Braintree: What Can Be Done About Smoke Damage After A Fire
April 14, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
House fires are devastating events, even if the damage to your home was ‘relatively minor’. As one fire inspector told us, minor damage means “it happened to someone else!” There is no minor damage when it’s your home, your possessions, and your memories on the line.
We’re blessed with some fabulous fire departments in our area. Using bravery and skill, they can often put out a fire before the home is a total loss. What do you do if this happens to you?
Braintree disaster recovery services are the answer. Professional disaster recovery services are used to help homeowners salvage as many of their possessions as possible from the effects of a house fire. Many people are surprised by the range of items that can be saved. Every fire and home is different, but disaster recovery techniques have been used to save upholstered furniture, family photos, antiques and heirlooms – even carpeting!
To successfully alleviate smoke damage, your disaster remediation service will base their approach in response to the type of smoke your fire produced. Believe it or not, there are different types of smoke. Wet smokes, for example, leave lots of grainy, oily residue on every surface, whereas dry smokes leave finer films of soot and grime. Soot, smoke residue, and grime continue to damage your home and possessions even after the fire has gone out. It’s essential to treat smoke damage right away: the longer the soot and smoke residue lingers, the more difficult it will be for disaster recovery services to clean your possessions.
What can you expect after smoke damage remediation? Having a Braintree professional cleaning service take care of your home after a fire can produce surprising results. Eliminating the odor and grime of smoke is the top priority. Upholstered furniture can smell good again. Fabrics and wall coverings can look and feel like new.
Disaster 101: What To Do After The House Floods
March 3, 2011 by admin · Leave a Comment
It’s been a wet, snowy winter, and forecasters are talking about a soggy spring. The Braintree area has seen some pretty significant weather this year and the thought of the spring thaw has some homeowners nervous. When there’s lots of water flowing around, you can have problems: water in basements, leaking roofs, even localized flooding. What should you do after you’ve had a flood (small or large!)
Step One: Don’t Panic!
Being faced with the damage caused by a flood event can be very overwhelming. There’s a lot to think about and figure out, while your emotions are on a roller-coaster course caused by the upset and shock of a flood. Recognize that you will have an emotional reaction to what’s going on, as will the people who live with and around you. Remember that there is help available: professional disaster recovery specialists know how to help families recover from even the most extreme flood event.
Step Two: Braintree Water Mitigation Services
Water damage worsens minute by minute. The longer your home is exposed to or is submerged in water, the more significant the damage can be. Calling in your Braintree disaster remediation team right away is an essential first step for success.
Water pump-out services remove standing water from your home. Flooded basements can be an especially dangerous environment: never enter a flooded basement on your own! Once all of the water has been removed, high powered fans and specialized equipment are used to dry every inch of your space. This is essential before carpet cleaning can begin. Even upholstered furniture that has been exposed to the flood waters may be salvagable. Every item reclaimed from the flood waters is an item you don’t have to replace!
One of the biggest hazards associated with flooding occurs after the waters have receded. Mold and mildew are both powerful environmental allergens: many people become sick upon being exposed to mold and mildew. Having anti-microbial treatments applied to the carpets helps eliminate that hazard.
Quincy: Burst Pipes – The Aftermath!
December 9, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Tabitha J. wasn’t even home when the problem started. “I travel a lot for work,” the Quincy resident explained. “And our weather’s been so crazy lately — warm one week, freezing the next. I guess I didn’t really ever think about it.”
Plummeting temperatures caused the pipes in a poorly insulated wall to freeze and burst, spraying countless gallons of water into Tabitha’s home. “It was an absolute disaster,” she explained. “The wallboard became so saturated that it actually collapsed inward. There was water all over the floor. The carpet was totally saturated.”
Water Damage Remediation
A quick response is essential to control the effects of water damage. “I’d been gone for three days, and the water had been running all of that time. It soaked through the floor and dripped into the room below!” Tabitha said. “The mess was huge, and I didn’t even know where to start.”
Cleaning up a mess of this magnitude is not a do-it-yourself job. “Are you kidding me?” Tabitha asked. “I don’t even own a mop. I put some towels down, but that didn’t even begin to fix it. And everything smelled so bad!” After a quick visit from a plumber, Tabitha called a Quincy professional cleaning service.
“There was damage to the carpet, the floor below, the sub-flooring, and the ceiling in the room below.” A thorough carpet cleaning and restoration was able to salvage the carpet, reducing some of the cost of bringing Tabitha’s home back to normal. “I was really worried about mildew and mold growing since I’m asthmatic,” Tabitha explained. “That stuff can trigger an attack!” The use of an anti-microbial agent significantly reduces the growth of mold and mildew. Thoroughly drying the affected areas comes next, including the use of dehumidifiers. Today, Tabitha’s home looks beautiful, without a hint of the catastrophic aftermath of her burst pipes.
Industry Accreditations
June 21, 2010 by admin · Leave a Comment
Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) has served as the Industry Guardian for the cleaning, inspection and restoration service industries for more than 30 years. As a non-profit certification organization, the IICRC helps ensure that you have access to trusted and trained cleaning professionals by establishing and monitoring certification programs and standards for these industries.
To qualify for IICRC-Certified Firm status businesses must demonstrate proof of insurance, maintain a written customer complaint policy with documented follow-up and provide ongoing education and training leading to certification for all technicians. IICRC Certified Firms are also required to abide by the IICRC Code of Ethics. Services provided by IICRC–Certified professionals range from flooring inspection and cleaning to mold remediation to water and fire damage restoration.
EPA Lead-Safe Firm Certification
Common renovation activities like sanding, cutting, and demolition can create hazardous lead dust and chips by disturbing lead-based paint, which can be harmful to adults and children.
To protect against this risk, on April 22, 2008, EPA issued a rule requiring the use of lead-safe practices and other actions aimed at preventing lead poisoning. Under the rule, beginning April 22, 2010, contractors performing renovation, repair and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in homes, child care facilities, and schools built before 1978 must be certified and must follow specific work practices to prevent lead contamination.
EPA requires that firms performing renovation, repair, and painting projects that disturb lead-based paint in pre-1978 homes, child care facilities and schools be certified by EPA and that they use certified renovators who are trained by EPA-approved training providers to follow lead-safe work practices. Individuals can become certified renovators by taking an eight-hour training course from an EPA-approved training provider.