Signs of a Weakened or Busted Water Pipe

3/29/2023 (Permalink)

Repairing busted water pipes and the damage they cause can be stressful for all parties involved.  Although there is no sure way to prevent wear and tear, there are some signs to look for in order to catch a leak early on.  

Signs That You May Have a Busted Water Pipe

1. The formation of puddles under sinks, around toilets, etc. is one of the more obvious indications of a damaged pipe.
2. Low water pressure can also be an effect of a leak or burst.
3. Stains along walls or ceilings are another obvious sign of water damage.
4. Discoloration in the water such as a reddish undertone or strange smells that mimic something metallic may be due to rust which will eventually weaken the pipes.
5. Water bills may increase if there is a leak that has gone undetected for a period of time.

Too Hot To Handle

3/22/2023 (Permalink)

The idea of gathering around a bonfire with a group of friends is frequently thought about as the spring season approaches.  With this in mind, it's important to know how to safely go about this smoky activity.  Here's a few tips you may consider following to ensure your BBQ only cooks the food on the table.

• Keep the fire contained by constructing a fire pit.
• Avoid lighting an outdoor fire in high winds.
• Ensure that there is a bucket of water and a water hose nearby incase of emergency.
• Don't use lighter fluid once the fire has been started.
• Make sure to put the fire out completely by stirring the ashes around and dousing with water.

Following these five tips will aid in preventing your fire from becoming "too hot to handle".

Water Damage Timeline

3/15/2023 (Permalink)

Flooding and water emergencies don’t wait for regular business hours and neither do we. SERVPRO of Parker and Northeast Hood Counties provides emergency cleaning and restoration services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—including all holidays.

Faster To Any Size Disaster

Flooding and water damage is very invasive. Water quickly spreads throughout your home and gets absorbed into floors, walls, furniture, and more.  SERVPRO of Parker and Northeast Hood Counties arrives quickly and starts the water extraction process almost immediately. This immediate response helps to minimize the damage and the cleaning and restoration costs.

Need Emergency Service? Call Us 24/7 – (817)596-8714

Water Damage Timeline

Within Minutes

• Water quickly spreads throughout your property, saturating everything in its path.
• Water is absorbed into walls, floors, upholstery, and belongings.
• Furniture finishes may bleed, causing permanent staining on carpets.
• Photographs, books, and other paper goods start to swell and warp.

Hours 1 - 24:

• Drywall begins to swell and break down.
• Metal surfaces begin to tarnish.
• Furniture begins to swell and crack.
• Dyes and inks from cloth and paper goods spread and stain.
• A musty odor appears.

48 Hours to 1 Week:

• Mold and mildew may grow and spread.
• Doors, windows, and studs swell and warp.
• Metal begins to rust and corrode.
• Furniture warps and shows signs of mold.
• Paint begins to blister.
• Wood flooring swells and warps.

How To Take Cover In A Storm

3/7/2023 (Permalink)

If a heavy storm or tornado were to hit our city right now, where and what would you do? SERVPRO of Parker and Northeast Hood Counties wants to help by sharing some advice on how to take cover during a storm/tornado. It’s important that we share our professional advice with our customers for their own safety. We advise that:

1. Find a small room or hallway on the lowest floor possible
2. Stay in the center of the room, and avoid corners because they attract debris
3. Try and find a room constructed with reinforced concrete, brick or block with no windows and a heavy concrete floor or roof system overhead
4. Avoidauditoriums, cafeterias and gymnasiums that have flat, wide-span roofs.
5. Stay away from doors, windows, and outside walls

We hope that these tips will help in the future should a storm come our way. Please call us with any questions or concerns! (817)596-8714

Personal Protective Equipment: FIRE

2/8/2023 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Fire & Water Damage Restoration Pros

Housefires are, unfortunately, more common than most of us would like to believe. The damages are often minor, such as damage to an oven and the cabinets surrounding it; however, every once in a while, we will see a case of a total or near-total loss. In this situation, the structure that is left can be incredibly fragile and the sediment can be toxic. This is when personal protective equipment truly becomes a necessity. Here at SERVPRO, we prioritize keeping our people safe. So, in the case of a fire cleanup, here are a few examples of PPE that we utilize.
Head Protection: As previously mentioned, in the case of a bad fire, the structure that is leftover can be fragile. To prevent injuries from falling objects, we wear hardhats or something similar.

Eye Protection: Flying particles can cause burns, punctures, or abrasions to the eyes so protective glasses or goggles are a must.

Gloves: Gloves are essential during any mitigation, remediation, or simple cleanup project in order to protect ourselves from any hidden bacteria.

Masks: After a fire, there are all kinds of particles flying around that can be dangerous to inhale. Lead paint and mold are concerns, especially in older homes. To protect our team from inhaling anything harmful, we wear masks of some sorts.

Clothing & Body Protection: In extreme cases, we may wear a suit to cover our clothes and any exposed skin. This is to protect any harmful products, particles, or bacteria that may be floating around.

Foot Protection: Our team ensures that we are wearing sturdy shoes and often some sort of cover for our shoes in case of loose nails, wiring, or any poisonous substances that may be on the ground.

What Does It Mean To Be IICRC Certified?

2/8/2023 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Parker & NE Hood Counties is an IICRC certified firm.
The institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) is a nonprofit organization that sets a standard for the restoration industry and provides training and certificates to qualifying cleaning and restoration companies. As an IICRC certified firm, SERVPRO has the privilege of displaying the certified logo.

All IICRC certified firms must:

• Conduct business with customers with honesty and integrity
• Require that all job sites must include a technician who has been formally trained and has passed all required tests
• Require that all technicians participate in a continuing education program in order to keep them up to date with any changes or improvements in the industry
• Require that all businesses maintain at least a minimum amount of liability insurance to protect all parties in the event of an accident
• Maintain a written complaint policy and agree to the Better Business Bureau or similar arbitration to resolve disputes and accept the conclusions and recommendations of the arbitration.

These standards are the minimum for all cleaning and restoration businesses that have completed the IICRC program. It has been the driving force in establishing the industry standards and reference guides for professional carpet cleaning, water and fire damage restoration, and mold remediation.

Every five years, the standards are reviews and updated. The cleaning and restoration field is constantly evolving with advancements in technology and science and, therefore, the standards must change to keep pace.

Leaking Appliances?

2/8/2023 (Permalink)

One of the most frustrating experiences as a homeowner is having to fix or replace things throughout the home as they begin to wear down.

Cleaning appliances such as dishwashers or washing machines can be some of the more frustrating fixer-uppers, as they may leak water constantly for months before anything is detected by the homeowner. This means that the water has had an ample amount of time to seep up under the flooring, soak into the baseboards, or even make its way into electrical outlets or other nearby appliances. It can also cause other types of secondary damage. Of course, as a homeowner, there are actions that you can take once the leak is detected that will limit the  amount of further damage done; however, SERVPRO of Parker & NE Hood Counties has a team of professionals, available 24/7, including holidays, that have been trained to tackle instances such as this.

While a mop may help clean up the affected surfaces, leave it to the professionals to handle extensive water loss clean-up and repairs to ensure the job is done safely and properly. With over 19 years of experience, our technicians are able to make the loss look as if “it never even happened”.

Shocking Isn't It?

2/8/2023 (Permalink)

What is the definition of the idiom ‘force of nature’?

According to https://www.yourdictionary.com/ , a ‘force of nature’ is “a mighty natural force which is beyond human control, notably if potentially catastrophic, such as the elements or geological activity.”

Lightning most defiantly suits this situation.

The chances of you getting struck by lightning are slim; about 1 in every 500,000. However, the likelihood of your house getting struck by lightning isn’t as unreasonable; about 1 in every 200. Although the majority of people may go their entire lives without having to worry about lightning damage, those who have, generally face major consequences.
The state of Texas is at high risk for lightning damage; just below California. In 2019, Texans made 5,780 insurance claims due to lightning damage. These claims ended up costing more than $88.3 million. This is important to know because the majority of lightning damage begins during the spring season and peaks in the summer. These statistics may serve as an encouragement to prepare your home from lightning strikes this season. Here are some things that you may have not known about lightning damage:

• Lightning damage doesn’t always occur as a result of a direct hit. When lightning strikes the ground, it can travel through metal pipes or electrical wiring in your home. This generally causes the electrical outlets to blow and requires all new wiring throughout the house.
• In 2019, lightning strikes, whether direct or secondary hits, caused 20 deaths and 100 injuries in the United States.
• Around 19% of fires caused by lightning directly affects homes.
• The majority of lightning damage occurs during the months of June, July, and August.

How To Minimize the Damaged Caused To Your Home Due To Lightning:

• Unplug electrical wiring from all outlets throughout the house.
  • Failure to do so can not only cause your outlets to fry, but also the electronics plugged into them.
• Installing surge protectors may also protect your outlets.
• Installing a lightning rod may redirect the bolt to prevent it from striking your house.
• Ensuring that your home has functioning smoke detectors will assist in notifying you if a fire has started due to the powerful bolt of electricity.
• Consider adding lightning damage to your home or renters insurance in case of an emergency.

Although repairing damages due to any natural disaster isn’t ideal, and taking preventative measures is inconvenient accidents are sure to happen. If your home or business is affected by lightning, SERVPRO of Parker & NE Hood Counties is more than willing to help! WE are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. You can give us a call at 817-596-8714.

SERVPRO's Cleaning Professionals Will Open Your Business's Doors Faster

2/8/2023 (Permalink)

A lot of Parker and Hood County businesses rely on being able to welcome customers or ship goods to customers directly from their store. Any event that causes this business to have to close their doors can be detrimental in keeping customers happy, and revenue flowing. Instead of focusing on customer retention and growing your business, you now have to stress about how long your doors will have to stay closed, how much inventory you may have lost, and how this will affect your work.

Commercial water losses can come in many different forms, each being just as worrisome as the last in the eyes of an entrepreneur. Without professional help, cleaning this damage can take an extensive amount of time; but SERVPRO professionals will get your business and all salvageable contents restores ASAP. With our services, your doors will open more quickly, thus allowing business pursuits to return to normal. Not only that, but professionals will know how to recognize damage to structures that can’t be seen, such as water leakage inside of the walls or structures that have been weakened due to the loss.

There is no time to lose when your business has a water loss, which is what you need SERVPRO of Parker & Northeast Hood Counties on site. Disaster doesn’t work 9-5 and neither do we; we are available 24/7 including holidays at 817-596-8714.

Decluttering After the Holidays

1/9/2023 (Permalink)

I’m sure we all received a plethora of gifts for Christmas: clothes, home décor, beauty products, jewelry, toys, etc. With all of these new items, chances are that you are struggling to find a place for them to go. Clutter has been accumulating over the past year or so and it’s finally time to clear out your house and, consequently, your mind. Not only that, but having too much clutter in your home can quickly become a fire hazard or in extreme cases, a biohazard; and in case you are still searching for a reason to skim through the items in your home, here are 4 reasons why you should take the time to thoroughly declutter your home.

More Time on Your Hands

The more clutter you accumulate, the less time you have on your hands. Allow me to explain why:

Finally, a day off of work! You want to sit back and relax, but first, there are chores that need to be done. 

The more “things” you have, the more time it takes to clean. Just dusting and putting items back in their place will take an abundant amount of your designated cleaning time. Having fewer pieces of furniture and less decor, clothes, or toys, in general, will make spring cleaning go by a lot faster.

You Feel Confident About Your Home

Have you ever gotten embarrassed of your home when people come over? Maybe you made the typical “Oh please don’t mind the mess” comment. 

Surprise! Your house isn’t actually dirty, there’s just a lot of “stuff” lying around. Getting rid of items that aren’t essential or useful to your home or family could help relieve a lot of the stress that having guests over may cause.

A Sense of Accomplishment

This one is somewhat of a given. If decluttering or minimizing your home has been an outstanding goal for a few years, then it’s likely that accomplishing that goal will give you a little extra pride. 

Most of us feel proud, accomplished, and as if a weight had been lifted off of our shoulders when we reach a goal. Maybe decluttering is your goal?

Finally, time to relax

Many people say that a cluttered space creates a cluttered mind, and we could not agree more. 

Being in a dirty or cluttered environment gives most people stress, even if they don’t realize it. A lot of us can’t focus, struggle to get deep sleep, get anxious, or just generally feel stressed when our environment is not our ideal environment. Most often, reducing the number of items packed in your space will reduce some of the stress that it creates.

If you are in need of help relocating or reducing the “stuff” and “things” in your home, SERVPRO of Parker and Northeast Hood Counties is available to help! We can help you box up and remove any additional products that may need to be relocated. We are available 24/7 at 817-596-8714.