How Dry I Am....

When we last saw our heroes, they were attempting to get all the water out of their flooded home by using shop-vacs and submersible pumps and mops and towels and fire trucks and bran muffins and, oh wait, sorry.  Pumps and vacs do wonders when it comes to removing water, but try as they might even on their best days they can’t get all of it.  So don’t be surprised when you touch what appears to be a clean carpet and discover to your horror that it still feels wet.

Most any surface is going to retain some measure of moisture after getting wet.  It happens.  So now you have to circulate air, which is pretty much the only thing that will dry it out.  Open all windows and doors.  Bring in fans, preferably the high velocity variety, as well as blowers, air movers (which sounds suspiciously like “fan” but moving right along….).  Crank ‘em up and get ‘em going, and don’t forget to move them around every few hours, just to make sure you cover everything.  This may take the better part of a day to complete, so I would suggest taking the family and going elsewhere to avoid being driven mad by the sound of many fans doing their thing.  Hopefully when you come back, everything will be dry, the sun will be shining, the birds will be singing, and all will be right with the world.

On the other hand, you could find evidence of mold, in which case you might as well call off the whole party.  I mean, there is a reason your parents always told you to dry off thoroughly after your bath……

Suck It Up, Mary....

A wise man once said, when you tell somebody something, it depends on what part of the country you’re standing in that determines just how dumb you are.  Touche’, my friends, and with that out of the way, we will delve headfirst into the fascinating world of water extraction.

As anyone knows, the basic idea behind water damage restoration as a whole is to get the water out, and there are any number of ways to go about it, most of which are defined by the size of the spill.  You don’t show up for disaster relief work following a Category 4 hurricane armed with a couple of hand towels, y’know?

At the risk of insulting someone’s intelligence, most small spills can be dealt with quite handily by use of either a mop or a few well placed towels to soak it all up.  Adding pressure on the towels helps things along, or if you’re like me, you enjoy walking on them, mistakenly believing that it actually has any effect.

If you’re dealing with a more substantial spill, you might want to use a wet-dry vac, more commonly referred to by the masses as a shop-vac (don’t ask me why, I don’t know).   These units look remarkably like vacuum cleaners, but are made for sucking up water, and they will effectively remove most of the water in question.  Once again, at the risk of insulting someone’s intelligence, do not try to use your regular household vacuum cleaner to remove water…you’ll only end up buying a new vacuum cleaner.  (Hey, I know it’s insulting, but even hemorrhoid creams have the warning, “Don’t take orally”, which tells me they got at least one phone call).

If we’re talking considerable depth here, as in rolling waves and the occasional surfer dude, you should probably look into a submersible pump.  I would emphasize gas powered only, but 1) I think it goes without saying, and 2) I’ve insulted folks enough for one day.

Take care when pumping water out.  Believe it or not, it is actually possible to be too good at this and remove the water too quickly.  The end result could be a sudden pressure change which could weaken the walls and make them prone to collapse and it’s all bad.  Pump her out at the rate of about a foot a day.  Slow but steady.  After all it wasn’t the hare who won the race, now was it?

All this in the name of getting the water out of your home….but wait…..you just did all this and your floors still feel wet to the touch?  Well, hey, did I say it would get ALL of it?  No, I didn’t, now did I?

So just go enjoy your weekend and on Monday we’ll talk about how to get ALL the water out….I know you just can’t wait……

I'll Have The Sarcasm, Hold The Sensitivity.....

Okay, is it just me or are we seeing a significant decrease in the number of storms occurring during hurricane season every year?  The now legendary Hurricane Katrina slammed into New Orleans on Labor Day weekend in 2005.  Katrina,  as in “with a K”, as in A B C D E F G H I J K……..as in the 11^th letter of the alphabet translating into the 11^th named storm of that season by the time Labor day rolled around.

So now it’s 2010, we’re headed into Labor Day weekend, and staring as Hurricane Earl, as in “with an E”, as in A B C D E……meaning the 5^th storm of the season, swirls merrily into the sunset.   Meaning we’re a tad behind.

Of course I’m sure there are many that are not going to complain, namely folks that live in Florida or along the Gulf coast, the ones who are at primary risk to get slugged by one of these storms.  However I am going to complain and politely ask Mother Nature to kindly get on with it.  I work for an outfit that makes it’s living off providing water damage related leads, and to be blunt, we need these storms to give us some more work.   We need damage, we need carnage, and we need it now!

Of course we don’t want anybody to get hurt, and we heartily encourage anyone and everyone in the path of these storms to take your loved ones and more to higher ground.  But if you have insurance, do me a favor and paint a big bright target on your house.  Hey, you’re covered, and we need the work.  So just suck it up and let the next hurricane rattle you just a tad.  For me?  What say?

I know how grossly insensitive that must sound, but hey we all have our assigned duties.  Fact is, we don’t work unless somebody gets slammed.

I can also only hope that you reading this will recognize the sarcasm inherent therein…..of course we in no way wish anyone bad luck or loss during one of these storms.  We’re here for you when it happens.

Of course if you find the sarcasm more entertaining, then, hey, you're a wonderful audience, and I’ll be here all week….try the veal…

The Blind Side.....

When it comes to insurance companies, I’m a fair weather fan.  When they work well for me, I’m grateful for their existence, when they don’t come through, I curse their ancestors back to the dust from which they were first formed.  Unfortunately, when it comes to water damage, it’s pretty much a crap shoot as to whether or not you’ll get any satisfaction.

Consider the case of Duncan McCleod of Roma, Australia, whose home suffered more than $150,000 worth of damage from storms in March of this year.  Normally, such damage would be covered, but his insurance company, in their infinite wisdom, classified the damage as flood related, which was not covered, and they refused to pay for it.  Mr. McLeod and his children have been sleeping on cement floors because there is no money to replace the carpet.  How do you spell L-O-O-P-H-O-L-E?

Contrary to popular belief, insurance companies are not in the business of arbitrarily handing out money.  Quite the contrary, their goal is to get as much money from you as they can and hold on to it for as long as possible.  The insurance company doesn’t benefit when it has to pay out.

Proof positive that you should arrange to sit down with your insurance provider today and go through your policy step by step.  Have them explain to you, and if necessary put it in writing, exactly what is covered, in what circumstance, and to what degree.  Don’t take anything for granted, never assume, and don’t hesitate to be a little difficult.  You’re paying these people regularly, so they should be able to man up for a few honest, pointed questions.

Don’t let yourself get blindsided….do your homework today and be prepared for the invasion of the claims adjusters.  Knowledge is power, and I know this because I is a college grad-you-ate…….

My Name Is Earl....

Hurricane season 2010 has been a mild one so far, with four storms and only two of them really amounting to anything.  We just had Hurricane Danielle, and now, proving that behind every successful woman is a guy with a goofy name, we have Hurricane Earl.  Earl becomes a Category 3 storm sometime today (August 30), and even though it appears that he will only strike a glancing blow off the Eastern Seaboard, rest assured he’ll still leave his mark with all the subtlety of a dog doing his business on a neighborhood fence post.

As if that weren’t enough, we have tropical depression Fiona warming up in the Atlantic Basin bullpen, so things could get really interesting from this point forward.

If you’re living in the path of these storms, be prepared to move….fast.  Have an evacuation route planned and (I can’t stress this enough) make sure it leads to higher ground.  Make sure somebody out of town knows where you’re going and have appropriate contact numbers to let them know you’re okay.

Have your “go bag” ready, with food, water, medical supplies, radio with extra batteries, clothes for several days, cash, and anything else you need.  But just bring what you need…you should be able to travel light, and while the 52” big screen is nice, it’ll just slow you down.

If you have time, batten down your house, board up the windows, trim your trees, and clear rain gutters and downspouts (cause they’re gonna be real busy real soon!). 

Shut off all electricity and gas to your home.  Before doing so, fill the bathtub with water for bathing, flushing toilets, and cleaning.  This water is not for drinking (which I’m hoping goes without saying, since we just used the word toilet).

Basically, the word for the day children, is to pack up and head for the hills, there’s a storm a comin….tomorrow we’ll look into what happens when you return to where your home used to be…..oops, um, I mean, return to your happy home….yeah, that’s it……

Coming To A Basement Near You.....

A dark damp, musty room, dripping with water and creaking with age……the lair of an insidious force, which has taken over, is growing, and growing, and growing, releasing spores into the air to propagate its existence throughout the land, and waiting to bring harm upon whoever stumbles upon it……sounds like the plot of a really bad horror movie, huh?  You bet.  In fact, I’m inspired to begin writing it just as soon as I’m done here.

But what I’ve described isn’t the opening scene to some Grade-Z horror flick playing at a grindhouse theater in backwoods Texas.  No, what I am describing is happening in basements and crawlspaces all over the United States right now.  Today.  I am speaking, my friends, of mold.

Now, we’ve all seen mold.  I’ve seen it when I let the loaf of bread go bad, or when I haven’t cleaned my shower in a while, and usually it is just a reminder to toss the bread and clean the bathroom.  However, mold can play a far more sinister role.

Molds are a part of life.  Well, not exactly, more a part of death.  In nature, they break down dead organic matter, sort of nature’s own recycling plant (wow, a “green” job by Mother Nature, gosh I crack myself up!).  They reproduce by way of spores (not the most fun way to reproduce but it gets the job done, I guess), which float through the air looking for somewhere to attach themselves and begin to grow.  Preferably somewhere moist.  Damp is good.  And moist and damp are just the bee knees for mold.  I mean, you just look at the water and say, “Hey, dude, let’s party!”

All this is fine outdoors, but when it happens indoors, it cannot end well.  The same mold that breaks down organic matter is suddenly inhaled, in great quantities, by living people.  Long term exposure to high levels of mold can cause health problems as slight as an allergic reaction (which many people mistake it for) to severe as neurological disorders and in rare cases, even death.

If all this seems like a bit much responsibility for a little growth like mold to bear, hey, I didn’t write the book.  But the fact is that mold can be dangerous when grown in indoor environments.  Black mold or toxic mold (great names, by the way) is even more sinister, producing mycotoxins (man, I sound like the ubiquitous mad scientist, don’t I?) that can have damaging and lethal effects on humans and animals.

One thing I find amusing….the people who insist on having their homes tested for mold.  Mold presents itself as a blackish green, fuzzy growth on walls or pipes, and it is accompanied by a truly impressive smell.  If you think you’ve got mold, guess what?  You’ve got mold!

Mold is one of those times where I wholeheartedly encourage calling in a professional.  Mold remediation is not only difficult, but dangerous.  Don’t risk your health.  Run, don’t walk, from your home and call somebody, preferably somebody who knows more than you who can take care of your mold problem.

Don’t let your home turn into a bad set from an old Roger Corman flick.  Call your local mold remediation experts today.

Man, what can we find to talk about that is more exciting than mold?  See me Monday to find out….cheers, mates….

On A Magic Carpet Ride.....

I’m a big fan of hardwood floors, and by George the next house I have is gonna be all hardwood.  Why, do you ask?  (and if you’re asking then you obviously have WAY too much time on your hands)  But I’ll tell you….I’ve simply had enough of dealing with carpet spills.  Even the most minor problem is a bear to clean up.  You dab and soak and scrub and clean and disinfect, all the while praying that there won’t be an unsightly stain.   And then, later on, “what’s that smell?”  The one time I had to deal with major carpet flooding was enough to make me a hardwood convert.

In the case of major carpet flooding, my suggestion would be to call in an airstrike and start all over again with new, preferably waterproof carpet.  However, if you are one of those that are unnaturally attracted to your carpet and wish to restore it, I’ve got good news for you.  If your carpet has been wet for less than 48 hours, it can probably be saved.  The bad news is, you’ve got a mountain of work in front of you, honeychile.

As with any water damage, you have to first get the excess water out of your carpet, which will prove interesting, because carpets can absorb a LOT of water.  Use a wet-dr y vac or something similar.  Getting the water out will make the carpet lighter and easier to lift.  Yes, children I said “lift”. 

You’ll need to take the carpet up at the tacks and take it outside to dry thoroughly.  Lay it out flat on a driveway or patio to dry.  Be sure it’s flat; otherwise it may not fit correctly when it’s time to re-install it.  Are you sure you wouldn’t rather just throw it out?  I’m just sayin’….

While the carpet is drying, go to work on the floor.  Pull up and discard all wet or damaged carpet padding and throw it out.  I don’t care how handy you think you are, you’re never gonna repair this stuff.  Just trust me on this one, okay?

The floor will also need to be dried and cleaned, and then you should check to make sure it hasn’t warped or cracked.  If it has, well, that’s a whole ‘nother chapter.

You’re also going to have to check your drywall (inside and out) for signs of swelling or other damage.  Drywall may have to be partially or completely replaced, depending on just how spectacular of a flood you had.

And while you’re at it, make sure you check out the electrical system, or better yet have a qualified electrician do it for you.

I think you can begin to see why I’m a big proponent of hardwood floors.  To me, carpet just isn’t worth the trouble.  But I am here to serve, and part of that includes offering advice even when I’m absolutely certain the people who would take it are nuts.

Okay, next time we’ll talk about something exciting, like mold.  I can’t wait, can you?