The SERVPRO Team Is The Right Team For Portage Home Restoration

11/29/2023 (Permalink)

Why SERVPRO - Cleaning And Removing Fire Damage From Portage Homes

With a border on Lake Michigan, Portage residents have great beach access and can watch the ships move in and out of Indiana-Burns Harbor. Even a town with so many idyllic spring and summer days like this one though has its share of fires and other disasters.

Cleaning up and removing fire damage to Portage homes requires a professional service with access to the latest equipment and training. That is why SERVPRO® should be your first choice to restore your home to its original, clean condition before the fire happened. Our local office connects with a nationwide network to source every cleaning agent or device needed to restore your home.

In most cases, sprinklers or firefighters extinguish residential fires before they consume structural or personal property. That usually means the majority of our efforts center on removing the residues left by smoke and soot on surfaces throughout the home. Residues fall into four categories: Dry, Wet, Protein, and Fuel Oil.

Dry residues contain few aerosols, so they are often powdery and easier for SERVPRO technicians to remove than other residues. They are the result after a fire burns very hot and leave fewer stains along with a less pungent set of odors. The only drawback to having dry residues is that the hotter fire destroys more property than cooler fires. Cleaning these residues can often be accomplished with dry sponges and a spray bottle of water or a mild detergent to break up thicker layers.

Wet residues contain more aerosols from liquids like solvents and varnishes. Fires that generate them burn slower and cooler, so while the residues are harder to remove, they are not spread as far throughout the home, affecting fewer rooms and surfaces. Technicians require stronger cleaning agents to remove the residues, and may also require a mechanical agitation device to carefully break up thicker residue layers without harming the surface underneath them.

Protein residues come from kitchen fires and are the result of burning fish, meat, and poultry. They are harder to see since the color usually runs from yellow to almost clear and only slightly discolor paint and wallpaper. Since they are greasy, the odors are far more pungent than dry or wet residues. Since odors travel farther and faster through a home than residues, even a small kitchen fire often forces us to deodorize an entire residence.

Fuel oil residues result from puff-backs. These only happen with oil burners that incorrectly ignite, jarring loose old soot, and push particles into the ductwork of a home. Few residences still use oil burners of this design, so the puff-backs only happen in older homes in Indiana and other parts of the Northeast. Removal is usually not difficult, but our technicians are careful not to scratch covered surfaces.

At SERVPRO of Porter County, our goal is to return every home to its clean, pre-fire damage condition. If you need our services, call our office at (219) 476-1883 today. We are here for you.

Visit the Lakefront and Riverwalk click here for more information.

Valparaiso Property Owners Know SERVPRO Provides the Total Cleanup and Restoration Package

11/29/2023 (Permalink)

Why SERVPRO Makes Sense for Restoration Services in Valparaiso

For many decades, our SERVPRO® of Porter County team has worked to provide every customer in our service area the same fast response and quality output regardless of the disaster or its severity. We have continued to grow, and now we offer a comprehensive, full-service approach to recovery and restoration services, including specialized niches like air duct cleaning and biohazard cleanup along with full-scale rebuilds and construction solutions. We can help you to get your property back to preloss conditions quickly.

Water Damage
Water damage in Valparaiso is a nearly constant threat for our home and business owners, and a situation that our professionals must remain prepared to face at all times. For this reason, many of our staff have accreditations with water restoration through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) so no customer ever has to wait for qualified and experienced professionals to reach their address.

In this niche of the restoration industry, our SERVPRO professionals are experienced and knowledgeable. Many of our management overseeing our technicians on water damage recoveries in Valparaiso homes have more than a decade of experience on their own – adding a level of depth and expertise to each job that we do. Along with being accredited through the IICRC as Water Restoration Technicians (WRT), many of our team members also pursue the added coursework of Applied Structural Drying (ASD) to become even more valuable assets when disasters strike.

For as widespread as water damage can become throughout Valparaiso homes and businesses, we have the tools, products, and equipment to help noticeably reduce its presence the same day that we arrive. From our inventory of extraction machines to our mighty air movers and dehumidifiers, we can quickly gain control on issues like saturation and standing water damaging your property.

Fire Damage
When you are addressing fire damage in Valparaiso homes and businesses, it is essential to have a team of professionals that understand how quickly these situations can get out of control. From the spread of soot and smoke effects to the infiltration of harsh odors into materials and clothing in the house, our SERVPRO professionals have effective strategies, equipment, and products to overcome these damaging circumstances right away.

Our team has experience and continual education in employing the latest practices and approaches for fire loss recovery in Valparaiso homes. Not only do we arrive with advanced products like our HEPA vacuums, chemical sponges, cleaning products, but we also utilize the Esporta Wash System to help clean textiles and soft contents better than ever before. Also, we can address lingering odors in the house with multiple deodorization units for different scenarios and affected materials, such as:

•    Thermal & UV Foggers
•    Hydroxyl Generators
•    Ozone Machines

We are a full-service contractor to help our customers through fire loss scenarios in their Valparaiso homes and businesses as well. We have a construction arm led by a senior manager with decades of experience, helping us to complete jobs quickly and up to our high standards. When emergencies occur in your property, we can also help you deal with the insurance company to get the approval process started as promptly as possible.

Storm Damage
Much of our successes with our disaster relief team rely most heavily on our ability to manage storm damage to Valparaiso homes and businesses fast. The primary concern in these scenarios is the harm that has occurred to the outside of the structure, which could leave the property vulnerable to flooding and other harmful situations. We can offer a full-spectrum approach to restoration and mitigation in these circumstances, helping to both address breaches to the exterior of the house and to begin drying and cleaning out damages to the residence.

Our contracting division is led by one of our production managers with decades of experience, helping to provide the most effective and efficient approaches for your Valparaiso home. We can help to quickly address structural concerns temporarily with board up and tarping services to allow mitigation work like extraction and drying to begin. Once the storm even has passed, our team members can work on projects like tree removal and full-scale build back and reconstruction to make a structural compromise “Like it never even happened.”  

We contend with many natural disasters in our area, including tornadoes, heavy snowfall, hailstorms, and other compromising situations. Flash floods and unnatural flooding that occurs from structural breaches in your Valparaiso property require a fast and confident response with extraction, drying, and cleaning equipment. Our SERVPRO professionals arrive with the full measure of our deep inventory of recovery machines and products to get your residence back to normal quickly.

Mold Damage

While our entire team boasts decades in various facets of the restoration industry, many of these same managers holding multiple certifications from the IICRC, remediating mold damage in Valparaiso properties involves our most experienced and highly trained professionals. This division of our SERVPRO company gets led by a senior management professional boasting more than 20 years of experience in mold remediation.

Colonization can get out of control quickly, often spreading wildly out of sight in Valparaiso properties. We must work first to reduce the moisture feeding this organism by employing multiple drying tools like our air movers and dehumidifiers in key locations throughout the property. With moisture content readers, we can help to determine when relative humidity has dropped back below the established baseline, and it is safe to begin colony removal and recovery efforts for damaged construction materials.

Our team offers wrap-around support, walking you and your property through every phase of remediation, repair, and reconstruction your Valparaiso home needs when facing mold damage concerns.

We have been a prominent presence throughout the Greater Valparaiso area for decades, helping our friends and neighbors to overcome the worst of disasters that affect their properties. Our SERVPRO of Porter County team offers a comprehensive approach that can take your home or business through initial inspection, mitigation, restoration, reconstruction, and cleaning stages. Give us a call anytime disasters strike at (219) 476-1883.

https://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us

The Real Truth Behind Fire Damage Remediation in Valparaiso

9/20/2022 (Permalink)

Why SERVPRO Deodorizes Smoke Damage that Happened Inside an Attic in Valparaiso

Three aspects of your attic over your Valparaiso home can become the refuge of soot particles that continue plaguing your family with foul odors. Anything your family stored in this area of your home can become saturated in soot particles and slowly give off odors. We also must consider the soot affecting the wooden structure and exposed insulation.

When your property in Valparaiso sustains smoke damage in the attic or another enclosed space, stripping it of the soot makes deodorization of the rest of the house more complete. Soot particles and ash, as well as aerosolized oils and other liquids from the fire, can become airborne and travel through the HVAC system. We want to prevent this from happening, as it can affect the rest of your home. 

We bring the items stored in the attic down and place them into a chamber where we can clean them. We might approach you about moving these items to our secure warehouse if we do not have sufficient space or the items seem highly damaged. Cleaning these and then placing the contents in new boxes eliminates any residue that might produce odor.

Attic insulation can retain large amounts of fire-related particles. When we determine this to have happened, our building services staff remove the damaged insulation. If soot deposits only cover the outer layer of the insulation, we can vacuum this away and leave the insulation intact. Once we finish the cleaning and other work required, we install new insulation.

The structure of a typical attic consists of exposed timbers and other wood pieces. This can include the floor, ceiling, walls, among other structures. Small doors might separate smaller sections of the attic, too. Unsealed wood quickly absorbs soot particles into the pores because these small molecules retain a lot of the heat from the fire. Once in, they often become wedged into place.

Sanding these items also removes the wood, so we only use this where charred wood occurs. Blasting with soda pellets is a non-toxic way that pulls embedded soot out of these pores. It also extracts soot from in between wooden pieces. However, it is gentle enough to be used on any painted surfaces, such as window frames and smaller doors.

SERVPRO of Porter County performs odor control after a fire by looking at all areas of the affected home. Our coverage area includes Chesterton and Porter, as well as Kouts and Burns Harbor. Call us at (219) 476-1883 for these and other services that help restore your property after a disaster.

Click here to see more info about the city of Valparaiso.

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After flood damage strikes your home or business, SERVPRO of Porter County is your best solution

6/20/2022 (Permalink)

Valparaiso’s proximity to Lake Michigan makes it an excellent place to call home year-round when it comes to water and ice sports. It also makes our community vulnerable to the storm systems that sweep in off the water, flooding everything in their path.

A quick and professional response to any flood damage in Valparaiso is why SERVPRO should be your first, and only, call for home restoration after a storm. Our Water Restoration Technicians (WRTs) train extensively to meet any restoration requirement, regardless of the level of damage to personal property.

With outside floodwater entering a home, there is an additional threat from what that water picks up. That can include soil, lawn fertilizers, and if the sewers were overwhelmed, human waste. To eliminate this threat, WRTs first spray the surface of the water and any nearby, affected property with an anti-bacterial agent.

Then, they remove any water in the home using pumps for large amounts of standing water. After finishing that, they use extraction wands and other devices to draw it out of carpets and from between floorboards. All floodwater is pumped directly into the nearest sewer access or a tank truck if one is not available.

Now, SERVPRO WRTs remove all property inside the home for inspection. They dispose of heavily damaged items immediately and place salvageable items on blocks or pallets to allow water to drain, and install a series of fans around them to increase evaporation and speed drying. They also clean the property using methods from simply wiping down hard surfaces like plastic and metal with a strong cleaner to using immersion tanks for items like dining room chairs.

These are only the first steps we take at SERVPRO of Porter County after a flood. Our restoration teams continue their efforts until they can return a clean, safe home to every homeowner. If you have had any amount of flooding into your home, contact us today at (219) 476-1883 to schedule an inspection and find out what we can do for you.

Did You Know? SERVPRO Is The Leader In Water Damage Restoration In Portage

3/31/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Explains Why Fast Water Cleanup Can Save Losses to Portage Properties

Water can wind up in places it was never meant to be in your home in a lot of different ways. Plumbings failures, appliance leaks and storms can deliver flash floods that have the potential to bring both water and contaminants into the home. The faster water cleanup begins, the more chance to mitigate losses to your home.

When we get the emergency call to come to your Portage home for water damage, our technicians are highly trained to access the type of water damage in the house and the most proactive restoration methods to save as many affected building structures and possessions as possible. Why SERVPRO? You can be assured of 24-hour response to your water loss emergency from our technicians who will be on the job within hours after your call.

We have numerous resources to remove the water during the extraction phase. Techs use pumps, wet vacuums, and for large jobs, we have truck mounted extractors that can handle thousands of gallons of water. Weighted extraction wands push water trapped in carpet padding so a drenched carpet does not automatically mean the carpeting cannot dry in place.

After water extraction, the premises can be dried. SERVPRO techs choose the best set-up for each unique situation. Our resources include air movers, high-velocity axial fans and dehumidifiers. Industrial heaters are used when necessary as another tool in our arsenal to rapidly decrease moisture levels and dry items inside the structure quickly and thoroughly.

Mold and bacteria are always a concern after any water event, and SERVPRO technicians use powerful antifungal and antibacterial cleaning solutions to inhibit mold growth on the surfaces and objects affected by moisture. Our goal is always to restore rather than replace, and we employ numerous restoration techniques to achieve this result whenever possible.

Our SERVPRO of Porter County water cleanup team serves the local area with our emergency services. Call (219) 476-1883 any time day or night and we can go to work for you to get your home back to preloss conditions.

Sunset Hill Farm Park is one of the many parks you can enjoy on a pretty day, click here for a list of all the parks so you can plan your next visit.

SERVPRO Is The Industry Experts!

3/30/2022 (Permalink)

In many of these fires, however, the fire starts and is contained in a certain area of a home or business.  Even though containment eliminates the necessity for complete demolition and reconstruction, it is still necessary for proper cleaning of soot and smoke.  Smoke and soot have a way of getting into places that do not seem possible.  Proper cleaning and deodorization are vital in order to restore your business or home to preloss conditions.  

Fires are extremely dangerous, leaving you with nothing.  Always remember to check your smoke alarms to make sure they are working properly.  In business, you need to make sure you check all the outlets and make sure you do not have too much into one outlet. 

There are so many different ways to avoid a fire, but so many ways that can go unnoticed by the average eye.  Make sure you have a Fire Marshall check your commercial building often.  

In the instance of any type of emergency in your business or home please call SERVPRO of Porter County! We are faster to any disaster and are here to make things "Like it never even happened."

Why a Fast Remediation is Necessary to Prevent Further Water Damage on Your Home

11/7/2021 (Permalink)

Our 24/7 rapid response team is ready to handle your water damage.

How a Fast Response Protects Your Water-Damaged Chesterton Home

Many people can hear about the 24/7 response that our team has for water loss incidents and other emergencies that threaten your Chesterton home, but do not fully understand what this commitment entails. Not only does this dedication to our customers require our team to remain ready to roll out to an emergency at a moment’s notice, but it requires our whole crew to become equally educated and experienced in the restoration industry to provide every customer the high level of service and confident property recovery they have come to expect.

When it comes to water damage incidents that can occur in your Chesterton home, even ones that are not substantial loss situations, the need for a prompt response is still critical for exposed materials and structural elements throughout your property. The rapid response of our SERVPRO team hinges on our commitment to customer satisfaction and service, which ensures that your property gets the full mitigation and recovery solutions that it needs no matter what time of the day or night disasters strike.

Quick response for water damage ensures that the effects do not spread as far as they might for those that had to wait an extended period before help arrived. Our SERVPRO team can arrive fast with the full measure of our moisture detection and drying equipment to help address moisture pockets far out of sight as well as the immediate pressing concerns that can get easily seen throughout the house.

We have production trailers and service vehicles ready to roll out from our facility at a moment’s notice with the full measure of our equipment, including extractor trucks to handle substantial loss and standing water situations where the damage is severe. 

We know that water loss incidents can be costly and damaging to your property if they do not get addressed immediately. That is why you can always depend on the effective response, knowledge, and experience of our SERVPRO of Porter County professionals. Give us a call 24/7 at (219) 476-1883.

Chesterton was originally name Calumet. Read more here.

Got Water Damage in Your Home? Time to Call In SERVPRO for Restoration

11/7/2021 (Permalink)

Why Hire SERVPRO for Water Loss Service to Your Portage Home? Our Equipment, Skills and We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

Is Your Portage Home Still Water Damaged?

If you sought to clean up and restore your Portage home on your own after a smaller-scale water damage incident, you would not be alone in this. Many times homeowners seek to save money on professional restoration through extraction and drying on their own. The unfortunate aspect of this approach is the likelihood that a problem persists beneath the surfaces you can see that could continue to degrade and erode structural elements or allow for secondary damaging effects like mold growth to begin.

Many homeowners do not even know that the problem has continued after their water cleanup until their Portage home continues to show signs of damages after the fact. Our professionals have tools and equipment designed to check our efforts through every step of the restoration process to ensure that your home gets sufficiently dried and the right steps get taken to preserve your property and its structural elements. Homeowners, on the other hand, do not typically have this equipment to check the success of their drying and moisture removal efforts.

One way that you can determine if water damage still exists in your home is to contact our SERVPRO professionals for a fast and effective assessment of the property. We can utilize technology like or thermal imagery cameras to identify moisture pockets in the formerly affected areas to determine if more actions must occur to remove any present dampness.

You can also trust in our SERVPRO team to arrive quickly when these situations initially occur. We offer a 24-hour response team designed to provide every customer with the full measure of our restoration services and trained technicians whenever disaster might strike. We have the resources that can help to preserve your construction materials and belongings, instead of often needing to result to tear out and reconstruction when water damage persists for longer periods.

While you might not be alone in wanting to save money and do your part to protect and clean up your home amid a water loss incident, often these situations are better for our trained professionals to handle. You can count on our SERVPRO of Porter County rapid response team, 24/7, by calling (219) 476-1883.

Here is city-data.

After A Fire, Why Should You Contact SERVPRO?

9/20/2021 (Permalink)

It might feel overwhelming to look at the damage but recovering from this loss only takes a single phone call.

Advanced Equipment For Fire Restoration In Your Chesterton Home

You might not be thinking initially about restoration and returning your Chesterton home to original condition when firefighters work to put out the flames. Once the fire has gotten extinguished, and you can get a look at the damage that even a smaller scale incident can cause, you can see the benefits of professional restoration and a fast response like our technicians can provide.

What you might not know about fire damages to your Chesterton home is how varied they can be regarding the equipment necessary to overcome the effects and the time spent to restore the damage. With a franchise that can respond 24-hours a day, like our SERVPRO emergency response team, you can begin the necessary steps to protect your property from further harm while the steps get taken to secure insurance claims to afford the full restoration package that our company provides.

You should contact our SERVPRO team before you even call your insurance company because our highly trained professionals dispatched to your address can compile the needed information that your provider requires to approve a claim made for a fire in your home. We can catalog damages, assess loss, and estimate the costs of restoration approaches needed to return your home to preloss condition.

A good reason that you should choose our restoration team is the advanced equipment that we use to ensure that our projects get thoroughly completed and as efficient as possible. This advanced technology gets designed to help us overcome soot and smoke damages throughout your property with high-powered vacuums and thermal fogging, clean up the damage that these effects have caused, restore water damage with air movers and dehumidification equipment and more.

It might feel overwhelming to look at the damage even a smaller fire incident in your home can cause but recovering from this loss only takes a single phone call. Our SERVPRO of Porter County rapid response team is available 24/7 to help you through any emergency that you face. Give us a call today at (219) 476-1883.

Click here for more about Chesterton.

Don't Let Mold Become Problematic! SERVPRO Is Here To SERVE Your Portage Home!

6/11/2021 (Permalink)

Visible mold often indicates hidden mold damage. SERVPRO has the expertise to remove and eliminate the mold.

How Mold Growth Impacts Your Portage Residence

As much as you work to keep your Portage home maintained and free from potential hazards and issues, circumstances can occur that are out of your control. A particularly devastating situation like mold growth in your residence requires immediate attention to overcome and is typically not something that a homeowner can successfully remove on their own. Understanding the effects of mold growth could help you appreciate the need for professional remediation work like ours.

Many homeowners do not fully understand the effects of mold damage to their Portage home. Some have dealt with mold growing up in their childhood homes or have encountered a situation like this before, and so they do not put much thought into what makes the mold growth problematic. In truth, the organism can cause considerable risks for the home that you live in, and even cause potential problems for those living in the house. These concerns can get alleviated by our IICRC certified SERVPRO remediation technicians.

Homeowners do not often even realize they have a mold concern until it has spread to the point where it affects their regular living spaces directly. Many situations find mold growth occurring in a damp crawl space underneath the house. Since this is not a highly trafficked or inspected area of the property, mold can spread until it begins to move up through floor supports, first floor walls, and the flooring material before a homeowner can recognize it.

By this point, the colony has spread to the point where it is adversely affecting materials. As the organism grows and thrives, it feeds on organic materials the colony seats into, requiring sophisticated techniques from our SERVPRO professionals to remove. If it is allowed to persist for too long, the only solution to remove the damaging colony is to tear out the affected materials and reconstruct.

Mold remediation is not something that many homeowners expect to need throughout the years, but with a fast response to potential problems, it can save you money and time. Our SERVPRO of Porter County remediation technicians are available 24/7 by calling (219) 476-1883.

Imagination Glen is the largest park in Portage.  The park includes a BMX race track and the Outback Mountain Bike trail.  Click here for more information.

Why SERVPRO? We have the experience, expertise and the equipment to get the job done right!

3/23/2021 (Permalink)

Finding a permanent and thorough solution for fire odor removal in Valparaiso can be challenging, especially without technical knowledge of the machines and processes involved in scrubbing your home free of smoke odors and other signs of damage. As part of our commitment to providing well-rounded and adaptable damage mitigation and restoration services to the area, we train all of our SERVPRO technicians to remove smoke odors quickly and with as little impact as possible on the rest of your home. With superior tools and training, we can help bring your home back to the state it was in before the fire.
 
The Right Tools
 
SERVPRO technicians use an array of advanced deodorizing technologies to provide the most thorough fire removal possible in Valparaiso. The core of our deodorization process revolves around the use of thermal and ultra-low volume fogging devices that create fogs of odor-eliminating compounds that mimic the spread of smoke in your home and neutralize or mask odorous particles even when they embed themselves deep in the materials of the structure. We also make sure to remove surface-level residues and signs of damage that can produce more odors later on.
 
The Right Training
 
Most of our equipment is designed to handle fire damage restorations in even the largest facilities, such as factories and warehouses. Managing these powerful devices can be a challenge even for trained and certified restoration professionals.

All SERVPRO technicians attend national training programs to receive a superior education in relevant restoration topics, and on top of that, also receive continual training from more experienced crew members and the optional advanced classes and certifications offered through our national network of franchise resources. Every crew we send out brings with it years of experience in handling fire damages of all types.
 
SERVPRO of Porter County can remove the traces of smoke odors and damages that may have happened to your home. Call us 24/7 at (219) 476-1883.

Click to see about your local fire department.

Why SERVPRO? The SERVPRO Advantage!

11/27/2020 (Permalink)

Since its founding in 1967 SERVPRO has expanded to over 1,700 locations across the United States and Canada. Since then SERVPRO has also greatly expanded the array of services we offer. Since those services range from carpet cleaning and deodorization to large-scale disaster recovery and with SERVPRO’s 1,700+ locations our collective knowledge and experience is one of the greatest assets SERVPRO has and we know how to use it. 

SERVPRO locations provide all kind of support to each other ranging from equipment to people-power and technical advice. Sometimes we might run into an issue that we have not encountered before or possibly elements to a job which prevent our normal methods for jobs. This is when we have been able to rely on the knowledge base which our corporate office and other SERVPROs have accumulated. 

There was one deodorization job where a skunk got into a Wichita church’s HVAC system and sprayed in it. The odor was strong throughout the building and the HVAC systems vents were inaccessible due to the construction of the building. Being unable to do much else the church wanted us to come up with a completely chemical-based deodorization method for the HVAC systems vents. 

Since most of the EPA registered chemicals we use are invented and manufactured by our chemists at SERVPRO we can reach out to them for help. The advice they provided in both chemical combinations to use and equipment to pair with it proved effective. The skunk odor in the church had an immediate and significant reduction with almost total elimination of the odor coming by the end of the week. 

We are known for taking care of the big problems and disasters, but we also are adept at helping people with the strange problems. If you have a problem which makes you think “I don’t even know who does this” if it’s not us we probably know who, try giving us a call. 

So if disaster strikes, give SERVPRO a call! We are faster to any disaster and are here to help get you back to "Like it never even happened."

Why SERVPRO? We are the efficient professionals

11/11/2020 (Permalink)

Few things are more complicated than having to deal with fire damage in the home. Sometimes, the steps that you as the homeowner take after the fire damage determine the speed at which the home will be restored to the state it was in before the fire damage happened. Below are is a guideline outlining the steps you ought to take after an electrical fire or another type of fire breaks out in your home.

Evacuation

The very first thing you need to do is ensure that all the people who were in the building have gotten out. In case there is someone still trapped in the building because of soot damage or smoke, you should call in emergency services such as the fire truck, fire sprinkler systems, fire hoses, and firefighters to help rescue them and put out the fire. Do not try to get back into the house once you are out where it is safe.

The fire suppression

The fire trucks and firefighters will arrive and assess the situation. The firefighters, fire hoses, and fire trucks will do their best to try and put out the fire within the shortest time possible after getting to the scene. You might see a firefighter going into the house and trying to rescue people who are trapped in the soot damage. They use equipment such as fire hoses, fire sprinkler systems, and other appropriate equipment to help them achieve fire suppression within the shortest time.

If fire strikes your home or business, give us a call! We are faster to any disaster and are here to help get you back to "Like it never even happened."

Why SERVPRO? Because all mold is bad mold!

9/3/2020 (Permalink)

One question we often come across from our customers worried about mold growing in their homes is what kind of mold they have or whether they should get the mold tested before having their home or business remediated. There has been a lot of coverage in the media about black mold or stachybotrys chartarum causing many people to be worried about that type of mold they may have in their home or business here in Wichita.

In cases where third party testing isn’t necessary knowing the exact strain of mold growing does not matter because it simply needs to be removed. The type of mold does not change what needs to be done to properly clean and remediate the affected areas. Even if it isn’t Stachybotrys chartarum it can still be harmful. According to the CDC’s information page on mold not only are the mycotoxins produced by some mold toxic but even strains that are not toxic can still provoke an immune system or allergic response from people who are sensitive to mold. Specifically in regards to the necessity of testing the CDC says:

"Current evidence indicates that allergies are the type of diseases most often associated with molds. Since the reaction of individuals can vary greatly either because of the person’s susceptibility or type and amount of mold present, sampling and culturing are not reliable in determining your health risk. If you are susceptible to mold and mold is seen or smelled, there is a potential health risk; therefore, no matter what type of mold is present, you should arrange for its removal."

If you want to prevent mold in your Home or Business the CDC recommends keeping indoor humidity below 50% which you can do with consistent air conditioner or dehumidifiers. Ensure you have adequate ventilation in bathrooms and kitchens (we would also recommend good ventilation in crawlspaces and attics). Use antimicrobial paints, clean bathrooms with mold killing products. DO NOT carpet bathrooms and remove/replace flooded carpets.

Of course with flooded carpets you don’t need to replace them when you call a professional remediator such as SERVPRO to handle your water damage.  We can also help you investigate.

Why SERVPRO? We are the experts when it comes to cleaning

9/1/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO is Here to Help during this time of need!

During this unprecedented time caused by the global pandemic of COVID 19, this is a reminder to our customers that we are specialists in cleaning services, and we adhere to the highest cleaning and sanitation standards.

Specialized Training

We are prepared to clean and disinfect your home or business, according to protocols set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have years of experience in dealing with biological contaminants, and we will go beyond the scope of work that regular janitorial staff performs on a daily basis.

The CDC encourages cleaning of high-touch surfaces such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, light switches, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and tables. Other spaces mentioned in the CDC’s guidance for commercial spaces include:

• Kitchen/Food Areas
• Bathrooms
• Schools/Classrooms
• Offices
• Retail Spaces
• Water Fountains
• Shelving/Racks
• Sales Counters
• Carpets and Rugs
• Stair Handrails
• Elevator Cars
• Playground Equipment
• Fitness Equipment

Specialized Products

The CDC recommends usage of a labeled hospital-grade disinfectant with claims against similar pathogens to the coronavirus. Multiple products in the SERVPRO product line carry the EPA-approved emerging pathogens claims. While there is currently no product tested against this particular strain of the coronavirus, we are following all guidelines as provided by the CDC and local authorities.

Call Today for a Proactive Cleaning! We are here to help, and are ready to use our expertise, equipment, and experience to help you today!

Why SERVPRO? Because we are the cleaning experts!

7/13/2020 (Permalink)

During this unprecedented time caused by the global pandemic of coronavirus, this is a reminder to our customers that we are specialists in cleaning services, and we adhere to the highest cleaning and sanitation standards.

Specialized Training

We are prepared to clean and disinfect your home or business, according to protocols set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have years of experience in dealing with biological contaminants, and we will go beyond the scope of work that regular janitorial staff performs on a daily basis.

The CDC encourages cleaning of high-touch surfaces such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, light switches, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets, and tables. Other spaces mentioned in the CDC’s guidance for commercial spaces include:

• Kitchen/Food Areas
• Bathrooms
• Schools/Classrooms
• Offices
• Retail Spaces
• Water Fountains
• Shelving/Racks
• Sales Counters
• Carpets and Rugs
• Stair Handrails
• Elevator Cars
• Playground Equipment
• Fitness Equipment

Specialized Products

The CDC recommends usage of a labeled hospital-grade disinfectant with claims against similar pathogens to the coronavirus. Multiple products in the SERVPRO product line carry the EPA-approved emerging pathogens claims. While there is currently no product tested against this particular strain of the coronavirus, we are following all guidelines as provided by the CDC and local authorities.

So give us a call today! We are faster to any disaster and are here to put our expertise, equipment and experience to work for you!

Why SERVPRO? Three Services SERVPRO Offers After A Fire

6/1/2020 (Permalink)

Demand for damage mitigation and restoration services spikes after a severe storm. Insurance agents and adjusters need to be able to rely on a local mitigation and restoration company to provide timely storm response services. Here are three services that make a local SERVPRO franchise the right choice for storm restoration.

1. Disaster Response

No matter how many properties are affected by a storm, a Disaster Response Team can arrive on each location within a matter of hours. Independent mitigation and restoration services are more likely to be backlogged than a national corporation that can dispatch employees and equipment from nearby franchises to areas that have experienced large losses.

2. Mitigation and Cleanup

The initial stage of storm response involves mitigating damage. In the case of structural damage, this may involve boarding up broken windows or breaches in a building envelope or tarping over a damaged roof. Standing water resulting from flood damage should be extracted as soon as possible. A full-service company can ensure that these initial measures contribute toward complete storm restoration.

3. All-In-One Restoration

A company that offers mitigation and restoration services can reduce the workload on insurance agents and adjusters while simplifying the claim process for property owners. Relying on a one-stop shop may make miscommunication less likely, prevent scheduling conflicts and allow for a faster and more thorough restoration job. Depending on a single service also means that the initial estimate is likely to be more accurate.

These storm restoration services set SERVPRO franchises apart from independent companies. The business model means that each location has the backing of a national corporation and the ability to call on nearby locations for additional personnel and equipment. A single estimate from a service that can clean up damage and rebuild a commercial property can also be more convenient for insurance agents, adjusters, and clients.

SERVPRO of Porter County is here to help in this time of need

3/23/2020 (Permalink)

During this unprecedented time caused by the global pandemic of coronavirus, this is a reminder to our customers that we are specialists in cleaning services, and we adhere to the highest cleaning and sanitation standards.

Specialized Training

We are prepared to clean and disinfect your home or business, according to protocols set forth by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We have years of experience in dealing with biological contaminants, and we will go beyond the scope of work that regular janitorial staff perform on a daily basis.

The CDC encourages cleaning of high-touch surfaces such as counters, tabletops, doorknobs, light switches, bathroom fixtures, toilets, phones, keyboards, tablets and tables. Other spaces mentioned in the CDC’s guidance for commercial spaces include:

• Kitchen/Food Areas
• Bathrooms
• Schools/Classrooms
• Offices
• Retail Spaces
• Water Fountains
• Shelving/Racks
• Sales Counters
• Carpets and Rugs
• Stair Handrails
• Elevator Cars
• Playground Equipment
• Fitness Equipment

Specialized Products

The CDC recommends usage of a labeled hospital-grade disinfectant with claims against similar pathogens to the coronavirus. Multiple products in the SERVPRO product line carry the EPA-approved emerging pathogens claims. While there is currently no product tested against this particular strain of the coronavirus, we are following all guidelines as provided by the CDC and local authorities.

Call Today for a Proactive Cleaning

If your home or business needs deep cleaning services, call the experts at SERVPRO of Porter County at 219-476-1883.