses then the fire and water restoration contractor agrees to waive the additional expenses.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/5771152
Saturday, April 6, 2024
Earthquake Safety
Wednesday, April 3, 2024
Earthquakes Monitoring Live Worldwide
Sunday, March 31, 2024
Boost Your Home’s Selling Price: 5 Pro Secrets | Consumer Reports
Thursday, March 28, 2024
How to Prevent Laundry Room Flooding | Ask This Old House
Monday, March 25, 2024
Water-Related Disaster? Safety First
But homeowners, often feeling helpless in these situations, may ask what they can do to help during this time. The answer is simple but important: safety. Taking measures to ensure the safety of your family and your home is advice to heed. Let's take a look at some safety do's and don'ts.
Is The Home Safe?
Determine whether the house is structurally safe to enter or live in; professionals may refer to the structural integrity of the home. If you're unsure, don't enter the house and make arrangements for shelter with the help of local agencies, neighbors, and friends. Contact your insurance company, too.
If it's determined that the home is safe to enter, turn off the power by disabling the main circuit breaker; turn off the main water supply as well. A flooded basement could damage your furnace if the water reaches a dangerously high level. If you have a natural gas supply line, turn that off also; better still, leave that for a professional.
Of course, keep children and pets away from flooded areas; you don't want accidents from slippery, wet floors.
Don't operate televisions, computers, vacuums or other electrical appliances while standing on wet carpets or floors, especially concrete surfaces.
Be sure your valuables are safe. If you will not be living in the house due to the unsafe conditions, remove your valuables including documents and treasured items such as photographs and other keepsakes; store them with a trusted friend or relative. If you are able to stay in your home, move valuables to a dry, safe location.
Is There Mold?
Mold growth is often one of the ensuing problems created by flood damage. The damp conditions in your home after a flood are an ideal breeding ground for these microscopic organisms that spread by producing airborne spores. Those mix with the air inside your house and can lead to health and safety concerns for you and your family. Typical symptoms resulting from mold exposure include everything from respiratory problems and nasal and sinus congestion, to skin, eye, nose and throat irritation.
(Be on the lookout for signs of mold. They vary considerably but may include a smelly odor, a white and thread-like growth, clusters of small black spots; mold can be grayish-brown, grayish-green or white in color.)
Do treat all flood water as contaminated. The water and water-impacted surfaces may not be contaminated but until determined by a professional, don't take chances. Don't track contaminated materials and items into undamaged areas. Do keep children and pets, who are especially vulnerable, out of suspect areas. Absorbent materials such as carpeting and drywall may be unsalvageable after contaminated.
Implementing these tips will put you into action mode versus feeling helpless. More importantly, it will ensure the safety of your family and your home.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6903591
Friday, March 22, 2024
Steps To Help Recover Immediately After A Home Fire
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Disaster Recovery - Water Damage Classifications
To protect your home from water damage you must first understand the various types of water and the damage it can cause. The three classifications of water that causes damages are Clean, Grey and Black.
Clean Water
This type of water damage does not pose a health risk to humans and is really just incredibly annoying. An overflowing sink or tub or leaky appliance are examples of Clean Water damages.
Grey Water
This type refers to water that contains degrees of chemical, biological or physical contaminants. This can lead to sickness in humans and animals if consumed or exposed. Toilet bowls, dishwashers and washing machine leaks are the most common kinds of Grey Water.
Black Water
This classification contains highly unsanitary agents such as bacteria and fungus which can lead to severe illness. This classification is most rare and comes mainly from sewage, seawater, and contaminated river or stream water.
Water Damage Restoration
Water damage restoration techniques vary greatly depending on the water classification. It is important to know what classification of water you are dealing with before you attempt any restoration projects. If you suspect the water to be of either Grey or Black classification, contact your state environmental protection agency or the water bureau to have your home evaluated.
There are primarily two good techniques used to restore water damaged materials (documents, photos, books, etc).
Desiccant Dehumidification
This restoration process removes moisture from the air quickly and safely, effectively salvaging important documents and helping prevent mold growth. The process involves dehumidifying the air surrounding the damaged documents or personal effect, allowing the water molecules trapped in the damaged items to escape into the air. Desiccant dehumidification is a great restoration option available through some document reprocessing services. It is especially beneficial for businesses and government agencies because the process allows for documents to be accessible for use throughout the process should the need arise.
Freeze-Drying
This process is best for books, binders, and any bound printed matter. Freeze-drying restoration works on a similar premise as dehumidification but in a contained chamber and at much lower temperature. If you can, find a service that offers vacuum freeze-drying as this process will not warp the way regular freeze-drying can.
Time is of the essence when it comes to water damage. Starting the process of restoring your assets as soon as possible will increase the likelihood that your items can be restored to a usable state again. Additionally, mold can quickly become a secondary effect of water damage if time is allowed to pass. To help move quickly after a flood or other water damage, have an emergency plan in place ahead of time.
Water damage has the potential to ruin an entire business or home. Pre-planning and education coupled with a fast-acting, properly equipped damage recovery team can make all the difference in your life returning back to normal.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1279663
Saturday, March 16, 2024
This Old House | Masonry Lessons (S43 E7) FULL EPISODE
Wednesday, March 13, 2024
Emergency Preparedness | How Ready Are You, Really?
Sunday, March 10, 2024
Man Turns $5000 Abandoned House Into a High-End Home | by @Korytan
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Water Damage Dry Out Training with American Drying Institute (ADI)
Monday, March 4, 2024
What To Do After A Fire: Think Straight And Sort It Out
The first thing that is to be taken care of is protecting oneself from further losses. You will want the site protected from further damage by weather, theft or vandalism. The site left unsecured, could result in further damage. If the house has been left unsafe by the fire and one has to stay elsewhere, then the local police is notified before you leave, so that they can keep an eye on the property. Also, you will want to remove all valuables from the house.
Next, watch out for the electric wiring, gas or fuel, and any structural damages such as weakening of walls, roofs, etc. because of the fire. Power should only be turned back on after seeking professional advice. Edibles and medicines were probably damaged by the fire, and so check them and discard if needed in the proper way.
If you have insurance, collect all the receipts for the money spent on the fire loss and keep them for the perusal of the insurance company. You should keep all the damaged goods as well, until after they are shown to the insurance people. The sooner you contact the insurance company, the quicker they can process the claims as the damage is more easily investigated. If one has to leave home, one should leave the alternate contact options with the insurance professionals. You could also ask the insurance people to recommend the best fire damage restoration companies according to them.
Depending on the type of fire damage that occurred, the type of restoration done is also different. The restoration work could be done by property management teams, building maintenance staff or the homeowners themselves, if the damage is minimal, however, it is best to ask for professional help. This is because they are trained on fire damage restoration, not to mention their extensive experience.
To sum up, one shouldn't lose one's head after a fire. You want to take action to secure the site and the necessary precautions are taken care of. The insurance company and the police should be notified at once. In case one has to leave the premises, one should take identification, vital medicines and valuables along, and tell the important people of the new contact details. Let's not lose our heads over what to do after a fire.
We all hope to never be there, but when a disaster happens to your home you want to be sure that you have the right coverage on your insurance to help you through those tough times. You don't want to have to think about all of the details like what to do after a fire, damage repair assessments, and insurance claims. Finding a great company online to handle all of this for you would be the best option for you and your family.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7294858
Friday, March 1, 2024
How You Can Benefit From Hiring Fire Damage Restoration Professionals
But did you know that personal restitution projects are not recommended? Although it seems more cost-effective to personally address the problem, several of these homeowners choose to abandon the project and hire professionals instead. It's mainly because they don't know what to do or have worsened the situation instead of improving it.
So before you decide to do things on your own and make matters worse, here are some benefits you can gain from hiring fire damage restoration companies.
- Expertise and skills
- Insurance assistance
Fire and smoke damage experts, on the other hand, will provide insurance specialists to take the burden off your shoulders by doing the process on your behalf. Additionally, they will work to come up with an agreeable claim amount to cover the losses. Many insurance companies undercut homeowners but fire damage restoration companies will do otherwise.
- Right tools, manpower, and approach
- More personal time
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7732444
Tuesday, February 27, 2024
List of Things a Family Needs After a House Fire : Home Safety
Saturday, February 24, 2024
What Type Of Smoke Alarm Is Best For Your Home?
Wednesday, February 21, 2024
AllTek Restoration Repair Services
You can only expect a professional staff when working with Alltek Restoration, Inc. We value and expect quality, efficiency, punctuality, cleanliness, and courtesy. Our team believes in our commitment and dedication to each client’s satisfaction is second to none.
- Quality work, Integrity, and Commitment
- Prompt completion and timeline.
- Detailed estimates upon invitation to bid.
- Explanation of contract and specification
Alltek has established successful working relationships with qualified and competent professionals, and subcontractors who share our customer-oriented philosophy.
Our Guarantee: We warranty all work that is done with your project whether we ourselves do the work or our subcontractors do the work.
Contact our office in Pittsburg, CA, at 925-732-7200 to speak with one of our construction designers about your upcoming project.
Sunday, February 18, 2024
This Old House | House Fire Reclamation
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Disaster Preparation Tips for Your Home
With many people at home more often now, prepping your home is a perfect task to do that you may have not had time for before.