Fire Water Damage Restoration

How To Change Ceiling Insulation Damaged By Water

2010-11-26T23:06:00.002+11:00

Ceiling insulation will not last forever, although it will last for many years. As it gets older it will not only lose its effectiveness but it will become dust-ridden and can become the cause of allergies inside the home. Over the years it is also possible that your attic insulation has become water damaged through a leak in the roof, a leaking water pipe or a water heater that is in the attic and has started to leak.

When your insulation has become water damaged it will have to be removed and replaced with new insulation. Removing insulation, particularly old insulation, is a difficult and messy job and is something that should be left to the professionals. An insulation removal expert has professional grade equipment at their disposal and have had a lot of experience with the removal of the most damaged and moldy insulation.

Ceiling insulation can come in the form of cellulose, fibreglass or polyester batts and they can all result in airborne fibers when they are disrupted. For this reason you don’t want to be carrying the old insulation through the house. If you were to attempt to do the job yourself this is very likely what is going to have to happen. Anyone with allergies will have a nightmare time of it if this is the way you go about the insulation removal process.

So how does the water damaged insulation in the ceiling get removed without causing too much trouble inside the house? The method the professionals use is to run a large hose from the exterior of the house up into the attic to the insulation itself. This is connected to a large commercial scale vacuum and this vacuum is used to suck up all of the loose and damaged insulation.

With the possibility of animal infestation and urine and faeces soaked insulation a health issue, the less contact you make with the insulation the better. This is why these large scale vacuums are the way to perform the task. This will allow as little contact with the material as it is possible to make.

You want the water damage to be cleaned up as quickly as possible and with as little mess as practicable. Calling in the insulation damage experts is the wisest move you can make.

Drying A Water Damaged Timber Floor With Injectidry

2010-10-04T11:36:00.004+11:00

There is a technique being used by water damage specialists to dry and restore a water damaged timber floor known as Injectidry. It has been believed by some people that the only option open to them after their timber floors have been damaged by water is replacement. This is not always the case.

The Injectidry system works by placing panels on the floor and sealing them so they are airtight. Hoses are then attached to the holes in these panels and these hoses are then attached to the injectidry system. When the system is turned on suction is formed underneath the panels. This then forces air between the subfloor and the wet timber floor by way of the grooves in the boards and this starts the process of drawing the moisture out. At the same time a dehumidifier is set in the middle of the room to remove the moisture from the room.

As long as the water that has flooded the floor is clean there should be no need to remove or replace the affected floor boards. Another factor that is important to the success of this method is that it is undertaken within 12 hours of the flooding. As long as there are no visual signs of molds forming you can expect that the water restoration system will be successful.

People who have used this method of drying have found that within one or two days the flooring has been dried back to its pre-flooded condition.

The Injectidry system does not have to be limited to drying floors with success also reported when using it to dry out ceilings and walls. The system has been specifically developed to target areas of hidden moisture wherever it occurs. Surfaces that have been coated with watertight finishes such as PVA paint, double-sheeted fire walls, insulation, vinyl wallpaper and floors are all capable of being dried using this system.

The units that are used are the Injectidry HP 60i which is an industrial grade high pressure drying system that is designed to dry inside trapped spaces including wall cavities. The Injectidry HP60FDP is an industrial grade high pressure floor drying package.

Take a look at the Injectidry System in action:

It would definitely be worthwhile checking out the official website of the Injectidry System.

Clean Up Flood Damage Safely

2010-01-30T14:15:00.002+11:00

Flood damage is an extreme form of water damage and the majority of people are fortunate enough to live in areas where it is likely they will never be threatened by the prospect of their house being inundated by flood.

In other areas there is a real likelihood that some people will be facing annual flood damage. This may be because they live in close proximity to a river which floods after heavy rain or because naturally occurring phenomena such as hurricanes are common at certain times of the year. Those regularly flooded out would be somewhat used to the clean up process, not that it ever gets easy.

Safety Clothing For Flood Damage Clean Up

When attempting to clean up flood damage you will be handling items that are potentially contaminated with all kinds of mildew or floodwater debris. The potential for sewage to contaminate the water is very real so proper protective clothing should be worn at all times.

The proper protective clothing to use when cleaning up flood damage may include:

Gloves
Goggles
Respirator
Rubber boots

Safety Steps When Cleaning Up Flood Damage

A flooded home can be a very dangerous place to be. There are some steps that should be followed to ensure your safety.

Turn off the electricity. The electricity may already be turned off or the power to the area may have been lost, but you must also be sure that the mains power has been switched off to cut all electricity to the house.

If it is dark indoors and you need light to see by always use a flashlight. Never strike a match or use open flames in case there is gas present inside.

If you have a flooded basement along with flooding in the rest of the home, only partially remove the water in the first stages. It is likely that there will be water outside the house pushing in and removing the water from the basement could result in the pressure from outside the house becoming too great, pushing against the basement wall causing structural damage.

Fresh food, medicine and cosmetics that have come in contact with the floodwater will have to be thrown out due to the potential for contamination.

Appliances that have come in contact with the water should be examined by someone who is qualified to repair electric goods to ensure they are still in working order.

It’s bad enough to have to pick through the damage that has been caused by floodwaters that have inundated the home. Make sure you don’t make the situation worse by ignoring simple safety steps while performing your flood damage restoration.

Steps To Kill Mold In Carpet

2010-01-26T13:52:00.001+11:00

If you have carpet in your home, you might not be aware that you have mold in carpet. Mold is a deadly fungus and when it settles in anything, be it carpet or walls, it begins to consume items. From there, it can spread to other parts of your house, from carpets through walls, destroying wallpaper, walls and ceilings. When mold takes root in your home, it can be nearly impossible to get rid of, so it is important to ensure you prevent mold before it happens. Since carpet mold needs heat and dampness to grow, it often puts off a musty smell. In addition, mold is very versatile. If it does not have the moisture it needs to grow, it can lie dormant to create spores. Once the moisture is present again, the mold then becomes active and can resume its various methods of destruction. You must take steps to remove mold from the carpet.

If you are looking for ways to get rid of carpet mold, or to completely kill mold in carpet, you should consider your own safety. Protective items such as gloves and a face mask should be worn, including items, which will cover the skin on your arms and legs. In addition, any footwear, which you wear in the area, should be contained to the area, to prevent it from spreading to the rest of the house. While many people do not have negative reactions to mold, other individuals are highly susceptible to the effects. Using carpet cleaning mold ridding techniques you may not be able to get all of the mold out of your house without professional assistance.

If you inspect the area, which is infected with mold in carpet, you should be able to determine just how infected your home is. If the surface area of the mold infection is likely less than ten square feet, you should be able to perform the cleaning yourself. However, if there is a larger infection, it is recommended to contact professionals who can kill mold in carpet.

Even if you do manage to clean up the carpet mold, you should be aware that a water source is needed to supply the moisture, which allows mold to spread. If there is a water source which is making the floors and carpet wet, mold will continue to grow, even after you clean it up. Looking for plumbing leaks in the walls is the first place you should start when looking for moisture problems caused by mold. This is a vital step in the prevention of future carpet mold and should be the first step you take followed by a complete carpet drying process.

Before you begin heavily cleaning up carpet mold, you should cleanse the entire area with some form of detergent, which can be applied with a steam cleaner. Once this is done, the area should be dried completely before you begin more efforts. A strong cleaner like Lysol should be used to rid the area of mold spores.

Another way of ensuring the mold spores are eliminated once the carpet has been cleaned is to use a HEPA air filter that will capture all of the mold spores that have been released into the air.

The process of completely removing mold from the carpet may require a second application of the cleaning product to ensure that every trace of mold and mildew is removed and there won’t be a reoccurrence of the mold infestation.

Emergency Water Damage Removal

2010-01-25T23:17:00.003+11:00

In the majority of cases if there has been some kind of water disaster such as a flood or a failure of the water mains pipe that has resulted in significant damage to the home or property it is going to be crisis time. An emergency water damage restoration is going to have to be organized and you are going to have to rely on the help of water damage specialists very quickly.

You will need to know what kinds of services you are looking for the restoration company to be able to provide so that you can be sure the necessary help is available. Some essential features to look for include:

A 24 hour service from the company where you can rely on help any time day or night.
Water extraction.
Mold remediation.
Drying of the structure that includes all aspects of the home – the structure and the contents.
A dehumidifying service.
Sanitization and disinfectant service.
Pack-out and pack back of the household contents. This includes off-site storage.

Tasks such as water extraction can be major operations, particularly if you live in an area that is prone to such natural disasters as hurricanes or floods. An emergency water extraction should be undertaken by professionals who know what they are doing. The sooner the water is removed from the property the greater the chance that belongings ill be able to be salvaged.

The reason why you want to choose a company who offers full 24 hour service is because water can destroy things in a matter of hours and these hours might make the difference between saving and losing valuable possessions.

The water damage doesn’t necessarily have to be confined to the home for an emergency call out to a restoration company to be necessary. Vehicle water damage is also an occasion where the very best of help will be required with techniques required to dry out the car motor as well as the interior of the car itself. Just because the vehicle has been completely flooded doesn’t necessarily mean that the car is destroyed.

Removing the water from the vehicle is only the first step with drying out the interior essential. If mold is a potential problem following water damage in the home then it is a dead certainty for the car. Interior surfaces provide the ideal conditions for any sort of mold to form with warm conditions adding to the perfect setting.

So remember there is merit in making your call to water damage specialists a priority in times of emergency. By delaying the call you will only be making their job more difficult and less likely to succeed. A good water damage service will provide you with solutions from the moment they arrive. You should get a feeling of confidence when the emergency help arrives.

There are also some tips available on what to do when you have some drywall water damage.

How To Clean A Smoke Detector

2010-01-23T22:27:00.001+11:00

Possibly the most effective ways of avoiding having to use the services of a fire damage clean up expert is to install a smoke detector. The next task that will be required to make doubly sure is to keep the smoke detector in good working order. For most of us we install our smoke detectors and then virtually forget about them as they sit unobtrusively on the wall or ceiling.

The question may come up over whether you should clean your smoke detector. The answer is a resounding yes. Dust can affect the workings of your smoke detector and you don’t want to allow anything to get into your smoke detector that may affect its operation in any way. The last thing you want is to find out that your smoke detector has been rendered useless because of too much dust because it hasn’t gone off during a fire.

To clean your smoke detector, all you have to do is run the vacuum cleaner over the top of it to free every possible crack up from any dust that may have made its way in through the gaps.

Another task that must be undertaken on a regular basis is giving the alarm a test run. One piece of advice I have followed to ensure that this important task is carried out twice a year is to test my smoke detector at the start of daylight savings in the Spring and then again at the end. When you set your clocks forward and back, also go around and check that the smoke detectors work properly. You may even carry that a step further by changing the batteries over on this day.

Smoke detectors also will not last forever. Studies have shown that they start to become a little less reliable after around 5 to 7 years and by the 8 to 10 year mark should really be replaced with a new version.

Fire prevention is a much better option than fire restoration so you should be taking every reasonable precaution you can think of to make certain that it is very unlikely that a fire will break out in your home.

When To Use An Odor Counteractant

2010-01-22T15:19:00.002+11:00

After a fire one of the lingering reminders that will permeate through the entire house is the sharp smell of smoke and other burnt chemicals. It’s a smell that will remain until some sort of action is taken to get rid of it. Unfortunately, smoke odor is not a substance that can be easily removed because it permeates into every surface it comes in contact with. Air fresheners will only mask the odor and are largely ineffective over longer periods of time – the smoke odor will return when the effects of the air freshener wear off.

In order to perform an effective smoke damage remediation job you will require an odor counteractant. These products have been designed to do more than simply mask the smoke odors, they are active and work by introducing live bacterial cultures and free enzymes to attack the odor molecules to break them down completely.

There appear to be quite a lot of products that claim to be able to work as odor counteractants and they should be worth considering when faced with the prospect of having to start a fire damage restoration job.

Look at the JonDon Unsmoke 9D9 Odor Counteractant: this is a product to use for the initial suppression of charred and burned surfaces. You can also use it to clean walls, upholstery and carpet in conjunction with other cleaners. The counteractant is sprayed onto the surface affected by the smoke odor with a pressure sprayer or, if using it with the wall or furniture cleaning solutions it can be mixed as required. The dilution quantities advise to mix 1 to 3 ounces per gallon of lukewarm water. This is a product that has been made specifically for eliminating smoke odors during the process of conducting fire damage restoration.

Another product that looks as though it could perform a similar type of job is the Citrus Neutrox Odor Counteractant Concentrate which is a water soluble odor counteractant that works to destroy odor molecules produced by organic and non-organic sources. This is another product that can be diluted and used with other cleaners. According to the product MSDS sheet the product contains no hazardous ingredients so it is a stable product to use too.

These types of products are also often referred to as malodor counteractants and they are often used when dealing with other situations where unpleasant odors are common such as when working with cadavers, animals and bars and restaurants that are constantly filled with smoke odors.

Remember, if you are trying to clean up smoke damage and you have to attack the smoke odors that seem to have seeped into every surface in the house you will not be achieving anything by attempting to clean those surfaces with straight disinfectant and air fresheners.

Products like the odor counteractants mentioned above will break down the molecules producing the odor and give you the result you are hoping to achieve. When choosing the counteractant you will use try to go for a product that specifies it is odor-neutral. Sometimes the smell of the cleaner can be more overpowering than the odor that is being removed.

What To Do With A Smoke Damaged Piano

2010-01-21T23:05:00.003+11:00

A piano is a delicate instrument even though it looks pretty solid and when it has been involved in or near a fire it will have sustained some kind of smoke damage. Smoke is a corrosive substance containing all kinds of toxic chemicals that have not completely combusted in the fire. Smoke also has a habit of invading anything it comes into contact with, getting into the pores and tiny fissures of anything and everything.

A piano is made of wood, metal, plastic and felt among other materials. During and following a fire the air temperature and the humidity in the immediate vicinity fluctuate wildly causing materials such as the wood in a piano to expand and contract. While this expansion is taking place the smoke from the fire finds its way deeply into the wood’s pores where it is trapped.

Other parts of the piano, moving pieces that are sensitive to changes in the atmosphere and in impurities in the air, are also affected. The metal pieces can corrode and the inner workings can become misaligned as the materials suffer from various kinds of smoke damage. Changes also take place in smoke affected rubber and plastic turning soft, pliable parts into hard pieces that are prone to cracking.

In short, the piano will slowly fall apart and the tuning will not be able to be maintained because in all probability the tuning pin block will be destroyed.

As with all other items that have been affected by smoke and soot damage avoid touching surfaces with your bare hands. If you want to attempt a basic clean up, you can remove any soot lying on the flat surfaces with a vacuum cleaner, making sure the nozzle doesn’t come in contact with the piano. Try to make an assessment of the damage that has already been sustained with a visual check and, if you have to touch the piano, do so while wearing gloves.

The best course of action is to call in a smoke damage restoration expert. If possible you will need a professional who has had experience with the remediation of precision instruments such as pianos. The critical point about the fire is the smoke line of the fire and where it descended to. If it descended too low and enshrouded the piano then no amount of restoration is going to save your piano.

You can find out about other kinds of smoke damage in unexpected objects here.

How To Avoid Chimney Fire Damage

2010-01-11T14:20:00.001+11:00

Whether you own an open fireplace or a combustion heater the common factor is the chimney that draws smoke up from the fire and out of the house. But a chimney is not a set and forget proposition, they get dirty and they can become clogged if they are not occasionally cleaned. The potential if the necessary maintenance is not carried out is for a chimney fire with all kinds of resultant damage that is associated with it.

A chimney fire is an awesome event and can be incredibly destructive. The fire can burn explosively producing a great deal of black smoke and heat and all of it directed inside a small area. It doesn’t take very long for a chimney fire to spread from the chimney to more combustible parts of the house such as the roof.

The purpose of a chimney is to draw poisonous gases and smoke away from the living area and out into the air. When these gases and other particles leave the fire they are very hot and travel quickly up the chimney but as they near the top of the chimney they cool and condensation occurs. Substances such as unburned wood particles, gases, vapour, tar fog and hydrocarbons all form part of this condensation to form a sticky substance known as creosote. This creosote sticks to the inside of the chimney as a hardened surface that may be sticky, shiny, crusty or flaky.

The problem lies in the fact that the creosote that is now lining the inner walls of your chimney is highly combustible. If it is allowed to build up into sufficient quantities there is the real risk that it could catch fire inside the chimney causing a chimney fire.

The creation of creosote is accelerated in certain conditions such as burning unseasoned wood, restricting the air flow to the fire and a cooler than normal chimney temperature. Each of these circumstances result in the wood burning at a lower temperature than normal where there is not as much fine particulate burn. Those particles are actually being emitted into the chimney.

So how can you prevent chimney fire damage? You can start by burning the right type of wood and ensuring it is properly dried before adding it to the fire. Even more important is to get your chimney swept and the chimney venting system is inspected annually. You can find a Chimney Safety Institute of America (CSIA) certified chimney sweep who will come and check your chimney for you. There may be some additional recommendations apart from simply having the chimney swept.

You don’t want a chimney fire and you can prevent them by burning smaller fires that burn quickly and hot. You want to create fires that don’t produce very much smoke. You shouldn’t ever burn cardboard boxes, wrapping paper or trash. Monitor the heat of the chimney, possibly installing a thermometer to track the flue temperature.

How To Put Out A Chimney Fire

An important item to keep in any household but particularly a house where an open place fire or a wood burning stove are in use is a fire extinguisher. The fire extinguisher should be in close proximity to the fireplace in the desperate case that a fire has broken out. In many cases though a chimney fire will be inside the chimney itself where a fire extinguisher will not be able to reach.

Products exist specifically to extinguish a chimney fire and they work by throwing them into the fire where the resultant burning chemicals rise up the flue to replace the oxygen, removing all of the oxygen from inside the chimney, thus smothering the fire. If you are faced with a chimney fire the first consideration should be the safety of you and your family. If there is time to use a chimney fire suppressant then throw it into the firebox before vacating the house and calling the fire department

It is little comfort that chimney fire repair and the damage and restoration work necessary to recover are covered by the homeowners insurance.

Buying A Fire Damaged House

2009-12-17T20:39:00.002+11:00

There are many things to consider before buying a fire damaged property. Fire damage restoration can be quite costly because often a specialist has to be hired to assess the damage and do the cleanup. Furthermore, getting financed to buy a fire damaged property can be quite difficult, unless one is able to qualify for a construction loan that will also include the cost it would take to do the fire damage cleanup.

Here are some often overlooked considerations to take into account before buying a fire damaged property:

1. There may be a significant amount of water damage to the house. Firefighters most likely soaked and saturated much of the wood construction including flooring and roofing. Water damage will cause significant problems including mold and structural damage. Mold, in particular, can be quite costly to clean up.

2. The smoke from the fire could also leave a very sticky residue that can be difficult to clean up and an odor may linger in smoke-saturated construction for years. Often the smoke residue is invisible, so fire damage repair is even more difficult, and yet another specialist has to be brought in to assess the damage. The smoke odor may also be temporarily masked and could begin to seep out weeks, months or even years down the track.

3. There may be a large amount of damage to the electrical and plumbing systems. In addition to the cost of rebuilding, re-wiring and plumbing will most likely have to be redone as well.

4. The cost of the cleanup will need to be assessed and taken into account, along with the asking price of the property. Unless the seller is able to meet the buyer halfway, buying a fire damaged house could be almost as costly as buying a property that is not damaged by fire.

The most important point is to make sure the buyer has a clear understanding of the amount of clean up and the cost involved when buying a fire damaged property. While the asking price may look attractive on paper, the additional time and financial commitment to make the house livable may be more than many are willing to undertake. With that being said, if a person is able to negotiate with seller on the fire damage clean up costs, pay in cash, and has significant experience in fire damage restoration, then this could be a wise decision.

A Few Tips When Cleaning Water Damage

2009-12-15T20:20:00.003+11:00

Water damage can occur in one of many different ways and regardless of how it actually occurs, it is imperative that you begin cleaning water damage as soon as you can. One of the cautions that should be made clear before you wade into the fray is that water that has invaded the home may be filled with pollutants that are dangerous to your health.

If you are going to attempt to clean water damage you should be sure that the water is clean water rather than water that has been contaminated with sewage or a chemical or biological pollutant. Any items that have suffered water damage as a result of water other than clean water should simply be disposed of.

The first step in cleaning water damage is to assess every item in the house for the level of damage that has occurred. As an immediate guide here are some of the items that will be simpler to discard and replace: ceiling tiles, fiberglass insulation, drywall that has noticeably become swollen, cheap or non-valuable books and documents. Just about everything else can be dried and then cleaned to the point where it will be salvageable.

If the water damage has occurred longer ago than 48 hours there will be a good chance that mold growth will have begun. The first step in this case is to clean any noticeable mold growth before you take any further action. While performing the mold remediation you should also have begun the drying process. This may be done with a dehumidifier in conjunction with fans or heaters.

Carpets, concrete, upholstered furniture and hard surfaces will also benefit by using a water extraction vacuum first. This will start the drying process and then bringing in other methods will give you faster results.

Drapes or curtains that have been damaged by water should be removed from the room and laundered following the manufacturers instructions. Once they have been properly cleaned and dried they should be ready to hang back in their original place following the cleaning process of the rest of the room.

Any object that holds special sentimental or monetary value that concerns you and your own abilities to properly clean it without damaging it should seek the assistance of a water damage specialist. It is better to spend the money on a professional job which may save you the greater cost of losing your valued object.

This post is part of the wide ranging articles offering advice on fire and water damage on this site.

Soot Removal From Carpet

2009-11-24T21:02:00.002+11:00

Soot damage can occur in many situations around the house, not necessarily only after a major fire. Anyone with a wood burning heater or an open fire would be well aware that it is possible to find spots of soot lying on the carpet. There are some important steps to take when you notice a soot stain on the carpet so that you avoid making the stain worse. Here are a few tips on how to get fire soot stain out of carpet that covers what you shouldn't do as well as what you should.

There are some things you should make sure you don’t do, keep them in mind while conducting your clean up operation. Firstly, don’t use a vacuum with a rotating brush connection as this will only grind the soot deeper into the carpet pile. Secondly, don’t try to clean the stain by using water because this will simply spread the soot and embed it firmly into the carpet.

Your first step with any soot removal process but particularly when performing soot removal from carpet is to use the vacuum cleaner, but be sure to keep the end of the nozzle at least a quarter of an inch above the surface you are cleaning. If you don’t have a vacuum a stiff brush can be employed to sweep the soot up. Sweeping should be done with quick flicking motions as you remove the soot onto a newspaper.

Once the bulk of the soot has been removed you should then begin to repair the soot stain that is left. Use a citrus degreasing solvent by applying it directly to the stain allowing it to settle in before blotting the stain off with a dry towel. Repeat the process as necessary until the stain has disappeared.

Once the stain has been removed you can rinse the affected area with cold water and then apply a fan to the wet area so that it dries quickly.

There is another product that may be used to absorb the excess soot and it is known as a soot sponge. Unlike other sponges a soot sponge is designed to be used dry. It has been chemically impregnated with a substance that will capture the soot that comes in contact with it into its pores. To clean the sponge when it gets dirty you simply shave off the outer layer of the sponge until a clean surface is revealed. You may then repeat the cleaning process.

A soot sponge will not work as affectively on carpet as it will on the ceiling or the walls but it is another weapon in the arsenal that will help with any fire damage clean up.

By employing the tips explained above on small to medium sized soot damage on carpet you should be able to effectively remove a soot stain without creating greater problems for yourself. Remember that soot is the kind of substance that creates more problems the more it is disturbed. Although it looks dry it is actually quite oily and this is what makes it so difficult to remove.

Further Soot Removal Information

Dealing With Soot Damage Removal
Soot Removal From Glass

Importance Of A Quick Fire Damage Assessment

2009-09-07T21:42:00.001+10:00

Following a fire there are many things that must take place in order to begin the restoration process but one of the important first steps is to get a fast fire damage assessment. In order to minimize further damage, health hazards and the damage caused by smoke and soot residue, having an expert on site to guide you in the early stages is very important.

What a timely fire damage assessment can get for you is the security of the safety of you and your family. Very often the urge is almost overwhelming to enter the fire damaged premises to see if there is anything you can salvage or even just to gauge for yourself how extensive the damage is.

The problem is that the house is at its most unstable immediately following the fire, there will be some smoldering embers lying around and live electrical wires could still be present. The assessment is not the home owners to make and a professional fire assessor will make it their business to keep people away from the damage.

Part of the assessment of the property will include ways in which the home can be secured against unwanted guests. For some reason a burnt out home is a target for looters, lowlifes who think nothing of walking into the property with an aim of taking anything that has survived the fire as if the presence of a fire automatically removes ownership of the belongings.

Soot damage is a real problem after a fire of any size and the sooner the fire assessment has been made, the sooner the restoration can get under way. This is relevant to soot damage because soot can continue to damage whatever it is sitting on and the longer it sits there the more significant the damage becomes. Moving quick over the first few hours can save a lot of permanent furniture damage.

A successful fire damage assessment will not be limited to either only inside the house or outside the house, it should involve all aspects of the property. Before going near the structure a complete examination of the state of the walls, chimneys, surrounding trees should be made and a decision be made on whether it is safe to approach them.

The first action you should be taking in response to a house fire is to get in touch with a fire damage assessment expert to guide you through the stages of the restoration. Getting this part right will ensure that later steps will also be done right and it could also ensure the continued health of you and your family.

Water Damaged Plaster

2009-09-03T13:55:00.001+10:00

After a lot of water exposure to a building, regardless of the source of the water, the building must be dried out thoroughly before any kind of restoration can be done. One of the materials that exist in a lot of building is plaster so it is necessary to be aware of the kind of restoration that is required for water damaged plaster.

The good news if you’ve got plaster walls is that plaster can be dried out much more readily than other common wall surfaces such as sheetrock. Exactly ho much better it dries will depend on the plaster mix that was used when making the wall, the amount of water it has been exposed to and where in the wall the greatest damage has occurred.

If the damage to the plaster has come from clean rainwater it should be possible to save the wall. The first step I s to drain the water from the wall cavity by removing the baseboard and drilling holes in the plaster just above the floor. A word of warning here, use a cordless or battery drill when performing this task.

Remove any wet insulation from within the wall cavity. You want to ensure that the wall cavity has dried thoroughly. To speed up the drying process, open windows and doors to promote good airflow or if that’s not possible bring in fans to circulate the air.

Clean down the walls to remove any water stains and you can consider using a weak solution of Clorox and water to inhibit or remove any early stages of mold growth.

When water damages plaster it causes bubbles in the surface due to the way the lime reacts to the water. This may either be minor damage or it can involve the entire plaster coat that can then crumble away. All of the water damaged plaster should be removed and this can be done with a putty knife or a paint scraper. If the plaster surface has become too hard for the putty knife it may be necessary to use a hammer and chisel to scrape back the hard shell that has formed.

If the wall surface is painted you will have to test it to find out whether it has survived the damage. If it peels off easily when scraped with a putty knife it should be removed back until you reach a point where the paint won’t come off easily.

Once you have scraped back to undamaged plaster you can then prepare the surface and replace the plaster that has been removed with a setting-type joint compound. After refilling the plaster and letting it harden, sand it back until it is smooth and then add another layer of the compound, applying it in a direction that is perpendicular to the way it was applied with the first coat. Repeat the sanding process ensuring that the wall is completely smooth. Clean off the plaster dust and then coat the surface with a primer-sealer before painting over the patched up area.

Attic Mold and Attic Ventilation

2009-09-01T13:32:00.002+10:00

A common occurrence in a surprisingly high number of attics, particularly in the warmer northern climates, is the growth of mold. A common cause of the problem is inadequate ventilation into the attic and with warm moist air rising through the ceiling and into the roof it can get trapped providing the perfect conditions for mold growth.

You may become aware that you have a problem with attic mold if you have noticed a musty smell throughout the house and could never pinpoint where it came from. It is unlikely that there will be any visual evidence to alert you from the fact. Similarly if you have a constant problem with your air conditioning not seeming to do the job adequately, it could mean that there are problems in the attic.

Attic mold can spread completely through the entire length and breadth of the attic. If the mold that is growing in the attic is black mold then there is a health risk involved in the attic mold removal and it would be best to call in the mold remediation experts. Living under an attic full of mold poses a relatively minor health risk because air flow generally travels up and out rather than down and in.

That being said, it is still advisable to initiate some kind of attic mold treatment to remove it from the rafters, insulation or other parts of the attic affected.

Before attacking the mold in an effort to remove it, it is best to take a sample of it to get it tested so you know exactly what kind of mold you are dealing with. The kind that you want absolutely nothing to do with is black mold which can cause some serious respiratory illnesses. Stachybotrys is the black mold type that you are likely to find on wet or damp cellulose material such as the kind you would find in insulation.

If the mold in the attic is not terribly heavy you may simply choose to leave it alone and simply install attic ventilation instead. Attic ventilation fans or soffit vents will ensure that sufficient air is getting into the attic to dry the area out so that any mold will be killed.

You may be concerned that by installing attic ventilation fans and vents you will be compromising the effectiveness of your insulation. In fact, the fans and vents are a necessary part of the cooling and warming process of keeping the temperature in your house controlled. Attic fans will cool hot attics by drawing cooler outside air into the attic through the vents and will also push the hot air out.

Heavy mold infestation should be cleaned completely and the safest way to do this is by calling in mold remediation specialists. It is unlikely that you will find someone who only specializes in attic mold remediation and the best place to look for someone to do the job is to find a fire and water damage restoration professional.

For further reading on mold damage and remediation :

Cleaning Mold From The Ceiling
Mold Detection and Treatment of Clothes
Prevent Mold From Taking Hold In the Home
Restoring the Home From Mold Damage
Repair Mold Damage In Books

Soot Removal From Glass

2009-08-29T13:49:00.002+10:00

Following a fire the soot damage throughout the house might be extensive and there are specialist cleaning methods required depending on the surface that the soot has damaged. The following products and tips should give you the basics required to perform an extensive soot removal from glass surfaces. This soot removal is one of the more pressing tasks required when starting a fire damage clean up operation.

Soot is made up of microscopic particles of carbon and will find its way into the smallest of cracks and fissures in the surface. Glass is one of the few surfaces that you should attempt to clean it yourself.

There is more than a fair share of glass throughout any home and soot will cling stubbornly to whatever has been exposed during the fire. The good news is that there are quite a few products that have been specially developed to shift soot and many of them are available for people who own fireplaces. They can be found from any fireplace or barbecue retailer.

Some of the products that are available to clean soot from glass surfaces include: Anti-Creo-Soot, Speedy-White Multi Purpose Cleaner, White-Off Glass Cleaner, Heatsafe Glass Cleaner.

These products are all made to clean the soot off of fireplace glass surfaces and they work by attacking the fine soot particles. Most of the spray-on cleaners can be applied directly to the soot and then left to work for the next 10 to 15 minutes. Once the spray has been allowed to work its way into the soot particles it can be washed off.

Another cheaper alternative that can work effectively is to take some sheets of newspaper, wet them and then dip the paper in ashes and scrub using the screwed up paper as a rag.

Where soot damage should not be touched when it lies on other surfaces it can be cleaned with a multi purpose cleaner without the risk of creating further damage. Once the cleaner has done its work the residue must be cleaned off completely. These types of cleaners are appropriate for cleaning cold surfaces. When the surface heats up again the soot stains may become apparent again if they haven’t been properly rinsed off.

The build up of creosote on glass surfaces may require multiple applications of a cleaning product to completely rid the glass of the stain. Repeated treatments will eventually break through the soot crust.

You don’t always have to clean soot using a liquid cleaner and a rag. If the soot is thick and difficult to move it may be necessary to take a razor blade and use it to scrape the soot off the glass. As long as the blade is kept at a flat angle to the glass you will avoid scratching the surface. You may not be able to remove the entire soot coating, but it will remove the larger proportion of soot and the rest can be cleaned off with another method such as regular soap and water or one of the soot removal cleaners mentioned above.

After The Fire: Seal Fire Damaged Wood

2009-08-22T20:36:00.001+10:00

Following a fire there is a lingering odor that serves as a constant reminder of the disaster. It is an unpleasant smell that sits in every pore of the hard surfaces of the house. A complete fire restoration operation can only remove a certain amount of the smoke and soot odor but there is inevitably a residual smell remaining.

Paint products are available for the walls that will seal fire damaged wood that has maintained a strong odor even after the most rigorous treatment. These products are sealers and primers that contain the smell and also covers stains too.

A fast dry alkyd is an oil based sealer that can be used as part of a fire damage restoration. It is an oil-based product that can be applied using a roller or sprayer. It is an inexpensive option but it comes with a few problems such as its smell which, while it replaces the smell of the smoke, can be unpleasant in its own right. It also isn’t particularly effective and can require multiple coats before the smoke odor is removed.

Another option when looking to seal fire damaged wood is to use shellac which is an alcohol-based resin product and comes in either a clear or pigmented version. It can be brushed on or applied with a roller and, through the small particle size of the grains within the liquid, gives good coverage that effectively seals the odors. Once it dries the odor of the shellac dissipates quickly leaving it virtually odorless. This is the more expensive option but it will give you a better result and the application time will be shorter.

Before you use a product like shellac you should first prime it with an oil-based primer. Following that you can use the shellac to seal in the smoke odor.

This type of treatment should only be considered for fire damage that is not of a significant nature. If there is structural damage to the wood surfaces after a fire a fire restoration expert will be able to help you with advice on whether or not the surface can be saved or whether it should be replaced.

The primary aim of the work done following the fire is to make the building safe again, then it must be fit for human habitation. All safety aspects should be followed and that includes the dangers of introducing new chemicals and their accompanying smells. When performing a fire damage restoration, you want to be sure that you are improving the situation and not introducing new and unexpected dangers.

Prevent Damage With Passive Fire Protection

2009-08-22T14:38:00.003+10:00

We don’t spend our days obsessing over the worry that out house may somehow fall victim to a fire, or at least, we shouldn’t. There are some basic steps that you can take to minimize the chances that it will ever happen to us by making structural changes and additions to the house. This type of action is known as passive fire protection and it concerns the materials used to build the house, coatings that can be added to the walls, beams and pipes and compartments that the house may be broken into to retard a fire’s progress.

As opposed to active fire protection which involves sprinklers, fire alarms and fire extinguishers, passive fire protection is actually always at work to stop or retard a fire. It is in the way the building is built and the materials that are used to build it.

Passive fire protection can be broken down to four key areas:

Structural fire protection which guards the essential parts of the building should a fire break out. Supporting beams, walls and ceilings are all coated with insulation.

Compartmentalization involves ensuring that the fire can be contained to a single area of the building by use of fire barriers such as fire-rated walls, floors and ceilings.

Opening protection by installing fire doors and windows and surrounding them with fire resistant frames so that they won’t be distorted in a fire.

The aim of passive fire protection is to contain a fire in the same part of the building as it starts, limiting the damage it will do to other rooms. Measures such as coating the walls, ceilings or subflooring with materials that will slow that spread of a fire are commonly seen in buildings for this purpose.

It is extremely common to see thick layers of vermiculite coating on the walls and ceilings of the basements of public buildings. This is not a particularly attractive look which is why it is placed in parts of the building that isn’t populated by frequent traffic. But the fire retardant qualities are particularly valuable.

A more acceptable looking method of protecting against a fire is a coating of intumescent paint used on the internal supporting beams. In addition to this you will find fire resistant materials covering pipes or other steel surfaces.

Passive fire protection doesn’t only refer to how the building is insulated or otherwise protected, it also refers to the fire doors and fire walls. Fire resistance rated walls are designed to sub-divide the building and contain a fire for a set period of time.

Part of a building’s passive fire protection involves the ease and means of allowing the occupants to escape. There must be the ability to close doors to protect oneself from a fire in another part of the building and then, in so doing, be able to escape out of a different exit route.

Fireproof cladding is one of the essential materials that make up a firewall and it can be made from such products as vermiculite, perlite, gypsum, intumescent epoxy, calcium silicate, MicroTherm or DuroSteel.

The greater the level of protection that is built into your building, the lower the risk of fire damage. Passive fire protection will also mean that your own personal safety will be assured.

Prevent Water Damage With A Water Leak Detection System

2009-08-20T23:17:00.002+10:00

Just as important as repairing a water damaged house after a flood or other type of water damage is taking steps to prevent the damage in the first place. One of the sources of a high proportion of cases of water damage comes from water pipes that have failed. It is possible to detect and prevent water damage from occurring.

It’s possible that a burst water pipe can go undetected for a long time, leaking hundreds of gallons of water and flooding the floor of the home. An automatic shutoff valve will prevent untold water damage due to a failure in the plumbing. By automatically cutting off the water flow when a leak is detected they can prevent flooding.

You can get two types of water leak detection devices. The first is one that you install near the source of the water to the entire house at the service valve. The second is a water leak detector that is installed on the line directly to the appliance.

In both cases the device uses a sensor to detect the presence of a leak. The sensors can be an integral component of the plumbing that can be either wired in to the shutoff valve directly or via a wireless connection. The sensor might be placed on the ground near the base of the appliance where it is most likely a leak will occur. One of these devices can be used to prevent damage from a water heater leak.

Water leak detection systems are available that have two vastly different reactions after a leak is detected. The first is what might be termed an active leak detector and the second as a passive leak detector.

The active leak detector will activate a shut off valve that will immediately turn the water off to ensure the leak is stopped. The passive leak detector will simply sound an alarm to alert you to the fact that a leak has been found. The passive leak detector loses its effectiveness if no-one is home to hear the alarm, meanwhile the water will continue to flow onto the floor of your house.

The leak, if and when it comes, is not necessarily going to play nice and occur out in the open where you can easily spot it and have the access to stop it immediately. Water pipes are also laid underground and are prone to corroding and failing, spilling water straight into the earth and potentially washing away the soil making the ground particularly unstable. You can get a water leak detector that can listen for the distinctive sound of water escaping from a pipe under pressure.

The ideal situation is to have your water leak detector installed on the main water supply line with sensors mounted at all of the vulnerable points where a leak is likely to occur.

The benefits that you will get from installing a water leak detection system is that the risk of water damage to the house is greatly reduced, you may be eligible for a reduction on your insurance premiums and you will have the peace of mind in knowing that your home and valuables are protected.

Water Damage From Water Heater Leaks

2009-08-19T23:03:00.003+10:00

It is usually pretty obvious that the water heater has started to leak, although this will only be the case if your water heater is in a spot that you see on a regular basis. If the water heater is under the house in a basement that is rarely visited, then the water that has started to pool on the floor under the heater will remain unnoticed until other factors come into play.

Unfortunately, these factors may include a higher than expected water bill, a higher than expected electricity bill or an unexpected cold shower when the hot water runs out. There may be other indicators that the water heater has started to leak such as a constant damp feeling in the air or the growth of mold.

The leak in the water heater may have come about due to corrosion, in which case it will be necessary to replace the water heater, or it could be because of a failure in the water lines. If it is the latter problem, then it may be possible that you can repair the leak yourself. If you are going to avoid any further water damage the water heater is going to have to be repaired one way or the other.

As a means of avoiding significant water damage from a failed water heater that may begin leaking, you can place a drip pan underneath the unit. This is a preventative measure that is not expected to provide a long term solution should the water heater actually start to leak. The drip pan would merely prevent or minimize water damage to the floor until the proper repair work can be carried out. Make sure the drip pan has a drain that can be connected to a waste line so that it can channel the water out of the building.

A water heater leak can cause all sorts of water damage to the home, but even though the thought of possible mold, mildew or subfloor damage may sound like it’s a nightmare there is even greater damage that can be caused. An improperly installed water heater can result in toxic fumes being emitted or can be the cause of a house fire.

One of the simple steps you can take from time to time is to empty a bucket of water from the water heater though the release valve. This will help to rid the water heater of sediment build up which can contribute to corrosion of the unit.

Another step you can take that will also help to prevent major water damage in the house is to install an automatic shut of valve (ASOV), also known as a water leak detection system, to the water heater. The ASOV uses a water sensor that is linked to a water-controlling valve that is mounted on the heater’s cold water supply. When a leak is detected the ASOV stops the flow of water into the heater preventing the slow leak that can become a major water damage problem.

Water is one of the most damaging elements to property, responsible for more damage to properties each year than fire. The best way to avoid adding your property to the list due to a failed water heater is to take preventative measures. Assuming that there will be a water heater leak one day will prepare for a quick clean up job when it happens.

More articles about water damage prevention and restoration.

Hardwood Water Damage
Ceiling Water Damage Repair
Flood Restoration Tasks
Basement Water Damage

Is An Ozone Air Purifier Effective For Cleaning Smoke Odor?

2009-08-18T22:53:00.002+10:00

The question about whether ozone air purifiers are effective against contaminants in the air has been challenged by bodies such as the EPA. The claims that are often seen around the traps is that if you have a smoke damaged home following a fire one of the ways to remove the smoke odor is to use an ozone air purifier and the smoke odor would soon be cleared away.

According to the EPA the scientific evidence that is available at the moment shows that ozone has little potential to remove indoor air contaminants. In fact, the scientific evidence has indicated that for many of the chemicals that are commonly found indoors it will take months or years for an ozone reaction to clear the air.

A further warning about using ozone air purifiers is that when the ozone comes in contact with certain chemicals there is the possibility of a chemical reaction that can be harmful to the health, possibly triggering allergies. Ozone air purifiers that contain an ionizer in the same unit are often said to be most effective for the clearing of smoke particles. Experiments have shown that ionizers were found to be less effective in removing particles of dust, tobacco smoke, pollen or fungal spores than either high efficiency particle filters or electrostatic precipitators.

Given that the main reason you would want to use an ozone air purifier as part of a fire damage restoration process is to remove odors from the house it is a little concerning to read that ozone is not effective at removing many odors.

There is data available that demonstrates that low levels of ozone may reduce levels of airborne concentrations and inhibit the growth of some biological organisms. The downside to this finding is that the level of ozone would have to be 5-10 times higher than public health standards allow before the ozone could decontaminate the air.

So if ozone air purifiers aren’t the answer for removing smoke odor from a smoke damaged home one wonders what methods of air pollution control are we left with?

There are three common ways that you can approach reducing air pollution and odor from an affected room:

1. Source Control: Remove the source of the pollution.
2. Ventilation: get as much air into the room from the outside as possible, and
3. Air Cleaning: remove the pollutants from the room using proven air cleaning methods.

This leaves the way open to wonder what the proven air cleaning methods are. Three types of air cleaner is currently on the market: mechanical filters, electronic air cleaners and ion generators.

Mechanical filters can be installed in the ducting of homes with central heating or air-conditioning or, if they are not available, as stand alone devices containing a fan to force the air through the filter. Electronic air cleaners use an electrical field to trap charged particles and ion generators use static charges to remove particles from indoor air.

All of these devices are effective for removing airborne particles from the air but they can only work as quickly as they can push air through the system. Unless the devices are particularly strong they will only move around 10 cubic feet per minute which means that it will take a long time to process the air in a room of around 1000 cubic feet.

Fire Smoke Damage in Unexpected Items

2009-08-17T23:49:00.004+10:00

A fire will cause more damage than simply the obvious scorching or complete combustion that is plain to see after every fire. One of the challenges that confronts anyone coming in after the fire with the intention of cleaning up will be given the challenge of dealing with heat and smoke damage too.

Take, for instance, your CD player. It may look as if it has been completely spared by the fire, after all it is sitting in a part of the room that was not consumed by the flames. But a closer look, perhaps a look inside the casing of the CD player may reveal a different story. With tremendous heat being generated from close range it is very likely that considerable damage could have been done to the electrical components inside the player’s casing.

It will be necessary to disassemble just about all of your electrical devices in the house to check that they have not been melted or otherwise damaged during the blaze. Many of the working parts in these types of machines are actually made of plastic and it doesn’t take a particularly hot heat to melt or warp these pieces.

Another important consideration to make after a fire is the smoke damage that will have been done to food. Any food that was exposed to the fire will have to be removed and disposed of. Even though it looks like the food has survived the fire unscathed, the smoke generated by the fire will have penetrated deeply into the surface of any fresh fruit or vegetables as well as any container that was exposed to the elements. Don’t risk it – chuck it out.

Painted surfaces that have been damaged by smoke or heat will usually be noticeably affected with bubbling or discoloration. The smoke damage must be cleaned off the walls first and a very effective product to use to perform the cleaning is TSP which is available at paint or hardware stores. If necessary the old and damaged paint should be stripped from the walls. There are some sealing paint products available that can be used to paint over smoke damaged walls.

Fire smoke damage in the house structure and furnishings has been dealt with in much greater detail elsewhere at this site. You can read more about what steps to take when confronted with major smoke damage by hopping over to the page titled

Smoke Damage Restoration Steps

A Desiccant Dehumidifier To Repair Water Damage

2009-08-17T00:04:00.002+10:00

When your home has been subject to significant water damage and you have a pressing need to dry it out quickly, one of the tools that will come in extremely useful is a desiccant dehumidifier. These dehumidifiers can be rather expensive to buy so the most usual course of action to take is to find a hire company to get one for some short term use. Alternatively you can find a water restoration company that uses a desiccant dehumidifier as part of their water cleanup.

A desiccant dehumidifier works by using a desiccant material to produce a dehumidifying effect. In other words the desiccant attracts high humidity air into the device and away from the room accelerating the drying process as a result. The moisture is retained in the dehumidifier and in the meantime a second level of air is created that is used to dry the desiccant material so that it can continue to work. This type of system is a cyclical dehumidifier with the desiccant moving around the machine, drying out as it completes a revolution.

The means of regenerating the desiccant allows the dehumidifier to operate continuously for long periods of time needing only to be paused to remove the trapped water when the well becomes full. Other dehumidifiers can be connected to a hose that deposits the water outside of the room that is being dried. Those dehumidifiers that operate with a well system can take from between 8-12 hours to fill before they need to be replaced.

To give you an idea of what is meant by a desiccative material, think of those sachets of silica gel that come with many products to ensure they are kept dry. The desiccative material used in your average dehumidifier is much the same.

A desiccative dehumidifier operates by means of important components that work together as a cohesive unit. The first is the desiccant holder, the next is some type of fan that will direct the air to be treated into the unit, a heater is then used to dry the used desiccant and finally a fan that drives the desiccant through the holder.

These desiccative dehumidifier units are important when removing moisture from a water damaged wood floor because they are extremely effective in removing air from the room quickly. Whether it’s a wooden floor that has to be dried out or soft furnishings, the dehumidifier will dry the moisture out in no time.

Although they can be integrated into an existing air conditioning system, there are smaller models that can be easily moved from room to room as required. Not all dehumidifiers run on electricity either. In some cases they are needed in disaster or flood areas where there is no power and for these situations you can use a gas powered dehumidifier.

For regions of very high humidity, a desiccant dehumidifier can be an extremely valuable asset to have in order to remain comfortable during the most humid of days. It is quite common that hardwood floors will have suffered from the high humidity and have buckled a little because they have absorbed some of the moisture. In this case you would need to operate one not only for your own comfort but also for your floors too.

As a means of solving water damage within the home and to reduce the risk of having mold taking root on the walls and ceiling, a desiccant dehumidifier is a great option. It is certainly worth looking into getting a unit of your own, particularly if you have found re-occurring mold and mildew problems.

More reading about dehumidifiers

A Whole House Dehumidifier

Smoke Damage Cleaning Products

2009-08-16T00:05:00.002+10:00

In order to perform an adequate cleaning job after fire has gone through the property, your restoration specialist requires proper cleaning products. Part of the restoration work that is required must address the smoke damage that has taken place.

Smoke is the result of partial combustion of the fuel that feeds the fire and forms as visible particles in the air during the fire. These particles are absorbed into just about everything they come in contact with and linger long after the fire has been extinguished in the form of stains or odor. It doesn’t matter whether the surface is a hard surface such as a floor, wall or ceiling or a soft surface such as clothes, carpets or blankets smoke will get into everything and must be dealt with for any hope that it will be removed again.

Smoke damage cleaning products will include chemical cleaners such as the ones that are available from Winsol . For soot stains that have accumulated on the walls and ceilings you would need a dry chemical sponge to begin the soot removal process.

Some chemical products are available as air neutralizers that help you to eliminate the smoke odor from hard surfaces and textiles, speeding up the restoration process. It won’t completely eliminate all smoke odors but it will give you a good start and reduce the time required to complete a thermal fogging of the home.

That brings us to thermal fogging itself. Just as the smoke particles penetrate deeply into the pores of hard surfaces and is then trapped, an effective way to remove the odors is to complete a thermal fogging. Thermal fog replicates the penetration process, only instead of smoke a deodorizing mist is sent into the surface. The fog then attacks the smoke particles and neutralizes them. One complaint with thermal fogging is that although the smoke odor is removed, it is replaced by the chemical odor sued in the thermal fogger. This will dissipate reasonably rapidly but until it does the strong smell may cause distress.

Another product that may be used as part of a smoke restoration is an ozone treatment using an ozone generator. The ozone treatment produces an oxidizing agent that creates an aroma similar to that of a rain storm. The process breaks up the smoke particles eliminating the smoke odor from the room. Clothing and household furniture can be put through this type of ozone treatment by placing them under a tent while the ozone generator is operating.

Removing smoke odor from clothing will be possible through laundering although the success you have will depend heavily on the amount of smoke damage that has been done to the fabric. The majority of clothes can most effectively be restored by using a warm water wash with either a non-built liquid detergent or a low phosphate powder detergent and a liquid chlorine bleach. Tests have shown that the best results can be achieved after the equivalent of 5 washes. One or two washes won’t be enough to give you the level of cleaning that you are seeking.

All of the smoke damage cleaning products needed for a proper smoke restoration can be found quite readily and don’t need a lot of training to use. However, for the best results in performing the restoration it is advisable to talk to the fire restoration experts before taking any action. In most cases, even then, leave it to the people who do that kind of work for a living.

For more reading on this subject:

Smoke Damage Restoration Steps

A Whole House Dehumidifier

2009-08-14T08:13:00.003+10:00

Humidity in the house can cause problems and high humidity can result in conditions that allows mold to take hold. This can then lead to respiratory problems stemming from mold allergies. Early and decisive steps should be taken to reduce the humidity throughout the house or business and the best way to do that is to install a whole house dehumidifier. These units will also be necessary if there has been major flood or water damage that has inundated the majority of the lower floors of the property.

You can set up a whole house dehumidifier in either the home or in an office and let it run quietly in the background. They can be bought either as stand-alone units or as an installed unit that is connected to the ducted air conditioning in the home.

The aim of a dehumidifier is to remove the moisture content from the air and a whole house dehumidifier is simply a larger scale unit that is capable of working over a larger area. The stand-alone models would be suitable for a large, open plan room that will allow the dehumidification to operate within one large room. The integrated units would be more suitable for humidity problems within a large number of rooms.

Although the smaller of the whole house dehumidifiers won’t have quite as large a coverage, although up to 2200 square feet is a large area in itself, the smaller units are usually mounted on wheels and can be moved easily from room to room.

An example of one of the smaller units is a Santa Fe RX Whole House Dehumidifier which is capable of removing up to 86 pints of moisture per day. It is a stand-alone unit and can be moved from room to room. It’s probably ideal for an area such as a library that might be experiencing problems with mold in books.

In comparison an integrated unit that gives you the option of being professionally installed into a ducted air conditioning system or left as a stand alone unit would be something like the Comfort Plus 300 Desiccant Dehumidifier. This unit is designed to remove moisture over an area of 4000 square feet. If you’ve been beset with mold problems throughout a large house or a series of school classrooms or similar sized area, something like this is ideal. Units such as this one can be run independent of the temperature. With some units the temperature is too low for the dehumidifier to operate.

After a major disaster such as flood water damage that has left large levels of moisture in the home it is necessary to begin removing the moisture from the area as quickly as possible. A whole house dehumidifier, or even a group of them working in conjunction with each other, is the kind of unit that you will want to use. They can be hired from many reputable hire companies for any period you require them.

In many cases you won’t want to have to buy a whole house dehumidifier unless the dampness problem is something that can’t be solved simply. In the end it may be cheaper to buy the dehumidifier and have it operating quietly in the background than spend thousands more on a major repair job.

More reading about dehumidifiers

A Desiccant Dehumdifier To Repair Water Damage

Flood Restoration Tasks

2009-08-13T13:41:00.004+10:00

By necessity a flood restoration is going to be a long process simply for the time it will take to dry everything out. For this reason it is important to be organized through the entire restoration process so that the job continues to move forward and not be allowed to get caught up in unnecessary delays.

There are some basic tips that you should follow immediately following a flood. These are the sorts of things you can take care of before help arrives.

Identify where the water is coming from and, if possible, stop it.
If you can, reduce the heat inside the property to below 65 degrees to reduce the possibility of mold or mildew from taking hold.
Make sure all of the electrical appliances in the home are switched off.
Get as much of the furniture as you can up out of the water.
Remove as much of the water from the property as you can.
Remove all objects off the floor, including rugs and carpets if possible.
Stay clear of sagging ceilings because there is a risk it will collapse.

A house that has suffered a flood will take some time to get back in order. The job should be left to the flood water restoration experts, although the tasks laid out above should help get them off to a fast start.

A big problem with cleaning up after a flood is that the flood water may have contained toxic chemicals and so there are very real health risks involved with working in the aftermath. What may be dealt with here is gray water or sewage. The flood restoration professionals will not enter the site unless wearing proper protective clothing such as overalls, breathing apparatus and gloves. You should be taking the same precautions.

Although you may have begun the process of water removal, your flood restoration expert will start their work by removing the remainder of the water. This is a vital first step because the sooner that task is completed the less chance toxic mold will have to grow. Industrial wet vacuums, whole house dehumidifiers and drying chemicals are all part of the water restoration professional’s arsenal. Opening all the doors and windows to let fresh air in won’t hurt either.

It will be necessary to remove all valuables and personal objects from the home so that they can either be stored or restored. You clothing will also have to be removed and cleaned because there is little chance that it will have gotten through the incident without getting damp. Where there is dampness, mildew is likely to follow.

The types of things you can expect to get done by a flood water restoration expert includes:

Emergency water removal
Drying of structural materials such as supports, beams, walls, cavities, ceilings and floors.
Cleaning and sealing contaminated ducting.
Mold remediation.
Carpet removal, restoration and reinstallation.
Upholstery and fabric restoration.
Odor removal if necessary.
They should also be able to identify and prevent further problems that may not be immediately apparent.

Your job as the homeowner is to oversee the entire restoration project and ensure that the water restoration carries on without any pause or delay. It is in your best interests to get the job done as quickly as possible so that you can get your life back to normal. If there are delays in the drying stage then you may be in for even greater damage than there would otherwise have been.

Ceiling Water Damage Repair

2009-08-12T20:51:00.004+10:00

Water damage to the ceiling is the kind of problem that can begin as a minor inconvenience only to grow into a major problem if left unchecked. It is often caused by a leaking roof or eating plumbing from upstairs bathrooms. You find that water slowly runs along the rafters or down beams to the surface of the drywall ceiling and then becomes visible through a seam or corner. You might first notice a slight yellow or brown discoloration on the surface of the ceiling.

Changing the ceiling after damage is not quite as daunting a task as you may first imagine it to be. It may be a little more difficult than changing a wall after damage but only because gravity will be adding complexity to the task. In this case it is possible to make minor repairs to fix a damaged ceiling without fear of the whole thing falling on your head. Any major repairs should be made by a professional.

The moment you notice any change in color to the ceiling is the first moment that you should start investigating either the ceiling itself or the space behind the ceiling. You don't want to leave the ceiling water damage, which may only be a small problem when you first notice it, because if you ignore it, it will grow to become a major problem, perhaps even a disaster if the damage becomes so bad ceiling caves in.

The first step to take in performing a ceiling water damage repair is to find the leak and fix it. Once the leak is fixed you will have to get in behind the ceiling to assess the damage that the water has caused. This might involve removing the insulation to let it dry out. If you have caught it early enough it may be possible that you won't have to replace the ceiling drywall, it may simply need to be re-fastened, taped and plastered.

You may not be so lucky and the damage to the ceiling might mean it needs to be replaced. In this case the repair job may be similar to that of a regular drywall repair. This means cutting out the part of the drywall that is damaged, drying out the space behind the ceiling and then replacing it with a new piece of drywall. The important part of the repair is to make sure that everything behind the ceiling is completely dry. This includes the insulation and the beams and rafters in the roof.

In a lot of cases with a water damaged ceiling it won't be possible to clean the brown or yellow water stains without taking any further action. Instead you will have to use a stain sealer which is an oil based stain covering paint. Once the paint is dry complete the drywall replacement and then apply a couple more coats of ceiling paint.

All of these ceiling water damage repair tips assume that you already have a lot of experience in performing home handyman tasks. If this is not the case your best solution is to call in a water damage professional who will be better equipped to deal with the problem properly.

More information about water damage.

Hardwood Floor Water Damage
Drywall Water Damage
Water Damage Restoration For Floors and Walls

Hardwood Floor Water Damage

2009-08-11T13:12:00.005+10:00

Repairing water damage on a hardwood floor is a task that may be necessary from time to time on a small scale with intermittent spillages or minor leaks. Alternatively you may be faced with major water damage following flood or a large body of water that has saturated your hardwood floorboards.

Repairing Minor Hardwood Floor Water Damage

If you have discovered a minor leak that has allowed water to seep onto your hardwood floorboards, there may be a single spot that has become damp and discoloured compared to the rest of your floor. In this case there are some simple steps that you can take to repair the hardwood floor water damage.

Firstly, make sure you have identified the source of the water damage and fixed it completely. Any later repair work will be for nothing if you do not seal the leak or repair the pipes from where the water is coming.

Next, you may be faced with a spot that is discoloured and possibly swollen and cracked. The wood grain has become affected by the water damage and has reacted. Dry out the affected area until it is completely dry before beginning any restoration work on it.

Begin by sanding back the affected area starting with a coarse sandpaper before moving back to a finer grit. Once the area has been sanded back and the stain edges are smooth treat the area with a wood sealant that matches the rest of the floor. Following one coat of sealant it may be necessary to sand it back before adding another coat.

Some kind of blending process may have to be done so that the damaged area winds up looking the same as the original floor.

Major Hardwood Floor Water Damage Repair

When a lot of moisture has been absorbed by a hardwood floor the most common result is that the wood expands. When the boards expand they become wider and one of two things might happen, you might have a buckled floor or you may have a floor that is cupped. In either case you are left with a seriously uneven floor.

In order to restore the water damaged hardwood floor without having to pull up the entire floor and replace it you can use a process known as
desiccant dehumidification. This is carried out by bringing in a desiccant dehumidifier which if very effective at reducing the humidity level in the air. The desiccant dehumidifier can be run under sealed conditions to completely remove the moisture from the area. In this case you are removing moisture from the floorboards.

Running a dehumidifier for an extended period will help to reduce the swollen floorboards and counteract the cupping or buckling that has taken place. As the moisture is drawn out of the air it will also be drawn out of the hardwood floorboards and they will shrink back to their normal size. Effectively you want the top surface of the floorboards and the bottom surface to be balanced in moisture content.

An illustration of a cupped wood floor

Once the floor has been properly dried and the moisture is removed from the surrounding area, the floor can be sanded back and refinished so that it is returned to its original smoothness again.
If the hardwood floor has become so buckled that it has come completely away from the subfloor to which it was attached it may be necessary to call in a hardwood floor installer to reattach the planks.

In all cases when dealing with repairing hardwood floor water damage the key to a successful restoration is to completely remove the moisture that caused the original damage in the first place. No matter how carefully you carry out your restoration, if you haven’t fixed the origin of the water the problem will return and cost you even more of both your time and money.

Here are some more water damage restoration articles

Water Damage Restoration for Floors and Walls

Drywall Water Damage

Basement Water Damage

Deodorizing A Water Damaged Carpet

Drywall Water Damage

2009-08-10T13:11:00.002+10:00

The way you deal with water damage to your drywall walls will depend largely on a number of different factors. The first thing that must be determined is the amount of water involved in the damage, the more water damage there is affecting the drywall the greater will be the repair required.

The sort of water involved in the drywall water damage will also play a big part in the action you will be required to take. There are three standards that measure the cleanliness of the water that has invaded your home: black, grey and clear.

Black water is highly polluted water, usually involving sewage contamination but can also contain pesticides or toxic organic substances. If your drywall is affected by black water you will have to completely replace the wall and very likely the supporting structure underneath as well.

Gray water can carry microorganisms that are harmful to the health, possibly causing illness. Gray water may come from dishwashers, washing machines or sump pump failures. Walls that are affected by gray water can be treated without having to resort to complete wall removal.

Clear water damage usually originates from leaky pipes, rainwater or sink overflows that do not contain contaminates. Drywall water damage that involves clear water can be treated without having to remove the drywall.

Drywall Water Damage Repair

Drywall that has been affected by water damage will become quite noticeable very quickly because the paper backing tends to bubble or wrinkle. It should be repaired after first identifying the cause of the initial water damage. There’s no point in repairing a water damaged drywall without fixing the source of the leak because within a month or two you’ll find yourself back exactly where you started.

If the water damage is not extensive you should simply cut out the affected area of drywall in a square or rectangle shape. Neatness counts at this point because you are going to be replacing the damaged drywall with a new piece.

Once the water damaged drywall piece is removed check the wall cavity for signs of water or, if there is insulation in the wall, test the insulation to see if it is wet. If the insulation proves to be wet, you will have to remove and replace the insulation as well, which may require a larger hole.

Once you have satisfied yourself that the wall cavity is dry, cut a replacement piece of drywall so that it is a snug fit. It may be necessary to install a backing piece if timber behind the drywall hole, screwing it to existing studs to support the new piece. Secure the new piece of drywall in place and tape the seams applying plenty of plaster over the top. Allow the plaster to dry before sanding back and finishing it to match the rest of the wall.

More Water Damage Articles

Basement Water Damage
Deodorize A Water Damaged Carpet
Repair A Water Damaged Carpet
Conduct Your Own Water Damage Restoration

Odor Removal

2009-08-09T22:17:00.002+10:00

The aftermath of a fire regardless of its size will always have one particular kind of result. Fire damage smell will always be a distinctive result of a fire thanks to the smoke that soaks into every crack and crevice that it comes in contact with. One aspect that will feature prominent in any home restoration, whether it’s a fire restoration or a water restoration, is the need to remove odor from the living space. Odor can arise from many origins such as smoke odor after a fire or a damp mildew odor following a flood. Following a disaster there may be contaminates brought in from outside.

No matter what the kind of odor removal is required, there are some basic principles that will be involved:

1. Remove the source of the odor.
2. Clean the affected surface or material.
3. Treat the surface with a penetrating counteractant.
4. Seal the surface that is being restored if possible.

When there is an odor coming from the carpet it’s a pretty good be that it signals the presence of mold or mildew in the carpet. When the carpet has become wet for one reason or another, such as not being properly dried after washing, the organisms can grow. There are a few simple solutions that can be tried using common household products to remove mold or urine odors from the carpet.

Baking soda is a very popular substance for use in removing odor. The reason why baking soda works is that it is composed of sodium carbonate and it’s this that actively eliminates the odors. White vinegar is another effective odor eliminator through the acidic nature which will kill the bacteria as it contacts it. Similarly lemon will work in much the same way as vinegar. The acid content of lemon will help to counteract the odor in a carpet.

These three products are also simple but effective methods of removing most pet odors from the house, including the odor of urine. Baking soda mixed with water and sprayed over a urine stain will neutralize the odor and will play a big part in cleaning the stain.

Smoke odor removal is another matter altogether. In this case we will talk about cleaning smoke odor following a house fire. During a fire the smoke particles tend to permeate all hard and soft surfaces, moving into the objects themselves where they are trapped, giving off a constant smoky odor long after the rest of the damage has been cleaned up.

To remove the smoke odor you have a number of options at your disposal. Firstly you will need to air out the room as completely as possible to remove as much of the residual smell as you can. It may be necessary to carry out a thermal fogging procedure which will send in purifying mist into the pores of the surfaces affected by the smoke, neutralizing the odor.

Alternatively, you might try using an Ionic Air Purifier which will work constantly to trap and remove odors from the room while releasing purified air back into the room. Some of these air purifiers feature a high-efficiency particle filter (HEPA) which is a very effective filter to use on solid particles.

No matter what kind of odor is plaguing your home, there is usually a simple and effective method for counter-acting it. Usually it is not necessary to go out and spend a lot of money on expensive wonder chemicals that claim to clean and freshen.

Finding Disaster Restoration Companies

2009-08-08T14:13:00.003+10:00

Disaster Restoration
Any building that has suffered structural damage from outside elements, whether natural or otherwise will require some kind of restoration work. When the disaster that has struck the home is something like flood, hurricane or other water damage the need for a disaster restoration is more urgent. Ideally there should be steps taken to begin drying out the rooms within the first 48 hours.

The quickest and safest way to get the job done is to call in disaster restoration experts.

It can be difficult to work out who is the best qualified to do the job for you, with any number of shonky operators willing to take advantage of victims of water damage. There are some qualifications that you should look for when seeking a disaster restoration contractor.

Your insurance company will have a reliable list of contractors to choose from. Seek their help in selecting someone well qualified.
It’s always a good idea to check out the potential contractor with the Better Business Bureau.
Disaster restoration experts who are certified by reputable trade organizations such as the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) or RIA (Restoration Industry Association).
Make sure the person you are hiring is insured, licensed and bonded.

The main thing that you’ve got to look for is a well organized company that will take control of the disaster restoration for you. They should be able to offer a complete plan of action including the removal and storage of any belongings that may be salvageable, dealing with the insurance company and offer alternatives on what can be saved and what can’t.

They will be required with all aspects of disaster recovery including the complete property damage restoration. In the case of a flood or major water damage there will be the need to be able to deal with water damage restoration involving the associated problems of water damage carpet cleaning, carpet repair and carpet restoration. They will also have to provide knowledge of furniture restoration such as how to deal with a water damaged couch, rug or table. As well as restoring or repairing the furniture that was damaged in the flood, your disaster restoration contractors will have to be able to perform a complete water extraction that will remove all trace of water, vital if there is to be no later problems with mold and mildew.

On the other side of the disaster scale will be a disaster involving fire. The restoration knowledge will be a little different with expertise required in smoke damage cleanup and removal, smoke damage repair and smoke odor removal.

These days with modern technology making its way well and truly into the family home, there will also be a need for a disaster restoration contractor to be able to perform a full electronics restoration. This may include a data recovery on your computer and the security system if it is integrated into the home. Not all services can provide these features so it is important to find this out first.

It will be important that the disaster restoration contractors are able to secure your premises while they are working on your home. In cases or flood or fire, it may be difficult to secure the home so the contractors should be able to provide you with a solution to deal with the problem.

Fire and water damage repair is a specialized field that requires specific attention to detail and professional knowledge. Make sure you take the necessary care in finding a disaster restoration expert who is up to the task to ensure that your misery is not extended to the cleanup.

More advice about disaster restoration companies is available at:

Fire and Water Damage Restoration Services

Black Mold Removal

2009-08-07T14:28:00.005+10:00

A mold damage restoration can be a major undertaking. Apart from the fact that it is very frustrating to find water leaking or flooding into your house every time it rains, there is a more insidious problem that can make its presence felt if there is no immediate water cleanup soon after. Mold will quickly take hold in any damp environment, quickly establishing itself from airborne spores that will grow on any cellulose-based material.

For the most part, and for most people, molds are not a big health problem. However, they do produce allergens that can cause allergic reactions. Either touching or inhaling mold or mold spores is enough to get have an allergic reaction. Black mold is a particularly serious problem because it produces a toxic substance called mycotoxin which can be a potential health hazard.

Mold spores are ubiquitous, so basically, getting rid of all of them is not really an option. If you are going to conduct a thorough job of black mold removal, the best you can do is to kill the existing black mold and then ensure that the conditions in which black mold spores grow are not available.

Essentially, black mold removal involves 4 important steps and can be summed up by the following actions: Contain, Kill, Remove, Protect. In other words, contain the mold to as small an area as possible, kill existing mold that is visible, remove the mold that has been killed and protect the surfaces that have been cleaned as well as creating conditions to prevent more mold growth.

Black Mold Removal Tips

Do not simply paint over the black mold. This will not kill the mold, it will continue to grow and will become an even bigger problem.
Do not attempt to kill black mold be using bleach. Bleach is ineffective against black mold. It may initially remove the mold but it is not a long lasting solution.
Wear a complete protective covering when carrying out your black mold removal.
Keep the area that is being cleaned well ventilated at all times. When you disturb the black mold there will be mold spores dispersed into the air. A well ventilated room will allow the mold spores to be carried away.
Once the mold is killed and removed ensure that the conditions that allowed the mold to grow in the first place are changed. In other words, remove any sources of dampness.

The Safest Method of Black Mold Removal

Call in a mold remediation specialist. Professional mold removal specialists are equipped to remove large infestations of toxic black mold from homes. They are people who do this kind of thing for a living and if you feel that you will be out of your depth and will be needlessly risking your health by attempting the job yourself, then the best idea would be to call in an expert.

Mold removal also involves a complete inspection of the area to ensure that all affected areas have been identified. Black mold growth doesn't only take place in places that are easy to see. There are plenty of hidden surfaces that may be covered with mold. Professional mold remediation guys know what to look for and where to look to confirm that all black mold has been successfully removed.

However, there are many people who prefer to do the mold removal themselves, but there are some basics that should be taken care of.

Do It Youself Black Mold Removal

When carrying out your own black mold removal, it is a good idea to wear protective clothing that includes a Tyvek suit, gloves and a face mask. While working in a room that has been infested with black mold, try to get as much fresh air into the room as you can. The whole idea is that you want to come with as little contact as possible with the mold spores.

To remove black mold, use a fungicide spray directly on the black mold to kill the mold growth completely. Wipe the affected surface down completely with the fungicide solution until the entire area is free of growth. Once the black mold has been killed and removed, the room and the surfaces must be completely dried to ensure there will be little chance of re-infestation.

More information about mold detection and treating mold damage:

Cleaning Mold From the Ceiling
Mold Detection and Treatment of Clothes
Mold Damage in Books
Prevent Mold Damage

The Risks Linked To Basement Water Damage

2009-08-06T14:55:00.004+10:00

Finding out that you have a problem with water lying around on the floor of your basement should concern you above the fact that it will result in a degree of water damage to the walls, floor and any belongings being stored down there. Basement water damage will inevitably affect the rest of the household because it will create a damp atmosphere that will forever be permeating upwards into the house.

The toughest part of your basement water problems may be that you don't even realise you have a problem with water damage in the basement. This is certainly a possibility if the basement is not in constant use. It may be a storage room, or it may be locked up and only ever visited once or twice a year. If what you are unwittingly dealing with is basement water seeping onto the floor from an unidentified source, then it may be months before it is discovered.

In the meantime, you may have experienced some annoying little disturbances in the household and could never pinpoint their origin. Mold growing on walls, ceilings or even in corners on the floor may have started to give you cause for concern. But damage to the surfaces of your home may not be the most upsetting aspect of this. Left unchecked the growth of mold can trigger health problems, particularly if the member of the family suffers from a mold allergy. When there is undetected water lying in the basement, no matter how diligently you remove mold it will either come back somewhere else or it will be growing unseen in dark nooks or crannies around the house.

A Simple Task That Will Minimize Basement Water Damage

It may not be possible to predict when or if you are going to fall victim to a leak in the basement but it is possible to minimise the damage that it can cause to your home and to your family's health. The first step you should take is to at least go down into the basement on a semi-regular basis. If the greatest risk to the non-detection of water in the basement is because you never go down there, then by simply walking down a flight of stairs you may be avoiding a huge water damage bill.

So, your simple task is to look for the water damage in your basement.

Problems Caused by Basement Water Damage

There are a lot of negative outcomes that are experienced with basement flooding apart from the fact that it is an inconvenience that is expensive to repair. Research has revealed the following impacts:

Property value may depreciate when it is found that the basement may be prone to frequent flooding.

Respiratory problems are linked to houses that prove to be chronically damp.

The building foundations and structure is weakened due to frequently being damp.

Repeated claims due to a flooded basement can lead to increased insurance premiums.

So you've got at least a four-fold list of detrimental effects from basement water damage, hitting your health, your home and your wallet. If only one of these factors were in the negative you should be prompted to take action and take it swiftly. With all four being affected, the moment you detect water in your basement you should immediately seek some kind of water damage restoration assistance.

More information about basement water damage can be found in the article:

Water Damage In the Basement

Food Safety After A Fire

2009-06-26T13:58:00.003+10:00

When your house has had a fire go through it there are more things to worry about than simply what can and can't be cleaned and how you should go about it. Safety measures should also be followed and one those measures involves food.

Food that has survived a fire should be treated with caution because it will have been affected in some way. here are some tips about how to proceed when it comes to the food that is left over after a fire.

Food in cans or jars may look as though it has been unaffected by the fire, however if it was in close proximity to the heat of the fire there is a strong possibility that it has been rendered inedible. The heat from the fire can activate bacteria that spoils food. If the heat has been hot enough it is possible that the can has split and the food will be unsafe to consume anyway.
Food that is stored in permeable packaging such as cardboard, plastic, paper, etc. should be thrown away regardless of the possibility of heat damage. Toxic fumes will in all likelihood have contaminated the food. It doesn't matter if the packaging was unopened, toxic fumes can still permeate the packaging and contaminate the food within.
Raw fruit and vegetables that were stored outside the refrigerator should be discarded because these, too, will have been contaminated by fumes. Even food that is stored within the refrigerator or freezer may have been contaminated although you can still attempt to eat it if you wish. If you notice an unusual flavor or odor to the food when it is prepared you can assume that the seals were not airtight and the food should be thrown out.
It is possible that some of the chemicals that were used to fight the fire came in contact with food in the house. These chemicals contain toxic materials that cannot be washed off the food. Food that is exposed to these chemicals should also be thrown away. This includes all goods that are stored in permeable containers and screw top jars. Cans and cookware should be decontaminated before they are used.

Deodorizing A Water Damaged Carpet

2009-06-24T21:46:00.004+10:00

Most carpets can withstand water damage for up to three days. Naturally, responding to a flooded carpet as quickly as possible is critical to effecting a successful restoration, but if you can't get to it within a day, there's not necessarily cause for dispair.

If you get the carpet up off the floor your first stage is to begin the drying process. Once you have worked out the state of the water that has damaged your carpet, then you can decide whether it is worth the effort to proceed. Sometimes water is simply too dirty or unsanitary to bother with a restoration and cleaning service.

There are essentially three classes of water. First there is clean water which is water that contains no debris, possibly from a leaking pipe for example. The prognosis for the wet carpet is that it can be saved. The next type of water is grey water. In this case the water is not necessarily clean but it also doesn't contain hazardous materials. The wet carpet may have been damaged from a washing machine oveflow, for example. The carpet can be saved in this case too.

The final type of water rating is black water. This may have come from sewage backup or runoff water. The carpet must be handled with caution and everything that has come in contact with the water should be discarded.

For the carpet that is being saved the carpet should first be dried and then sanitized. After it has been sanitized it will have to undergo a deodorization process. In this process there are some basic steps that should be followed. First you have to remove the source of the odor, then clean the carpet before sealing the carpet so that it is protected against further spills.

Using a deodorizing solution from the local supermarket will do the job or you could try using water with a 20% plain white vinegar mix. Follow this up with a thorough carpet shampoo and then make sure there is plenty of ventilation where the deodorizing took place to completely dry out the carpet again.

When you are performing a carpet deodorization you ant to achieve the following 7 things:

masking
absorbing
pairing
disinfecting
digesting
oxidizing
sealing

As well as using a deodorizing chemical you may also have to resort to more heavy duty methods to get the carpet smelling fresh and clean again. You might have to make use of such things as thermal foggers or ozone units.

Water Damage In the Basement

2009-05-28T07:25:00.000+10:00

One of those sinking feelings in the pit of your stomach will threaten to overwhelm you when you discover that the basement has a problem with water damage. It could be because of a long-undiscovered leak which could have been causing untold damage for a long time, or it could be caused by the creation of an environment that is overly humid.

In either situation you could find yourself sitting on foundations that have become structurally dangerous or there could be mold or other fungus growth taking place, breeding a potential health risk.

The basement may be damp because of moisture soaking through the foundation, it doesn’t necessarily have to have come from a leaking pipe.

The first step to repairing any water damage in the basement is to identify exactly what it is that’s causing the moisture in the first place. A leaking pipe will be the easiest contributor to identify and fix. Not so easy will be identifying that the daily activities of you and your family are causing a build up of humidity which is then collecting below the floor. The indicator that this is happening could be a mysterious recurring growth of mold or mildew.

It may be necessary to reassess how the water runs in the garden directly outside the basement. If the water is not running off away from the house it is possible that it is soaking into the ground and on into the basement through the walls. In this case it will be necessary to put in additional external drainage to move the water away from the house.

Lowering Humidity In the House

There are a number of ways to fix the humidity in your basement. Firstly, install ventilation fans in your kitchen and bathroom if they don’t already have them. These two rooms are the most humid of any other room in the house.

If ventilation is installed already, ensure it is directing the air out of the house and that it hasn’t become blocked. If you have a clothes dryer it should be vented to the outside of the house.

A poorly operating air conditioning system can fail to remove humidity which may be a contributing factor to a build up in the basement. Call a contractor to check your system to confirm it is operating properly.

If the basement becomes damp from humidity in the warmer months it may be necessary to have a dehumidifier running in the basement. It’s best to run the dehumidifier in a closed room to stop humid air from outside the house from entering the basement.

Water Damage From A Leaking Pipe

If the water damage is noticeable on the ceiling of the basement or on the walls directly below a bathroom it may indicate that the water pipes have been damaged. In this case your best course of action is to call out a plumber.

Water damage that consists of considerable mold growth can best be solved by calling a professional who specializes in mold remediation.

Naturally, the most certain way to solve a problem with water in the basement is to call out a reputable water damage restoration expert. Water restoration professionals are equipped to locate the cause of any moisture as well as being experienced in repairing damaged walls or ceilings and preventing water damage in the future.

Cleaning Mold From the Ceiling

2009-05-27T07:09:00.006+10:00

Mold thrives in any moist, warm environment with rooms such as bathrooms or kitchens a perfect place for it to grow and spread quickly. It is not only unsightly but can become a health risk as it spreads by releasing spores and these spores can affect breathing. Mold will grow on any organic material and, given the right conditions will do just as well on non-organic material.

A danger for your home when you’ve got mold growing in one or many rooms is that it actually consumes the object that it is living on and can release an acid that will permanently mark the wall or ceiling. Whether your ceiling is made from ceiling tiles, sheet rock or wood, mold is just as likely to begin growing with rooms that are often moist, such as the bathroom, the most susceptible.

Black mold is the most common type of mold that will grow on the ceiling and it can be identified as black spots of varying sizes dotting the ceiling in clusters.

Cleaning a Mold Damaged Ceiling

It is important to appreciate the danger mold poses to your health, so before you start cleaning the mold from the ceiling, ensure you have taken necessary safety precautions and have put on gloves, goggles and a face mask.

In the room you will be cleaning, close off any accesses to other parts of the house such as doors or vents. Open the window to allow the room to dry out.

An initial wash of the ceiling with a mild detergent and warm water will start the cleaning process. A quarter of a cup of bleach mixed with a quart of water can be used to follow the clean up and, if necessary, can be repeated after allowing the first application has dried. After the second application the ceiling should be allowed to dry out completely.

There are alternative products available to the bleach solution mentioned above that will remove the topical mold and also kill the remaining spores. It might be worth seeking out one of these products to be comfortable that you have thoroughly cleaned the room.

To safeguard against the return of mold in the room, all water leaks should be repaired so the environment isn’t constantly moist. If there are no leaks, it might simply be necessary to introduce more ventilation into the room. Finally, a regular clean of the bathroom to remove or kill and stray mold spores should be carried out regularly.

Make sure that if you are going to be painting the ceiling you have completely removed the mold. Painting over mold will not solve the problem and the mold will simply return in full force. It is possible to buy paint with mold prevention chemicals already mixed into it. I have actually painted such a product on the ceiling of my bathroom and have never had a problem with mold in that room.

This mold damage clean up advice assumes that the mold damage is not too extensive and that you can tackle the job yourself. If, however, the mold damage has become completely out of control, it may be necessary to call in a professional who specializes in this kind of damage clean up.

Other mold damage articles:

Prevent Mold From Taking Hold In the Home
Restoring the Home From Mold Damage
Repair Mold Damage In Books
Mold Detection and Treatment of Clothes

Mold Detection and Treatment of Clothes

2009-05-26T07:30:00.001+10:00

Mold is the common term used to describe a downy or furry growth on the surface or organic matter, caused by fungi, especially in the presence of dampness and decay. These microorganisms feed on living organisms or dead organic matter.

In order to prevent the growth or spread of mold growth you have to deny the spores the moisture content they need to germinate.

The mold microorganisms need organic materials for the nutrients to grow and so, any material that was once living, including wood, paper, clothes such as cotton, linen and leather are susceptible. It doesn’t really stop there, either. Inorganic materials such as some plastics can also come under attack from fungal growth.

You need to get rid of mold because it will permanently damage the materials upon which it is growing. It will stain textiles as well as structurally weaken them, paper will be stained with spots known in the industry as “foxing” and leather will be permanently marked. Inorganic materials can be etched by organic acids produced by the fungus as a by-product of their presence.

Removing Mold From Your Clothes

The ideal scenario is that you catch the onset of mold growth early on in its life. As soon as that moldy smell becomes noticeable from the cupboard it is essential to pull all the clothes out and closely examine them for signs of mold. Remember, mold will cause deterioration in the material that it is growing on so the longer you leave it, the more chance your clothes will not be salvageable.

When the mold has been identified there are some steps you can take to remove both the mold and the mold smell.

Firstly, when you deal with mold you should use gloves and a protective mask or goggles. Take the clothes outside and then brush the loose mold growth off each item. When transporting the affected clothes you should be careful not to disturb the mold because you don’t want to spread mold spores through the house.

After the clothes have been brushed off, leave them in the sun to dry so that the heat from the sun will kill any remaining mold that is still in the clothes.

It may be necessary to wash the affected areas in a weak bleach solution although if you’re dealing with colored clothing you may want to substitute the bleach for a lemon juice and salt combination. After the clothes have been given a thorough clean with these disinfectants, they should be laundered as you would normally do and then put out to dry in the sun. Ensure that the drying process is completed to avoid a regrowth of mold.

A fungicide spray can be used on the clothes to remove any trace mold odor that may persist. Care must be taken with respect to the different materials that you are trying to remove the mold from. Materials such as silk, nylon and wool can be damaged when applied with chlorine bleach.

A product such as Moldergent, which is a 100% organic mold cleaning detergent, can be used in the laundering process. This type of product has been specially formulated to remove mold and mildew from clothes.

As mentioned earlier in the article, at the first sign that the clothes in your wardrobe have been affected start the mold restoration process immediately. The process is not too burdensome and the longer you delay cleaning and drying your clothes the more chance that they will be ruined beyond repair.

Repair Mold Damage In Books

2009-05-25T07:13:00.006+10:00

If you’ve suffered water damage and one of the items are your books, there are some necessary steps that you will have to take if you want to prevent mold from growing on them.

You first have to work out which books have suffered little enough damage to be saved. For those books that are completely ruined by water, or which are not valuable enough to save, discard them immediately. For those books that contain valuable information that you think you will want at a later date, photocopy the pages and then discard the originals. For those books that you will want to save, freeze the books. Mold cannot grow when it has been frozen.

Air-drying the books may be an option, but do so following these stops:

Fan books open and stand on top or bottom edge; never stand them on the front edge.
Stand books on driest edge first to provide support. As the book dries turn it upside-down to the opposite edge every few hours.

Place a sheet of waxed paper larger than the pages between the front and back cover and adjacent page before standing on edges. Replace the interleaving as it becomes saturated.

When the book is no longer wet, but still cool to the touch, close and place on a solid surface with a slight weight to keep distortion to a minimum. Check frequently to ensure that no mold is growing.

Repair Mold Damaged Books

If you have not moved quickly enough to prevent mold damage in the first place, or if the books have been stored in a damp environment and have become mold damaged over time, there are some steps available to you to perform mold damage restoration.

Mold damage on the cover or spine of the book can be addressed by removing the cover of the book and retaining the pages within. If the mold is heavy but has only affected the dustjacket then your restoration may simply be a matter of removing the jacket and discarding it. You will have to do a thorough inspection of the inner pages of the book to ensure that the pages have not also become mold damaged. If you hate the thought of coverless books in your bookshelves, you may have to decide on getting the books professionally rebound.

If the mold damage on the cover is only light, you will have to remove the mold by first brushing the mold from the cover. You will then be required to sponge the cover down with a water, bleach and detergent mix. The idea is to destroy the mold spores that may be left behind, so after washing down the cover, leave the book out in the sun to completely dry.

The more difficult mold restoration of books comes when dealing with mold on the inside pages of the book. It is very likely that books with mold damage on the pages will not be salvageable but there are some steps to take to try.

Firstly, brush off any visible mold. Follow this up with a light sponge with the water, bleach and detergent mixture over the contaminated area remaining very careful not to wet the pages too much. Leave the washed books out in the sun, pages open, so that they might dry out completely. This process should be completed page by page as necessary.

Whether or not you want to tackle this kind of mold damage restoration will depend on how valuable the books that are damaged are and how badly you need the content contained within.

As with all mold repair work you should be aware of the safety issues involved and make sure you have equipped yourself with the proper personal protection equipment.

Restoring the Home From Mold Damage

2009-05-24T07:09:00.000+10:00

When performing a water restoration one of the biggest dangers is preventing mold. However, sometimes one of the first indicators that you've even got a water damage problem is the appearance of mold growth. This leaves you with the problem of attempting to clean up the mold. Here are some safety tips with suggestions on the personal protective equipment you should wear. The primary function of personal protective equipment (PPE) is to limit mold exposure.

If a remediation job disturbs mold, and mold spores then become airborne, there will be an increase in the risk of respiratory exposure. Actions likely to stir up mold include breaking moldy porous materials such as wallboard, using invasive procedures to examine or remediate mold growth in wall cavities, stripping or peeling wallpaper to remove it, and using fans to dry items.

Gloves

Gloves protect the skin from contact with mold. They also protect the skin from potentially irritating cleaning solutions. Long gloves that extend to the middle of the forearm are recommended.

The material from which gloves are made should be suited to the type of materials being handled. If you choose to use a biocide, such as chlorine bleach, or a strong cleaning solution, gloves should be made from natural rubber, neoprene, nitrile, polyurethane, or polyvinylchloride (PVC). If a mild detergent is being used, ordinary household rubber gloves are suitable. The routine use of biocides is not recommended.

Goggles

Properly fitted goggles or full-face respirators provide eye protection. Goggles must be designed to keep out dust and small particles. Safety glasses or goggles that have open vent holes are not suitable and won't provide you with complete protection for the job.

Respirators

Respirators protect remediation workers from inhaling airborne mold, mold spores, and dust. Three types of respiratory protection are described: minimum, limited, and full. Only respirators approved by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) should be worn during mold remediation. These respirators must be used according to any applicable Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations.

You only really need to wear minimal personal protective equipment when cleaning up a small area affected by mold (less than 10 square feet total). Minimum PPE includes gloves, goggles/eye protection and an N-95 respirator. An N-95 respirator covers the nose and mouth, filters out 95 percent of airborne particulates, and is available in most hardware stores. It does not provide eye protection.

Limited PPE includes the use of half-face or full-face air purifying respirators (APRs) equipped with P100 filter cartridges. These respirators have inhalation and exhalation valves that filter the air and ensure it is free of mold particles. The P100 filters do not remove vapors or gases, and the half-face APRs do not protect the wearer's eyes. Limited PPE may be warranted when the total surface area affected by mold is between 10 and 100 square feet. Professional judgment should be used to make the final determination about whether to wear limited PPE.

Full PPE includes a full-face, powered air purifying respirator (PAPR). It is recommended when more than 100 square feet of mold is found, which means that there is very likely going to be high levels of airborne dust or mold spores present, or when intense or long-term exposures are expected. A powered air purifying respirator uses a blower to force air through a P100 filter. The filtered air is supplied to a mask that covers the wearer's face or a hood that covers the entire head. Positive pressure within the hood prevents unfiltered air from entering through penetrations or gaps. Individuals must be trained to use their respirators before they begin remediation.

Disposable clothing is recommended for medium and large remediation projects. It prevents the transfer and spread of mold to clothing and eliminates skin contact with mold. When limited protection is warranted, disposable paper coveralls can be used. When full protection is required, a body suit of breathable material, such as TYVEK, and mold-impervious disposable head and foot coverings should be used. All gaps, such as those around ankles and wrists, should be sealed. (Many remediators use duct tape to seal clothing.)

If some of the measures specified above appear too daunting a task to tackle yourself, it would be advisable to get in touch with professional water damage contractors who will be well trained in cleaning up this kind of mold damage. Sometimes the most wise course of action is to stand aside and allow those who are best equipped to deal with the problem, especially when your personal safety is at stake.

Prevent Mold From Taking Hold In the Home

2009-05-23T07:25:00.001+10:00

Molds will grow just about anywhere and will grow on virtually any organic substance, as long as moisture and oxygen are present. Species of molds grow on wood, paper, foods, carpet and insulation. When there has been excessive moisture allowed to accumulate in buildings or on building materials, mold growth will often occur, particularly if the moisture problem remains undiscovered or unaddressed. It is impossible to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment. However, mold growth can be controlled indoors by controlling moisture indoors.

Active mold digests the organic materials upon which it grows and can also create permanent stains. It can be hazardous to people with respiratory problems and can cause allergic reactions or irritate the skin.

After flood damage occurs in your home, it is critical to begin the process of taking water restoration steps to prevent any further damage that might be caused by mold growth.

Steps To Take To Prevent Mold From Growing

Begin the process of drying out the room as quickly as possible. Given the ideal conditions, mold will spread and can grow quickly.

Mold prefers high humidity and temperature so lower both the humidity and the temperature. This can be done by opening the windows if the outside humidity is lower than inside. Alternatively turn on the air conditioning and set up dehumidifiers and empty them often.

Remove any objects that are moldy sealing the moldy trash in plastic bags first. Objects you can save should be dried or frozen as soon as possible. Freezing will inactivate mold.

Mold can remain on shelves and in cupboards where valuables were kept so clean these surfaces with a disinfectant such as Lysol. After cleaning, increase the air circulation in the room. Use fans only after moldy objects are removed and all display and storage areas are clean.

These are basic early water damage restoration steps that should be taken as a start to repairing water damage in the home. These early actions can save a lot more ongoing damage down the track. When removing mold from the home you should also consider you own safety and wear appropriate personal protective equipment.

Safety After Fire Damage

2009-05-22T14:29:00.001+10:00

After a fire the dangers to your safety have not necessarily passed with numerous hazards still present in a structure which will have been weakened by the fire. If you have to enter a fire zone, there are a number of precautions that must be taken to avoid while beginning your own fire damage restoration.

Assess The Structural Damage

Before you even think about stepping inside your house you must get a determination that the property is structurally safe to enter. This should be done by the local fire department who will confirm it for you. There may be puddles of water on the floor and ground left over from the extinguishing process. If this is the case, check that the electrical power to the house has been turned off.

On the ground outside the home on your property there may be damaged or fallen power poles or lines and should be kept clear at all times. These electric wires can potentially start a new fire or can be the cause of electrocution. Similarly, damaged power poles may be extremely unstable and ready to fall with at slightest touch.

Even if the building is determined safe by a professional, take care when re-entering the building and carefully inspect the indoor stability.

Food

Food, beverages and medicines that were in the house during the fire will have become affected by the smoke, heat, soot and the water used to extinguish the fire. None of them will be fit for human consumption and should be discarded.

Safety Clothes

Basic safety clothes should be worn to protect you skin and clothes. In some cases it may also be necessary to wear a breathing mask with a particulate filter. Disposable plastic gloves are a good idea if you are going to be touching anything when there is likely to be plenty of toxic residues lying around.

Soot Removal

One of the substances that can get into airways as well as being particularly damaging to furniture and surfaces after a fire is soot residue. If it is left to sit for any length of time it will permanently discolor the surface. This process can start in as little as an hour. It is a good idea to vacuum up as much of the soot that is lying around the house as possible. Make sure you don't actually touch the soot, but hover the nozzle of the vacuum just above it as it sucks.

Secure the Site

Often times after a fire, it may not be easy to lock the house up or seal it against the weather. If you are going to be leaving the home unattended make sure you have protected the site from further damage from the weather, vandals or thieves. You might be able to get help from the fire brigade in securing the premises. Above all, remove anything of value that has survived the fire, particularly if the home has been ruled too unstable to inhabit.

The police are probably going to be aware of the fire but if you are going to leave the house unoccupied they should be notified. There are some heartless people out there and will see an unoccupied home as an easy target.

Often times when performing a fire damage clean up you are going to be faced with the possibility of having to walk on unstable surfaces. There may be piles of debris that will increase the chances of slipping resulting in traumatic injury, puncture wounds or causing the pile to collapse. For this reason extreme caution must be taken when working on a fire damage site and the necessary protective equipment should be used and worn.

The overwhelming urge will be to return to your damaged home as quickly as possible to assess the damage and to start to get your life back into order. Sometimes it is a wiser and safer move to be patient, wait until the professionals have done their job and have given the all clear.

Preventing Fire Damage From Forest Fires

2009-05-21T20:40:00.002+10:00

One of the biggest tasks facing emergency services at the start of each summer is the work involved in preventing fire damage. One of the biggest causes of fire damage to the forest is lightning strike. As such there is no way to avoid the ignition of a wildfire from lightning strike, but there are preventative measures to limit the damage the resultant fire can cause.

As a resident living in rural or forested areas, there are measures you can take to limit the fire damage that can be caused from a forest fire and to lower the risk that the fire will also claim your home.

Clear flammable materials away from the outside of the house. Create a buffer zone that can be classed as a defensive zone and make it at least 30 feet wide. This zone will give your house a chance to survive a passing fire and will also give fire fighters space to work.

Landscape the garden with fire resistant materials. Putting in a lush lawn or a rock garden will act as a good fuel break. A thatch-roof pergola wouldn’t be such a good idea in areas that are prone to bushfires.

If there are trees surrounding the house within the 30 foot defensive zone should be kept well pruned, particularly branches that may reach towards the house.

If you have a wood-fired fireplace for heating in the winter months make sure the firewood is stored well away from the house and not up against one of the walls.

Gutters and roofs should be kept clear of debris such as leaves or pine needles. A single spark from a bushfire can ignite any rubbish sitting in the gutters.

Ensure that there is always easy access to the house and yard in case emergency vehicles need to pass.

Sometimes there is no way to avoid your house succumbing to fire damage during a raging bushfire. Because of that you should already have a coherent emergency plan for evacuation so that you can leave as quickly as possible if necessary. It’s always possible to restore the damage of a fire, getting caught in the fire yourself can easily result in death.

If fire strikes, you may need to use these Fire Damage Cleanup Tips.

Dealing With Soot Damage Removal

2009-05-17T22:55:00.007+10:00

Restoring a home from fire damage is a difficult task and soot damage is one of the hardest problems to have to deal with. However it is a crucial part of the fire damage clean up process and it is necessary to begin the process of soot removal as soon as you can. Soot residue is an oily substance that can ingrain itself into every surface that it comes in contact with. The worst part of trying to clean it up if you don’t know what you’re doing is that rather than removing it, touching the soot will simply push it further into the surface it is sitting on making the clean up even more difficult.

There are some basic tips that you should keep in mind when attempting to tackle any soot damage restoration. The first step to consider is to find a good soot and smoke damage restoration service to come out and provide their expert assistance. A good fire damage contractor can save further heartache later.

There will have to be an initial inspection to decide what pieces are worth restoring and what has sustained little enough damage to be able to be restored. Taking photos of the damage is a necessary step in the process to document for insurance purposes what the state of the home was immediately following the fire.

Soot damage comes from more than simply the blackness of the material that gives everything a dirty appearance. The fine particles of acidic soot and smoke that have fanned out from the fire can penetrate even the tightest windows and doors to coat walls, carpets, curtains and all the home's contents. Damage can be from the insulation in the attic to the inside of a computer.

Soot damage begins its degradation of surfaces almost immediately. Studies have shown that soot begins to discolor materials such as plastics, marble surfaces, appliances and furniture within hours. The longer the soot is allowed to sit in place the more damage that can be done with walls and carpets stained yellow permanently.

Light layers of soot can be vacuumed up by the home owner, making sure not to drag the vacuum nozzle over the surface but to hover it above the soot to suck it up. An oil-based detergent may be used to wipe surfaces although this should be done with great care. Anything more heavily coated with soot should be left for the experts to deal with. While waiting for the experts to arrive, take a further added precautionary step of closing the doors on affected areas to localize the smoke odor as much as possible to a single room.

A thorough fire damage restoration can set you back at least $5,000 with larger jobs costing significantly more. The majority of this cost will be picked up by your insurance company but expect a process that will take a long time before all trace of sight and smell is removed. Some homeowners may also qualify to receive Federal Emergency Management Agency funding so as well as contacting your insurance company you will also need to contact a FEMA representative.

Remember that it won’t just be the surfaces that you can see that will be affected by soot damage. Soot is a fine particulate and it can penetrate into the smallest surfaces before settling. The components inside televisions, computers and sound systems can be coated with the stuff as can air ducts and all of them will have to be professionally restored.

Soot removal is a process that should be carried out quickly, carefully and efficiently. The sooner you get it done the more chance you will save your valuables from permanent damage.

Soot Removal From Brick

You will want to avoid removing soot residue from bricks with a liquid based cleaning agent for as long into the process as possible. This means that you should use dry methods to clean away as much of the soot as you possibly can. As with cleaning other surfaces the first stage should begin with the vacuum cleaner, sucking away as much of the surface soot as possible. After this you can use a wire brush to dislodge any soot that is further embedded into the brick. The brushing should be done in short, quick flicks.

Next, you can use a product that is known as a soot sponge. This is a sponge that has been designed to be used dry. It has been chemically treated so that it absorbs soot and other dirt into its pores. It can be cleaned, once it is completely dirty, by shaving off the outer layer of the sponge revealing a clean surface to continue the soot removal. The sponge is meant to be used by blotting at the soot. Remember, never rub the soot as it will only spread it and make things worse.

When the soot removal has cleaned up all of the loose soot and it is no longer possible to continue effectively with the dry methods, it is time to move to a liquid cleaning method. An effective way to complete the soot removal from bricks is to make up a weak solution of citrus cleaner mixed with water and scrub with a stiff scrubbing brush. The bricks should be scrubbed vigorously to remove all of the residual soot. When this scrubbing is completed the bricks should then be wiped dry with a clean cloth.

All of the soot removal should be done after laying down some newspaper or drop cloths to protect the floor.

Repairing A Water Damaged Carpet

2009-04-20T22:17:00.005+10:00

Whether you’ve had a major leakage in the house, experienced a flood or have simply spilled a liquid on the carpet, the clean up job will be similar in each case. It will simply be the size of the carpet drying job that will differ. Drying a wet carpet will involve more than simply drying the surface that is exposed to the air. The felt underlay will also have been saturated and will have to be dried too or else the risk of mold is almost 100 per cent.

The important thing to remember when dealing with a wet carpet is that you must get started on the drying process immediately. The longer the carpet is left the more it will smell and the greater the opportunity for mold to develop. If mold does happen to begin growing the best advice is to discard the carpet and the underlay. Mold is a potential health risk and its presence should be removed from the house at all costs.

If you haven’t located the source of the water damage then this is the first step that you must undertake. Once the source of the water damage has been located you must start the process of removing the water. In ideal conditions mold will begin to grow after around 24 – 36 hours, but this will depend on factors such as humidity, temperature and dew point levels.

Remove the ideal mold growing conditions by lowering the humidity and the temperature with a dehumidifier and using a commercial floor fan to get the air circulating. Also, lift the carpet and place something underneath it to allow the air to flow over and under it. Open a window or run the air conditioner in the room. Essentially, you have to get as much air into the affected room(s) as possible.

For drying and repairing flood damaged carpets and you have decided not to throw the carpet away (which is one option) you will be facing a challenge to prevent mold and mildew. If the carpet has not been glued down, roll it up and take it out into the yard where you can lay it flat on a hard, dry surface in the sun. Give the carpet a thorough spray with the hose through a strong nozzle, sweeping the carpet with the water front and back. Next, use an all-purpose ammonia solution that has been diluted and soak the carpet in it for a few minutes to kill any organisms that may have begun to grow in the carpet. There is a risk with using ammonia or an equally effective bleach solution that the color of the carpet will be affected. After treating the carpet, rinse all traces of bleach or ammonia.

After treating for microbes the carpet must be dried as quickly and completely as possible so as to avoid mildew growth. Using a wet and dry vacuum will remove excess water from the carpet fibers. Leaving the carpet in the sun will speed up the drying process. If the carpet can’t be left outside it may be dried inside using an air conditioner and dehumidifier to help with moisture removal.

The best option for the padding underlay that has been saturated is to lift it and throw it away. The padded nature of the underlay will mean that it has absorbed a lot of moisture and it is cheaper than carpet so can be replaced without incurring prohibitive costs. Chances are the padding has taken in so much water it won’t be salvageable anyway.

In order to get rid of the damp carpet smell that follows water damage, spread baking powder on the carpet and leave it for a couple of days. Then vacuum the baking soda up and the smell should be gone. Similarly, spreading cat sand over the carpet will help to absorb the liquid. Moving the sand around over the carpet will help to get as much sand as possible in contact with the moisture. Sweep off any excess and then vacuum up the rest.

To prevent mildew ensure the floor beneath the carpet is completely dry before returning the carpet back to the room. Give the floor a good clean and make sure the other surfaces in the room have also been dried out. The air conditioner and humidifier running in the room will ensure that all moisture has been removed.

Cleaning a wet carpet and restoring the damage will not be an easy task no matter how much moisture has been absorbed. But the damage can be repaired and can be done yourself, as long as the proper care is carried out. You also have the fall-back of calling in a professional water damage service.

Smoke Damage Restoration Steps

2009-03-16T16:05:00.004+11:00

It would be stating the obvious to say that fires can cause extensive damage to homes and property. But the damage is not only limited to the easy to see soot and scorch marks that you would be confronted with once you are allowed to re-enter your home. Another lingering leftover from a house fire is the smoke damage that has become ingrained into the hard and soft surfaces of the house.

As a fire progresses inside a house, or anywhere for that matter, the heat expands the pores in the wall and the smoke is able to find its way into those pores and fill them up. As the fire is extinguished the house cools and the pores close again, trapping the smoke within them. The smoke odor is gradually released as the house warms up on sunny days and cools again at night. Effectively the house is breathing but it emits a sickeningly bad breath that reminds you every day of the traumatic fire.

The first step that you, as a fire victim, should take in beginning any restoration process is to contact your insurance company who should be able to assess the extent of the damage and advise you on what may be able to be saved, repaired or restored.

Before attempting to enter the home after a fire, there are some fire safety procedures that should be observed. The most critical of these is to wait until the fire department has given the all clear that it is safe to enter. A house that has been fire damaged is a very unstable environment. It is not always obvious that the fire has been completely extinguished and any sudden gust of wind could reignite the fire from what appears to be a smoldering ruin.

Also, if there are still walls and ceilings standing, as will be the case after relatively small house fires, the structure will have been weakened by the flames. Taking note of where you can and can’t walk as well as what you can and can’t touch is vital.

The smoke and fumes produced from the fire are highly toxic and can travel extensively throughout the house penetrating paint, carpet, clothes, curtains and upholstery. Furthermore, it can become trapped in air conditioning ducts, within walls and ceilings.

Whether your home has been affected by a raging inferno that has consumed the entire structure or a localized fire that looks to have only affected one room, there will be soot and smoke issues to deal with.

It may be tempting to try to use scented sprays and perfumes to try to combat the smoke odor that nearly overwhelms the room. But doing this will only mask the smell and will only mask the smell for a short period of time. After that the smoke odor will return, only this time it will be mingled with stale perfume creating an even more stomach-turning odor.

There are a number of different methods that professional fire damage restoration experts can employ to remove smoke from the house. It all depends on the type of cleaning or restore work that is involved and it certainly depends on the type of materials that have been smoke affected.

Cleaning Soft Materials

The first stage in cleaning fire damage in the house may involve general soot and ash removal from the floors and other surfaces such as rugs or carpets.

Soot is an oily substance and should be removed with a powerful vacuum that sucks straight off the surface that is being cleaned without the use of brushes. The brushes will push the soot deeper into the fabric and make the cleaning process even more difficult. Holding the nozzle of the vacuum just above the surface that is being cleaned will smoothly draw the soot up and away without the possibility of driving it into the fabric further.

A proper carpet cleaning will be required after the rest of the fire damage restoration process has been completed. When it comes time to do the carpet cleaning you will want to use a heavy duty rotary scrubber or an extraction machine. Many of these can be hired from the local supermarket or from a tool hire company.

You may wish to launder your clothes and bedclothes to remove the smoke odor from them. This will probably require multiple washings before the odor is completely removed. Soaking overnight before washing may improve results.

An alternative method to rid your clothes and other soft furnishings of lingering smoke odors is to use an ozone generator. This may either be done in a small room or in a portable tent, either way the materials are placed inside the chamber along with the ozone generator which then operates for any length of time from a few hours to a few days. The ozone works to break up the smoke molecules as it circulates through the clothing and, because ozone is heavier than air it eventually falls to the floor. The ozone treatment produces an oxidizing agent leaving a pleasant, fresh smell in place of the smoke odor.

This process may also be used by professional fire damage restorers on upholstered furniture, placing them in a tent and running the ozone generator, allowing the ozone to penetrate deeply into the upholstered fabric.

Cleaning Hard Surfaces

Here we return back to the smoke-laden pores of the house that intermittently release that smoke odor after being trapped during the fire. Thermal fogging is used to counter this process. Thermal fogging works by applying a heated fog, saturated with a deodorizing agent to the affected surfaces. The heat of the fog opens the pores and neutralizes the smoke odor. This method is the single most effective way to treat deeply smoke affected surfaces and hard materials.

While on the subject of thermal fogging, it can also be used to rid the air of smoke particulates that are still hanging in the air. The thermal fogging process bonds the mist particles to the soot and smoke particles and removes them from the air.

Smoke damage will cause discoloration on the walls and ceiling. The marks left behind are a sooty residue. If the charring has not gone too deeply into the surface of the walls or ceiling it may be possible to clean them. Use chemicals such as trisodium phosphate (TSP) diluted in warm water and scrub vigorously with a sponge. The TSP is a corrosive chemical so gloves and goggles must be warn as protection while working.

The washing process may require a number of applications before the surfaces are cleaned satisfactorily. If the walls or ceiling still display discoloration, it may be necessary to repaint.

It should be remembered that one cleaning agent will not be sufficient to clean all affected surfaces. Different agents work on different surfaces and what works best with what must be checked for potential problems. That’s if you are left with no choice but to attempt the restoration yourself.

All of these smoke damage restoration tips and techniques will be best carried out by the proper trained restoration professionals. Apart from working in a dangerous environment, you may be working with dangerous chemicals that could cause injury to you or further damage to your possessions if not used correctly. Fire damage restoration experts handle these products on a regular basis, can assess what can be saved and what cannot and are used to working in fire affected sites.

This short article is meant to give you a basic guideline of what to expect to happen in the process of restoring your home after a fire. It is not an instructional piece that you can use with the expectation that it is complete. The fire damage restoration experts will walk you through the process that they intend to use and, armed with this information, you will have a clearer understanding of what they are talking about.

Water Damage Restoration For Floors and Walls

2009-02-23T22:54:00.012+11:00

A flood or failed plumbing eventually winds up on the floors and possibly creeping into the walls. Techniques to restore flooring will alter slightly depending on the type of floor covering that has been damaged. However, in each case the big danger is mold or mildew taking hold. The drying process should be started immediately and after that, it's up to you whether you call in the water damage restoration experts or attempt to dry your belongings yourself. If you don't feel comfortable with the work that may be required to comelete the restoration job then you first task is to call in the water damage specialists.

Failing any of these restoration solutions the final option may well be to come up with inexpensive flooring to replace the flooded floor.

Restoring Hardwood Floors After Water Damage

Bearing the brunt of major water damage, hardwood floors will run the risk of suffering severe damage owing to swelling and buckling unless expert restoration is done. A water damage restoration company can control the drying time to fix hardwood floor water damage with a couple of simple techniques such as forcing air through the undersides of the floorboards.

Another successful technique employed by restoration companies is to alleviate the pressure built up by the swollen floorboards by removing a board every few feet. Taking the pressure out of the floor lowers the risk that the boards will buckle during the drying process.

So how should you dry water damaged hardwood floors? The best method is to create good air circulation in the room. Open windows and doors and turn on fans to help move the air around the room faster. By creating air flow in the room the evaporation process will begin, moving out the moisture loaded air and moving in dry air.

Air drying can be a slow process when trying to dry out water damaged floors but it is also the most inexpensive. The trick is to start the process as early as possible after the floor has become wet.

Laminate Water Damage

If your laminate floor has developed a buckle or it is warping to any degree, it could be a sign that there is some kind of water damage affecting it. Water may affect laminate flooring by getting into the subfloor where the dampness affects the laminate bond.

If you find laminate flooring water damage the affected area in the laminate must be lifted and removed. It may then be possible to cut out a replacement piece and fit it in the hole, but this is a tricky operation and will depend on the type of laminate flooring you’re trying to replace such as laminate planks, strips or tiles.

As a little tip with laminate floors, never use a wet mop to clean them because the water can seep through the joins and cause irreparable damage underneath. Rather, use either a vacuum or a broom to keep it clean. You should also avoid using abrasive cleaning liquids on the floor because it can end up scratching the floor.

Laminate floor water damage can also occur as a result of high humidity or sudden changes in humidity from low to high and back to low again. These fluctuations can cause the laminated boards to separate causing large gaps between the boards and can even result in buckling.

Drywall Water Damage

If the water has travelled high enough to start moving up the walls, then you're going to have to prepare yourself for some damage to the drywall.

The first step to restoring water damaged drywall is to pin down the extent of the damage that you have to fix. Your first determination has to be whether the damage is small enough that you can repair it yourself or if it is so extensive you will have to call in the restoration professionals.

If the damage is manageable you will have to cut out the damaged section of the wall. This serves two purposes: first, the wall will have started to swell and break down if the floodwater levels were high for any period of time; second, you want to get ventilation into the wall cavity to dry out the space completely.

Once the remaining wall is dry you can install a drywall patch over the hole. If the hole is a significant size you may need plywood backing. But the drywall replacement job is the same as a normal drywall patch.

If you think your home may be prone to more flooding, it might be an idea to buy a water-resistant drywall patch to avoid having to go through another traumatic water restoration project.

Carpet Water Damage

A nightmare to restore and, if we are talking about water damage from a flood, be prepared to lose the underlay and maybe even the entire carpet too. The job of a good water damage restoration expert is to dry the carpet quickly without destroying the shape of the carpet (it may stretch or shrink if not restored properly).

As a simple rule of thumb, if you are unable to dry your carpet within 48 hours after the water damage occurred the carpet should be discarded. And if the carpet has been contaminated with sewage or gray water, it must definitely be discarded.

So the first thing you need to do is to get as much water out of the carpet as quickly as possible, but do it in a way that won't cause the carpet to go out of shape. The carpet needs to be lifted and, if possible, blowers placed around the room to get the air moving. While the carpets are up have the doors and windows open or, if it is warm, make use of a dehumidifier to ensure the hard structures of the room have been completely dried out.

Only when the room has been completely dried out and the treatment of the carpet has been completed should the carpet be re-installed. Failure to do so will only invite the possibility of mold and mildew to take up residence in your house.

Rug Water Damage

A little easier to restore after water damage than carpet, a water damaged run can absorb a lot of moisture but it can be reasonably easily removed for cleaning and drying. The pile of the rug can harbor bacteria and must be thoroughly washed. In the case of some expensive rugs, specialist restoration work may be required, possibly to repair any color bleeding that may have taken place.

Quick, but controlled, drying of rugs can be achieved by taking them off site and placing them in a dedicated drying room. Proper care by professionals is recommended for treasured rugs to prevent shrinkage or the rugs going out of shape.

Water Damage Restoration

Water damage restoration is a specialist job and although the initial steps of beginning the drying process by promoting good ventilation into the house, it is a good idea to call in the water damage restoration experts as early on in the process as you can.

This article is part of the wide array of detailed information available about fire and water damage restoration on the site.

Fire Damage Cleanup Tips

2009-02-18T21:19:00.003+11:00

During bushfire season the risk of fire damage is great in some areas which has prompted the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to issue recommendations to local residents about how they might conduct a fire damage cleanup. These tips are to help to remove smoke and fire damage in and around the house.

Launder or dry clean all clothing.

Pressure wash, scrub or disinfect all exterior surfaces including walls, walks, drives, decks, window and deck screens, etc.

Wash and disinfect all interior walls and hard surfaces with mild soap or other appropriate cleaning solutions or products, and rinse thoroughly. Don't forget inside cabinets, drawers and closets.

Wash, dust or otherwise clean all household items, including knick-knacks.

Disinfect and deodorize all carpets, window coverings, upholstered furniture and mattresses with steam or other appropriate equipment.

Upholstery, fabric window treatments, etc. can be spray-treated with deodorizing products available at most supermarkets, but do not use odor-masking sprays.

Have heating, ventilating and air-conditioning units and all ductwork professionally cleaned to remove soot, ash and smoke residue. Change filters when you first return to the premises and at least once a month for the first year.

If aerial fire retardant or firefighting foam residue is present on the house and/or automobiles, use a mild detergent and brushes to scrub and dilute the dried residue and flush it from the surfaces; rinse with clean water. A follow-up with pressure washing may be beneficial but will not replace scrubbing to remove the residue.

Ash and soot on the ground and vegetation in the vicinity will continue to generate smoke odors and airborne particles when disturbed by air movement. Until the ash and soot are diluted and absorbed by the environment, indoor mechanical air filtration may help minimize the uncomfortable and potentially health-threatening impact of these pollutants.

With a house fire cleanup the steps you take will have to be carefully considered so that further damage is not inflicted upon your possessions. On a similar note, take extra care when moving around the damaged property to ensure that you don't misstep and go through a weakened part of the floor or cause the collapse of unstable structures.

Moving outside the house we come to a different kind of fire restoration consideration which comes in relation to the effects on the landscape around the home after a firestorm. In this case there may be considerable damage to the soil upon which the house sits making the landscape itself extremely unstable. Because there will be a lack of vegetation following a large fire there is a real chance of soil erosion which makes another potential hazard for the home. One of the tasks that should be undertaken is to select some fast growing plant species for the land around the house that will help to preserve the soil.

What is not mentioned by the FEMA guidelines is that the best plan for a fire damage cleanup is to contact a fire damage restoration firm. These professionals are equipped with the tools and knowledge necessary to get the best fire damage cleanup results possible.

There is quite a lot of stress surrounding any kind of disaster, particularly when you home and loved ones are involved, Fire Water Damage Restoration attempts to explain some of the options that are open to you to make things a little easier.

Conducting Your Own Water Damage Restoration

2009-02-15T14:58:00.002+11:00

In order to mitigate the damage caused by either a fire or water disaster there are a few steps you can take. These can all be done while waiting for your fire and water damage restoration experts to arrive.

Water damage - some small restoration tasks to carry out:

Circulate the air by turning on fans so that things dry quickly.
If the outside temperature is above 60 degrees, use dehumidifiers if available.
Mopping and blotting will remove water.
Wipe furniture and surfaces dry.
Draperies and curtains that are hanging to the floor should be lifted off the ground and hung up over the drapery rod.
Get furniture legs off the floor by placing them on blocks of wood. Wet furniture cushions should be propped up to dry.
Rugs or other floor coverings should be removed from wet areas.
Drawers and doors should be opened to enhance drying.
Move photos, paintings, and art objects to a safe, dry location.
Remove wet fabrics and dry them as soon as possible. Hang furs and leather goods to dry separately at room temperature.
Remove damp books from shelves and spread out to dry.

Important warnings when dealing with water damage

Do not use an ordinary household vacuum to remove water.
Do not use electrical appliances while on wet carpet or wet floors.
Do not go into rooms with standing water if the electricity is still on.
Do not lift tacked down carpet without professional help. Lifting the carpet incorrectly could promote shrinkage.
Do not wait to call for fire and water damage restoration professional help. Damage from the water and bacteria growth can begin within hours.

Remember, these pieces of advice, warnings and tips are all steps you can take yourself while waiting for fire and water damage restoration experts to get to your place. Often times, your insurance company will pay for the restoration work to be carried out, but this should be confirmed before work begins.

There is quite a lot of stress surrounding any kind of disaster, particularly when you home and loved ones are involved, Fire Water Damage Restoration attempts to explain some of the options that are open to you to make things a little easier.

Conducting Your Own Fire Damage Restoration

2009-02-14T23:18:00.004+11:00

Although it is not advisable to enter your home after it has been ravaged by fire and, if you don't know what you're doing, you can cause more harm than good. Fire damage restoration is a specialist job and for the most part should be left to the experts to do. Soot is an amazingly stubborn substance to remove unless you are aware of the techniques that work and those that should be avoided.

That being said, the sooner a fire damage cleanup can be started the better the chance that objects can be saved. Even though the fire may be out, some materials continue to be affected if they are not treated promptly. While waiting for the experts to arrive there are a few simple tasks that can be carried out that may reduce some of the ongoing damage.

What to do if you have smoke/fire damage

* Blow off or brush-vacuum loose soot particles from upholstery, drapes, and carpets.
* Cover carpeted traffic areas with towels or old linens to prevent additional soiling.
* Discard open food packages. The food could be contaminated.
* If electrical service is off, clean out your freezer and refrigerator. Leave the doors propped open or place charcoal in the unit.
* Send clothing with heavy smoke damage to a qualified professional dry cleaner who specializes in smoke damage.
* Clean Formica and chrome fixtures in the kitchen and bathroom to prevent permanent tarnishing.
* Wipe residue from porcelain bath fixtures to prevent etching.
* Wipe the leaves of houseplants to remove smoke residue.
* Change the air filter on your furnace if it uses forced hot air.
* Tape cheesecloth over intake and outlet air registers to capture any loose soot in the air. This is even more effective if the cheesecloth is damp.
* If the outside temperature is above 60 degrees, air out the house to reduce smoke odor.

Important warnings on smoke and fire damage

* Do not attempt to wash any papered or flat painted walls without consulting your professional cleaner. Incorrect cleaning procedures could compound the soot residue problem.
* Do not attempt to clean carpets or upholstered furniture. Again, incorrect procedures could increase damage.
* Do not use electrical appliances that have been close to fire or water before having them checked. They could malfunction.
* Do not use ceiling fixtures if the ceiling is wet. A short circuit could result.
* Do not touch anything. Soot on your hands can permeate upholstery, walls, and woodwork, causing further damage.
* Do not eat food that has been exposed to fire or smoke.
* Do not wait to call for professional help.

Tips To Prevent Fire Damage

There are some valuable steps that you may think about taking before a fire ever has a chance to occur in your home. Rather than find yourself in the position where you have to get someone to come and perform fire damage restoration, you can fireproof your home.

Make sure your power points aren’t overloaded nor are the electrical circuits. Make sure that smoke detectors have been fitted throughout the house and that they are situated close enough to bedrooms that they will be heard and will wake a sleeping person. Clothes dryers can be the cause of a house fire if the lint tray isn’t regularly cleaned. Make sure that this becomes a regular task, particularly if you use your dryer a lot.

Generally, taking extra care when there is an open flame, such as from a fireplace fire or even the gas cooker, is essential. So many kitchen fires are started simply by not taking close enough care to the open flame and brushing clothes or a piece of material into the fire which catches alight.

Failing to extinguish a cigarette properly is also a recipe for a fire disaster, either by falling asleep while smoking or throwing it in a bin without ensuring that it is no longer alight. Taking an extra few seconds to finish the job will eliminate the possibility that you risk starting a house fire.

By following as many of the common sense tips for preventing fires as you can, you may just avoid having to call in a fire damage restoration professional after all.

Fire and Water Damage Restoration Services

2009-02-13T15:03:00.004+11:00

There are companies that specialize in the restoration of fire damaged structures. Whether you or your insurer employs this type of service, be clear on who will pay. Be sure to request an estimate of cost for the work. Before any company is hired for some fire damage cleanup, check its references.

These companies provide a range of services that may include some or all of the following:

securing the site against further damage – this involves repairing any obvious damage to walls, doors, windows or ceilings. Basically any breach of the home’s ability to be locked due to the course of the fire damage.

estimating structural damage – ideally, the fire damage restoration professional you hire will be licenced to perform an estimate of the work that will be required to repair structural damage to the house.

repairing structural damage – the restoration experts should have a general contractor’s licence and be insured to perform the repairs necessary to put the house in order again.

estimating the cost to repair or renew items of personal property – similar to the structural repair estimate, a decision must be made as to what items need to be replaced and what can be restored.

packing, transportation, and storage of household items – your fire and water damage restoration experts should provide a service of packing up the household items and removing them from the location to be stored or restored and stored, to be returned after the general clean up is completed.

securing appropriate cleaning or repair subcontractors – the cleaning services that you would be seeking would involve cleaning the ceilings, walls, trims, windows, doors, flooring, cabinets, joists, generally any surface that has been affected by soot and smoke from the fire.

storing repaired items until needed – after any necessary repairs are made, the items should be stored along with any items that were deemed not to require repair.

When dealing with fire damage, due to the materials that may be found in the home such as synthetics, items that look to have survived the fire with minimal damage immediately after the fire can continue to deteriorate and become unsalvageable in a very short time.

Ideally, the required fire or water damage restoration process can take place as soon after the fire as possible. It’s for this reason that there should be as little delay before calling the professionals as possible. Knowing the services available to you will help you to cope with fire or water damage.

There is quite a lot of stress surrounding any kind of disaster, particularly when you home and loved ones are involved, Fire Water Damage Restoration attempts to explain some of the options that are open to you to make things a little easier.

Coping With A Fire & Water Damage Restoration

2009-02-13T11:31:00.005+11:00

Dealing with a disaster such as flood damage or a house fire is a harrowing ordeal in the first place, attempting to go through the process of fire and water damage restoration on your own can prolong the pain. The problem is, failing to get the proper restoration experts in to clean up the fire or water damage can result in even higher costs, or worse, can result in the unnecessary loss of sentimentally valuable objects.

Metal fixtures such as door handles and faucets can suffer permanent damage if they are not properly treated as soon as possible after a fire. Calling in professionals trained to restore fire damages resulting from the effects of heat, smoke and residues from fire and smoke is very important. Often times, there is further damage that requires restoration work that has resulted from the process of attempts to put the fire out. Water damage on top of the fire damage introduces a range of new and unique complications that must also be dealt with.

In attempting to cope with the trauma of the incident ourselves the chances are that we can become easily upset and distracted which leads to accidents. A fire or water damage restoration job should be done as coolly and dispassionately as possible, preferably by someone who is not emotionally attached to the property they are attempting to restore.

Part of the process of a fire or water damage restoration involves assessing what can be salvaged and restored and what must be replaced, the most effective method of cleaning, the condition the property was in before the damage occurred and the full extent of the loss.

Services that you made need to make use of when calling on a fire damage restoration may include the removal of smoke odor, cleaning soot from electronics and/or machinery, toxic chemical detection and removal, noxious gas detection and removal and restoration of surfaces back to their original condition.

When requesting a water damage restoration you can expect a full inspection that may identify faulty construction allowing moisture into the home, poor maintenance and identification of points where humidity may be allowed to get too high. Water damage doesn’t necessarily come as a result of a natural disaster such as a flood or hurricane. Leaky pipes, poor insulation, badly installed windows or plumbing can all be to blame. A good water damage restoration expert should be able to identify the cause of the water damage, advise on the best way to prevent further damage and repair the damage already caused.

The main thing you are trying to achieve is to get some peace of mind so you are able to put the ordeal behind you. A fire water damage restoration team that is efficient and professional will help you to achieve that peace of mind quickly. A fast turnaround means the process of coping with the reality of damage to your house is over as soon as permissible.

There is quite a lot of stress surrounding any kind of disaster, particularly when you home and loved ones are involved, Fire Water Damage Restoration attempts to explain some of the options that are open to you to make things a little easier.

Privacy Policy

2009-02-12T23:30:00.002+11:00

We strive to provide the best information possible here, but you are responsible to do your own research before taking any action.

Fire Water Damage Restoration Privacy Policy

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