The Trouble with Leafs

With the changing of seasons and cooling of the temperatures comes the Beautiful colors of Autumn and the changing of the color of the leafs. But then comes the falling of the leafs and the clogging of the drain covers.

After that, the water and the mud comes in to ruin the basement!

What's next? Extraction of the water, removal of the contaminated padding, application of an anti-microbial, setting up drying equipment and then the drying of the carpet, padding, and structure.











If your lucky, the whole process will take three, maybe four days, at most then it's time for repairing the walls, if they were damaged, and then installation of the carpeting before cleaning and deodorizing them before you reset the furniture!

All to often, uneducated carpet cleaners are call to take care of a flooded house or basement and their view of the job is drying the carpet and calling it quits.

DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

Improper or Incomplete Drying leaves your home susceptible to unseen structural damage or microbial growth; one is bad for the house and the other for your health. The principles found in The I.I.C.R.C. Flood Standard, S500, is what I base all of my restorations on. Proper training, experience, the necessary tools & equipment, along with a network of professionals in complimentary fields allow me to handle most residential restorations and the knowledge and resources to contain the area and call in a specialist while continuing the drying process!



For any questions that you may have regarding the topinc of this Blog entry, please feel free to Email me at Info@MCC-Service.com.

A Rewarding Restoration

Every so often I get to a Water Damage Restoration and it's special.



During the rains that accompanied Hurricane Hanna last week, I received a phone call from a distressed family. They had water pooling at the bottom of their basement stairwell and entering their home.


The stakes were higher in this game because their son was severely sensitive to chemicals. To make matters worse, the home had just undergone two mini mold remediation by a "mold contractor" that hadn't used any containment or clearance sampling.


To further raise the stakes, there was another flood just a few weeks prior that resulted in three inches of water in the basement and replacement of the carpeting. However, the previous company hadn't addressed several areas that had to have been effected. Further, from what gathered from the homeowner, they came back after three days and just picked up their equipment. They never came to monitor the drying or adjust the equipment. Structural Drying needs constant monitoring and adjustment to target the wet building components that need to addresses for a complete drying!



After assessing the situation and forming a game plan, I was fortunate enough to have the homeowners allow me to start the project immediately as I had scoped it out!





There was a closet with a floor made of 2 by 6 lumber that was over carpeting that was left in place and never addressed. I had use a pry bar to remove the lumber and then dry the floor





There was also closed in area beneath the steps with no access. When we opened the cavity from the utility room side, I found about a half in of water! I can only imagine what it was like from the previous Flood. fortunately, the framing didn't show any visible signs of microbial growth







I did find some pre-existing mold growth during
the restoration, but that's to be expected in every house.










It was a minimal amount, that removed immediately while the spores were captured via the Truck mounts Vacuum system and taken out of the house! As a precaution, a H.E.P.A. Filter was used to help eliminate some of the airborne particles that may have been present as well.










I also used A Thermal Drying unit to heat the carpeting and the walls in the basement that I was drying to speed up the drying. The increase temperature on the structure also reduced the likely hood of microbial growth and promote Complete Structural Drying!






The payoff came when the entire job was dry in two days (though I kept the drying system in place for three days good measure) and the H.E.P.A. Filter was left for an additional day.


Later that week, I had the carpeting re-installed and all that was left was for the homeowner to replace the access wall that needed to be screwed in. That's a true sauces story!

If I can be of Service or you have any questions,I can be reachedby phone at 301-445-7440 orvia Emal @ info@MCC-Service.com

Vacuuming

Vacuuming is the single most important thing that needs to be performed on a regular basis, once a week, to protect and maintain your carpeting investment!

When using a high efficiency vacuum, not only will vacuuming keep your carpeting looking good and prevent premature wear, but will also reduce the number of airborne particles and help keep a healthy indoor environment!

It has been determines that as much as 85% of soils found in carpeting are dry particulates that can be removed by simply vacuuming your carpeting on a regular basis. Other wise, those particulate maters, under the pressure of your own feet, can act like little razors blades, cutting the fibers of your carpeting like a barber cutting hair!

Only carpet fibers, unlike hair, don't grow back. The traffic lanes in the carpeting literally will wear down under the weight of your own feet!

If you don't wan to listen to me, read what the experts have to say at the C.R.I., Carpet and Rug Institute. By the way I am a I.I.C.R.C. Certified Master Textile Cleaner and My Company is an I.I.C.R.C. Certified Firm as well as having a Certified Seal of Approval for Service Providers by the C.R.I. on my website; MCC-Service.com

If I can be of Service or if you have any questions, i can be reached by phone at 301-445-7440 or via E-mail at Info@MCC-Service.com