Why Should I Get a Professional to Clean My Carpets After a Water Leak?

10/2/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technicians are always here to help. Call our office 24/7 - we are faster to any size disaster.

SERVPRO® Has the Knowledge and Professional Equipment to Help You Quickly

Even after a minor water leak in your home or business, there may be extensive damage to your carpet, especially if the moisture under the carpet pads was not detected immediately. Our professionals come in, assess the situation, address the loss, and mitigate any further damage from happening, such as warped floorboards or mold growth.

What Does SERVPRO Use to Get Rid of the Water From my Carpet?

Our Technicians Use Extraction and Drying Equipment to Clear Away Excess Moisture
Our IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) technicians use best practices to deal with the water damage in your home. They typically extract all standing water with portable or truck-mounted extraction equipment before going about treating and cleaning the carpet. Technicians remove the pad underneath the carpet and usually replace it.

After Extraction, What Do SERVPRO Technicians Do to Treat and Clean the Carpet?

    •    They treat the surfaces of the carpet, first checking to ensure there is no mold or damage.
    •    Use deodorizers and antimicrobial cleaners to treat the flooring and carpet backing.
    •    After putting the carpet back down, treat the front of the carpet with the same deodorizers and antimicrobials.
    •    Extract more water if needed.

After technicians treat the carpets and flooring underneath, they set about the task of thoroughly drying the room. They place air-movers around the room to forcefully push airflow over surfaces. While air movers work, dehumidifiers pull moisture out of the air and exhaust warmer air, causing the carpet to dry more quickly. Using our professional services promotes more thorough restoration in a shorter amount of time than if you were to attempt it on your own.

For premium restoration services, Contact SERVPRO of Carson City, Douglas County, South Lake Tahoe, Lyon & Storey Counties. We make it, “Like it never even happened.”

Cleanup and Reconstruction Needed?

9/17/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Restores and Reconstructs Following Water Damage in Carson City.

Flooding can ruin a property. Owners look at standing water and sometimes want to give up. Make sure to call a professional restoration service to restore your home after damage caused by burst pipes or other failed plumbing and appliances. SERVPRO® not only remediates damage but rebuilds so that your property is like new.  

Regardless of where the damage came from, SERVPRO is the water damage restoration and reconstruction company to use in your area. We are fully licensed in Nevada and California to perform the tasks needed to return a home to its pre-disaster condition. After the water has been pumped out, we continue to carry out an inspection from the foundation to the roof. Here are a few of the more common damages and how we rebuild after a disaster. 

First things first, we replace damaged plumbing. Until we stop the source of the water, it is a waste of time to affect any other repairs. Our specialists are fully trained to replace bathroom fixtures, install new dishwashers or lay new intake pipes anywhere in the home. If the problem was a failed septic tank that backed up into the home or across the outside property, we can remove the old tank and set a new one, including a new concrete cradle, in place. 

Next, come the floors. If our inspection finds damage to the subfloor, our technicians pull out each piece of the damaged frame and replace it. If necessary, we go down to the foundation and relevel the dirt or concrete to put down a surface without rolls or raised points. Our technicians have years of experience in framing and laying new wood floors that increase the value of the home and are appealing to everyone who sees them. 

When it comes to walls, hanging new sheetrock is only the surface of what we do. Before putting up the new panels, we replace every bit of wall framing that shows water damage. Although we do not move load-bearing walls, we can expand closets or decrease a formal dining area to increase the living room for a young, growing family. 

Finally, there is the roof. Our response team not only replaces damaged or missing tiles but also removes and installs new support beams underneath them. With a nationwide network of equipment at our disposal, we can even lay in a new main support beam if needed. 

Rebuilding your home can be a lengthy process, but hiring the right company for the job can make it much less painful. SERVPRO of Carson City / Douglas County / South Lake Tahoe / Reno East / Lyon & Storey Counties has the experience, training, and equipment needed to help you from the ground up. Call us today at (775) 588-2355 to begin.

9 STEPS TO HANDLING COMMERCIAL WATER DAMAGE

9/8/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO equipment warehouse, ready for any size disaster

MY BUSINESS IS FLOODING! WHAT DO I DO?

A storm has swept the region, or perhaps your property suffered a plumbing failure. Water soaks inventory, covers floors, puddles around equipment, and ruins furnishings. Taking in the damage can be overwhelming.

9-STEP GUIDE for HOW TO DEAL WITH A FLOODED BUSINESS

With the building flooded, it’s hard to serve customers or do any kind of business. Dangerous mold growth, sewage backup, and structural damage are just some of the problems you may face.

Our guide helps you overcome flooding caused by fractured frozen pipes, faulty fire sprinkler systems, storm flooding and more.

Recover from a flood with these 9 steps:

1. TURN Off WATER AND UTILITIES

Immediately turn off gas and electricity to your building. If your commercial property is flooding due to plumbing or leaky pipes, shut off the water main. If you’re not sure of the location of shut-off valves, contact your property manager. If you have an Emergency Ready Plan from SERVPRO, this information will be available already for any employee on property.

2. CONTACT YOUR INSURANCE AGENT

Second, call your agent to outline the extent of damage and schedule an inspection for the adjuster. Keep communication records of all emails and calls with your insurer. Include dates, times, and names.

3. CALL A LOCAL RESTORATION COMPANY

Rather than cleaning up yourself, certified technicians should take care of water removal, structural drying, and if necessary, mold remediation. Contact a water damage restoration company, such as SERVPRO®, with experience handling all types of commercial business flooding. Licensed technicians minimize business disruption, so that you can reopen as soon as possible.

4. DOCUMENT ANY DAMAGE

Next, make detailed documentation of damage. Take photos and video of all water damage inside and outside of your property. Share the information with your adjuster and insurance company.

8. GET FRESH AIR MOVING

Open interior doors, cabinets and drawers in affected areas. If it’s not humid outside, open windows and exterior doors. From there, the SERVPRO restoration team will set up heavy-duty equipment that expedites and completes the process.

6. SORT FOR SALVAGE

As you sort, don’t assume all water-damaged items are a complete loss. Our technicians can often restore inventory, furnishings, electronics and paper records.

7. SAVE FOR THE ADJUSTER

Items which cannot be recovered must be examined by your adjuster. Don’t throw anything away until your adjuster completes a full inspection. From waterlogged furniture to flood-soaked inventory, you want the adjuster to note all damage and every loss you’re aware of.

5. SECURE YOUR PROPERTY

It might be days or weeks before you can reopen for business, so secure the property. Limited access keeps it safe and keeps your insurance carrier happy. If you need to board up windows, SERVPRO can help.

9. SPREAD THE WORD

Keep employees, customers, and suppliers posted on the restoration status. Use social media to let everyone know about your temporary closing and prospective reopening, updating information as progress is made. When the flood cleanup, restoration, and repairs are finished, celebrate the milestone with a grand reopening.

REMEMBER:

-KNOW YOUR INSURANCE COVERAGE

-GET AN EMERGENCY READINESS PLAN

-BE CAREFUL WITH CLEANUP

If you decide to tackle cleanup on your own, be careful. Flooding in a business setting can leave behind contaminated water, unhealthy debris and raw sewage.

It’s best to leave flood cleanup to certified technicians.

If you don’t have coverage for natural disasters, look into your options through FEMA’s flood insurance program for businesses. The agent who handles your business insurance can help with the details.

KNOW WHO TO CALL

Even a small amount of water can shut business down indefinitely. Bringing in a restoration company saves valuable time. These are just a few of the services that get you back in business.

Help navigating insurance claims

Pumping systems for fast water removal

Structural drying that speeds up recovery

Mold remediation to protect health

Air duct cleaning which restores fresh interiors

We provide expert commercial water damage cleanup and restoration services in Northern Nevada and Lake Tahoe regions.

Our teams are always ready to respond to your flood emergency 24/7, helping you to minimize losses and maximize recovery efforts.

When you’re prepared in advance, it’s easier to prevent further damage and manage the aftereffects of a flooded business. You can get a free Emergency Ready Plan for your business’s property today. Call 775-588-2355 to get a response plan, showing your property’s shut-off valves and other details allowing employees in your facility to respond quickly to any water-related incident and prevent further damage.

When you need to get the doors open once again, call SERVPRO: 775-588-2355

Help Prevent Flooding With These 3 Landscaping Features

9/8/2024 (Permalink)

Level your yard to keep floodwater out!

Protective Landscaping Features

Rain can be a welcomed sight, but a flooded yard is not. To keep your lawn from becoming a swamp, here are three landscaping features to help you disperse outside flooding.

A Driveway Built for Drainage

The two most commonly used materials for driveways are concrete and asphalt. These pavements don’t allow water to seep into the ground. This creates a lot of runoff with nowhere to go. Here are some ideas for getting good rain drainage when installing a driveway:

Channels on sides of concrete/asphalt driveways to catch and redirect runoff

Covered drains in-between concrete slabs to let water slip through and absorb into the ground

Paving stones with spacing for water seepage as a pleasingly aesthetic alternative

Gravel as a classic, budget-friendly option

By making wise design choices, you can build a driveway that helps prevent outside flooding.

A Leveled Yard

Keep floodwater out by leveling your yard. Low areas in yards are where flooding happens most. Fill them in with topsoil to keep water from pooling. The high points of your yard should be around your home and then gradually slope away, keeping storm runoff from your foundation. Low points near the house can lead to water in your basement. If this happens, call your local storm damage experts and ask for future prevention advice during your assessment.

A Strategically Placed Swale

A swale is any type of “ditch” that redirects rainwater away from your home. It is often integrated into lawns as a water feature. A swale does not only move rainwater but slows it down and allows it to seep into the ground. Planting shrubs along its edges and laying stones in the bottom of a swale helps it slow and disperse water even more.

Making smart design decisions and preparing for the storm season in Carson City, Nevada, will help you prevent outside flooding and enjoy your lawn, even after heavy rain. Call SERVPRO® for help.

Our Technicians Discuss The Equipment We Use To Save Your Fire Damaged Home

9/8/2024 (Permalink)

Both the heat and flames created by an inferno can cause you extensive fire damage.

Fire Damage Experts In Carson City Talk About Equipment Used To Remove Soot And Burnt Material

If something ever happens to burn inside your Carson City residence, many items inside your house can get ruined in a short period. Both the heat and flames created by an inferno can cause you extensive fire damage. In Nevada, there are over 2,000 reported structure fires every year. Over 25% of the total calls fire departments in the state receive are because of buildings burning.The longer the blaze burns, the worse the fire damage in your Carson City home can get. The first thing to do once you see flames on your property is to attempt to extinguish them yourself before the problems get out of hand. If the inferno becomes more than you can handle, make sure everyone is safe and then call your local emergency services. Once the blaze gets put out, it is then wise to call in a professional restoration company such as SERVPRO®.

In some situations, your building materials and contents could be covered in soot or burnt on the surface, but using the right tools our SERVPRO team can save certain items. When cleaning and refinishing, we use the following five tools of the trade.

1. Dry Ice Blasting

Using dry ice can be very effective in removing soot and charred substances from many different materials such as wood, concrete, and metal.

2. Soda Blasting

This method uses baking soda and not only can be used to clean many types of surfaces, but the baking soda helps absorb odors.

3. Sanding

When restoring some wooden materials inside your structure, we can sand off the burnt material and save the item.

4. Wet Cleaning

If we ever clean hard, non-porous surfaces, we usually receive good results when using water-based detergents and a damp rag.

5. Dry Sponge Cleaning

For surfaces that are porous, wet cleaning could soak the soot and burnt materials into the item making the problems worse. Dry cleaning can be useful and prevents secondary soaking issues.

If you ever suffer from a structure fire on your Stateline, Minden, Reno, or Zephyr Cove property, call SERVPRO of Carson City / Douglas County / South Lake Tahoe / Reno East / Lyon & Storey Counties at (775) 588-2355 any time of the day, because We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster.

Mold Can Effect Even the Cleanest Properties

8/29/2024 (Permalink)

Mold infestations can affect even the cleanest properties.

Certified Professionals at SERVPRO® Will Make Sure That Your Remediation Process is Done Correctly.

Mold is present in almost every location, both indoors and outside. Mold has many different varieties, and while some are harmless, others can cause health effects. Mold comes in many different colors, and most will discolor the surfaces that the mold is found growing on. If left alone and not remediated, mold will not only discolor surfaces, but it will also begin to decompose and eat away at the material it is located on. 

Mold Could be in Your Home – Here is What You Can Do About It

While mold produces a very strong musty odor that can be very disagreeable, it is not necessarily the sign of a dirty home. Because mold is found almost everywhere, any home can become the victim of a mold infestation. Mold does not need dirt and filth to survive, but rather moisture is required. If you smell a musty odor or find mold itself growing somewhere in your Bijou home causing mold damage, there's no reason to be embarrassed by it. Rather, you should call us to begin the process of restoring your home to lower levels of humidity and to start the remediation process. 

When you discover mold, it is important not to disturb it. Do not touch it or blow on it. This is because mold creates spores that are sent out into the air when it is disturbed by the wind, even small gusts. Shut off any water lines that may be leaking into the area. Then you can remove any water or condensation you find present near the mold, taking care to use rubber gloves. These, and any cleaning cloths you use should be disposed of in a plastic bag that you tie closed when you are done. Absorbent cloths are best to use. 

SERVPRO Professionals and Technicians Use the Latest in Technology 

We use the latest devices to determine where mold is likely to grow in your home's interior, coupled with the latest developments in remediation processes. We assess, extract the mold, and complete the drying process. We then assess again to ensure that drying has been complete in scope. 

Part of these assessments will include examining the surfaces the mold was present on for deterioration. Materials in your home that have become deteriorated need to be removed and replaced. These repairs will further reduce the chances of mold recurring. Leaking water lines and other sources of water and moisture will also be repaired. 

Mold Damage Remediation is Most Effective with Water Extraction and Drying 

Without control of the water that has caused the mold problem, mold can quickly return. Mold does not require large amounts of water to survive. When the water source is discovered and repaired, remaining moisture cannot be left to simply dry up on its own. It must be evaporated so that it will no longer be present. Moisture can deteriorate many materials in your home, even after the mold has been remediated. Damage caused by mold and water should be removed and repaired. This will protect surrounding structures from future damage. 

For Mold Damage Repair and Mold Remediation, Call Us for Fastest Service 

We are available 24/7 to answer your call at SERVPRO of Carson City, Douglas County, South Lake Tahoe, Reno East, Lyon & Storey Counties. We will send a professional team to assess your mold damage problem and explain to you what exactly needs to happen in your unique situation.

Stay Safe in Your Community With The Citizen App

8/20/2024 (Permalink)

Make sure you know what is happening on the streets nearby!

In times of economic uncertainty, crime rates rise. Know what is happening around you and stay safe with the Citizen App. Whether a crime is taking place or there's a fire is spreading in your building or a building nearby, the app alerts you when something is happening in your area that you should know about. You can also report anything you see by taking a live video.

This free app is one of the most powerful ways to stay safe. It gives you access to verified 911 information and lets you know what is happening in real-time. The app covers events from missing pets to natural disasters and everything in between. This community transparency empowers everyone to create a safer world.

The app is connected to your phone’s GPS tracker so it will let you know what is happening around you according to your current location, not only your home address. Next time you see a road shut down and police sirens inside the closure, you have a way to understand exactly what is going on.

In some areas, the company that runs the citizen app has installed antennas that allow them to listen to police and fire scanners. Artificial intelligence along with humans then decipher what is being communicated and translate that into reports that are coded with neighborhood data inside the app. Reports are a step above what you will find on neighborhood apps like Nextdoor because the data comes not only from your neighbors but also directly from police reports.

Though live streaming from the scene of a crime can be very dangerous, getting real-time alerts to situations unfolding nearby can be life-saving by preventing people from walking into a sticky situation, or allowing them to keep an eye on a nearby fire to make sure it does not have potential to spread to their residence.

The Citizen App blog tells a story of a Philadelphia resident who was alerted to a fire near his dwelling:

Before hearing sirens, smelling smoke, or seeing flames, Citizen user ‘petz215’ received a notification.

Citizen user ‘petz215’ was getting ready to leave his South Philadelphia home for a dentist appointment on November 18th when he received the Citizen notification above.

“If there were a house fire that close to me, I would definitely already know about it,” he thought. “Sure enough, I stepped outside to see a raging fire.”

He canceled his appointment to monitor the fire and make sure it didn’t spread closer to his house.

The fire destroyed the house where it sparked and affected two neighboring homes.

“I was astonished. Not only did I find out about this nearby fire with a push notification, but there was already a live video of something that started minutes ago. I couldn’t believe how fast it happened.”

From Blog: https://medium.com/citizen/south-philly-resident-alerted-to-fire-on-his-own-block-b9dbcdca8e35

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In the few weeks I've had the app installed, I've been alerted to various incidents happening nearby including building fires, car accidents, and gunshots fired. The app tells me exactly how far away a situation is from my location, down to several hundred feet. I’m able to add friends and family to my "inner circle" to get alerts about potential situations unfolding near their real-time location as well.

If there is a dangerous situation occurring near you, it's better to be an informed citizen than not.

Download the app here:

https://citizen.com

If you spot a fire, call the fire department, then call SERVPRO®.

The Best Way to Remove Water From Your Property

8/6/2024 (Permalink)

Water damage has a variety of causes. You can trust the SERVPRO Brand to restore your home to its preloss condition.

Water Cleanup is Often Vital to the Restoration of Your Reno/Tahoe Property

Owning a home in Reno, Carson City, or Tahoe means learning how to prepare for a variety of disasters that can happen to your property. Restoring a house after a catastrophe that makes your home's interior unimaginably messy or downright unlivable requires partnering with professionals in the restoration industry. We are here to provide you with the services you need during those times.  

Many homes in Douglas County that sustain damage after a disaster requires water cleanup services to get started. Getting rid of the water and cleaning up the initial stages of the mess caused makes it easier to continue with the rest of the necessary work.  

When SERVPRO® sends specialists out to remove lost water, flooding, or other damaging moisture from a house, we bring all the equipment with us. This equipment includes ladders, buckets, hand tools, and other smaller items that support our use of larger equipment and the implementation of highly effective techniques.

We want to undo as much water damage as possible that your home suffers, as this keeps overall restoration costs low and more manageable for you. Mitigating damage that, when we first assess it, has not yet become permanent means we can ensure it remains only temporary. Cleaning moisture from surfaces wherever it condenses keeps it from causing further problems. Many surfaces inside your home can fare equally well when we use air movers that help wick this moisture into the air, where we can either send it toward a powerful desiccant machine or out open doors and windows.  

Other situations that can leave your home soaked in localized areas include extinguishing a fire. Part of the water used to put out a fire turns to steam. This water vapor is then free to invade other areas of your home. The other part of the water left in the area soaks into anything it comes into contact with, and below. We remove charred materials that often become soaked, leading to rusty nails and other dangerous aspects. We can find all of the moisture that evaporated with our moisture sensing equipment, including our infrared cameras. This equipment works regardless of the source of water.  

After any incident, large or small, calling SERVPRO of Carson City / Douglas County / South Lake Tahoe / Lyon & Storey Counties only takes a few minutes but provides you with results that make your home “Like it never even happened,” quickly. Call us when our water removal services can help restore your home. Our emergency services line, (775) 588-2355, is always available, 24/7, every day of the year.

Where Stains Are Most Troublesome In Your Office

8/6/2024 (Permalink)

Stains and the odors they emit are one of the problems that our crews often spend the most time dealing with in a flood damage scenario.

Staining is a part of most floods, especially after a storm. Water easily picks up and mixes with contaminants, many of which can then be coated in your building and on your belongings. Stains and the odors they emit are one of the problems that our crews often spend the most time dealing with in a flood damage scenario. Some materials are more prone to staining than others and can create significant problems if they have been heavily marred.

Carpets

Of all flooring materials, carpeting often fares the worst in Stateline flood damage. Carpet is highly absorbent, easily picking up much of the water flowing over it, along with any contaminants inside. Some types of carpeting, and especially rugs, are prone to color bleed, spreading their color to other parts of the floor or other carpets. In many cases where water is allowed to pool for an extended period, the carpet will have to be fully replaced.

Wallpaper

Walls get stained easily from flooding, but wallpaper is particularly vulnerable to the damage. Much like carpeting, wallpaper is more porous than most other materials. It traps water and contaminants inside. Wallpaper is harder to replace than paint, requiring another restoration process rather than a simple repainting.

Fabric Furniture

Furniture made of woven fabric is more vulnerable to extensive staining than wood, metal, or even leather counterparts. Fabrics easily pick up water and debris, often requiring unique and delicate restoration procedures, some of which may take time. SERVPRO® keeps machines and knows specific techniques for the many types of fabrics found and will be able to find an effective solution for most pieces of furniture.

SERVPRO of Carson City / Douglas County / South Lake Tahoe / Reno East / Lyon & Storey Counties is locally owned and known for excellent service, friendly technicians, and fast work in restoring buildings and belongings from any damages. Give us a call at (775) 588-2355 to learn more about our services or request assistance.

Fire Damage Cleanup in Douglas, Lyon & Storey Counties

7/24/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO can provide services to prevent further damage, help determine which items can be restored, and rebuild your property completely.

Fire damage can have a devastating effect on local businesses.

SERVPRO® is here to help, providing emergency and rebuild services to local property owners and managers in Douglas County, Lyon County, Storey County, and more.

Fires cause massive amounts of damage, destroying structural materials, and business items, and bringing massive amounts of water damage, toxic chemicals, harmful soot pollution, and unhealthy smoke levels to your property. First Responders often extinguish the flames quickly, but soot and smoke move more rapidly. The moment authorities permit you to reenter your building, the clock begins ticking on successful property restoration. SERVPRO of Douglas County, South Lake Tahoe, Carson City, Reno East, and Lyon & Storey Counties understands the need for speed and assigns skilled technicians to your job within hours of your first call.

COMMON TYPES OF COMMERCIAL FIRE DAMAGE

    • Burnt Structure; framing, roofing, doors, drywall, flooring, and cabinets

    • Office Property and Equipment; furniture, supplies, and appliances

    • Soot and Smoke Damage; HVAC unit, surfaces, air quality

    • Odor; smoke and toxic chemicals from damaged structure and contents

    • Water Damage; results of fire suppression system and local Fire Department efforts

    • Mold Damage; water damage left untreated can quickly cause mold growth

Smoke and soot damage are especially invasive attacking every space of your commercial property, including areas far from the actual fire. The residue from the fire travels in the air, coating surfaces. This debris must be removed before it begins etching, distorting, discoloring, and disintegrating wood, carpeting, fabric, drywall, plastic, metal, and glass.

CONSIDER CLEANUP REQUIREMENTS: SERVPRO can provide services to prevent further damage, and help determine which items can or cannot be refurbished and which structural elements do and do not need to be repaired or replaced.

SERVPRO is here to help repair commercial fire disasters

    1. Secure your business site including board up and tarping services

    2. Protect areas unaffected by the fire with barriers and storage if necessary

    3. Assess the affected areas for a full scope of damages

    4. Take a detailed inventory of damaged property and materials

    5. Detect, neutralize, and remove harmful gases and toxic materials

    6. Determine the best cleaning, repair, and restoration solutions for your property

    7. Restore, replace and repair building materials with our skilled building/restoration teams

SERVPRO has the training, experience, and equipment to handle large commercial fire damage emergencies. Whether your fire emergency occurs in a restaurant, motel, public, or office building, our crew will assess the damage in each room and plan proper procedures, using dry or wet cleaning strategies matched to the character of the residue found and the materials affected. Systematically, SERVPRO progresses through your business, room by room, to assure that all harm is reversed and the corrosive soot and smoke are permanently eliminated.

We answer the phone, ready to help with your property damage

As a leader in property damage restoration and repair services, we have helped countless families and businesses through very unpredictable and devastating residential and commercial property losses. We understand you may not know what to do in a disaster situation; SERVPRO can help by responding faster with professionals who can help you through the restoration process.

SERVPRO offers a Custom “EMERGENCY READY PROFILE” Preparation Service; one of our professionals will come to your commercial property and assess your proper emergency service solution, should you ever have a disaster in the future. The preparation process is quick and easy and makes the aftermath of a disaster simple because all the details are assessable to our staff and technicians should you need us. The emergency ready profile also helps your staff know what to do in the event of an emergency, and where important safety items are located. We provide this service free of charge, so call us today at (775)-588-2355.