Our Experts have Extensive Training in Flood Damage Restoration

9/11/2020 (Permalink)

The DOs and DON'Ts after flooding

DO

• Remove colored rugs/items from wet carpeting
• Remove excess water by mopping and blotting
• Wipe excess water from wood furniture after removing items on tabletop
• Turn on air conditioning for maximum drying
• Place wood blocks between furniture legs and wet carpeting

DO NOT

• Use television/other household appliances
• Use your household vacuum to remove water
• Leave wet fabrics in place. HANG furs and leather goods.

SERVPRO’s technicians are IICRC Certified and receive extensive training that helps them get your damage back to normal. SERVPRO is known to be preferred vendors for many national and local insurance companies. Remember that your primary focus should be your safety after any water/flood damage.

If you have a Water/Flood Damage Emergency, Call SERVPRO of North Stafford County TODAY at 540.720.1535 or visit our website at https://www.SERVPROnorthstaffordcounty.com/?utm_medium=yext&utm_source=gmb

Let the Professionals Handle Water Damage Remediation in Your Roseville Business

9/22/2019 (Permalink)

Water damage in a school setting will prevent the educational process. Contact SERVPRO right away after visible damage.

Effects of Commercial Water Damage in a Roseville School and How to Respond

Schools are one of the essential infrastructures in a community with features that differ from other institutions. One of these features is that children, teenagers, or young adults make up the student population in schools. Therefore, school administrations have particular concerns when a water damage incident occurs because students may not know what to do during or after the emergency.

Dealing with commercial water damage in your Roseville school can be stressful. It is not something you can ignore, but you also do not want to suspend learning activities for long due to the disaster. So, what should you do? For starters, examine the losses incurred so that you understand what steps to take. Generally, water loss can affect your school in the following ways:

Property damage

Water affects nearly everything it comes across. From books to furniture, electronics to school records. The damaged items also provide sufficient conditions for mold to develop.

Health hazards

Standing water anywhere poses a health hazard. Therefore, school managers should respond to water damage immediately it happens to protect students and staff from waterborne diseases.

Financial loss 

Whether water damages a single classroom or an entire block, you can expect to incur some costs on repairs.

Disruption of classes

Water intrusion can disrupt the learning process. You, therefore, need a quick response to water damage to avoid losing valuable school time.

At SERVPRO, we use high-quality water extraction and drying equipment to restore water-damaged properties. We can remove water from floors, walls, or other areas quickly using portable pumps. Our technicians then use air movers to increase evaporation and dehumidifiers to remove water vapor from the air.

Even after drying the affected areas, moisture could still be present in some materials. Our technicians can use moisture meters to measure the level of moisture in different materials. Another issue with a water intrusion incident in a school is the growth of microbes. Our SERVPRO crew can use sanitizers to reduce the number of microbes to levels that public health authorities consider safe.

If your school in Garrisonville, Stafford, or Aquia Harbour has water damage, call SERVPRO of North Stafford County at (540) 720-1535 for prompt restoration. We can make the destruction appear “Like it never even happened.”  

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Our Experts Have Extensive Training In Flood Damage Restoration In Stafford

9/12/2019 (Permalink)

There was a significant amount of water which had entered the interior of the house. We provide 24/7 emergency service.

Collective Threats of Standing Water in Strafford Homes

It might seem as though standing water is a threat enough with just its presence in your Strafford home, but without immediate extraction and removal, this water damage can become a destructive force in several ways. Most homeowners lack the equipment and experience to adequately address both the water removal and the drying of exposed materials and contents in your house, leaving no other credible choice but to pursue professional restoration. Our team helps to put your mind at ease and work with you to get your home back to preloss condition as quickly as possible.

Understanding the threats of standing water and flood damage in Strafford homes is the best way to ensure that you take the right preventative steps to protect your property as much as you can. Our SERVPRO professionals undergo extensive training to become thoroughly educated on the threats of flooding in a home as we have accreditations as water restoration and structural drying specialists. This training and experience can make up for the shortcomings of experience for residents and their respective homes during a flood, especially with how stressful and overwhelming this experience can already be for property owners.

Structural Concerns 

One of the most considerable threats with standing water over any period is the effect it has on installed structural elements and construction materials. While drywall can quickly show the evidence of moisture saturation, materials like hardwood might not showcase the damage occurring as plainly as a swelling and degrading sheet of drywall does. Exposure to moisture, especially over several days, can reconfigure the composition of many affected materials and require replacement or repair.

Lingering Moisture 

Our SERVPRO team has sophisticated tools that exist specifically to identify lingering moisture and saturation concerns that exist out of sight. From thermal and infrared imagery to moisture meters with probes, we can keep tabs on the status of moisture content in the house. Without a knowledge of this dampness in these areas, the conditions can remain ideal for the production of mold growth for prolonged periods after flood damage.

Potential Contaminants 

Not every flooding situation involves contaminated water, but there are times where these potential threats cannot be entirely ruled out, either. In cases where this threat could exist, we have certified cleaning technicians with biohazard experience to oversee the containment and remediation of this threat.

Flooding can present many risks for your home, but our SERVPRO of North Stafford County team can help. We are local, experienced, and We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster. Give us a call today at (540) 720-1535.

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Our Experts Will Eliminate Smoke Odors To Your Stafford Home

9/4/2019 (Permalink)

Our swift response will prevent further damage and lower your restoration costs. We are available 24/7 to offer expertise, training, and equipment.

Important Aspects of Light, Moderate, and Heavy Smoke Damage to Homes in Stafford

Living through a house fire can become a long-term stressful event for a family in Stafford. Part of the problem involves strong and unpleasant odors that can often affect every area of the house. When the weather turns hot and humid, these odors quickly seem much more noticeable. Because this happens with almost every fire, SERVPRO provides deodorization methods that fit a range of situations.

Any size fire in your Stafford home causes fire damage. While fires that burned organic substance like wood or paper smell less offensive than those involving plastics or other synthetic materials, burnt food seems highly offensive and bothersome.

Light Smoke Damage

Light smoke damage might come from a smoker in the home who used only one room, perhaps an enclosed patio, in which to light up and smoke cigarettes. Regular use of candles in a bedroom or bathroom could also build up smoke residues on walls and ceilings. Other times, a small fire that you put out soon after it started can leave a room full of smokey haze that quickly adheres to surfaces. Cleaning the surfaces often suffices in such situations, but we always make sure you find the results satisfactory before considering the work complete.

Moderate Smoke Damage

This degree of smoke and fire damage often requires our building crew to remove charred materials. Cleaning out burned belongings and other objects also removes a large amount of the odor's cause. We use a fogging system with a cinnamon scent to permeate areas beyond this. An air scrubber can help, as well, in removing particles currently in the air.

Heavy Smoke Damage

This often happens when furniture and other furnishings become heavily saturated with smoke and ash. We clean these and then place them in an ozone chamber. Untreated beams in walls often release soot particles even after rebuilding walls, so we ensure these get treated with effective sealers before installing new drywall. Anything charred needs removed and replaced – this includes warping and bubbling of surfaces.

In General

We clean these areas by stripping soot and oily residues from walls with a gentle cleaning agent on sponges. After cleaning hard surfaces, we check again for the strength of the odors. When we find enclosed spaces that harbor soot and continue to release odors, we use thermal fogging to neutralize the residue. For the most challenging odors, we use long-lasting scented beads, placed in a shallow pan, in inaccessible areas or gel-packs to eliminate the scents coming from the last remaining bits of soot. Our building services crew under Residential Contractor License # 2705165256 checks the HVAC system and performs any cleaning required to eliminate odors.

SERVPRO of North Stafford County is ready to help you eliminate smoke odors from your property. Residents in Roseville, Aquia Harbor, and Widewater Beach can depend on the professionals from the initial phone call to (540) 720-1535 to the conclusion of any restoration work. We promise to make it “Like it never even happened.”

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What is the Best Way to Remove Water From Your Roseville Home?

8/28/2019 (Permalink)

When water damage is not remediated quickly, mold can grow. SERVPRO is ready to remediate your water damaged home!

Fast Solutions for Extraction in Damaged Roseville Homes 

Many consider substantial water loss incidents in their Roseville homes to be a total loss. As leading professionals in the restoration field, we have spent many years building our brand to become a respected voice in the industry. We can make loss incidents “Like it never even happened,” and that begins with providing fast and efficient solutions to prevent further damage. 

Many homeowners mistakenly address water removal in Roseville homes without utilizing the right tools and equipment. While certain wet-dry vacuums can perform these tasks in part, there are multiple options available to property owners that can do a more efficient and thorough job. Home improvement and hardware stores in the area often stock several standard high-grade restoration tools that you can rent to begin mitigation and recovery the right way. 

There are several standard tools that you are likely to find at any of these locations, all of which can offer you effective water extraction and drying approaches. The faster you can reduce humidity and moisture levels in the affected areas, the less susceptible your home becomes to secondary effects like mold and microbial growth. Here are some of the tools that our SERVPRO team uses that you can also rent in smaller sizes from home improvement locations: 

• Sump Pumps – These are not typically available for rent, but you can find a decent variety of them within a reasonable price range. These run on electricity, so if your home has lost power on account of the standing water, you cannot utilize these tools without portable power solutions.

• Large Volume Wet-Vacs – Many homeowners have purchased a wet-dry vac, especially for areas in the home susceptible to dampness like the basement or garages. Higher capacity units can work to redirect water flow to a drain or outside your home with powerful suction. 

• Trash Pumps – These gas-powered units are part of the SERVPRO arsenal because of their power and their ability to work without the need for a generator or available electric. Many of these units must get primed to function correctly, but there are many easy solutions to get the extraction started. 

It is not uncommon for water loss incidents to get addressed quickly enough not to become substantial concerns for our customers. Our SERVPRO of North Stafford County professionals have a full inventory of recovery tools and extensive experience to offer any situation, whether you need a helping hand, or the situation has gotten out of your control. Give us a call anytime at (540) 720-1535. 

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Did the Recent Storms Bring a Mountain of Water into Your Garrison Home?

8/23/2019 (Permalink)

Virginia often experiences heavy rains that can cause flooding. Call SERVPRO of North Stafford County to handle all of your water damage restoration.

Training, Equipment, and Experience Are Why SERVPRO Is a Flood Damage Standby in Garrisonville 

Residential flooding is frightening and overwhelming to Garrisonville homeowners. Usually connected to heavy rainfall, runoff from the hilly area surrounding the region can introduce highly contaminated and silt-filled water into the lower levels of your home. Storm activity can damage roofs, break windows, and destroy siding, allowing rainwater to flow inside. Not only do homeowners need water removal and structural drying, but they also require repairs and rebuilding (General Contractor, Residential, Commercial Licenses #: 2705165256.) A flooding event restoration has many phases, why we are uniquely qualified to help. 

Debris and Dirt Contaminate and Complicate Flood Damage Recovery 

Overland flood damage in Garrisonville can require shovels before pumps. Mud and residues bring decaying organic matter and highly hazardous items such as dead animals and landscaping and pavement chemicals into your home. Our Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)-trained crew members use practical strategies for ridding your home of solids, scooping and hauling the contaminants away. Then submersible pumps and wanded extractors remove the fluids from the flooded spaces. 

Containment and Disposal of Hazardous Waste 

It is shocking to learn that flooding caused a waste water invasion that could transmit discomfort or disease in your home. Our familiarity with appropriate hazardous waste disposal is why SERVPRO’s services are so appreciated and sought after when flood damage occurs. After we collect, contain, and dispose of the noxious fluids, we use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-registered cleaners and disinfectants to clear the soiling and manage any pathogens. 

Applied Structural Drying 

Once the cleanup of mud and dirty water completed, our technicians ensure the removal of any residual moisture. We measure the levels of adsorbed water in structural components and compared the numbers with sampling from dry spaces in your home. The principles of psychrometry, or the science of drying, learned during IICRC training guide our efforts to place air movers and heaters, forcing moisture out as vapor. Dehumidifiers absorb or condense the airborne vapor, collecting it for disposal as required by local regulation. Then reconstruction and repair ensue. The consistent use of these effective strategies is why SERVPRO can make it “Like it never even happened.” 

Our faithful adherence to practical and efficient restoration practices is why SERVPRO of North Stafford County succeeds in returning the property to owners whole, clean, and dry. Call us at (540) 720-1535 when the waters rise for high-quality results. 

More about Garrisonville.

Are You Making Flood Damage Remediation Mistakes For Your Garrisonville Business? 

8/5/2019 (Permalink)

Your store can be overwhelmed by flood damage in mere minutes. Call the professionals at SERVPRO for remediation assistance today.

Sometimes the Best Outcome for Commercial Flood Damage in Garrisonville is Reconstruction

We are very good at what we do when we bring our restoration services to a property with commercial flood damage. Many times flood water affects only a portion of a business. In those cases, there is often enough of the original structure that has restoration potential. Sometimes, that is not the case.

SERVPRO mitigated commercial flood damage in a Garrisonville business that received a large amount of loss due to groundwater from heavy rains and the Rappahannock River breaching its banks. The entire property received several inches of water, and unfortunately, the business owner was unable to get into their property for two days and the situation compounded. 

Groundwater is already a category three biohazard and considered contaminated and dangerous to come into contact with. The potential for mold on top of everything else was a concern. The water had receded quite a bit by the time our technicians arrived on site to extract the remaining water as we could tell by the waterlines in the sheetrock. We removed the remaining water and used our generators to power the equipment as water in the property was over the wall plugs, and it was unsafe to use the electricity at the worksite.

We cut away the damaged sheetrock and the tile flooring delaminated from prolonged exposure to excessive moisture and required removal. To assist with airflow, we drilled weep holes in the sheetrock that had not taken on the water to assist with drying the support beams and studs. Under the tile floor, the subfloor was wet, and we used floor mats to deliver warm, dry air to the area. 

After drying and deodorizing the property, we prepped it for reconstruction by sanitizing it to inhibit the growth of mold. Our SERVPRO owner holds a Commercial Contractor License #2705165256, and we can offer property owners:

• Restoration services from flood damage 
• Any rebuilding and repairs as needed 
• This dual service lessens the stress as you only have to deal with one company to get your business back on track.

When commercial flood damage is a problem, call SERVPRO of North Stafford County at (540) 720-1535. Our emergency response team has the training and certification to assist property owners with everything from restoration services to reconstruction no matter if the water loss is a little or a lot, We're Faster to Any Size Disaster.

Click here to see more about Garrisonville. 

Stafford Storm Loss? Call SERVPRO; We Can Mitigate the Damages--Fast!

7/21/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Is the Key for Flood Loss Restoration in Stafford

Cleaning and Deodorizing Your Flood-Damaged Stafford Home

There are multiple stages to recovering your Stafford home after a flood loss scenario. As troublesome as the entire incident might seem, some of the most challenging aspects include addressing the cleanup and deodorization required. One of the only ways to make these situations “Like it never even happened” is to address aspects like odor removal, disinfection, and overall effective cleanup. While our SERVPRO team can help in many of these facets where necessary, there are ways that you can help in these regards as well.

Homeowners are often looking for the most cost-effective and efficient solutions for flood damage to Stafford residences, and this starts with understanding the steps that you can take to reduce detrimental effects to your house. DIY mitigation can help to both save you money and to help reduce the time that restoration ultimately takes, even if you seek the experience and qualifications of our technicians. Each team member in our storm relief and water restoration division has accreditations through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) as Water Restoration Technicians (WRT) and many also have additional training in Applied Structural Drying (ASD.)

From the time that disasters first occur in your home, you should work first to remove any contents in affected areas that could become irreparably damaged by the spreading water. Even without contaminated elements common to many flooding scenarios, standing water is often enough to cause substantial harm to many of the personal belongings exposed.

Cleaning up your residence after a flood often comes down to powerful disinfection and recovery solutions from our SERVPRO professionals. In addition to general water restoration, we have experienced team members that have additional certifications as:

-    Carpet Cleaning Technicians (CCT)
-    Upholstery & Fabric Cleaning Technicians (UFT)
-    Odor Control Technicians (OCT)
-    Biohazard Cleaning through the American Bio-Recovery Association (ABRA)
-    Applied Microbial Remediation Technicians (AMRT)

While there is a balance between the professional work that often must occur after a flood and what homeowners can handle on their own, knowing your role in the recovery of your house is critical. Our SERVPRO of North Stafford County team can help. Give us a call anytime at (540) 720-1535.

Welcome home.

Fire Damage Remediation in Stafford: Should You Use Professionals or DIY?

7/18/2019 (Permalink)

It is tempting to want to make fire remediation a DIY if the fire is small. But you need the correct equipment and cleaners to complete the job.

What Tools Professionals Use for Fire Loss in Stafford Homes 

Fire recovery can take many different forms for Stafford homes, and more specifically, for those homeowners working on trying and overcoming loss effects on their own. It is not impossible for property owners to restore fire loss damages without training and restoration experience, but having the right equipment is essential. The more prepared you can be for these disasters, the less likely they are to spread and get completely out of control. 

Fire damage in Stafford homes can appear in many different ways from soot and smoke residues to air quality concerns, structural compromise, and degradation. Addressing even one of these challenges can be difficult without the appropriate equipment and tools that can help. Our SERVPRO technicians arrive at every fire loss emergency with the full measure of our mitigation and recovery tools, products, and devices. We know how important it is to get the situation contained and displaced families back in the property, so there is no delay in getting cleanup and restoration started. 

Recovery for these emergencies is multi-faceted and should often get completed by competent and qualified professionals like our SERVPRO team.  Here are some of the tools that can help you to make a positive difference quickly in your fire-damaged home: 

• Thermal/UV Fogger – These vital tools can help to immediately address odor concerns, even in soft materials like clothing and fabrics. These machines release a dense chemical compound that breaks apart foul odor molecules on contact. 

• Chemical Sponges – These cleaning implements are vital for clearing away soot and smoke residues (wet smoke) after a loss incident. Traditional cleaning methods can lead to smearing and staining of this coating. 

• Hydroxyl Generators – These machines are two-fold by both helping to filter out a substantial amount of hazardous debris and particulates from the air inside of your home and working also to address lingering odor concerns as well. 

Whether you choose to handle fire loss effects on your own or seek the experience of our SERVPRO of North Stafford County team, we are always available. Call us at (540) 720-1535.

More about Stafford.

Let the Professionals Handle Water Damage Remediation in Your Stafford Home

7/16/2019 (Permalink)

Don't let a small leak wreck your home. Call SERVPRO for water damage remediation assistance.

Ensuring Your Stafford Home Gets Properly Dry after Water Damage

Water loss incidents can present enough of a dire situation for your Stafford home even when the situation gets resolved quickly by professionals. Though with a growing number of homeowners that wish to overcome these effects on their own to both save time and money, there is a much larger concern of phases like drying happening as thoroughly as they should. Lingering moisture can present substantial threats to structural integrity, and also welcome hazardous secondary conditions like mold growth.

As much as consumer products have continued to evolve to better handle the severity of water damage in Stafford residences, without monitoring the situation, you can easily miss moisture pockets and dampness beyond the surface. Our SERVPRO professionals arrive with many discovery devices such as hygrometers and infrared imagery to help see beyond the immediate surfaces to locate any moisture existing in wall cavities, beneath flooring, or behind ceiling materials. 

You might find that overcoming moisture and saturation of specific structural elements and construction materials is more challenging than others and requires advanced tools and equipment. As of 2018, our SERVPRO team has been HomeAdvisor Screened & Approved, showcasing our knowledge for what your property needs and the expertise to get the job done the first time correctly. We are continually working to improve our inventory of recovery and mitigation equipment, always having the latest and most effective machines for the work that we do. 

Ensuring that lingering moisture and dampness do not exist might require homeowners to have this same sophisticated equipment and devices if they seek to perform the work on their own. Many of these tools, including air movers, dehumidifiers, and even air scrubbers for purification efforts can get rented or purchased from chain home improvement locations near to your home. 

For as straightforward as some water loss incidents might appear, you could welcome worsening conditions to your property without fully determining the success of your drying efforts. If you need a second opinion or want our SERVPRO of North Stafford County to handle the phases of recovery for your property, give us a call 24/7 at (540) 720-1535.

Click here to see more about Stafford.