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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration

Archived Blog Posts

Store Damage Preparation and Restoration

8/1/2022 (Permalink)

Waves crash on a waterfront walk way. SERVPRO of Washington County is prepared for the next major storm. Call us 24/7.

SERVPRO's Storm Response Team was established to provide assistance in coordinating a larger chain command in the event that a storm strikes. This is a testament to our dedication in these unpredictable situations. Our team has to brave dangerous and horrible messes in order help communities recover. It is not surprising that our ability to quickly grow our workforce, equipment stockpile, and mobilize has enabled us to become the most recognizable restoration restoration company in the USA.

Our team is available to mobilize thousands of miles and transport equipment when and as needed. Some of the most experienced storm restoration project managers and technicians are part of our ranks. 

We remain steadfast and foresighted in the event of major storms. We will mobilize our teams to assist those who will be most affected. We offer pre-storm services such as board-up services and pump and sandbag placing... and we offer restoration services to residential and commercial properties that are in dire need of repair after a storm.

We will keep an eye on all major hurricanes and will be prepared to respond in case of emergency. Call us today if you suspect that your building may be at risk. A project manager will help you to map your property and can also assist with restoration in case of a major storm.

Smoke & Soot Damage Repair

7/25/2022 (Permalink)

Forest fire picture taken from space. SERVPRO fire damage restoration includes clean up and removal of soot and smoke odors.

The heat waves of the summer of 2022 have broken temperature records around the globe. In Spain meteorologist have decided to start naming these events, like hurricanes, has the destruction and death brought on by prolonged heat has warranted such a designation. Forest fires in Europe and across the US have forced thousands of people to leave their homes in search of a safer locations and the summer is only at the midway point. 

Residential and commercial properties in the way of an out-of-control forest fire stand little to no chance of survival... but even properties miles away from the blaze can be subject to fire, smoke, and soot damage. SERVPRO is available to help properties recover from smoke and soot damage, as well as the clean-up and repair of buildings directly affected by fire. 

Our team is trained to manage and resolve issues resulting from smoke and soot damage including:

  • Clean-up and sanitation of all surfaces
  • Removal of all visible soot
  • HVAC & Ductwork Cleaning
  • Removal of odors
  • Cleaning of textiles (clothing, rugs, curtains, etc)
  • Restoration of furniture
  • Restoration of electronics
  • Reconstruction

SERVPRO is the #1 choice for fire damage restoration because we offer a complete start-to-finish product that saves you time and money. If your property, commercial or residential, is damaged by property call us immediately. Our team is available 24/7 and will begin work right away in order to help save and restore as much of your damaged property as possible.

SERVPRO's Storm Team is Prepared to Help In Floods & Storms

7/8/2022 (Permalink)

Two houses are partially under water after a flood. SERVPRO of Washington County is Rhode Island's #1 Storm Restoration & Construction Team.

The country's June 2022 record for highest temperatures was broken in several states this year. Experts believe that this is just the beginning of a hot summer. Record breaking days with nighttime temperatures above 90 degrees are happening in cities throughout the south. There is no relief from heat, even at night. These areas are vulnerable to flooding if it rains. The reason is that the dry, hardened ground won't be able absorb water fast enough in case of a tropical storm or large rainfall. These areas often see heavy rains during hurricane season. These are the types of storms that cause the most damage to commercial and residential properties and homes in the United States. People can't do much to prepare for these storms except to listen to local authorities and be prepared to evacuate commercial properties or homes that are in the path or floods. We will also be there to assist in the event of any damage. If needed, our team of disaster restoration and storm management experts are ready to assist in any storm that strikes New England, New York or elsewhere in the country.

Disaster Restoration Clean Up Near Me

6/28/2022 (Permalink)

A commercial property has been left neglected after a fire. SERVPRO of Washington County can manage restoration projects of all sizes. Call us today to schedule your appointment.

When you are in the unfortunate situation of having to contact a disaster restoration company emotions are running high. You want a restoration company that is ready to react as urgently as your situation dictates and anything less is unsatisfactory. That is why calling SERVPRO is the best option every time your property is damaged by water, fire, mold, storm, or other disasters that require difficult clean up. Our team is trained to react to the situation based on the needs of the client and if immediate action needs to be taken, we will be there.

Our team is prepared for any type of disaster. We can be there to pump out and dry out a structure after flooding and storms, we can restore a building that has experienced a fire, we can renovate a neglected home or commercial property that is in a state of disrepair, or even provide sanitation clean up when the safety and health of others are at risk. We can do it all when it comes to disaster clean up, management and restoration.

Furthermore, we are ready to begin construction services immediately, helping you to speed up the recovery process after a disaster has caused structural damage to your properties. We make the process easy by transitioning from restoration to repair and provide all services needed to completely restore your property.

Hopefully, you are not in need of our services any time in the near future. But, if you are in the unfortunate position of needing a disaster restoration company, we should be your number one call. We will respond to your needs quickly and provide an upfront and transparent restoration process.

Fire Damage Repair From Westerly to Wakefield

6/22/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO employees cleaning the seats of an auditorium. SERVPRO of Washington County is available when fire damages residential or commercial properties in Rhode Island. Call us 24/7!

SERVPRO of Washington County provides fire damage restoration and repair services to our home community of Westerly, RI and all of Washington County/Southern Rhode Island. We started here in Westerly close to 20 years ago and now provide these same reliable restoration services to communities in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

When a fire damages a home or a commercial property the first few hours of response are crucial. SERVPRO of Washington County is ready and waiting for the call. As soon as it is safe to enter the property our team will begin to remove undamaged property for cleaning and restoration. If the fire has occurred in a residential property we will work closely with the homeowners to determine what items are most important to them have right away. This could be anything, for example, electronics like a computer might be vital to a homeowner to have up and running very quickly. We can expedite the cleaning of those items and if they are not damaged beyond repair we will prioritize their restoration so you can have them back within the first 24-48 hours. We will also work closely with the homeowners insurance company providing daily communication throughout the entire restoration process.

If the fire has occurred on a commercial property we will work with all parties that need our restoration services. For example, we may work with the property manager, the property owner and one or more business owners in helping to restore the building and the property of the business owners inside. We have the capability of scaling up our services to manage large commercial properties and several clients simultaneously. Our team will provide complete restoration, clean-up and odor removal services. If construction and repair services are needed we can provide that too!

So if your property is damaged by fire, puff back/HVAC issues, or any other type of smoke/soot damage call us immediately. We are ready to help!

Prepared For Flooding? We Are!

6/20/2022 (Permalink)

A car drives through a water covered road in a rain storm. SERVPRO of Washington County is Prepared To Help In The Event of Flooding

Flooding from storm surge during a hurricane is a real threat. When we are preparing for a hurricane one of the numbers meteorologist will use to determine the damage that might occur is storm surge, the number of feet they predict the tide will be above what is considered a normal high tide. We have seen the effects of the damage from storm surge first hand in Staten Island & New York City, in coastal Rhode Island and the surrounding areas.

But more recently we have noticed an increase in damage from flooding by slow moving storms that drop an extraordinary amount of rain. These storms can cause millions of dollars in damage and in recent years have been responsible for more property damage than that of storm surge. This is because the slow moving storms can cover larger areas of the country with torrential downpours. In some cases an area might see more rainfall in a 48 hour period than they do in an entire month! This extreme rainfall causes rivers, storm drains and low-lying areas to flood and cause property damage.

SERVPRO is prepared for extreme weather events. We work tirelessly to understand the best methods for response in the immediate aftermath of and event, and to provide full remediation including any necessary construction.

Rhode Island Fire Damage Restoration and Repair

6/17/2022 (Permalink)

Smoke is rising from a commercial building that is on fire. SERVPRO of Washington County RI is available when fire damages your commercial or residential property.

When a fire damages your property you will most likely have to choose a disaster restoration company to help with the clean-up and repair of the building.This crucial decision can be the difference between a fast and successful recovery or a long and expensive restoration process.

That is why so many residential and commercial property owners call SERVPRO after a fire has caused property damage. Our fire damage clean up team is second to none because of years of proven training & developed techniques. We use the latest technology in clean-up and odor removal equipment and cleaning products and are trusted by insurance companies nationwide.

Upon first arrival to a residential property our team will work with the homeowners and insurance companies directly. Our team will make sure to prioritize the contents that matter to the homeowners the most. We can have items such as furniture, electronics, clothing and toys itemized and removed from the property for cleaning and returned quickly if they are required by the homeowner, for business or comfort!

 In a commercial property we will look to remove and restore items like documents, computers and other equipment to make sure that when these locations reopen for business things are ready to go! In many commercial projects we may work in multiple shifts to ensure downtime is minimized. Our team is prepared for difficult restoration projects, including large facilities with high ceilings and large pieces of equipment. 

If there is structural damage to the property we can help as well. After we complete the restoration and clean up of your property we can move right into the construction and repair phase. This keeps the process moving and avoids the delay of switching contractors and looking for sub contractors, we are on demand! 

Call our offices 24/7/365, we are your local fire damage restoration experts!

Professional Mold Removal & Sanitation Team Serving Rhode Island

6/17/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO techs are cleaning up water and mold from a wet basement SERVPRO of Washington County offers professional mold remediation services. Call us today to learn more and for a free estimate.

It is not surprising that many homes in the area are affected by mold growth in damp areas, such as the basement, due to the humid climate South County, RI neighborhoods face throughout the year. These concerns should be addressed as soon as possible to reduce the potential for harmful volatile organic compounds.

Often, the process begins with identifying where and how much mold is present on your property. Some property owners may need to be careful when identifying mold colonies in their homes. These are some warning signs or obvious signs that mold growth is occurring:

  • Spotting –Irregular spotting on organic matter such as drywall or clothing can indicate where mold is developing and what actions are required.
  • Damp surfaces -Moist surface like ceilings or wall panels can indicate greater water damage than the surface. Secondary effects such as mold can be caused by persistent moisture problems.
  • Musty, Harsh Odor -A musty odor is another sign that you may be experiencing mold colonization. This smell is indicative of mold development. It is likely that mold is growing or is already existing nearby.
  • Visible Colonization- Mold is often visible because it has completely engulfed organic materials such as drywall.

What are the Remediation Strategies?

To understand the differences in mold remediation, it is important to distinguish between remediating and removing the mold. While mold removal is impossible, remediation can be used to prevent active colonization of the affected structures.

  • Surface Cleaning- Our SERVPRO team can apply antimicrobial products to light damaged surfaces to prevent mold growth and eliminate spotting.
  • Abrasive Techniques -Sanding or soda blasting are two options to use aggressive actions to eliminate the entire hyphae from the microbial growth, without affecting the substrate.
  • Controlled demolition - While it's not always the best way to eliminate mold colonies, it can save you money in certain situations.

How can you protect your contents?

Professional remediation is different from DIY cleaning in that it protects your personal belongings. Because we understand how valuable and important your possessions are, professional remediation is not delayed in stopping the spread of mold to the property and completing a comprehensive assessment of the extent of damage your home and contents have sustained since the colonies began to form. Here are some strategies to manage your belongings:

  • On-Site Cleaning Our technicians and remediators will do their best to offer on-site cleaning, drying and deodorization as often as possible. This can help you save time and money when cleaning more complicated areas.
  • Removal - In many cases, removing items from the path to migrating microbes can be sufficient to protect them against any potential harms that they may have suffered during remediation.
  • Damage Assessment- We carefully inspect every item in your home that may have been affected by the colonization or spread of spores.
  • Offsite Restoration - We offer a variety of off-site recovery options at our SERVPRO facility. These are some of the most sophisticated methods for cleaning and deodorizing personal possessions. We can assist with everything from surface cleaning strategies to remove musty odors from entire possessions, to ozone chambers that neutralize musty smells.

What happens when contents are returned?

Moving back takes almost the same amount of care as packing to get rid of these contents. When you reach your property, your personal belongings are placed in groups in the climate-controlled storage area. Each item is thoroughly inspected to make sure there are no lingering odors or damage. These items can be returned to their original places once the remediation is complete.

You can see the benefits of enlisting the quick response of our SERVPRO Washington County technicians to minimize the damage mold can cause to your home and contents. Call (401) 315-2337 to have mold damage repaired in your home.

Water Damage Repair Rhode Island

6/7/2022 (Permalink)

An office building has been emptied because of water leaking from the ceiling SERVPRO of Washington County is available 24/7 when water damages your property. Call us now 401-315-2337

Commercial Water Damage and Restoration services are available 24/7 in Rhode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York & New Jersey because our team covers territories in all these states. This means if your commercial or multi-family residential building is damaged by water and requires a large-scale approach to restoration we can help. We have the labor, equipment and resources to mobilize our team and scale up production to meet the moment anywhere in our territories and beyond.

* This means if a major storm causes damage in a shopping mall covering multiple floors, we can help.

* If a pipe burst on the 8th floor of a multi-family property causing water damage from the 8th floor down, we can help.

* If a music venue has water damage in an area of the building where electrical and musical equipment can be damaged, we are the ones they trust to fix the problem and stop damage before it gets a worse.

Basically we are water damage professionals and can manage, restore and reconstruct your commercial property after a water damage event. We have been part of restoration efforts after most of the major storms on the east coast and in the gulf over the last decade and are called in when project management, labor and equipment are in high demand.

We also offer storm preparation services. So if your commercial property is prone to flooding call us today. We can help you prepare for the next major storm and help you to avoid costly damage.

SERVPRO is Hurricane Prepared for 2022

6/6/2022 (Permalink)

Satellite image & path of Tropical Storm Alex passing over the Atlantic Ocean.. SERVPRO of Washington County provides 24 hour water damage repair service, call us now, 401-315-2337

The first named storm of the 2022 Hurricane Season formed after making landfall and drenching southern Florida with record amounts of rain. Tropical Storm Alex is now no longer a threat to cause further damage on land as it makes it's way out into the Atlantic. Around the same time this tropical depression organized and became a storm the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration updated their prediction for storm activity this hurricane season to be even more active than previously anticipated. The Administration and scientist at Colorado State University now believe there will be 20 named storms, 10 hurricanes, and 5 hurricanes that will reach category 3 or higher.

SERVPRO is prepared help if a major storm makes landfall here in New England or anywhere in the country if our services are in demand. We understand the number of people and amount of equipment it takes to recover property after a major hurricane. We have been on site after major storms from New York, to Texas to Florida and bring years of experience to the table when called upon to lead a restoration team successfully. 

Flood damage and repair should be the #1 concern of most property owners during a major hurricane and rain event. Although many worry about the effects of high winds and downed trees, the damage from flooding can be far more wide spread and devastating to a home during a hurricane or tropical storm event. In recent years the most property damage reported has been after large hurricanes have made landfall, weakened, but continued to drop large amounts of rain. These flash flooding events are responsible for millions of dollars of property damage every year.

Hopefully none of the major storms predicted for this hurricane season will make landfall... but In this event one does, we will be prepared to help, 24/7/365.

Fire Damage Restoration & Reconstruction

6/3/2022 (Permalink)

A large commercial property is on fire, view from above. SERVPRO of Washington County is available 24/7 when fire damages your property.

When a property is damaged by fire the ability to live or work in the structure is immediately compromised. Aside from the obvious, structural damage, there may be other factors that make the home or commercial property unsafe. Smoke and soot damage are amongst the prime culprits. The damage done by soot and smoke after a fire is often underestimated as cleaning this type of disaster requires special techniques, products, and equipment. When this type of damage has occurred in your property it is best to call your local SERVPRO.

SERVPRO project managers are trained to assess the damage to your property after a fire and offer you transparent processes for restoration. They will work directly with you or your insurance company or both (depending upon the circumstances surrounding the loss) and will provide daily communication and information about the project progress reports so you are aware of everything that is going on in your property on a day to day basis.

If there is damage beyond soot, smoke and odor damage we can help too! Our team includes construction experts that are ready to start your project and rebuild your property immediately after completing restoration and clean up.

Hopefully your properties are never damaged by fire... but if this type of damage does occur, we will be there to help, 24/7/365.

Residential Water Damage & Restoration Tips from the Pros

5/31/2022 (Permalink)

Sandbags can be seen in the foreground of a neighborhood of homes that have experienced a flood. SERVPRO of Washington County provides water damage restoration services to southern Rhode Island and beyond. Call us 24/7.

When water damages a residential property the property owner will have to make decisions quickly. Sometimes the home owner can handle the water damage without the need of a professional restoration company. In these instances it is likely that the water has only been in the house for a few hours and it is from a clean source such as a water supply line pipe. In these instances, if the owner reacts fast enough, the damage can be kept to a minimum by removing wet materials such as carpets, drywall and laminate flooring or by properly using dehumidification and water extraction equipment. Although it is unlikely a homeowner can restore their house after water damage assuming the damage is minimal and the homeowner acts quickly! But, in most instances, a home owner cannot restore their home on their own and they will require the assistance of a professional water damage and repair restoration company. 

When water has been present in a home for more than a few hours the building materials that have been saturated are prone to damage that is beyond repair. This is especially true for materials such as drywall, carpet, laminate flooring, and particle board furniture/cabinetry. These items found commonly in residential homes will quickly absorb water, destroying their integrity and keeping humidity locked into the building. If the humidity in the air is not quickly reduced to normal levels mold growth will begin and in some cases it will require the home be evacuated for restoration cleaning. 

If the source of the water is not clean, such as a flood or sewer backup a restoration company should be called every time. Our team of professional water damage restoration experts will quickly diagnose the situation and begin the clean up process immediately. We will be able to provide the correct equipment and cleaning products/techniques to ensure the home is safe.

Another advantage of working with our disaster restoration team is that if materials such as flooring, drywall or cabinetry need to be replaced, we provide complete construction services. We will provide you with a no obligation estimate to complete the project. Our design, build and construction team will provide you samples, colors and options so you can choose the look that works best for your home. Then we will complete the project in a timely manner with a professionally backed SERVPRO guarantee for craftsmanship.

If your residential property suffers water damage call us anytime. We are available 24/7/365 locally serving Washington County Rhode Island and the surrounding areas.

Commercial Fire Damage Clean Up & Restoration

5/23/2022 (Permalink)

A hallway is set up with air purification equipment after a fire. SERVPRO commercial fire damage restoration services are available 24/7 when your property experiences fire damage.

It is important to have a disaster restoration team capable of scaling up quickly and without quality loss when a commercial property is damaged by fire. Team Luzzi has one of the most expansive and experienced SERVPRO Franchise ownership groups in the United States. Our franchises cover an area of over 80,000 sq. miles, and we have locations in some of the most populated areas of the USA such as New York City and Boston. We have successfully restored commercial properties damaged from fire in New England, New York & New Jersey.

If a commercial property is damaged by fire we are always available to help. If necessary, we will immediately board up the area or provide tarp and covering services. This will protect the building from further damage. It also allows us to retrieve and move your belongings to another safe location for cleaning and restoration. Your assigned commercial manager will then coordinate an appropriate workforce for your property. We may need to work multiple shifts in order to clean the property and remove any smoke/soot damage. We are also equipped to handle water damage. This is usually happens after the fire has been extinguished. We are available and prepared to offer multiple services at once.

Once the restoration is complete, your project manager can provide a free estimate to complete reconstruction services. Our team is composed of skilled contractors who are capable of providing full-scale commercial construction services.

Please call us immediately if you are experiencing fire damage on your commercial property. Team Luzzi can provide transparent oversight and help you get back up and running quickly.

2022 Hurricane Season Predicts Above Normal Activity

5/20/2022 (Permalink)

Picture of a hurricane from space. SERVPRO of Washington County is prepared to help manage major storm response in 2022.

The 2022 hurricane season is only a few days away and researchers at Colorado State University are predicting an above average Atlantic season with at least 19 named storms and 9 hurricanes. They also predict that at least 4 of the hurricanes will be a category 3 or higher storm. Our SERVPRO Franchises cover some of the most vulnerable coastlines in New York & New England and we have worked through and helped to restore property after all the major storms to come into our territories in the last decade-plus making us one of the most experienced storm management restoration teams in the country. Our services have even been called into action to help in restoration efforts beyond our home territories in areas such as Houston, Florida & in Louisiana after major storms left devastating damage.

How do we provide the best storm response management?

  • We direct the response to your damage effectively and transparently, keeping you up to speed with constant communication and daily updates.
  • We provide a labor-ready work force, ready to move quickly and work in multiple shifts (if needed) to provide the fastest and most efficient clean-up and restoration possible.
  • We supply air-moving and dehumidification equipment and can scale up quickly, able to provide equipment for large commercial restoration projects spanning several properties at once.
  • Once restoration is complete we are ale to quickly and accurately quote your reconstruction build. We provide an experienced and talented construction team backed by SERVPRO's guarantee for craftsmanship.

If you are in need of our services contact us anytime. We are available before, after and during a storm strike but we always recommend contacting us BEFORE so we can create your free ERP (Emergency Ready Profile). This allows us quick & easy access to information we deem pertinent about your property when a storm is imminent.

SERVPRO Westerly Commercial Water Removal can help you quickly

3/28/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO vehicles in a parking lot. SERVPRO of Washington County provides commercial water and fire damage restoration services.

While the media focuses on water emergencies such as flooding or breaks in the municipal water lines, the most common causes of water loss in homes and businesses are the same. Water damage is most often caused by a lack of attention to leaks in pipes, condensation from cooling, freezing and refrigerator systems, malfunctioning water-using devices, accidental overflows and spills, and other factors such as: No matter what the source, water quickly filling spaces and recesses can cause serious damage to your commercial building's structure and contents.

Is it possible to find and fix water damage that we didn't notice until later?

Don't be afraid. Our team is well-versed in the detection of long-term, unnoticed damage. We will continue to look for it when we visit your Westerly company's water removal requirements. Each water loss call involves a thorough evaluation that includes both the obvious evidence and a research-based inspection to determine the migration path of the water. Sensitive devices are used to detect puddles or trapped water as well as to determine the moisture level of structural components. These data help us to determine the extent of the water intrusion and provide a base upon which we can design a drying plan.

How can you take care of hidden water in building cavities?

SERVPRO's certified and trained team is well-versed in water corrosive. It can tarnish metals, cause wood and cellulose products such as drywall and subflooring to deteriorate, shrink, weaken and warp, and can tarnished metals. There are many ways we can access and remove water and moisture.

Controlled demolition to make access points to wet material- Negative or Positive Air Pressure Systems like Injectidry
- High-efficiency dehumidifiers paired with carefully placed and heated air movers

SERVPRO can help you free your commercial property from water damage and moisture. You can be confident that a call to (401-315-2337) will get you a prompt and professional response to any water loss.

A Water Damage Restoration Company Can Save You Thousands

3/20/2022 (Permalink)

A roof is damaged after a storm SERVPRO of Washington County is available when commercial and residential water damage repair services are needed, call us 24/7.

You will find many restoration options if your business or home is affected by water damage, such as a burst pipe, flood or roof leak. This is why it is important to consider who you hire to fix your property.

1. It is essential to evaluate the property and determine what can be saved. Our experienced managers will quickly determine the best way to save the structure. This is a crucial step that can save you a lot of money in the long-term.

2. Equipment for drying. Hire a company that doesn't use the most efficient drying and air scrubbing tools. This will likely mean they will have to use the equipment for longer periods of time on your property, which could cost you more. We invest in the most efficient restoration equipment to ensure our techs work efficiently. This is the best way to save money for our clients in the long-term.

3. All phases of restoration and reconstruction are offered by us. We are a highly efficient company and employ skilled and experienced carpenters and craftsmen to complete your job professionally.

Commercial Mold Removal Rhode Island

3/9/2022 (Permalink)

Mold is present on a damp windowsill. SERVPRO of Washington County is available to help when your commercial property needs mold remediation services. Call us today.

Many businesses require deep cleaning services a few times a year and no matter what type of commercial operation you are managing if you find mold, you will most likely need a professional restoration company to truly solve the problem. Mold remediation and cleaning services are very common in the spring throughout Rhode Island, Connecticut & Massachusetts because the warmer weather provides a perfect atmosphere for mold and mildew growth. Our team of trained mold remediation technicians can permanently solve these problems even in large commercial and industrial spaces.

First we will identify the source of moisture that is feeding the mold growth. Eliminating the source may even require some construction work, such as the removal of sheetrock/drywall and insulation that is already beyond saving, once these materials become saturated they are no longer safe to salvage and should be removed as soon as possible and disposed. This is also true for drop ceilings, carpets and may other types of flooring. After removing these materials we will use whatever dehumidification technics our project managers deem best to ensure the affected area of the structure is dry and ready for reconstruction. Our project managers are trained to understand how to best utilize the latest in SERVPRO's dehumidification technology and equipment so that the process happens quickly and efficiently, inhibiting further mold growth.

Next, our techs will come and clean the surfaces that contain mold growth but do not need to be removed. This could be surfaces such as tiles and stone counter tops, cement structures and food safety surfaces. We will use mold and mildew killing solutions that will not damage the original surfaces but will ensure the fungus is completely removed.

After your commercial property is free from mold you may need construction services to replace building materials that are beyond saving. In this area we are ready to go! We can provide complete reconstruction services to replace drywall, flooring, drop ceilings and more.

So during your spring cleaning processes in your commercial property, if you find mold, don't wait, call us immediately. We can provide you solutions to quickly solve the problem and provide the equipment and services needed to ensure it does not happen again. Call us today.

Undetected Water Damage & Mold Growth

2/21/2022 (Permalink)

Tires on a snowy road. SERVPRO of Washington County is available to repair damage from winter storms. Call us now.

The winter of 21-22 is coming to a close after some remarkable weather events. Winter storms brought feet of snow, long cold spells brought days and nights of continuous freezing weather and tropical warm fronts pushed north for a few days at a time warming everything up and creating a wet muddy mess.

In the aftermath of a winter like this one it is important to inspect your residential or commercial property for damage that may have gone unnoticed. 

This could be damage to your windows from the wear and tear of another winter season, damage to the structure of your property created by water expansion when freezing, mold growth from trapped moisture and humidity or many other forms of structural damage.

If you notice this type of damage to your property call us right away. We are available to help properly inspect the damage, removal all water and moisture from building materials and can repair any structural damage to your residential or commercial property. 

In Disaster Restoration You Only Get One Chance to Get It Right

2/7/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Employees load equipment into a SERVPRO van. SERVPRO of Washington County • Disaster Restoration & Construction Services Rhode Island & Connecticut

The first response to a disaster such as water damage, fire, or storm damage is a crucial step towards a fast and efficient recovery. SERVPRO's Project Managers are trained to quickly identify the most problematic areas of a structure after a disaster and determine the best course of action to prevent further damage. 

While no two disasters are the same, we are able to use methods tested and proven to be effective by SERVPRO through decades of shared experience. We are prepared with the proper equipment needed for any disaster scenario and can quickly scale up resources as needed. Our technicians are available for disaster clean up services 24/7 and will work through difficult conditions to ensure the property is safe and remediation construction can begin quickly.

In addition, SERVPRO is trusted by insurance adjusters nation wide. This is because we are a trusted name in disaster restoration and construction services. We offer transparent pricing and consistent communication through out the construction process keeping our clients and insurance agents happy and reassured.

Call our disaster restoration team 24/7.

Commercial Restoration Services Rhode Island

1/28/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Employees moving equipment from a van into a building. SERVPRO of Washington County is available for any size commercial restoration/damage repair project. Call us today.

SERVPRO of Washington County has been proud to server the residents and business of Washington County Rhode Island for over 15 years. During that time we have grown considerably with 11 franchises in 5 states. This expansion has allowed us to develop a growing team of talented Project Managers and Technicians that allow us to easily scale up our services when needed by our large commercial clients.

This is a huge advantage for these clients because sometimes their facilities face damage that covers thousands of square feet and causes the business costly down time. We look to reduce or eliminate that downtime as quickly as possible. Upon arrival our project managers will begin to asses the property and look to protect/wall-off the undamaged areas of the building preventing further damage and allowing us to contain the situation.

Next we will quickly schedule delivery of equipment and personnel to ensure that the restoration process begins in a timely fashion, every hour saved prevents further damage to a property during a water or fire emergency.

We are prepared to help in the event of an emergency, call us 24/7, 401-315-2337.

Winter Water Damage & Mold Removal Services Rhode Island

1/25/2022 (Permalink)

Water on the floor of a living room. SERVPRO of Washington County is Available 24/7 to Clean, Dry and Restore Your Property After A Water Damage, Call Us Anytime!

For the last couple of weeks we have been busy cleaning and restoring properties after water damage. Our team has been hard at work responding to these types of calls and quickly mobilizing the people and equipment needed to mitigation the situation. Our teams can be seen all over Rhode Island providing services to residential and commercial properties in Westerly, Charlestown, Wakefield, Narraganset, South Kingstown, North Kingstown and beyond. 

Homes and commercial properties in our region can be prone to water damage this time of year for a few reasons. First many buildings in our area are old construction. This type of construction may provide less insulation than modern construction. There are also many properties that rely on inefficient/older heating technology that does not properly heat all parts of the property leaving water supply pipes vulnerable. In that same vain these older buildings, even if well insulated and well built, will take on wear and tear over time. 

If you are in the unfortunate situation of having to deal with a burst pipe and water damage, don't worry we have your back. Call our office 24/7!

SERVPRO Emergency Response Makes A Difference

1/11/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO employees face each other talking. SERVPRO of Washington County is trusted by home and business owners all over Rhode Island. Call us today.

When a home or commercial property is damaged due to an unforeseen circumstance such as, water damage, a fire, or storm damage SERVPRO is a name trusted across the USA. We are recommended by insurance agents everywhere because our goal is to work diligently to restore as much of your home or business after a disaster and to save the items within your property. 

We are available 24/7 because we understand that the faster we respond to your disaster the faster we can begin restoration and in turn restore your property with as little additional damage as possible. 

When a disaster strikes a project manager will arrive on your property shortly after your call. They will assess the damage and provide your insurance agent an estimate for restoration services. Your project manager will work with you and your insurance agent to make sure all damage is thoroughly documented and costs are transparent. We will then assign our team to your property to set up the necessary equipment and determine the smartest path forward. In some instances we may use multiple shifts to ensure that we are able to most effectively complete the job.

Water Damage Clean Up Services From Westerly to West Kingston Rhode Island

1/10/2022 (Permalink)

A basement is flooded and water is on the floor. SERVPRO of Washington County is Westerly Rhode Island's First Call When Disaster Strikes. Call Us 24/7!

SERVPRO of Washington County provides Rhode Islander's water damage repair and restoration services 24/7. We are available 24 hours a day because we understand the importance of responding quickly to certain types of damage.

For example; if you have ever had a burst pipe in your home you know that damage can happen quickly, especially if the source of the damage goes unknown for any period of time. Stoping the water source and beginning the drying phase is crucial, the sooner the better! This is because the longer the water remains inside the home the damage to the property increases exponentially. Laminate flooring and carpeting quickly become unsalvageable, sheetrock must be removed to prevent mold growth and even hardwood flooring can become so warped it is unable to be repaired.

By contacting SERVPRO of Washington County we are able to determine the severity the damage and are trained to move quickly to save as much property as possible. We are prepared with the latest in drying technology and will bring in the equipment needed to extract water from your home to prevent mold growth throughout the home and to save your personal items.

24/7 Disaster Restoration & Water Damage Clean Up

12/27/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Employees load equipment into a SERVPRO van. SERVPRO of Washington County is Rhode Island's top Disaster Restoration Team. We are available 24/7 in the event of a water or fire damage emergency.

Residential and Commercial water damage can often occur at night when the temperature is normally at its lowest point of the day and heating systems are also set to lower temperatures. In the winter long cold nights means water within the plumbing of a home or commercial building can freeze and expand causing the pipe to burst. When this happens the water pressure behind the frozen part of the pipe will push through and begin to spray water throughout the structure. When this happens you need to be confident that the company you call to repair the damage and to dry out the structure is experienced and able to correctly determine the best course of action. Many times building materials like sheetrock, carpeting and laminate flooring is best to be removed and replaced as keeping these damp materials in the building would encourage mold growth which can happen quickly! In these instances it is always best to call your local SERVPRO. We work hard to understand the best methods and equipment when it comes to fast and efficient drying and structural repair. We also understand how to remediate mold that will often follow shortly after a water damage so you can feel confident that your home or commercial building will be safe. We are also available 24/7/365!

Commercial Cleaning After a Flood

12/15/2021 (Permalink)

An office building hallway is flooded, carpets show pooled water. SERVPRO of Washington County is the Areas Top Responder in Emergency Water Damage

The flood cleanup process requires a lot of effort, and there's no doubt that a lot of money is at stake. Fortunately, you can follow a checklist to help you get organized and keep things moving forward. The checklist can serve as a basic guideline for the flood cleanup process, and it will help you get the job done as quickly as possible.

When the flooding has stopped, it's time to clean the flood-damaged property. Standing water is an ideal breeding ground for mold and bacteria. In some cases, flood water may contain sewage from overflowing pipes. For this reason, it's crucial to clean as quickly as possible.

After the flooding, you should start the restoration process and contact your insurance company for coverage. Keeping employees safe is a top priority, and contacting your insurance company is essential. Additionally, you should also contact a professional environmental mitigation company to assist with the cleanup. They can provide advice on safe and effective methods for cleaning. The professionals will help you determine the best way to clean the water damage and avoid exposing your employees to harmful contaminants.

The flood cleanup process involves heavy sterilization. It's important to clean walls, floors, and ceilings with a hot detergent solution, as these areas are the most likely to have contaminated materials. Once the water has receded, it's important to make sure there are no harmful chemicals in the air. To prevent the spread of mold, you can hire a professional environmental mitigation team to clean the area properly.

Your Fire Evacuation Plan | SERVPRO® of Washington County

11/3/2021 (Permalink)

a emergency escape plan on a clipboard Having a fire evacuation plan is an important aspect of fire safety. If a fire should happen, remember the trusted name in restoration, SERVPRO.

It’s true what they say: The best things in life are free. Think of all the investment you’ve made in your home, your hobbies, your vehicles, whatever it may be, and yet these things are not the most valuable thing you have, are they?

Your family is the most precious thing in your life—irreplaceable, invaluable and light years beyond any sort of monetary valuation.

That’s why it’s of the highest importance that you and your family create and know your home fire evacuation plan. You’ve got an estimated two minutes to escape a fire, so executing the plan is crucial.

Your fire alarm can only help you so much—it can alert you to the need for evacuation, but it can’t plan your route, and it can’t evacuate for you. So let’s walk through planning and executing your evacuation plan.

Think About Everyone

Make sure your plan includes special routes for individuals with special needs, or elderly family members who may be less mobile—take into account family members’ abilities to use stairs, ladders or other escape methods, and create alternative escape plans for them as needed.

Involve children in your planning, and let them be part of creating their portion of the plan, as well as visual aids and reminders for themselves and the family. They’ll better remember things in which they’ve invested time an energy.

Think About Options

The truth is that the unpredictability of a fire necessitates extra planning—in other words, one plan isn’t enough.

You’re going to need to have two ways out of every room. Windows can be used, but you may need an escape ladder that can be easily employed in an emergency. Always make sure window latches work and are easily operated.

Create a second plan for scenarios in which your ideal exit routes become blocked. If you run out of options and all planned exits become blocked, close all the doors between yourself and the fire, put a towel at the bottom of the door and let the fire department know where in the house you are so they can rescue you.

Think About Practice

Put your plan in practice—rehearse it with the whole family to make sure it works and everyone understands; do this at least once a year. Choose a meeting place everyone can reach, where you can safely convene after escape to make sure everyone is safe and accounted for.

If fire should affect your home, we’re here to restore and recover your damaged property. Contact SERVPRO today to see how we can help.

Commercial Restoration From Westerly, RI to North Kingstown, RI

10/26/2021 (Permalink)

Commercial Restoration Companies Near Me SERVPRO of Washington County is the areas #1 Commercial Restoration Provider

Our team stands out from the rest by playing a critical role in commercial recovery events. With the capability to respond quickly and efficiently to any size commercial disaster we are your number one call in the event of water, fire, or storm damage. Our proven SERVPRO strategies reduce overall losses and keep your commercial property running, even during the recovery process. Our culture and team mentality is the key to our success.

Our franchise general managers and owners create a positive, winning atmosphere. Each of our employees is taught to take pride in their work and to recognize the importance of professionalism at all levels.

Our project managers prioritize their responsibilities to help minimize damage to properties in the event of a disaster. Project managers combine years of training with years of practical experience to quickly assess the situation and provide a quick response when faced with a disaster on a commercial property of any size.

SERVPRO is the preferred choice for disaster restoration. Our technicians have the ability to fully understand the processes. They respond immediately to restoration calls, monitor multiple job sites, and work closely with team members in order to ensure that every job site is safe.

We also rely heavily on technology and our equipment to provide the best possible results. We can use a wide range of tools to successfully complete commercial restoration projects. We keep abreast of the latest trends in drying technology, soot and scent removal equipment, and dehumidification.

We Are Here For You, When You Need Us.

9/21/2021 (Permalink)

school hallway Many complained that the building had a musky odor as it was about to open for the 2021-22 academic year after a long time period of the pandemic.

We were recently called by a school to do emergency cleaning. This wasn't a typical emergency such as flood, fire or storm damage. It was a job that required quick completion due to the beginning of the school year.

Many teachers and professors complained that the building had a musky odor as it was about to open for the 2021-2022 academic year after a long time period of the pandemic. We were called to inspect the quality and quantity of the air inside the building. With just three days before school starts, we were able to detect impurities.

Because of the tight time frame, we brought in numerous techs and a management group to lead and teach our techs. We wanted to make sure that the school was safe for students and ready to go on the first day.

Call our team for any residential and commercial inspections! 

The Danger of Smoke Inhalation and Oxygen Depravation in a Fire | SERVPRO® of Washington County

9/16/2021 (Permalink)

Smoke rising over a black background If a fire should happen to your home, know that SERVPRO of Washington County is here to help.

When you think about house fires, it’s no surprise that you likely picture a house engulfed in a tower of flame or a hallway or interior with burning walls. We regularly see fires depicted as clean-burning in movies and TV shows, because frankly we like to see the actors’ faces.

But in reality, there’s a much more likely chance that a house fire would leave you unable to see much at all, because the halls and interior in a full-fledged fire would be filled with smoke.

In order for a fire to grow, it requires oxygen. (This is why smothering a fire is such an effective suppression method.) As a fire grows inside the home, it consumes the oxygen present in the air, leaving less and less for occupants to breathe in.

How to Avoid Smoke Inhalation

The safest way to escape smoke is to stay low to the ground. Smoke rises, so the cleanest air is down low.

Cover your mouth with a wet cloth if you can grab one, and crawl to the nearest exit. Don’t linger inside, and don’t reenter once you’ve exited.

If a fire tragedy should strike your home, know that SERVPRO is here to help. Contact us anytime for 24-hour emergency assistance.

Is Your Water Damage Covered by Insurance? | SERVPRO® of Washington County

9/3/2021 (Permalink)

a pen, money and other insurance paperwork sitting on a table Whatever the cause and whatever the coverage, SERVPRO of Washington County is available to help you get through any water damage.

Water damage is a common problem Washington County homeowners face, and it takes many forms. From natural forces like hurricanes or flooding to internal issues like plumbing or gutter leaks, there are lots of ways for water to put a strain on your life.

One in every 50 homeowners experience some kind of water damage each year.

When your carpet is soggy or your basement is full of water, one of the first questions you need answered is whether your insurance policy will cover the damage. The short answer, unfortunately, is “it depends.” Let’s dig a little deeper.

What’s Covered?

First off, we should note that policies vary, so it’s important to know the details of your own homeowners insurance policy and to check things out with your agent when details become important. That being said, there are general standards about what may or may not be covered.

A handful of of scenarios you can expect full coverage for include:

Sudden, accidental discharge. If leaky plumbing becomes an acute issue and suddenly there’s a burst pipe or broken supply hose, you should be covered.

Water damage cause by storms. As something over which you have no control, this is often covered by standard homeowners policies—your policy likely has separate provisions for coverage for your home and for your personal belongings.

What’s Not Covered?

Unresolved maintenance issues. Lack of maintenance essentially means you forfeit your right to coverage—damage caused by a long-term leak or flooring replacement due to a long-term toilet leak would fall under this category.

Replacing the source of damage. If your water heater bursts open suddenly, your policy may cover the damage it causes, but likely won’t pay for the replacement of the water heater itself. The same is true for plumbing, dishwashers and other similar sources.

What Else Can Be Covered?

Flood damage. Most standard homeowners policies do not include flood coverage, but especially in coastal areas like ours, it’s recommended (and in some cases, required) that you add flood insurance because of the increased risk.

Sewer overflow or backup. This dangerous, and frankly gross, damage may be covered with the addition of a rider or endorsement to your existing policy.

Whatever the cause and whatever the coverage, SERVPRO is available to help you get through your water damage woes. Contact us today to find out how we can get things dried up and set right.

Trust SERVPRO During Hurricane Season | SERVPRO® of Washington County

8/5/2021 (Permalink)

When disaster strikes, SERVPRO of Washington County is your local restoration expert. a large satellite image of a storm cell heading for landfall

Many kinds of natural disasters happen year-round, and there’s no particular “season” for them—wildfires, thunderstorms, hail and wind all occur naturally throughout the year. But there’s a particular season for those of us on the Atlantic Coast where we have to be even more weather-aware than usual.

Right before the writing of this article, researchers doubled down on what they expect to be a heightened period of activity during 2021’s hurricane season, which was already expected to be above average for the sixth consecutive year.

All that to say, hurricanes and other disasters of a natural or even accidental nature can be anything from a nuisance to a major life event, and when they come along you need someone you can trust to help you recover, cleanup, and restore whatever’s possible.

Here’s why that someone should be your local SERVPRO team.

We Get to Work Quickly

We proudly proclaim that we’re “Faster to Any Size Disaster,” because we mean it. We’ve got a local team right here in Washington County on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week for emergency assistance. Whether it’s Hurricane Elsa in July causing heavy rain and flooding, or a grease fire that broke out on the grill and burned up your deck, we’re geared up and ready to go at all times.

A Powerhouse Combination

When you trust SERVPRO of Washington County with your recovery, you’re dealing with a local business that knows the needs and specificities of the Gold Coast, as well as a nationwide network of resources. That means whatever the challenge, we’re up for it and we can handle it exactly as Rhode Islanders need it handled.

Innovation and Experience

We’ve spent more than a half century developing the most effective methods for dealing with water and fire damage, mold remediation and even hospital-grade cleaning solutions for businesses. We wouldn’t have made it this long if we hadn’t figured out how to execute the job to the satisfaction of millions of customers, all while continuing to drive innovation to keep up with changing needs.

When disaster of any kind strikes, just know we’re ready to take on the tough job of cleanup, restoration and recovery. Call us today to learn how we plan to make your disaster area look "Like it never even happened."

What to Know About the 5 Classes of Fire | SERVPRO® of Washington County

7/22/2021 (Permalink)

large picture of yellow, red and orange burning flames If a fire should break out in your home or workplace, SERVPRO of Washington County is here to help you fully restore your property.

Saturday morning cartoons may have taught us that water is always the answer for stopping a fire, but that’s dangerously inaccurate.

There are many ways fires start, but really only a few ways they get extinguished. Fire can be divided into five distinct types, each with its own solution.

The Types of Fire

Fires are classified by five types: classes A, B, C, D and you guessed it…oh wait, the last one’s K? Alright, you probably didn’t guess it.

Class A Fires are probably what you think of first—fires involving solid materials. This would be a fire fueled by wood, plastic, rubber material or fibers. Class A fires are the easiest to extinguish with water or a foam fire extinguisher.

Class B Fires are started by the ignition of combustible liquids or gases. This would include butane or propane, as well as liquids like gasoline, alcohol and tar. Water doesn’t safely put these fires out—it actually spreads the fuel source and makes the fire bigger. These fires have to be starved of oxygen with foam, powder or CO2 extinguishers.

Class C Fires are electrical in nature, and could stem from electronic devices like computers, motors or appliances. The key to these fires is that they are only Class C while connected to electricity, in which case neither water nor foam are safe to extinguish them. If they can be disconnected from the electrical source, then they can be treated as a Class A fire.

Class D Fires are fires caused by certain metals that are highly combustible, such as magnesium or lithium. These fires can become highly explosive if exposed to water, so dry powder extinguishers must be used to stop them.

Class K Fires are kitchen fires (hence the “K” designation), involving grease or cooking oils you might find in a deep fryer or commercial kitchen setting. These fires require a special chemical extinguisher, which reacts specifically with the makeup of the oils to create a molecular blanket that smothers the fire.

If you’re using a handheld extinguisher, the PASS method works for all fire types:

Pull the pin.

Aim low, at the base of the fire.

Squeeze the handle.

Sweep the nozzle side to side.

If a fire should break out in your home or workplace, SERVPRO is here to help you fully recover your property. Get in touch today to find out how we can help.

Hurricane Season May Be Getting Longer | SERVPRO® of Washington County

7/9/2021 (Permalink)

satellite image of a large hurricane cell over ocean If a hurricane or tropical storm threaten your home or business, SERVPRO of Washington County is here to help restore property damage.

It’s OK to say it—life on the coast is pretty good. Here in Rhode Island, traveling along Route 1 can unlock a lifetime’s worth of beachfront exploration and beauty.

With some 40 miles of coastline, Rhode Island’s coastal appeal is nearly off the charts, whether you’re surfing in Narragansett or spending a day with the family at Newport Beach.

But this time of year, we do have to worry about the occasional weather threat, including the dreaded H-word. And that threat isn’t going anywhere soon; in fact, it’s increasing.

The last 10 years have seen an increase in the number of Atlantic cyclonic storm activity, with 2020 setting a record of 30 storms, so many that the we ran through the alphabet and started using Greek letters to name them.

Now scientists are debating whether hurricane season should officially be lengthened. Rising ocean temperatures are bringing us more hurricanes, and increasing the length of active potential time for hurricanes to form.

Whether because of climate change or some other reason, the NOAA has been forced to consider extending the official hurricane season, used to bring awareness and extra monitoring of the Atlantic storms, adding two weeks to the front of it, making the new start May 15 instead of June 1.

Though this year’s season will begin at the usual time, the NOAA did begin providing its normal Tropical Weather Outlooks sooner.

The cause for the potential change is simple—storms are coming sooner. In the last decade, there have been 10 official storms in the Atlantic that have formed prior to the traditional start date of hurricane season, and eight of them occurred since 2015.

Whether or not hurricane season is extended, the bottom line for Rhode Islanders is that we should always be watchful in the warmer months, and be fully prepared for storms to come, as it’s clear the frequency and intensity of storms are not decreasing.

When hurricanes and tropical storms threaten your home or business, SERVPRO is here to help restore property damage. Click or call today to get the peace of mind that comes with having the best team in the industry on your side.

How Does SERVPRO Restore Wet Cotton Carpet in North Kingstown Homes?

6/29/2021 (Permalink)

two girls laying on carpeting Unless quickly removed, water damaged carpets. SERVPRO has the tools to dry your carpet and home.

Cotton is Common in Woven Carpet Flooring and Can be Heavily Damaged by Moisture in North Kingstown Properties

As a common fiber element for carpeting, its use has many advantages, including its long life and its colorfastness. One of the disadvantages to any cotton fabrics or flooring types is the fact that these materials can absorb more than twenty percent of their weight in water before even feeling damp to the touch. By the time you notice the issue, more than the carpeting layer may have become affected.

Extracting Water from Cotton Carpets

Water damage in North Kingstown requires several direct strategies to address and overcome. With standing water concerns or trapped moisture in woven carpets, specific tools can help collect and discharge the water and potentially protect the installed materials. Surface pooling must get addressed first if it exists, which often happens with submersible pumps or truck-mount extractors with attachments for concentrated use. Removing trapped water relies on:

  • Carpet wands
  • Weighted extractors
  • Wet vacuums

Cleaning Carpets After Water Damage 

Carpets often require cleaning to look and feel their best after water damage or flooding. We have deluxe conditioning options and hot water extraction machines to remove soils in the flooring and restore the brightness and color.

Water damage can compromise carpeting fast, but our SERVPRO of Washington County team can help. We have premier cleaning strategies and products available when you call (401) 315-2337.

Considerations for Soot Cleaning in North Kingstown Homes

6/22/2021 (Permalink)

smoke and soot damaged wall and ceiling Smoke and soot are difficult to remove. SERVPRO has the tools and cleaners to effectively restore your home.

Several Factors Impact the Products and Methods Chosen for Removing Soot Residues from Damaged North Kingstown Homes

Soot and smoke residues are devastating presences for area homes, so our SERVPRO professionals act quickly when these conditions exist. We have multiple cleaning techniques for soot removal.

Factors that Change the Product Selected for Residue Removal

Multiple factors can affect the needed cleaner or soot removal method for fire damage restoration in North Kingstown homes. Some of these include:

  • pH Level – Many of the soils and residues that impact surfaces after fire extinguishment have a slight acidity, making alkaline cleaners and solvents a counter-acting force ideal for loosening the soil and wiping it away.
  • Water Solubility – There are many situations where water damage might already exist, and it is hazardous to add more, making non-soluble solvents ideal solutions. Some solvents we use can be mixed with water when the soil to be cleaned can benefit from this.
  • Underlying Material – Some of the solvents selected for cleaning and eliminating soot damages could be too harsh for the underlying substrate. Our SERVPRO professionals always intend to cause minimal harm to installed elements and preserve what is possible, making the underlying material an essential consideration for soot and smoke damage cleanup.

Because we have so many proprietary cleaning products and methods after fire damage, a careful evaluation of the property determines the best option. Call our SERVPRO of Washington County team for help at (401) 315-2337.

Hail Damage and Your Washington County Business | SERVPRO® of Washington County

6/18/2021 (Permalink)

large pieces of hail melting on dark roof shingles If your business should encounter damage from hail or thunderstorms, SERVPRO of Washington County is here to help you manage the damage.

When it comes to natural disasters and storm protection, hail is often an afterthought. Maybe it’s because it’s so random, and quite frankly so interesting and quirky, that we often think of hailstorms with a certain fascination rather than a healthy respect.

In point of fact, however, hail is one of the most damaging natural disasters, and far more common across the country than the appearance of hurricanes or tornadoes. There were 4,611 major hailstorms in 2020 alone, and the damage from hailstorms averages between eight and 14 billion dollars a year over the last two decades.

And though we call certain parts of the country “hail alley,” it’s truly not just a midwest problem. Hail storms can occur anywhere, at anytime, given the right atmospheric conditions, and the U.S. elevation and climate is more suited to them than perhaps anywhere else in the world.

So what can you do to protect your business from hail damage, and how can you assess it when it may occur?

Look after your roof. Your roof needs inspection annually, or after any major hail event. Look for broken shingles, replace any worn-out sections or damaged flashing, and clear gutters and rooftops from debris and built-up blockages. Also, don’t wait when it’s time to replace your roof! When it’s time, it’s time, and waiting makes you prone to water damage from rain and atmospheric moisture.

Minimize window breakage. Given Rhode Island’s proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, installing impact-resistant windows may help prevent damage from both hail storms and hurricanes, so you might want to consider it for your business. These kinds of preventive steps may even bring down your insurance costs.

Cover the important stuff. Keeping valuable assets indoors or under cover is a smart way to prevent potential hail damage. Company vehicles should be moved to garages or carports if available, and anything that can be protected by moving it indoors should be moved. Indoor assets should be kept away from windows as well. And your most important assets, your employees, should take cover when severe storms come. Hail is natural output of thunderstorms, so regular thunderstorm precautions should be taken as well.

If your business should encounter damage from hail or thunderstorms, we’ll be there fast to manage the damage. Click or call SERVPRO today to get help from the pros.

What Are the Signs of Mold Growth in South Kingstown Homes?

6/14/2021 (Permalink)

hand pulling wallpaper back exposing mold Do you know how to locate hidden mold? SERVPRO does!

With Many Ways you can see Mold Threats, Understanding These Signs Can Help Your South Kingstown Property

Mold damage can be an underappreciated threat to the house and its occupants. Microbial colonies feed on organic matter, demolishing hosting materials as they support the colonies as temporary homes. Early identification of mold growth early can help to get this problem resolved before becoming too costly.

Direct Signs of Mold Growth in South Kingstown Homes

Many signals can indicate mold damage in South Kingstown properties, and the most recognizable of these is spotting. Physical mold presence can be a sign that not only does mold colonization exist, but it is often worse than what you can see. As fast as these organisms can spread, structural degradation and crumbling materials can also indicate potential problems that require professional remediation to address.

Indirect Indicators of Mold Threats

Identifying mold colonies before they become devastating forces can be critical to protecting as much of the property as possible. Before physical signs present direct signals of mold growth, homeowners must be attuned to changes in the environment to indicate something might be worth further investigating. Some of these indirect indicators of mold growth include:

  • Moist conditions
  • Strong odors
  • Cool temperatures

Mold growth and the spread of microbial colonies should be avoided at all costs. Our SERVPRO of Washington County team can help with efficient remediation solutions. Call us today at (401) 315-2337.

The Basics of Campfire Safety | SERVPRO® of Washington County

6/11/2021 (Permalink)

hot coals burning in a campfire Summer season is here, please ensure you are following basic fire safety when having a campfire.

When school is out and the weather is warm, many families in the area turn to camping as a favorite weekend activity. Whether you’re headed to the Ashaway RV Resort or the Charlestown Breachway, there’s lots of fun and many great adventures to be had while we take in nature’s incredible scenery.

One of the most common camping activities is the old-fashioned campfire.

They’re great for warmth and atmosphere at night, handy for cooking anything from popcorn to fresh-caught fish, and of course you brought the s’mores. You did bring the s’mores, right?

But with the recent prevalence of wildfires, it’s more important than ever to be aware of the proper ways to build, maintain and dispose of your campfire to avoid potential disaster at the campground. After all, humans cause almost 62,000 fires in the United States each year, so let’s review some of the most important stuff.

Before the Fire

Know the rules of your campground—do they allow fires? This can change from season to season based on wildfire risk, so be sure.

Use a provided fire pit or ring, or create one yourself by digging a pit away from branches or power lines, and surrounding it with stones. Make sure it’s at least 10–15 feet away from anything flammable.

During the Fire

Build your fire safely and sturdily, using wood local to the campsite when possible.

Keep water and a shovel nearby, so you can douse or cover any runaway flames.

Mind the wind, and keep any flammable materials or items upwind and away from the fire pit area.

Never leave the fire unattended, and be mindful of kids and pets as they play. Campfires are the most common cause of camping injuries for children.

After the Fire

Extinguish all flames and ashes thoroughly. Dump water (slowly, to avoid throwing ash and billowing smoke) on the fire, then stir the ashes with a shovel.

Pour more water over the ashes, and continue until the ashes are cool to the touch. Check under stones for hidden embers, and soak large logs with extra water, because they can stay hot for a very long time.

SERVPRO is here to help with disaster cleanup of any kind, from fire to water, from storms to mold remediation. If your home or business has been damaged, call or click today to see how we can help you manage and restore the situation.

What Methods Are Used for Soot Removal in North Kingstown?

6/3/2021 (Permalink)

Soot on a wall Fire, soot, and smoke damage can take over your property if you are not careful. Call SERVPRO of Washington County today.

Fire restoration hinges on efficient smoke damage management in North Kingstown homes.

Fire and smoke damage can present themselves in several forms after a fire gets extinguished, yet few are as hazardous or threatening as soot. These microscopic particles can spread quickly in the environment, traveling the HVAC system and through openings to impact an area much larger than the initial damage zone. 

What Methods Does SERVPRO Use to Eliminate Soot? 

Several strategies get implemented for soot removal and fire restoration in North Kingstown homes, including:

  • Chemical Sponges – Often, our chem sponges are natural rubber compositions with large pores, which can remove much of this soil and debris when run across soot-damaged surfaces.
  • Soda Blasting – This process is an abrasive cleaning technique with sodium bicarbonate particles forcefully propelled with pressurized air against soot-covered surfaces. 
  • Controlled Demolition – When other abrasive tactics are not possible, removing the damaged materials can be the only remaining suitable solution.

With how formidable soot damage can be during fire restoration, it is important to have skilled professionals to help protect underlying materials and affected contents. Our SERVPRO of Washington County is ready 24/7 at (401) 315-2337.

What are the Options for North Kingstown Residents in Need of Basement Flooding Cleanup?

6/3/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technician consulting with customer When storm damage impacts your property, call on our skilled experts at SERVPRO for assistance.

SERVPRO is a Dedicated, North Kingstown Restoration Service for Residents with Flood Damage

North Kingstown is a township on Rhode Island that is famous for studying marine life and the former US navy base at Quonsat Point. The original settlements established on Rhode Island date back to the seventeenth century. However, since that time, the township has split into northern and southern districts. North Kingstown is home to Narragansett Bay, an abundant oyster and shellfish fishery for residents and tradespeople. Rhode Island, where North Kingstown is based, is itself a part of the wider Washington County. The collection of rural cottages, hamlets, and townships found around North Kingstown prove a satisfying historic tapestry for those interested in the early life of North America's first settlers. As such, the area has numerous preserved landmark sites and wetlands for wildlife. These include taverns, mills, and ports that allowed the region to develop into an agricultural point of interest in the United States.

The National Register of Historic Places has several listings of North Kingstown. Among the earliest structures is the Palmer-Northrup House which was originally constructed in 1680. Plenty of properties represent the eighteenth century, including the Old Narragansett Cemetery and accompanying chapel, both built-in 1707. Modern tourist attractions include a trip to Martha's Vineyard via the Rhode Island Fast Ferry and the aquatic educational centers. The bays of Rhode Island are rich in sea life which has prompted vast investment into research centers to study marine life. Some of these centers are open to the public alongside their more traditional aquariums. 

Biomes Marine Biology Center is one of the research centers that open for educational programs and tours. The species contained in the attached aquarium are those commonly found in the North Atlantic and Narragansett Bay. Situated on Post Road, the center opens from midday until 5 pm every day.

Wickford Village is a quaint and charming destination on Rhode Island originally owned by some of North Kingstown's founding members Roger Williams and Richard Smith. The picturesque cottages of Wickford are surrounded by the Wickford Harbor, which supplies the local delicacy, shellfish, to restaurants and markets.

Seabee Museum and Memorial Park pay tribute to the Construction Battalion of the US Navy. The museum covers the Seabees' role in various military conflicts both at home and abroad, with a particular focus on the local Narragansett naval base. The Seabee Museum was organized and funded by Seabee servicemen and women.

SERVPRO of North Kingstown Can Help in a Flood Damage Emergency

Adverse weather events can cause havoc to your personal property. The impact of high winds, heavy rainfall, and flooding can severely impact residents' lives. SERVPRO is here to help the recovery process with:

  • Ceiling leaks
  • Flood restoration
  • Basement flooding cleanup 

The flooring of your North Kingstown home is most likely to suffer damage from water intrusion. When large amounts of water are involved, water migration can be a critical factor that has a damaging impact on your floor's assembly. We can resolve upper fittings on flooring, padding, and subfloor after floodwater intrusion. The contamination level dictates if these floor coverings can be salvaged. 

  • In-place drying can be more time-efficient than clearing a room and is conducted using automated, mobile water extraction units.
  • Carpet floating using a flex-hose adapted air mover or fan can help to dry the underside of carpets reducing damage.
  • Flat drying carpets temporarily detach the carpet, dry the subfloor, replace the pad, and then return the rug and reattach.

Controlling losses relies on fast action in a time of emergency. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County for flood damage at (401) 315-2337.

Can Professional Companies Help with Water Removal in South Kingstown?

6/3/2021 (Permalink)

people standing in water Contact our team at SERVPRO for assistance with water damages. We will restore your property back to its original condition.

SERVPRO Water Removal is Available for South Kingstown Residents Twenty-Four-Hours-a-Day

It can be a shocking experience to find your kitchen, bathroom, or basement filling up with water. Home's have complex plumbing and ventilation systems that can malfunction at any time. The most crucial thing to remember when dealing with a water intrusion event is to act quickly. SERVPRO can assist with:

  • Basement flooding
  • Burst pipes
  • Ceiling leaks

The process of water removal in your South Kingstown home must be adapted for conditioned and non-conditioned spaces. It is helpful to think of conditioned spaces as inhabitable parts of the house. These may include living rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms. Non-conditioned spaces then are things like basements, crawlspaces, and attics. 

  • We have powerful ventilation equipment that can help circulate air into wet unconditioned spaces.
  • Our team responds quickly and with compassion in dealing with water emergencies for residential properties.
  • We promise to arrive on-site within four hours of notification of loss following water intrusion. 

Water emergencies can be stressful. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County for water removal at (401) 315-2337.

Why Do South Kingstown Residents Struggle with Fire Damage Restoration?

6/3/2021 (Permalink)

Before and after fire illustration Our SERVPRO teams will leave your fire damaged property looking "Like it never even happened." Call us right away after a fire occurs.

SERVPRO Can Remove Stubborn Smoke and Soot Stains from South Kingstown Properties

Returning to your home after a fire can be traumatic. Fires produce excessive amounts of smoke, heat, and pressure, making properties look beyond repair. While some of these damages may be permanent, using a professional restoration service can significantly increase the likelihood of structures or contents returning to a preloss condition. 

We can work on:

  • Fire damaged homes
  • Smoke remediation
  • Fire and smoke damage restoration and cleanup

The challenging aspect of fire damage restoration in South Kingstown is in understanding how surfaces interact. Scrubbing a surface, known as agitation in restoration, can dislodge soot or smoke residues. However, some soot bond on a molecular level to surfaces making scrubbing ineffective. Equally, a steel wool or scouring pad can damage the material surface of the item you are cleaning. 

  • Abrasive cleaning uses liquid cleaners with abrasive ingredients to reduce smoke residues or deposits.
  • Stain scrub is a liquid abrasive cleaner that can be effective on wet smoke or soot.
  • Extra care is taken when applying abrasives to sensitive or finished surfaces. 

We can remove soot and smoke from your home. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County for fire damage restoration at (401) 315-2337.

What Makes up a Thunderstorm? | SERVPRO® of Washington County

5/31/2021 (Permalink)

multiple lighting strikes coming out of dark stormy clouds Thunderstorms can pop up at any moment. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County if you experience any damage.

Thunderstorms are one of nature’s most common weather occurrences.

But what makes up a cell that we call a thunderstorm? And what is the difference between a thunderstorm and a “severe thunderstorm”?

Let’s take a look at these key elements of these storms and how to prepare for them.

The Components of Thunderstorms

Thunder. The rumble from the sky during a storm is exactly what defines a thunderstorm, but the phenomenon of what we call thunder is actually the result of a lightning strike, the sound coming from the rapid expansion of the air surrounding said lightning bolt. Therefore, a thunderstorm is a storm that has both thunder and lightning.

Lightning. As established previously, lightning is as essential to a thunderstorm as thunder itself. Lightning is one of the most dangerous elements of a thunderstorm, being responsible for hundreds of injuries each year and significant damage to homes and business due to fire and striking trees that can cause damage to these buildings.

The Components of a Severe Thunderstorm

Hail. A severe thunderstorm has hail that is at least one inch in diameter. Given that hail can fall as fast as 72 miles per hour, the amount of damage that can be done to just about anything it touches is vast. The destruction is not limited to property and people, as it can do damage to crops, livestock and pets.

High winds. Straight-line winds of up to 58 miles per hour is the other identifier of a severe thunderstorm. These winds can remove entire roofs off of houses, can topple mobile homes and can cause large limbs to fall from trees onto permanent structures and vehicles.

Flash flooding. Even if you are not in a flood-prone area, this is a threat that can appear at any time in any place. Drivers can have difficulty judging the depth of water on flooded roadways, but especially if driving at night, motor operators should use extreme caution in these incredibly dangerous circumstances.

While thunderstorms may pass through without doing much harm, there are other storms that can become a major cleanup mission. If you need help with damage from a recent thunderstorm, our team has the systems and techniques to help. Contact us to make it “Like it never happened.”

Tips for Avoiding Water Damage to Your Home | SERVPRO® of Washington County

5/31/2021 (Permalink)

a heavy rain pouring down on roof and gutters SERVPRO of Washington County is your local restoration company. If your home has been damaged by water contact us right away.

Sometimes trying to avoid water damage at home is a bit like playing poker. You may try to bluff Mother Nature and say your roof will weather another season of heavy rains or tropical storms, but deep down you know last year put the nail in its proverbial coffin and it won’t survive another heavy storm.

You might put all your chips on the table one year and go for big repairs needed to repair that same roof, only for a water heater to break out the royal flush and burst on you, sending you into a whirl of damaged items and furniture, not to mention potential mold and mildew issues.

Water damage is one of the most common major issues homeowners face. In fact, it was the second most claimed insurance category for homeowners in a recent five-year study. But there are some things you as a homeowner can do to prevent, or at least inhibit, water damage.

Outside Your Home

Clean downspouts and gutters. Making sure water has somewhere to go without backing up under your roof tiles is one of the most reliable ways to prevent damage.

Check your shrubs. Bushes or shrubs can actually grow long enough roots to being to choke out your pipes, so if a shrub is getting big, you may have to look at your options for maintenance or removal.

Disconnect garden hoses in cold months. Water left in hoses can back up into pipes and freeze, causing the dreaded winter pipe burst that no one wants to experience.

Inside Your Home

Check pressure and pipes. Knowing the location of your water main (so you can quickly stop all water flow to the house in an emergency), regulating your home’s water pressure (so pipes don’t get overloaded and leak or burst), and properly maintaining pipes can all be huge money savers, and of course, vice versa—not maintaining your pipes can cost you big bucks.

Check appliances and gadgets. Check and replace your washer and refrigerator hoses to make sure they haven’t dried out and become brittle. Keep an eye on water heaters and anything else that connects to running water, and verify connections are good and pipes are in good shape. Also, consider using water detectors—small devices you can get at your local hardware store that will alert you at the presence of leaks or elevated moisture.

Know your costs. One simple way to catch a leak is to notice if you have a higher than usual water bill. If a month’s total jumps off the page at you, take inventory of all the above to see if you’ve got a water problem or if maybe you just had more company this month.

Whatever the causes and effects of your water-related issues may be, we’re here to turn problems into distant memories. If your home has been damaged by one of these or other issues, call or click now to get a local SERVPRO technician on the scene quickly.

How Can a Fast Response Protect a Water-Damaged South Kingstown Office?

5/25/2021 (Permalink)

A person pulling up carpet and padding Call SERVPRO of Washington County when you business has had a water damage. We will get you taken care of the right way.

Prompt mitigation aids damaged South Kingstown offices from threatening conditions.

Among the chief mitigation steps that our SERVPRO team can take when reaching your water-damaged office building is to relocate at-risk items. Finding a safe space nearby or even off-site to store contents until the water restoration stages complete can save money on otherwise unnecessary cleaning, drying, and restoration when materials ultimately succumb to moist conditions. Relocated contents can include:

  • Documents
  • Furniture
  • Electronics

How Can SERVPRO Dry Out Office Carpeting?

Short pile carpeting is common for offices, so when there is water damage in South Kingstown commercial properties, there are several water removal and drying strategies available to help. The first approach that can often have the most direct results on the saturated carpet is our roving weighted extractor units. This remote-controlled device presses carpets against concrete subflooring in larger open areas to displace moisture to the surface for collection with an onboard wet vacuum. 

Because a water damage incident can stop production in your office building, you can trust our SERVPRO of Washington County team to get you back in business as soon as possible. We are ready to help 24/7 when you call (401) 315-2337.

Pumping Standing Water from a South Kingstown Basement

5/20/2021 (Permalink)

flooded basement Flooding from a storm can catch you off guard, call SERVPRO of Washington County today.

With several extraction units, basement flooding cleanup is possible in South Kingstown.

When basements become flooded by a burst pipe or storm damages, specific water removal tools are required. As an underground level in most households, this drop in distance requires a greater force for discharging standing water like a high-pressure pump. Likewise, powerful extractors are necessary when solids and debris are anticipated in the standing floodwater. Truck-mounted pumps and trash pumps have appropriately-sized discharge hoses for this reason. This helps with:

  • Basement flooding cleanup
  • Flood restoration
  • Water removal services
  • Sewage cleanup

What Preventative Measures Protect the Property After Drying?

Once water removal services address much of the flood damage in South Kingstown properties, it is necessary to provide preventative measures to ward off destructive secondary effects like mold and microbial colonies. Post-flooding recovery can leave areas moist for several days while air movers and dehumidifiers continue regulating humidity. Mold inhibiting products sprayed on surfaces can prevent microbial threats from developing while flood damage is still being restored.


Addressing standing water and storm damage in your home involves a fast response and powerful tools. Our SERVPRO of Washington County is ready to help when you call (401) 315-2337.

You Have a Powerful Home Damage Ally When Minutes Matter | SERVPRO® of Washington County

4/25/2021 (Permalink)

a green SERVPRO truck and restoration tools inside a showroom If your home is damaged do to a storm or other cause our goal is to return your home to its former state.

When it comes to restoring your home after a disaster, timing is critical. In fact, for some types of damage, timing can be everything.

While it may sound strange to say that timing is critical when it comes to restoring a home, it’s absolutely true. Your home can sustain more damage if restoration services are delayed.

For example, water damage can spread fast. In fact, experts say within a few hours water can start to damage wood, drywall, upholstery and furniture. It spreads quickly from there, and the signs of mold can even begin to appear.

Fires spread quickly in a home, and smoke damage can linger if it’s not attended to quickly. When these incidents happen, working closely with a team of fire damage restoration experts is really the only way to ensure your home is returned to its original state.

Our expert technicians are ready to help and support you if your home is damaged by water or fire. That means you can call us at any time when you need our services, and we’ll help you. We are available 247, so even on holidays, we’re ready to help if an emergency happens.

When you call us, you can rest assured your home damage will be remedied using the latest advanced technology on the market.

You can also be sure that the technicians who will work on the job are certified and prepared to do the best possible work on your home. They’ll build a customized plan designed to fit your needs and return your home to its former state.

Don’t wait to call us if you need our services! We’ll be here.

If your home is damaged due to a fire or any other cause, you can always count on us for restoration assistance. We have teams who are available 247 in the event of an emergency. Contact us at any time to learn more about our restoration services and how we can help you.

Why Clean Gutters Matter | SERVPRO® of Washington County

4/15/2021 (Permalink)

leaves piled up in a white gutter We provide full service Residential and Commercial Water Damage Restorations. For fast response contact SERVPRO of Washington County today.

If you’ve heard it once from home maintenance experts, you’ve probably heard it a million times. It would be best if you had your gutters cleaned regularly.

It’s advice we often give to our clients, and it’s good. But many people don’t understand exactly why clean gutters make such a difference when it comes to your home. Especially since it, ideally, should be done multiple times in a year.

But clean gutters are vital to a well-maintained home. Experts agree they’re important. Spending a little to clean your gutters now can save you a lot of money later.

This is especially important if your clean gutters take water away from your home, instead of letting it seep into your foundation, where it can do damage. Or it can keep water away from your basement, which can begin to grow mold over time.

Here are two more reasons to clean your gutters regularly:

Clean gutters control the water flow. Blocked gutters can send water to places you don’t want it to go, like down toward your foundation or siding. Instead, clean them out. That way, the water will move the safest way possible away from your home.

Clean gutters have less debris. Gutters can collect leaves, small limbs, dirt and other outdoor items. After a time, this wet, soggy mess can weigh them down and damage your gutters. It all goes back to how you want your gutters to move your water—and that’s quickly and efficiently away from your home.

So, as you can see, cleaning your gutters will make your home a safer place. Experts recommend doing this simple maintenance act every four to six months.

If you need help dealing with damage caused by water, fire or any other issue, we’re here to help you restore your home. We have crews who are available 247 in the event of an emergency. Contact us at any time to learn more about us and how we can help you restore your home to its original state.

Can Fire and Smoke Damage Get Cleaned in South Kingstown Homes?

4/1/2021 (Permalink)

fire damaged home Smoke and odor removal from a fire damaged home is hard work. SERVPRO has IICRC certified technicians for the job.

Contents can often require off-site smoke remediation and fire damage clean-up in South Kingstown homes.

There is no denying the need to care for your personal belongings after fire and smoke damage. Fire damage restoration can involve multiple steps and stages, but few carry the weight of protecting irreplaceable items from your residence. We carefully clean on-site and off to help.

What Smoke Remediation Services Exist Off-Site for South Kingstown Homes? 

When you consider the widespread need for restoring fire damage in South Kingstown, it stands to reason that many contents and personal belongings can get caught in this destructive path. Our SERVPRO professionals have a professional approach to clean and recover affected items from your home at our nearby facility. Cleaning technicians can take great care to deodorize, surface clean, and safely store your personal belongings. We can inspect them again before returning them to your home. We use:

Fire damage does not have to be permanent. Our SERVPRO of Washington County team can help. Call us today at (401) 315-2337.

How Can SERVPRO Keep South Kingstown Businesses Going After Water Damage?

3/26/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO team ready for action. Commercial water restoration should be left to the professionals. SERVPRO has the manpower and equipment for any size disaster.

With fast mitigation, we can protect your South Kingstown business from irreparable harm.

It is one of our priorities to keep businesses running after unexpected disasters occur. As challenging and widespread as water damage restoration can often be, the appropriate containment and mitigation steps can often keep essential services happening for your company despite the restoration work that it needs. We have experienced professionals capable of helping and many critical areas for:

  • Water damage remediation
  • Flood restoration
  • Burst pipes
  • Ceiling leaks
  • Emergency services water damage
  • Basement flooding

What Emergency Services Water Damage Can Help? 

As you would expect with any water damage restoration for South Kingstown properties, the first steps that restoration professionals take upon arrival carry the most weight. Success with mitigation stages can often reduce expenses for the customer and provide a more efficient outcome. Because water emergencies can happen from multiple sources, a thorough inspection of the property can often determine where specific emergency services are necessary and which efforts can significantly impact the ultimate result. Often, our responding technicians' priorities are to address any standing water that might exist anywhere on the property. Pooling of any kind can pose greater threats as moisture migrates into less accessible areas.

Do Water Removal Services All Work the Same?

Water removal services for your business are not a universal approach that our SERVPRO team provides. Careful calculation is considered when choosing the right extraction tools and instruments. Excessive pooling can require more powerful and aggressive removal tactics like submersible pumps and truck-mount extractors. Water damage restoration almost always sees the use of wet vacuums in some capacity, usually in clearing the remainder of standing water or trapped moisture in high porosity materials like low-pile carpeting installed in your office space.

Who Can Perform Ceiling Repairs from Water Damages? 

Once drying gets underway in designated workspaces, repairs are often necessary to complete the recovery of the area. Drop ceiling tiles are standard in commercial properties and can become quickly damaged and stained by saturation. Water damage restoration efforts would often see controlled demolition remove these compromised materials and replace them once sufficient drying in this structural cavity occurs. Our general contractor license can also ensure we supply personnel to repair damaged plumbing or fixtures causing the leak.

What Is Necessary to Overcome Burst Pipes? 

While water removal services are among the chief concern after damaged pipes burst, water damage restoration by our SERVPRO team requires repairs and replacements of compromised pipes. Reinstalling these fixtures and plumbing ensures that we can restore running water to the structure and keep your facilities running as they should.

Our business is to get you back in business, and we can do that with the appropriate containment measures, mitigation, and drying approaches. You can count on SERVPRO of Washington County to be there when you need us. We are available 24/7 at (401) 315-2337.

What Tools Work for Flood Restoration in North Kingstown?

3/26/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO equipment at work. Water damage restoration in your home is no laughing matter. Call SERVPRO for the help you need to get your home back to preloss condition.

Extractors play a significant role in water damage remediation for North Kingstown homes after a flood. 

Mitigation is one of the most critical phases of any water restoration effort, and our fast response ensures that competent SERVPRO technicians start these actions as soon as possible. Emergency services water damage can include many steps, including:

What Extractors Are Best for Flood Water Removal in North Kingstown? 

Despite how quickly flood damage in North Kingstown can get out of control, mitigation can play a substantial role in protecting the property and its contents in the earliest stages. Extraction can involve multiple tools and machines in our recovery inventory, ranging from the versatile wet vacuums with attachments to submersible pumps. For flood water with solids and debris, trash pumps have a larger intake and discharge to more efficiently move these particulates with the extraction.

Flood emergencies can worsen quickly, but our SERVPRO of Washington County team can start vital mitigation quickly when you need it. Give us a call today at (401) 315-2337.

Flood Preparedness Tips for Business Owners in South Kingstown | SERVPRO® of Washington County

3/17/2021 (Permalink)

roadblock signs in front of flooding waters covering up roadway Heavy rains can cause serious water damage. SERVPRO® of Washington County are your local water restoration experts.

Here’s something for business owners to consider. How prepared is your South Kingstown business for the dangers of flash flooding?

Spring is fast approaching, and with this new season comes the risks of storms that can bring flash flooding. It’s difficult to think about dealing with water damage to your business, but the reality is it’s a fairly common problem. Water damage is one of the most common reasons business owners file claims on their insurance.

There’s not much we can do to stop a flash flood, heavy storm or another water event from happening. But there are plenty of things you can do to be prepared for these disasters when they occur.

The best way to ensure your business is ready to move forward after a flood is to prepare work now before a flood happens. These are some of the best tips experts offer.

Get Ready for Flooding

Here’s what you should consider doing:

Know your real risk. Take the time to locate your business on a flood map. It doesn’t take long, and FEMA offers these resources for free. Knowing how likely your business is to suffer a flood event can help you prepare.

Put a plan in place now. This step takes some evaluation. You’ll want to identify the critical services you offer and the employees who provide them. Your plan needs to account for ways to let them keep operating and serving your customers if it’s possible.

Be sure your location is ready. Maintenance now can protect your business later. That means doing things like sealing your windows and roof and knowing where important shutoff valves are located. By having your location ready to withstand problems, you’ll be able to stave off preventable damage. That means you’re already moving in the right direction.

If you need assistance at your business, we’re here. We have crews who are available 247 in the event of an emergency. Contact us at any time to learn more about our services and how we can help you.

How Can Property Owners Get a Storm Flood-Damaged Home to its Original State?

3/1/2021 (Permalink)

a flooded living room with items floating everywhere Flooded home? Quick response can save your further flood damage. Contact our certified team immediately after flooding.

They Can Hire a Certified Restorer Like SERVPRO to Handle the Storm Flood Damage in their North Kingstown Homes

Flood water can cause severe destruction to your home and affect your health. The longer flood water remains in your property, the more damage it can cause. When flood damage occurs, contact SERVPRO technicians immediately to make the flooding incident seem, “Like it never even happened.”

When we get to your flood damaged property in North Kingstown, we can assess the damage to determine the best way to approach the situation. We can use our hi-tech equipment to extract flood water within the shortest time possible. Since floodwater is highly contaminated, we can use various professional products to deal with contamination. They include:

  • Sterilizers – They destroy all microorganisms.
  • Fungi stats and mildew stats – They slow down fungi' growth on organic materials like paper, textiles, and leather.
  • Biocides – They are chemical agents that kill or destroy living organisms.
  • Sporicides – They are disinfectants that control fungal or bacterial spores.

Our technicians can dispose of the items that are damaged beyond repair. If the floodwater damaged your carpet, we could use a knee Kicker, razor knife, and power stretcher to remove your carpet. We can also use air movers and dehumidifiers to dry your home and valuable items thoroughly. Before we let you and your family back to the property, we can conduct a thorough inspection to determine if the restoration process was effective.

Do not allow storm flood damage to disrupt your way of life. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 for an excellent restoration within a brief period.

Can Your South Kingston Business Experience Serious Water Damage Unrelated to Weather?

2/26/2021 (Permalink)

a puddle of water leaking through a door onto the wooden floor Water damage? SERVPRO is prepared with restoration equipment and certified technicians. Call us right away!

SERVPRO can cleanup and restore your South Kingstown RI business after all types of water damage

South Kingston has about 50 other businesses besides yours. And although a storm may damage everything in the area, a broken pipe or burst water heater may put just one business out of operation. If that happens to you, what should you do? Call SERVPRO for water damage cleanup and restoration in South Kingston! Here’s why:

SERVPRO water damage training:

  • We’re trained in the best methods of water removal and restoration. Our technicians are IICRC certified. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification.
  • We bring and know how to use the industrial equipment necessary. Specific issues often require specialty equipment for best results. Pumps, wet/vacs, riding extractors, air movers, and various dehumidifiers.
  • We have additional skills as needed to solve your unique water damage issues. In addition to floors, subfloors, and walls, we can help with furniture and carpets for moisture removal and water damage mitigation.
  • We will evaluate the damage to determine what needs to be done, and keep you informed as we progress toward completion. We’re ready to restore your business “Like it never even happened.”

When you’re facing a major water issue, you cannot afford to have the job partially done or delayed. Our job is to keep your doors open for our customers, clients, and employees.

Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) -315-2337 to get started on cleanup and restoration right away!

Efficient Restoration After Storm Flood Damage in South Kingstown

2/21/2021 (Permalink)

a flooded laundry room with items floating everywhere Excess water and flooding? Contact our certified SERVPRO team right away for effective flood damage remediation services.

SERVPRO Can Handle the Storm Flood Damage in Your South Kingstown Residence

South Kingstown is a town in Rhode Island and a county seat of Washington County in the U.S. According to the census held in 2010, the town had a population of 30,639. It is home to two scenic beaches in South County, historic landmarks, and tranquil farmlands.

South Kingstown Geography

The town extends north of Block Island Sound and lies west of Point Judith Pond. The United States Census Bureau reports that the town covers a total area of 79.8 square miles. 22.7 square miles of the township’s land is water.

The township includes villages such as Kingston, Wakefield, Green Hill, Middlebridge, among several others. Middlebridge is on the west side of Narrow River and the most populated area in the town.

Home of Arts and Culture

The town has venues such as the University of Rhode Island’s Ryan Center for music, among other entertainment. The CCA and Lily Pads are among the smaller entertainment venues for both residents and tourists.

The town also offers its residents and tourists arts and culture education through community centers such as the Senior Center and The Guild in Wakefield. Also, the villages of Peace Dale, Kingston, and Matunuck each host a public library. 

To enjoy athletics in South Kingstown, Old Mountain Field hosts the town’s baseball team called the Ocean State Waves for home matches.

South Kingstown is also home to the South County History Center museum in Kingston village. The museum is in a former jail building and preserves and interprets the Early American material culture of the town through the study of archival and artificial collections.

Hannah Robinson Tower is also one attraction that the town boasts of. The Civilian Conservation Corps built the 40 feet tall tower in 1938 using wood. In 1988, the tower was rebuilt using the same pillars. 

The town is also home to a calm, family-friendly beach called South Kingstown Town Beach in Matunuck. The beach offers residents and tourists 1,300 feet of beautiful beach and facilities such as:

  • A communal volleyball court
  • Playground
  • Boardwalk
  • Picnic area

The beach is just a short walk to local pizza, ice cream, and deli restaurants. South Kingstown has bike lanes, bike routes, and bike paths for residents and visitors to use. Over 25 miles of bike paths are under design, and over 60 miles of paved bike paths are already completed.

SERVPRO restorers do not keep property owners waiting after reporting flood damage in South Kingstown

Our team is available around the clock and responds to our customers’ calls within a brief period since we understand the dangers of flood damage. We use advanced equipment as well as unique but approved products for an effective restoration.

To minimize damage, we use hi-tech equipment to dry a property fast. Since floodwater may contain debris and sand, we can use a self-priming trash pump to extract the excess water. We also take time to examine the affected areas to locate moisture using thermography. The benefits of using thermography include:

  • No damage to the building – Penetrating moisture meters enable us to test for moisture underneath wood flooring and inside walls.
  • The ability to inspect difficult areas – We can point infrared cameras up to hard to reach areas such as ceilings while standing on the floor.
  • The ability to inspect more areas quickly – We can point thermal imaging cameras at large property areas to see where the moisture is located.

After the unfortunate event of storm flood damage to your property, contact SERVPRO of Washington County for fast and effective restoration. We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster. Our emergency helpline is (401) 315-2337. 

Can Mold Grow in a Chimney?

2/4/2021 (Permalink)

House chimney Don't let mold take over your chimney. Call SERVPRO of North Kingstown today.

Mold can grow in homes in North Kingstown in the most unexpected places.

Mold can grow whenever excess humidity settles upon your home. Typically bathrooms, attics, and basements are the first places one checks for mold, but all of your home is vulnerable to its spread. Rather than relying on household-grade cleaning solutions, call a professional team to assess your problem and help you take action.

SERVPRO can help with mold remediation in North Kingstown. Whether an odd smell or a discoloration in the ceiling alerted you to the issue, call our team for help. Shortly after arriving at your home, we can give you a thorough evaluation of where the damage is and how to fix it. Mold can quickly spread in conditions such as-

  • Increased humidity levels
  • Presence of wood or cardboard as food sources
  • Time-lapse allowing its growth

Mold is one of those issues where an expert team makes all the difference. Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 as soon as you detect the problem and so we can leave your home “Like it never even happened.”

The Sprinkler System in a Business Can Cause Damage

1/28/2021 (Permalink)

Fire Sprinkler system After a fire, our SERVPRO team is prepared to assist with every level of fire damage remediation.

Damage from fire and the sprinkler system in a South Kingstown establishment require professional restoration services.

Whether your business is a cafe or a yoga studio, you are susceptible to a fire erupting on the premises. 

Flames can be devastating, but their effect is often compounded by the gallons of water your sprinkler system pours to quench the fire.Rather than guess at the best method to clean and restore your business, allow a professional crew to help you.

Those needing fire damage restoration in South Kingstown can count on SERVPRO to give expert advice and mitigate your loss. Upon arrival, our technicians address the sprinkler system and verify that it is safe to enter the premises. With a clear view of the damage, we can make a plan to address the following-

  • Soot removal keeping in mind the nature of each surface we’re cleaning
  • Deodorizing following the effect of smoke
  • Ancillary damage such as mold growth or debris removal

Let SERVPRO of Washington County be your ally when you face fire damage. Call us at (401) 315-2337 and let us protect your business like it was our own.

Do You Know the Smoke Alarm Basics?

1/22/2021 (Permalink)

white fire alarm hanging on ceiling flashing red from rising smoke Regularly checking your smoke alarms is an important fire safety routine. Should you experience a loss, Washington County specializes in complete fire

One of the biggest basics of fire safety is the importance of smoke alarms. Checking them regularly and having them in your home are vital to safety. But many people don’t understand exactly how and why these smoke detectors will make a difference.

Experts estimate that as many as ? of all deaths from house fires occur in homes where there aren’t smoke detectors or where there aren’t enough smoke detectors.

That adds up to about 1,450 deaths per year that might be preventable with proper smoke alarms.

Do You Have Enough Alarms?

So, how can you tell if you have enough smoke alarms in your home? Here’s where experts recommend placing smoke alarms:

  • Outside every bedroom
  • Outside each sleeping area
  • On every level of the house
  • Living rooms, dens and family rooms
  • Near stairwells
  • Ten feet from appliances

Avoid installing them near windows, doors or ducts.

Maintaining Your Smoke Alarms

The National Fire Protection Association offers this advice for maintaining your smoke alarms:

Don’t neglect to test your smoke alarms. You should check your smoke alarms every month to make sure they’re working properly.

Change your batteries. Once or twice a year is enough. Do it when you change your clocks to make it easier to remember.

Consider a system of interconnected smoke alarms. These can make your family safer because they alert the whole home to danger and are easier for everyone in your household to hear.

Replace your alarms on schedule. Most of the time, smoke alarms need to be replaced about every 10 years. That allows you to be sure they’re in good working order and will be ready if you ever need them.

If your home is damaged due to a fire or any other cause, you can always count on us for restoration assistance. We have crews who are available 247 in the event of an emergency. Contact us at any time to learn more about our restoration services and how we can help.

Are South Kingstown Structures Susceptible to Water?

1/22/2021 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technician placing air mover in kitchen SERVPRO has the experienced technicians with the equipment and expertise your home needs after a water catastrophe. Give us a call right away.

SERVPRO can help restore your South Kingstown home after water damage

Not surprisingly, South Kingstown was formed when Kingstown split in two in 1722. In 1723 the town was incorporated and is now the seat of Washington County, Rhode Island. Its history reflects the happenings of its time, including the encounters between settlers and Native Americans. In 1675 the Narragansett were defeated in the Great Swamp (western South Kingstown) by the colonists to become their final defeat.

When you visit South Kingstown, you may hear people referring to it as part of South County. 

Do not let this confuse you, as locals tend to use Washington and South County interchangeably. The beauty of the area can be felt throughout, whether you are a beach-lover or not. Wildlife preserves, farms, and beaches are all part of what Rhode Island's southernmost region has to offer. All eleven towns in the County cater to its visitors and entice them with their hiking trails, water sports, and relaxing beaches.

Not far from South Kingstown, you can enjoy a few historical structures. For example, the Towers are located in Narragansett and are the only remaining structure of the Narragansett Pier Casino, famous in the 1880s. The Casino showcased Victorian architecture and was a fun retreat for its visitors. Dancing, the beach, bowling, tennis, and billiards were a few of the activities taking place on this landmark. Sadly, it burned during the Great Fire of September 1900. Today, the Towers are still standing, and it has become a preferred location for weddings, performances, and social events.

If you love the performing arts, Theatre by the Sea is just a few minutes from South Kingstown and offers programming for adults and children alike. Its unique location makes for a beautiful evening out and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. It hosted a summer camp between 1928 and 1933 and has since withstood the effects of natural disasters and economic downturns. 

After changing hands over the years, it is now under Bill Hanney’s expert direction.

There is much to see and do in South Kingstown, so take your time to explore the region’s beauty on foot or your bike at your leisure. Make sure to include the following on your list-

  • The South County History Center
  • University of Rhode Island
  • Hera Gallery

Keeping up your home in South Kingstown

If Mother Nature has taught us something, it's that it can come through our homes and damage them quite easily. However, trouble can also arise when a kitchen sink backs up or a bathroom overflow. Whenever there is water damage in a home, it is best to rely on an expert team for a solution. At SERVPRO, we are ready to restore your home with the following-

  • Water extraction equipment
  • Industrial grade air movers
  • Disinfecting techniques

Let us be part of your protection crew. Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 whenever your home needs us and let us leave it “Like it never even happened.”

South Kingstown Residents Can Rent Kayaks for Exploration of the Bay and Ponds this Winter

1/11/2021 (Permalink)

kayaking on water SERVPRO Suggests You take a trip around South Kingston by Kayak. Why NOT?

The Kayak Center of Rhode Island offers South Kingstown Residents the Opportunity to Explore the Surrounding Islands.

One of the advantages of living by the waterfront in South Kingstown is the wealth of tranquil harbors, bays, and waterways. Exploring these inlets by Kayak is a relaxing day trip that suits riders of all skills and abilities. Located in Wickford's quaint township, a short distance from South Kingstown is the Kayak Center of Rhode Island. The shop is open all year round, including December, providing gear and expertise to outdoor enthusiasts. There is a wealth of knowledge from staff if you are looking to buy equipment, although the shop also supports local day rentals charged by the hour. Trips to Cornelius Island or Ninigret Pond are highly recommended.

  • The Kayak Center is situated on Brown Street and opens between 10 pm and 5 pm on weekdays. A later opening time of noon on Weekends.
  • Online booking is intuitive and quick with the signing of necessary waivers and setting up of Kayaks.
  • The company also runs regular tours, classes, and events for the local community.

Extracting large quantities of water from a property requires industrial equipment. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 now.

What to Look for When You Need to Spot a Ceiling Leak in Your North Kingston Home

1/5/2021 (Permalink)

white wall and ceiling showing signs of water damage/leaking roof Do you have any water damage to your walls or ceiling? Contact SERVPRO of Washington County, we will help guide you through the restoration process.

Do you know what to do if you notice the signs of a ceiling leak at your North Kingston home?

No one likes to think about dealing with big home maintenance issues, especially those that involve water issues. But it’s a common occurrence for American homeowners.

Leak claims are among the millions of water damage claims that are filed every year. On average, about one out of 50 American homeowners every year file a water damage claim.

So if you have to file a claim, you’re likely not even the only person in your neighborhood who has. And that can add up to millions of dollars in cumulative property damage.

Take a Closer Look at Your Ceiling

Here’s what to look for when you’re searching for a water leak in your ceiling:

Water spots on your ceiling. These damp spots or stains are signs of water damage. They can indicate the beginnings of water damage or mold issues.

Bubbling paint. You may notice the paint on your ceiling blistering and peeling away from the wall and ceiling. That’s a sign that water damage could be happening.

A distinctive and musty odor in your home. This is one of the first things many people notice before a leak really becomes noticeable. It’s also one of the first signs your home could have mold or mildew damage, which will require prompt and thorough remediation.

Higher than normal water bills. While not all ceiling leaks are associated with plumbing, some are. It’s important to check your water bill and see if it’s higher than you expect. You can monitor this by checking your water bill every month and looking for abnormalities.

If you have water damage in your home due to a sewer backup, a burst pipe or another cause, you can count on us for restoration assistance. We have teams who are available 247 in the event of an emergency. Contact us at any time to learn more about our restoration services.

Take a Day Trip to Martha's Vineyard From North Kingston by Boat

12/21/2020 (Permalink)

Martha vineyard lighthouse SERVPRO Says--Why Not take a ferry from North Kingston to Martha's Vineyard?

This December Ferry Runs from North Kingston to Martha's Vineyard Set Off from Narragansett Bay

The Island of Martha's Vineyard is the third-largest on the East Coast of America and makes a popular holiday destination for residents of Rhode Island and North Kingston. The ferry service takes passengers from Rhode Island across to Martha's Vineyard, cutting out much traffic and congestion. Drinks are served onboard. During certain months of the year, passengers can spot whales diving in the surrounding waters- the original popularity of these islands was as stopovers for whalers in the mid-twentieth century. There are numerous public gardens and historic sites suited to the whole family, while day vacations are recommended, with the earliest ferries leaving 6 am.

  • The Fast Ferry has been in service since 2003 and also runs tours of nearby Narragansett Bay.
  • Dockside parking starts at just $10 a day for those riding the fast ferry.
  • Each Rhode Island ferry takes up to 400 passengers and runs throughout December and January.

Fire and smoke can cause extensive soiling to your belongings, walls, carpets, and ceilings. For a speedy recovery, contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337.

Westerly Families Can Trust Us After a Fire Emergency l SERVPRO® of Washington County

12/17/2020 (Permalink)

looking through a house window with flames growing from fire If you have fire damage in your home due to a heating malfunction or other issue, count on SERVPRO of Washington County to help you from start to fini

Rhode Island winters can be a unique challenge for homeowners—and it’s important to be prepared for what can happen during the colder months of the year.

One of the ways homeowners can do that is by having an emergency plan in place. Because fire risks are higher during the winter than during other seasons of the year, experts recommend putting an emergency plan in place so that you’re prepared if something unexpected happens.

It’s smart for families to have a set meeting place outside the home, know the evacuation routes out of the house and have important items (like medications) in easily accessible places so you can take them with you. It’s also a good idea to have a plan in place for any pets, too.

No one likes to think about dealing with the aftermath of a house fire. But if it happens to you and your family, you can rest more easily knowing you have a team of local experts right here in your corner.

In fact, some homeowners like to save our number into their smartphones to get in touch with us if they need our services.

Understanding the SERVPRO Difference

Here’s why Westerly residents trust us to help them deal with the restoration process:

We can help with the entire process. House fires can damage your walls, your furniture’s upholstery and more. Other issues homeowners deal with after a fire include smoke and water damage. You want a restoration company that can cover all types of damage. Our team of experts has the tools needed to do your restoration work the right way.

We’re here 247. Getting started early on restoration efforts can make a difference. That’s why our team is here to help you when you need our services. Because our team is always available for emergencies, we’ll answer your call whenever you need us.

We believe in restoring items before replacing them. By working with you to meet your needs, we can help you find ways to save money on repairs. And in some cases approaching a job from a restoration mindset can help you save money on your homeowners insurance premiums in the future.

We are a local business. Because we’re a SERVPRO location, we combine the training, resources and equipment you would find at a large, growing company with the advantage of choosing a partner located in Washington County.

If you have fire damage in your home due to a kitchen, heating, or other fire, you can count on us for restoration assistance. Our team is always ready to meet your needs and help you restore your home.Contact us at any time to learn more about our restoration services.

Residents of South Kingstown Use Professional Remediators to Gauge and Correct Mold Infestation

12/14/2020 (Permalink)

two employees in pink cancer shirts in front of servpro vehicle SERVPRO remediates mold infestations and damage in South Kingston commercial properties

SERVPRO is Available for South Kingstown Residents in Need of Professional Mold Remediation.

South Kingstown is a township on Rhode Island in the Washington County District. The spacious township spreads out over 79.8 square miles and neighbors Charlestown, Narragansett, Richmond, and Exeter. The first British Settlements along the Pettaquamscutt River were set up in the seventeenth-century, and Kingstown was the site of a bloody battle during the King Philip's War in 1675. The community enjoys several historical sites that spread across Wakefield, Kingston Village, and Peace Dale. The current population of 30,639 can experience a mixture of athletics, arts, and culture in some of the many tracks, theater houses, and galleries. As an island county, the long stretches of beaches cover nearly ten-miles with various wildlife conservations, treks, fishing, and trails to explore. The proximity to water ensures that local cuisine centers on fresh oysters, seafood, and fish brought in from the bay or the adjacent Rhode Island Sound. 

South Kingstown residents have the Atlantic Ocean to the south, which connects inland via the Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound. Since its inception, the location of this part of the United States has been fraught with conflict. In the early modern period, warfare between indigenous tribes, the Wampanoag, and settlers was common. Simultaneously, the desire of royalists to incorporate autonomous colonies like Rhode Island failed with the Glorious Revolution in 1688. During the Revolutionary War, the area was among the first of the New England colonies to renounce the crown and side with George Washington. The proximity of South Kingstown to the ocean made it a vital area, both militarily and economically. The industrial revolution put Rhode Island at the center of the country's growing wealth, while the Gilded Age saw many workers moving into the coastal community leading to rapid urbanization. 

  • The Old Mountain Field is a sixty-acre greenspace that hosts live music, firework displays, and several sporting facilities. Chief among these is the collegiate baseball field that hosts local up-and-comers the Ocean State Waves. The non-profit sports organization promotes some of the top players from collegiate programs across the US. In the past five years, 29 of these junior baseball players have been drafted. 
  • The Oceanside town features some small breweries and distilleries that are open to the public serving unique craft alcohol that you cannot find in other states. These include the Whalers Brewing Company on Kingstown Road, which serves high ABV American Ales until 10 pm, six days a week. Also on Kingstown Road is the Sons of Liberty Distillery. Specializing in award-winning American single malt whiskeys. 
  • The Contemporary Theater Company on Main Street is an all year round playhouse that offers contemporary plays, Shakespeare adaptations, comedy, drama classes, and a summer camp. During the warmer months, an outdoor stage is set up for al fresco shows with special showings for kids and families. The organization relies on local donations to stay afloat, with many community enthusiasts signing up to volunteer, buy a membership, or become a patron of this cultural hub. 

Eating out in South Kingstown, Rhode Island

The opportunities to find delicious, locally-caught seafood and fine-dining on Rhode Island are abundant. In keeping with its long history of immigration, South Kingstown provides a diverse mix of traditional American, Italian, and Japanese cuisines, all of which source local produce from the bay and the nearby Sound. Main street offers a culinary feast while fresh seafood restaurants line the waterfront for those looking to browse before they buy. 

  • While technically in neighboring Wakefield, Trattoria Romana South is well worth the short trip for South Kingstown residents. Serving up classic Italian seafood within a delicate dining setting has proved a popular choice with residents of the area and tourists. The relaxed ambiance coupled with home-made plates of pasta and seasonal menus makes this venue among the top fine dining experiences on the southern shore of Rhode Island. 
  • Matunuck Oyster Bar is a large restaurant overlooking the waterfront of Potter Pond on Succotash Road. The unique raw oyster bar brings people through the doors with a fine selection of shrimp, clams, cherrystones, and many more. Most vegetables are grown organically on the far end of the pond at the oyster bar's plot, while seafood for the raw bar is farmed in Potter Pond itself.
  • Brickley's Ice Cream on Main Street is a seasonal business that serves freshly-made ice-creams to its clamoring customers. Located directly opposite the Contemporary Theater Company, queues can stretch around the block during peak periods. 

South Kingstown Residents Can Rely on SERVPRO to Perform Responsible Mold Remediation

Mold growth can be a worrying issue in your property. While molds, and other microbial organisms, are a natural part of our indoor environment, they can become problematic, causing unpleasant odors and indoor air-quality issues. Fungi are organisms that break down and feed on organic matter. Without intervention, these organisms can begin to breakdown parts of your building material assembly as well as fittings and furnishings. The ability to reproduce quickly in the right conditions allows molds to spread from one area to another rapidly and is often hidden inside wall cavities or subfloors. The core principle of controlling mold is to correct a latent moisture problem that allows them to grow and reproduce. 

  • Our technicians are happy working with indoor environmental specialists and hygienists to deliver a game plan for tackling mold. 
  • In the absence of a scientific professional, we can operate under the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) guidelines and the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certifications (IICRC).
  • Our teams have the experience and equipment needed to correct moisture problems, remove or reinstall building assembly, and get rid of mold colonies in your home. 
  • Careful treatment of semi-porous materials in your home using antimicrobial chemicals can help to prevent mold from building up during and after remediation.

If you suspect that mold is becoming an issue in your property, contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337.

Safe and Fun Holiday Shopping in South Kingstown

12/4/2020 (Permalink)

close up of stained glass We hope to see you at the Bosgraaf Stained Glass Studio's Holiday Sale.

Come out to Bosgraaf Studio’s 5th Annual Holiday Art Sale in South Kingstown 

The Bosgraaf Stained Glass Studio in South Kingstown invites the public to their fifth annual Holiday Sale. This event is the quintessential way to kick off holiday shopping and find something special for everyone on your gifting list. The sale features a wide selection of original glass creations by thirty student artists, including pieces in the holiday, nature, and humorous themes that make perfect gifts. The artisans will be onsite to answer any questions about their works. Following the latest health protocols, social distancing and masks need to get worn inside the venue. There will be a raffle to assist the Jonnycake Center of Peace Dale. 

  • Date: December 5th and 6th, 2020
  • Where: Bosgraaf Stained Glass Studio
  • Time: Saturday 10 am to 3 pm, and Sunday from 10 am to 2 pm 

When residents need water removal in South Kingstown, they can count on SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337. The techs are available 24/7 and arrive quickly after the initial call.

Celebrate You and Your Dreams at a Virtual Cabaret Show in North Kingstown

11/27/2020 (Permalink)

Harbor with boats and buildings in background Our community is beautiful and boasts many activities for its residents.

Virtual Event Highlights North Kingstown Up and Coming Stars 

The first week of December will unleash a lot of North Kingstown talent as you join hosts Valerie Remillard of Experiments in Theater and Sophia Nula of East Greenwich High School as they present an evening of songs, hopes, and dreams from local performers. Fifteen local performers will get their chance to debut their skills in front of a live viewing audience at this virtual event. Since this is an online event, rain, storm, or shine, the show goes on. The price to attend is $10 to members and $35 to non-members; tickets may be purchased up to the show's evening.  

  • Scheduled to get broadcast live on Youtube and Facebook Date: December 5th
  • Time: 7 pm EST
  • Location: Links provided in advance of the streaming show

 When local North Kingstown property owners need floodwater cleanup and dry services, they trust SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 to handle the restoration services and make it "Like it never even happened."

SERVPRO Serves the Local South Kingstown Community Providing Fire Damage Restoration Services

11/20/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO vehicle and restoration equipment inside SERVPRO storage facility We love South Kingstown, and we are ready and prepared to handle fire damage.

Contact SERVPRO at (401) 315-2337 for Assistance with Fire Damage Cleanup for Your South Kingstown Property or Contents 

South Kingstown is an older city in the United States and was established in 1722 when Kings Towne split into two parts, North and South Kingstown. The entire town is 79.8 square miles, and nearly 23 square miles of that number is water. Several villages make up South Kingstown, giving the area a population of 30 826, and it continues to grow. The climate gets rated as mostly comfortable with the high temperatures in the summer hitting the low 80s, and the coldest temperatures usually hit in January at around 18-degrees Fahrenheit. While most of the United States gets 38 inches of rain yearly, South Kingstown receives 52 inches of rain and a little more snow than the rest of the U.S. at 30 inches per year. Locals can expect 206 sunny days per year, great for outdoor activities.  

Change from Town Meetings to City Council

Like many other New England towns, South Kingstown conducted government proceedings through the town hall format; however, once the population passed 30,000 residents, it adopted the council-manager government to provide more order and better support to the community. The setup is as follows:  

  • There are five seats on the town council that are up for election every two years.
  • No term limits are established.
  • After each election, the five council members elect their President and Vice President.
  • The citizen also elects a seven-member school committee that serves four-year terms. 

Civil War Hero Buried Here

Isaac Peace Rodman has a grave in South Kingston. He was the co-owner of a profitable textile mill, a known community leader, and a State Senator. As the Civil War commenced in 1861, he recruited a town militia using many men from his mill and led them into battle. After just a year of fighting with the Union Army, Rodman received the title of brigadier general and participated in the Battle of Antietam in Maryland, often considered the bloodiest single day of fighting in American history. Rodman got shot in the chest and passed away on Sept. 30, 1862. 

Parks and Recreation in South Kingstown

The opportunities for outdoor activities are many in this city, with over ten miles of pristine beaches. The city added a recreation center for use by the public. Other outdoor activities are:

  • Locals report that visiting East Matunuck State Beach in the evenings is best. There is plenty of lots of parking choices and no crowds. If you have a pet, they are only allowed on the beach during the offseason.
  • South Kingstown Town Beach is another famous beach with few stones and excellent wave watching. The facilities on-site feature clean restrooms, showers, and a playground for kids. 
  • Pelagic Expeditions is a must-experience for anyone adventurous under the water. This venue offers scuba diving and snorkeling that lets you swim up close and personal with blue and mako sharks.  

Fun Indoor Activities 

During the rainy or snowy days in South Kingstown, when the beach or outdoor fun is off the books, there are numerous indoor venues to visit and explore, such as the South County Center for the Arts. This art center, located inside an old courthouse made of stone. There are all types of events here, including music and art exhibitions—the $15 price for a ticket fund future art and educational programs. History buffs will look forward to a visit to the World War II Foundation Global Education Center that opened in January 2019 and features thousands of artifacts from WWII, including a library of over 500 books about World War II. Each visitor gets their choice of a free WWII Foundation documentary film of their choice that has a $20 value. Another historic venue in the city is the South County History Center. This history museum located inside the historic Old Washington County Jail has daily tours and research resources available. The jail has stood at its present location since 1792 and could hold five prisoners upstairs behind barred windows while the jailer and his family lived downstairs. In the early 1800s, a cellblock got added behind the structure. The building became home for the jailers and their families until the wood structure was rebuilt by granite in 1858. The building ceased functioning as a jail in 1956. 

Can SERVPRO Handle Large Fire Damage Restoration Jobs?

A small fire can turn into a need for fire damage restoration services in South Kingston properties. SERVPRO technicians undergo extensive training and certification to handle both the expected and unexpected when it comes to clean up after a fire in your property.  

When a fire spreads through multiple rooms, it can result in smoke odors throughout the home if the soot gets into the HVAC system. The technicians put up containment when they begin the mitigation on residences to ensure there is no cross-contamination during the cleanup and restoration process. The techs have various methods to remove the visible smoke damage from walls and ceilings through the use of techniques such as: 

  • Dry cleaning sponges 
  • Wet cleaning tactics including solvents 
  • Testing kits for determining smoke types
  • Cleaning agents formulated to lift away protein residues from surfaces 

Washable items with smoke odors only often have good potential for a full restoration. The technicians have access to the Esporta Washing System. This powerful machine can remove even profoundly embedded odors in a single wash cycle and eliminate all fire odor traces.  

The technicians carefully inspect articles from a house one by one to determine if they can get restored through the professional methods used by the techs or if the item can get repaired or it requires disposal. In cases of removal, it gets done with the property owner's approval or adjuster, and the thing gets documented, including photographs for use in the filing of an insurance claim.  

SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 brings both years of experience and professional equipment to fire damage restoration jobs all over the South Kingston area. The trained, certified technicians work to save property owners the cost of replacement whenever possible.

Is it Possible to Eat Out and Be Safe in South Kingston?

11/2/2020 (Permalink)

Seal for South Kingstown, RI on a blue background Enjoy a meal, while SERVPRO completes water removal services in your home.

Fondue Village invites South Kingston Residents for an Unparalleled Culinary Experience

Fall in South Kingston is an invitation to explore all the area has to offer.  The cooler weather and changing of the leaves provide a beautiful landscape to explore and enjoy new experiences.  Many of us have been hesitant to dine out due to health concerns, but Fondue Village is back for a 3rd year to offer a socially distanced culinary experience.  Here is why you should check it out starting November 27th:

  • Fondue Village has been featured in well-known publications such as Forbes and Food & Wine
  • Enjoy a four-course meal accompanied by Veuve Clicquot champagne
  • Sit in your private gondola to relish your delectable food while maintaining a prudent distance from other patrons
  • Feel like you’ve traveled to the Swiss Alps without leaving the state

SERVPRO of Washington County is proud to be part of our community.  As the weather shifts, new problems may arise in your home.  Call us at (401) 315-2337 whenever you need water removal services and let us work until it looks, “Like it never even happened.”

Is There A Need for Other Processes After Extracting Water from an Office?

10/26/2020 (Permalink)

outside view of multi-story office SERVPRO has extensive experience in restoring flooding incidents in offices.

SERVPRO Provides Complete Flood Extraction Solutions in South Kingston Commercial Establishments 

Flooding incidents are significantly inconveniencing since they leave offices inoperable until all the intruding water is extracted. Suppose the flooding at your South Kingstown office involves clean water, such as rainwater from a leaky roof or an improperly sealed window. In that case, you might expect a resumption of operations after extracting all the standing water. 

Which situations can complicate flood extraction in South Kingstown offices? 

  • Water seeping below tiles
  • Water intrusion into wall cavities
  • Absorption of water by porous contents 

Even though the water pooling on surfaces such as floors might appear static, that is rarely the case since moisture migrates continuously. Floors made from non-porous materials such as tiles can mislead you to think that extraction is a sufficient response for commercial flooding in South Kingstown. However, water can seep below the surface through the tile joints. Leaving such water unaddressed can cause significant problems later. 

Our SERVPRO crews use specialized approaches to remove water trapped below tile surfaces. For instance, we use drying mats, which create a vacuum seal with the floor surface allowing an extraction tool to suck the water trapped beneath. 

How often does floodwater reach wall spaces or other cavities? 

Whether you need to remove water from wall cavities after a flooding incident depends on many factors, including: 

  • The period water sits in the property
  • The point of intrusion
  • The amount of water involved 

When water sits in a property for extended periods, it can easily find a way into hidden areas. Our SERVPRO teams try to prevent this by responding to calls within a few hours, the same day of the incident. Sometimes it is inevitable for water to filter into cavities. For instance, an intrusion from an elevated position readily drips water into wall spaces. Our technicians help remove such water faster by drilling weep holes at the bottom of the wall. We also have wall ventilation systems that help dry the wall materials after extracting the water.

SERVPRO of Washington County has the best resources to handle flooding. Call us at (401) 315-2337. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

How Does Remediation Improve Preservability of Damaged Contents?

10/23/2020 (Permalink)

"Contact us" If mold is left unchecked, it can spread very quickly. Contact our IICRC certified mold damage remediation team for an assessment today.

Our SERVPRO remediation professionals can work quickly to reduce the spread and severity of mold threats in your South Kingston home. 

When you consider the humid climate that South Kingston neighborhoods contend with throughout the year, it is no great surprise that area homes deal with rapidly-developing mold in moist areas of the property like the basement. Addressing these concerns as they get discovered is the best way to neutralize potentially harmful volatile organic compounds and the impact of microbial colonization on hosting organic building materials and contents. 

There are several stages of mold cleanup for South Kingston, and often this process begins with first identifying if and where mold exists in your property. Because homes do not always contend with direct flooding or excessive humidity, some property owners might have to follow specific guidelines on identifying these colonies to notice a problem beginning. Some warning or clear signs of mold growth include: 

  • Spotting – Irregular spotting on surfaces of organic matter like drywall and clothing can show where mold is beginning to form and where direct actions are necessary. 
  • Damp Surfaces – Moist surfaces like ceilings and wall panels can indicate a greater water damage scenario beyond the surface. Long-persisting moisture concerns can almost always lead to secondary effects like mold. 
  • Harsh, Musty Odor – Another indicator that you might be contending with mold colonization is a musty odor. This scent is distinct to mold development. When you encounter it, mold is forming or already present nearby. 
  • Visible Colonization – Often, the presence of mold is unmistakable, as it has wholly engulfed portions of organic materials like drywall

What Remediation Strategies Exist? 

Understanding the variances in mold remediation begins with appreciating the difference between remediating and removing mold. Mold removal is an impossible practice, yet remediation produces direct action against active colonization in the damaged structures. 

  • Surface Cleaning – Our SERVPRO team has multiple antimicrobial products that we can apply to lightly damaged surfaces to eliminate mold spotting and inhibit further growth. 
  • Abrasive Tactics – Sanding and soda blasting are two options that seek to utilize aggressive actions to remove the entire hyphae of the microbial growth without impacting the underlying substrate. 
  • Controlled Demolition – While it is not always the most favored approach for remediating mold colonies, there are several instances in which removing damaged materials can be more cost-efficient than attempting to dry and thoroughly clean the surface to remove the entire organism. 

How Can Your Contents Get Protected? 

Protecting your personal belongings is one of the things that sets professional remediation apart from DIY cleaning approaches. We understand how treasured and valued your possessions can be, so there is no delay in containing the spread of mold throughout the property and beginning a thorough assessment of the damage that your home and its contents have endured since colonies first began to form. Some of the strategies for managing your belongings include:

  • On-Site Cleaning – Ideally, our technicians and remediators strive to provide on-site cleaning, drying, and deodorization whenever possible. This approach can save time and money on more intricate cleaning practices. 
  • Relocation – There are several situations where removing items from the path of migrating microbial threats can be enough to protect them from the potential harms they might have experienced during the remediation phases. 
  • Damage Assessment – We carefully inspect all of the items in your home that could have become impacted by the spread or colonization of spores. 
  • Off-Site Restoration – Among the most advanced strategies for cleaning and deodorizing personal belongings is the off-site recovery options we can offer at our SERVPRO facility. From ozone chambers to neutralize musty odors in entire lots of your possessions to surface cleaning strategies, we can help. 

When Do Contents Get Returned? 

The move-back process almost has the same level of careful consideration that pack-out did to remove these contents in the first place. Your personal belongings kept in our climate-controlled facility get staged in groups of the rooms they get returned to when they reach the property. A thorough inspection of each of these items gets conducted to ensure that no lingering surface damage exists or harsh odors are present. Once remediation completes in the house, these cleared items can then get returned where they belong. 

Between the damage that mold can do to your home and its contents, you can see the advantages of encouraging the fast response of our SERVPRO of Washington County remediators. We can make mold losses "Like it never even happened," for your home when you call (401) 315-2337.

What Services Repair Homes after a Fire?

10/9/2020 (Permalink)

smoke entering room from under door; flame seen Fires are devastating and smoke lingers long after the fire is put out. We have the equipment and cleaners to make it, "Like it never even happened."

Fire Damage Can be a Traumatic Event. SERVPRO Helps North Kingstown Residents Overcome the Smoke, Soil, and Odor Damage of Fire

What is fire restoration?

The kind of damage you may sustain in your North Kingstown home can vary from structure to contents. Many materials in the home combust quickly and become non-salvageable. Other materials may become charred or show no signs of burning but become coated in a thick layer of soots and smoke residues. SERVPRO fire restoration technicians help homeowners to sift through the debris left behind by the fire. We can remove and dispose of non-salvageable materials. We can identify contents or structure suitable for cleaning and perform the necessary restoration on the remaining parts of your home. In short, fire restoration is returning your property to how it was before the fire.

How do experts categorize fire damage?

  • Minor damages are when smoke residues are limited to a small area with minimum need for replacing materials.
  • Medium damages may show heat or charring to fittings and furniture in the home and heavy smoke residue requiring wet cleaning.
  • Significant damages may have permanent damage to the structure with many non-salvageable contents. These scenarios require emergency mitigation services.

How does fire restoration tackle different types of damage?

The impact of fire damage in your North Kingstown home can be widespread and varied. SERVPRO technicians work to mitigate losses and provide structural and contents cleaning and reconstructing some or the entire house. Usually, the decision to enact any of these types of fire restoration is decided by the category of fire loss. Our crew chiefs may also offer specialty cleaning services for precious items like photographs, electronics, documents, and artwork.

How is cleaning conducted in structural fire restoration?

  • Remove the smoke residues throughout the structure
  • Restore or replace permanently damaged components like fittings
  • Deodorize the structure using fogging equipment 

If your property suffers minor, moderate, or significant fire damage, contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337.

Must Families Move Out of Their Homes During the Water Removal Process?

9/23/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO restoration equipment and vehicle inside of SERVPRO storage facility Water damage? We've got you covered! Our techs are equipped for any restoration need.

SERVPRO Works With Clients to Try to Keep Them in Their Exeter Homes During the Water Removal Process

The amount of water and the number of rooms impacted by the water often determine whether clients must move out of their Exeter homes. For example, if the water leak is in the bathroom, with water spreading to the bedroom and perhaps to other floors, staying in your home may not be possible.

SERVPRO’s water removal team will assess the situation and provide suggestions regarding the best water removal approach to take in your Exeter home. Water removal may involve water-extracting vacuums to remove moisture from carpeting and under padding. We may also need to remove baseboards in bathrooms to reach under cupboards where water pockets exist.

Other equipment that we use to reduce moisture in your home includes:

  • Air movers
  • Large fans
  • Dehumidifiers to reduce moisture levels while drying your home.

These machines can be noisy and uncomfortable for anyone to remain unless they can move to the other house areas. Clients can check with their insurance company regarding reimbursement for alternate living expenses before deciding to stay in their homes during water removal and restoration.

How Often Does SERVPRO Need to Access Water Damaged Homes?

After all surface water has been extracted, your home needs to be dried, and humidity measurements returned to normal levels. Air movement within the house can be adjusted by moving the air movers from room to room or targeting an area drying more slowly than expected. It is essential to quickly dry your home before mold has an opportunity to begin growing and potentially cause more damage. Since we know mold can cause health effects, it is much better to dry your home properly and avoid future issues.

Many insurance companies also need daily reports providing a status update and progress towards returning your home to its original condition. These reports help to justify all claims for damages covered by your insurance company.

Call SERVPRO of Washington County (401) 315-2337 to assist with water removal and restoration of your home or business.

Who Can North Kingstown Homeowners Count On to Mitigate Bathroom Water Damage in Their Walls?

9/18/2020 (Permalink)

wellington boots on flooded floor SERVPRO of Washington County is proud to say that We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster.

North Kingstown Water Removal Specialists are Ready to Restore Your Home After Disaster Occurs

North Kingstown residents may be prepared for water damage from storms or other natural occurrences, but pipe leaks can create unforeseen challenges that are difficult to mitigate alone. Consumer-grade tools and products make removing water from hard-to-reach areas in wall cavities nigh impossible. Fortunately, there are professionals available for cleanup 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year.

If your North Kingstown property’s bathroom necessitates water removal, SERVPRO technicians are ready to eliminate damage and return your bathroom to a preloss state.

How Does SERVPRO’s Commitment to 24/7 Availability Protect a Home?
SERVPRO knows that water damage incidents do not wait to happen on a typical 9-to-5 schedule. This team’s commitment to constant availability ensures that North Kingstown homeowners get the cleanup and restoration services they need while reducing their repair and replacement costs for both structural materials and personal belongings affected by water. This availability includes both weekends and holidays.

Why else is it crucial to address water damage quickly? Consider this timeline for a water damage incident:
    •    Within minutes of exposure, water spreads and saturates porous surfaces. Carpet, drywall, wood furniture, and upholstery can quickly soak up copious amounts of water in the event of a pipe leak or appliance failure. Furniture finishes and dyes can stain carpet fibers permanently. Paper goods, photographs, and books begin to warp from taking on water.
    •    In the first 24 hours after exposure, saturated drywall can break down while furniture can swell and crack. Metals that have endured consistent exposure to water may tarnish while stains from inks, dyes, and finishes continue to spread to nearby porous surfaces. Odors from water damage and potential microbial growth are likely to appear during this time.
    •    In the first two to seven days after exposure, the damage continues to increase in scope. Mold can grow and spread rapidly depending on the temperature, humidity, and amount of organic material present. Metals that were already tarnished by water may begin to corrode. Upholstery and furniture frames warp and crack further and can show signs of mold growth.
    •    If the damage has persisted for more than a week, contamination is likely and requires increasing costs for rebuilding structures and replacing damaged contents.

Can I Detect and Test for a Hidden Water Leak in My Bathroom?
North Kingstown homeowners are advised to stay on the lookout for these classic early signs of hidden water leaks in bathrooms:
    •    Musty odors accompanied by excess moisture in the air can indicate water accumulation in sheetrock, drywall, or wood. These odors can also indicate mold growth in wall cavities if the odor is particularly pungent or distinct. Take note if the smell is especially strong in a specific area near a wall.
    •    Microbial growth on baseboards and walls can indicate water damage somewhere in a nearby wall cavity, especially in high-moisture areas of the home like the bathroom or kitchen. Leaks are likely in moldy areas without plumbing fixtures nearby, like ceilings and baseboards.
    •    If you notice discoloration on your drywall, chances are you have a plumbing-related leak on your hands. Any present paint or wallpaper can eventually crack, flake, bubble, or peel from moisture exposure, especially as the sheetrock underneath warps and crumbles.
    •    Contact a professional right away if your floor or ceiling is buckling or sagging from potential water damage. SERVPRO strives to preserve your safety in a water damage situation.

What Makes SERVPRO Structural Drying Effective for Water Damage Removal?
SERVPRO structural drying technicians take a multitude of factors into account when drying a structure to restore your home and eliminate the risk of secondary water damage during the drying process:
    •    Temperature. Adequate temperatures are crucial to the success of structural drying. Rooms dry more quickly at temperatures between 70 to 90 degrees Fahrenheit. However, temperatures that are too high during the early days of drying can create potential secondary water damages.
    •    Air movement. Air movement is not just blowing a fan over a surface to dry it. This equipment is positioned to pull moisture out of surfaces and into the air so that dehumidifiers can accelerate the structural drying process dramatically while reducing structural damage from water.
    •    Relative humidity. Successful drying requires lowering of relative humidity—that is, the amount of moisture in the air—to normal levels while preserving appropriate humidity levels for a variety of structural materials.
    •    Evaporation and extraction. A truck-mounted extraction unit can remove as much as 36,000 gallons of water a day. In comparison, a dehumidification unit can only handle about 30 gallons from your North Kingstown property at a time.

SERVPRO of Washington County is proud to say that We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster. Call (401) 315-2337 to begin the mitigation and restoration process for your home.

What Type of Cleaner Should I Use on Fire Damage in North Kingstown?

9/9/2020 (Permalink)

Bubbled and smoked up ceiling after a kitchen fire The certified techs are available 24/7 to come to your home and return it to its pre-fire condition.

SERVPRO techs know post-fire cleanup in North Kingstown homes require multiple types of equipment and cleaning agents

After a fire in your North Kingstown home, it can be tempting to fill a bucket with your favorite cleaning product and go to work. However, that is one of the worst things you can do because not all smoke residues are the same, and applying liquids to some types can cause marring of surfaces. SERVPRO techs use multiple applications and cleaning solutions to ensure the best outcome throughout the work-site.

How Do I Get Fire Damage Off Wood Furniture?
There are some considerations before diving in to clean up the remnants of fire damage on furniture in your North Kingstown home.
    •    Is the furniture made from hardwood
    •    Are the joints swelled or cracked from heat or water exposure?
    •    Is charring seen on the item?
    •    Are the residues wet or dry smoke?

If you cannot answer all those questions with a definitive answer, it is best to let SERVPRO techs inspect and clean your furnishings. While furniture with burned areas may not have the potential for reuse, the techs carefully test residues and surfaces to choose the best restoration method. Specific cleaning actions get used for lifting away dry smoke, most often found on walls, but occasionally on furnishings depending on the heat of the fire.

They can also use their moisture detection equipment to ascertain if there is any problem with water inside the furniture that needs to get dried before any restorative efforts. Best of all, they have access to many professional wood soaps, waxes, and sealants to ensure the furniture will not have any reminders of the previous smoke damage.

SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 serves the local community cleaning up and restoring properties from any size fire damage. The certified techs are available 24/7 to come to your home and return it to its pre-fire condition.

My North Kingston Gift Shop Flooded – What Do I Need to Worry About?

8/26/2020 (Permalink)

"Come in we're open" We understand the need for continuing business as usual during restoration efforts. Call us right away we are available 24/7.

Our Technicians Do a Scope of the Premises and Discuss Necessary Mitigation.

You open your gift shop Tuesday morning only to discover water spread in the showroom area. A pipe burst earlier, sending gallons of water throughout the building. One of the biggest concerns of secondary damage is mold. You need emergency water mitigation in your North Kingston store.

 What is the First Step?

 Any time you have water intrusion discovering and stopping the source of the water is vital. Contacting a professional water damage restoration company in North Kingstown, is next. Our Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) certified technicians scope out the scene and put together a mitigation plan. Immediate water extraction is critical. The longer the moisture stays in place, the higher the chance of mold damage in your North Kingston gift shop.

Time is of the Essence

Mold can spread rapidly. Within 48 hours, mold spores can take hold and develop colonies. Because of this, we work fast to remove as much water as possible from the shop. Our technicians employ:

  • Water extraction equipment – truck-mounted pumps, submersible pumps, and battery-operated pumps remove gallons of water fast.
  • Drying equipment – industrial air movers, dehumidifiers, moisture sensors, and probes help detect hidden water and thoroughly dry the area and content.
  • Cleaning agents – cleaning and sanitizing affected areas.
  • Restoration techniques – Controlled demolition to repair things like drywall.

Getting You Back in Business

Water damage restoration means downtime for your business and a loss of revenue. As a business owner, SERVPRO understands what this can mean to your and your family. We are 24/7 and on holidays. Don’t let water and mold damage keep you closed. Let the professionals help. Contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 for more information.

Find out more about North Kingstown.

What Safety Issues Do Flood Emergencies Cause and How Do Professionals Control Them?

8/19/2020 (Permalink)

Lightning strike/ Storm Storms can bring floodwater and storm damage. The professionals at SERVPRO are always on call to handle your water damage restoration needs.

Trust the SERVPRO Management and Crews to Evaluate Carefully for Safety Concerns and Put Proper Controls in Place During Flood Damage Cleanup In North Kingstown.

When hurricanes start off the coast of Africa in the Atlantic, it is hard to imagine that a storm with origins thousands of miles away can severely damage your North Kingstown home days or weeks later. Our location adjacent to Narragansett Bay off the Atlantic puts us squarely in the pathway of severe storms moving up the Eastern Seaboard during the hurricane and tropical storm season. Torrential rains, fierce winds, and storm surge all threaten residences with flood damage every year.

What Kinds of Safety Issues Can Summer and Fall Seasonal Storms Create?

The storms contributing to the flood damage North Kingston homes experience create a long list of significant safety issues that must be discovered, documented, and controlled during the overall restoration project. Here is a non-exhaustive list of the safety concerns we anticipate could be present in your home post-flood damage:

  • Water on Surfaces Issues

Slip, trip, and fall

Electric shock or electrocution risks

  • Structural Wind and Water Issues

Damage to roofs, windows, siding, and more

Migration from exterior damage, causing caches of water to collect in building cavities, threatening the collapse of structures and injury to occupants and workers

  • Overland Flooding and Seepage Issues

Water contaminated with a broad range of dirt, chemicals, and infectious agents, creating a risk of illness or worse to occupants and workers. Contaminants can include:

Industrial yard, roadway, and landscaping chemicals, including pesticides

Dirt, oils, gravel, mud, muck, and organic materials, including dead animals and insects

Sewage from overwhelmed curbside drainage systems or a backup of your own waste line

  • Biohazard Exposure

Previously contained materials such as asbestos and lead and newly discovered mold damage all have significant health hazards attached if the substances are breathed in, absorbed through skin contact, or ingested.

  • Salt Water Surge

Water containing high levels of salts and other minerals creates short and long term risks for wood, metals, and concrete used as building materials, weakening them substantially and interfering with their load-bearing abilities.

Saltwater also exacerbates the risk of immediate and longer-term electrical shock risks because of heightened conductivity.

  • Why Put Such a Focus on Safety? Why Not Just “Dig In” and Get Rid of the Sludge and Water?

SERVPRO knows that dealing with the safety concerns must be “job one” because the injuries and health effects of uncontrolled hazards can be deadly or quality of life-altering. The structural concerns emphasize that the risk assessment must be complete and the interventions planned carefully for human health and structural integrity. It is impossible to dig out the muck and extract water if the surfaces buckle with the weight of equipment and operators become injured or ill on the job.

How Do Professionals Control Safety Risks?

  • Simple Water-Related Safety

Setting aside contaminants, we manage the slip, trip, and fall issues with barriers, signage, and fast extraction. Electrical concerns fade when the power temporarily goes off the grid, utilizing our onboard generators or gas for fuel. 

  • Exterior Damage Issues

Our crew can board up, tarp, and barricade dangers due to storm damage. Keeping additional rainwater out is a key mitigation strategy.

  • Contamination and Biohazards

We control the environment within which these dangerous substances exist with many exclusion and containment strategies.

  • Until the contaminants are eradicated, we recommended you and your family evacuate from affected areas.
  • Our trained and certified technicians wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) while managing the dangerous substances.
  • Restoration industry best practices and state, local, and federal laws and regulations mandate and guide how our technicians contain work areas, often with heavy-duty plastic-wrapped partitions and air scrubbing equipment.
  • The contaminants -- whether solid debris or fluids -- are contained according to applicable rules and disposed of as hazardous waste 
  • The Special Safety Constraints of Salt Water 

Salt water in a structure poses risks two ways -- first, electrical shock and increased fire possibility, as the salt increases the conductivity of electric currents. This increased conductivity can continue even after the materials dry out as the salt residues remain on wires and connections. Second, the salt load causes wood cells to break down, metal to corrode, and concrete to disintegrate, albeit over a long term. We flush the salt from the structural materials with fresh water to halt the accelerated damage, extracting more water during mitigation, but ensuring the stability of the structure.

Every step SERVPRO of Washington County takes to investigate and evaluate the particular circumstances of flood damage in your home is aimed at making it “Like it never even happened.” Call us round the clock at (401) 315-2337 for an in-depth evaluation of your needs and our ability to meet them.

How Do I Remove Fire Debris From My Kingstown Home?

8/9/2020 (Permalink)

fire damage in the living room of a house Your whole home does not need to be redone after a fire, some things might just need to be restored or cleaned. Call SERVPRO for fire damage services.

SERVPRO Provides Debris Removal And Fire Damage Cleaning Services

A fire in your North Kingstown home can quickly spiral out of control resulting in extensive damages. The charred materials in your house typically cannot be saved and must be removed and replaced promptly.

Can SERVPRO Remove Debris From My Home?

Trained professionals from SERVPRO have experience with fire debris removal in North Kingstown. Our technicians can carefully inspect the damage in your home to determine what needs to be hauled. We make sure to lay down protective plastic sheets in your house to avoid further spreading fire residues and soot.

How Do You Determine What Fire Damage Is Cleanable?

In order to assess the cleanability of your home, our teams will employ a checklist of factors to consider:

  • Type of Surface
  • Age of Surface
  • Amount of Moisture
  • Type of Material
  • Air Pressure
  • Impingement 
  • Temperature Change

This checklist allows SERVPRO technicians to gauge the difficulties of cleaning residues from the surfaces in your home. Based on these factors, we can determine which items in your home can be saved.

What Is The Cleaning Process?

When a fire has damaged many of your items, SERVPRO can perform a move-out to efficiently clean and return cleanable items. The move-out consists of six steps:

  • Conducting initial scope and estimate to determine the logistics of the move-out and to give the insurance adjustor projected insurance costs. 
  • Packing, tagging, and inventorying your items so they can be moved to a storage area.
  • Sorting clean and claim items 
  • Moving the cleanable items to the storage area
  • Cleaning and deodorizing your items before repacking them. 
  • Moving your items back to your property.

Our teams do their best to complete this process as smoothly as possible to help you get your life back on track. 

When you need fire debris to be removed from your home, call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster. 


Click here for more information about North Kingstown.

Do I Need to Replace My South Kingstown Hardwood Floor After a Water Leak?

7/30/2020 (Permalink)

A kitchen with hardwood flooring. SERVPRO can help bring your South Kingstown hardwood floors back from water damage.

SERVPRO can assess your hardwood flooring needs and advise what the first steps should be after water damage. 

When a pipe bursts or water overflows from a plugged drain, it can spread very quickly across floors to adjacent rooms. Water can quickly soak into carpeting and penetrate to the subfloor. It can also flow between joints in hardwood floors and underneath baseboards to the subfloor and penetrate the drywall of your walls.

Homeowners should respond quickly when it comes to South Kingstown water damage and take the following action:

  • Shut off the source of the water
  • Call SERVPRO for immediate assistance in South Kingstown
  • Begin soaking up as much water as possible
  • Use towels, mops, even blankets to remove as much of the surplus water as possible.

Quick action can reduce the possibility of replacing hardwood flooring, avoid damage to subfloors, drywall, and baseboards.

How do I Remove Water from the Joints Between Hardwood Planks?

Once all of the water has been removed from the floor's surface, there is still a great deal of moisture between the planks of the hardwood floor. If the wood absorbs this moisture, the planks can swell, causing an uneven floor and cracking of the hardwood. Drywall can also swell and may be permanently damaged if the moisture is not immediately reduced. Our SERVPRO team has the knowledge and the equipment to remove excess moisture in wood floors before they are damaged.

SERVPRO can respond in less than four hours on a 24 hour 7 day a week basis. We use:

  • Drying mats attached to large vacuums to withdraw the excess water from the joints in the hardwood flooring,
  • Air movers to help absorb moisture and
  • Dehumidifiers to lower the humidity to appropriate levels

Our fast response can prevent permanent damage to the flooring saving the homeowner thousands of dollars in repairs. Even the damage to drywall, which is very susceptible to water damage, can be minimized if the water is removed and moisture levels returned to normal levels quickly enough.

Call SERVPRO of Washington Country (401) 315-2337 to deal with your emergency water removal needs.

To learn more about South Kingstown, click here.

Which Extraction Tool is Best for Flooding in My South Kingstown Home?

7/21/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO team and equipment Our storm damage technicians have the equipment and experience to restore your home back to pre-damage condition.

Our SERVPRO professionals have a broad inventory of water removal tools suited for every flood situation. 

Flooding can leave a lot of standing water throughout your South Kingston property. Without fast action to remove this surface water threat, conditions can worsen, such as saturation and structural deterioration. The quicker that action can get taken by restoration professionals like our SERVPRO team, the better your chances of restoring your property fully in a faster time frame. To accomplish this, our professionals must assess the situation to determine the best equipment and products to use to achieve this goal. 

Much like every other facet of flood removal for South Kingston homes and businesses, there is no single right way to accomplish the restoration and recovery of the structure. With elements like extraction, there are often dozens of tools used from one site to the next. The choice in which equipment gets used over others gets primarily based on the severity of the situation, the depth of the standing water, and the materials affected by this floodwater. While multiple tools arrive with our technicians when mitigation begins, some of the most common of these include:

  • Electric Submersible Pumps
  • Trash Pumps
  • Truck-Mount Pumps
  • Wet Vacuums
  • Specialty Extractors

When are Submersible Pumps the Best? 

Many of the flooding situations that impact area homes and businesses come from damage to structural elements like the roof. While these can be as debilitating as natural flooding situations, they rarely come with the threat of contamination or present debris. Submersible pumps can help in this regard when the standing water is at the appropriate depth. These tools are ideal for the first response to pooling water until the suitable conditions exist to use more lightweight and versatile equipment such as the wet vacuums. Electric submersible pumps are for:

  • Depth more than 2 inches
  • No solids present
  • Accessible damaged areas

When Are Trash Pumps Best? 

Much like submersible pumps, and trash pumps run a continual removal of standing water as well. The differences between electric submersible pumps and the trash pumps that our team can use are the horsepower force and intake/discharge hose size. When solids or debris are present or likely in the standing water to get removed, electric pumps do not typically have the capacities or size to move this threat. Additionally, gas-powered trash pumps do not require trailered power from generators or the property.

What Is the Strongest Water Extractor Used? 

Every flooding situation does not require the most powerful and forceful extraction unit in our fleet of vehicles, but there are many situations where this is necessary. Truck-mount extractors are capable machines for widespread standing water and flooding scenarios where the depth can exceed more than a couple feet. By extracting water at 300 PSI, this unit can work quickly to get the house to a point where other removal tools can be more productive. This extraction unit rolls out with the rest of the SERVPRO Green Fleet from our warehouse when responding to a flood situation.

Are Wet Vacuums Helpful? 

Wet vacuums are one of the fundamental tools of successful extraction in a flooded residence. Because of its versatility in many situations like hard-to-reach areas of the home, these vacuum units are a staple of water extraction and flood recovery. One of the advantages of choosing wet vacuums is the portability of these units when multiple areas of the house have become damaged by migrating flood loss effects. Our professionals utilize these tools for:

  • Depth less than two inches
  • Ideal for inaccessible areas
  • Can run numerous accessories and attachments
  • Portable

What Specialty Drying Equipment Gets Used? 

Multiple specialty drying tools can get used for specific materials affected by migrating flood loss effects. Many of these focus on removing water trapped inside of porous flooring such as carpeting. This material can quickly absorb floodwater and requires unique removal approaches such as weighted extractors, carpet wands, and other methods to eliminate successfully. Wood flooring can also require specific water removal and drying tools to reduce the need for tear-out and reconstruction. The floor mat drying system can continuously draw out water from wood plank flooring until the acceptable moisture parameters have been reached. 

Recovering a flooded home can feel like an insurmountable task when property owners first see the damage to their residence. Our SERVPRO of Washington County team can help with efficient water removal, drying, and cleaning, to make all flood losses “Like it never even happened.” Give us a call today at (401) 315-2337. 

How Can Smoke Damage My Kingstown Home After a Fire?

7/9/2020 (Permalink)

Burning House Let SERVPRO of Washington County handle your fire damage restoration needs.

Smoke and Fire Damage Should Be Addressed by Skilled Technicians to Restore Your Kingstown Home

Nobody wants to see their belongings destroyed in a fire, but the damage goes well beyond the flames. After a fire is extinguished, the leftover smoke and soot residue keeps on damaging all surfaces if not treated. SERVPRO has the methods and EPA-registered cleaning products that can power away stubborn soot residue and smoke particles left after a fire in your Kingstown residence.

We feature IICRC-certified technicians capable of handling smoke and fire damage in Kingstown to bring your home back to preloss condition. With our broad range of fire restoration services, we have you covered for smoke, soot, and odor removal.

After a fire, the damage goes further than just burnt or charred items:

•    Smoke and ash continue to cause corrosion and damage to various materials within the home
•    Smoke odors can linger long after the fire if not appropriately addressed with deodorization methods
•    Discoloration begins on walls and other surfaces
•    Kitchen appliance finishes start to yellow and discolor
•    Smoke can tarnish metal and cause etching on glass surfaces

A common mistake that many homeowners make is trying to deal with fire damaged materials on their own. The toxic residue left after a fire can cause health issues, so it must get handled with care. Expert restoration efforts include the removal of charred debris, the cleanup of remaining moisture from extinguishing the flames, and deodorization to remove foul odors. Some potential hazards from DIY methods include:

•    Transfer of soils onto woodwork, walls, and upholstery
•    Incorrect cleaning of walls that may compound the soot residue
•    Further damage to your carpets or upholstered furnishings
•    Injury from using an electrical appliance or electrical outlets in or near the fire-loss zone
•    Dangers from using ceiling fixtures, especially if there is moisture from extinguishing the fire

Let SERVPRO of Washington County handle your fire damage restoration needs. Call us when you need us at (401) 315-2337.

How Do I Return My Narragansett Home To Its Original Condition After A Fire?

6/24/2020 (Permalink)

Scene of a House Fire To begin repairs in your home here or in South Kingstown, call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 today.

Bring in SERVPRO to Professionally Repair and Restore Your Narragansett Residence

Residential fires usually start in the kitchen or garage since they contain a higher amount of tinder and accelerants than elsewhere in the Narragansett home. A faulty outlet or an old, frayed extension cord in the den can also be the source of thousands of dollars in damages, however.

Is There A Difference in The Damage to My Home?

In a situation like this, fire damage in Narragansett homes can be more physical. SERVPRO restoration technicians often need to remove and replace affected property, rather than clean and restore surfaces covered in residues left by the smoke as the fire cools off and dies.

How Do Technicians get Started?

Our team members inspect the damage to determine what needs to be disposed of immediately and the quickest method of doing so. They cover the floors with plastic sheeting to prevent tracking debris and soot residues to other parts of your home and to protect carpets, linoleum, and other floorings.

Next, technicians trained in demolition pull out everything touched by the heat and flames. Our team members break down items and either bag or wrap them in plastic before removal to avoid spreading the mess. Since they are breaking through walls and sometimes floors, the team leader makes certain to turn off your utilities to avoid any electrical or plumbing problems.

Can SERVPRO put everything Back Together, and How can I Help?

In most homes, the answer is yes. Our SERVPRO technicians carefully follow your instructions to return your home to its original appearance. To assist in doing this, we gladly look at the pictures and even videos of your home before the fire before getting started on the rebuild.

To begin repairs in your home here or in South Kingstown, call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 today.

How Do I Remove Water After a Pipe Breaks in the Wall of My Westerly House?

6/21/2020 (Permalink)

broken pipe is leaking water Don’t panic when a broken pipe causes water damage in your home. Contact Team SERVPRO for services.

Finding and Removing Trapped Water Is a SERVPRO Specialty, Meeting a Common Need in the Westerly Community

Whether you are coping with aging clay pipes in a historic Westerly home, or burst polyvinyl chloride (PVC) conduit in newer construction, when a supply line breaks, water damage issues remain even after plumbing repair. Water spewing from the pipe can collect between walls and in other cavities, soaking into and damaging building materials and threatening injury to you and your family from ceiling or wall collapse.

What Direction Can I Expect the Water to Migrate?

Locating water for removal in your Westerly’s home’s hidden building cavities requires professional assessment. It is nearly impossible to predict the pathway the water might follow after the leak or pipe break. Yet, it is essential to determine where the water moved and if it collected, absorbed into structural components, or both. Standing water can pool behind baseboards, under the top layers of hardwood floors, and over ceilings, among many other places. You might find that the damage was more long-standing than you believed. A burst pipe can be the culmination of a persistent slow leak, with unmistakable water loss, compounding the harm done by seepage now discovered but unknown earlier.

How Can the Water’s Path be Discovered and Traced?

SERVPRO’s managers and technicians master techniques to find and follow the water’s wanderings during coursework taken at the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). Among the vast catalog of water damage restoration best practices, our employees focus on learning both the theory and application of water tracking. Specifically, the training introduces our technicians to the following sensitive and useful devices:

Moisture Sensor

A moisture sensor uses sharp probes to detect moisture in soft materials. When the sensor encounters wetness, it alerts the operator with a flashing or steady light and a beeping sound. The sensor is essential to begin creating a “map” of the moisture the broken or cracked pipe caused to escape into building materials, cavities, and fixtures.

Moisture Meter

Once the moisture sensor locates the wet areas and materials in Westerly, our Water Damage Restoration Technician (WRT) switches to a metering tool that measures the moisture content of the affected structural components or fixtures. Our team must gather data on the moisture levels of damaged areas to give us a baseline against which to compare changing moisture levels during drying efforts. Moisture meters need to be calibrated for the materials tested. When used to monitor drying activity, they also might require an average of multiple readings from different areas for the most accurate result.

Penetrating Moisture Meters

Designed to use integrated probes to test inside building cavities and under the strips or planks of hardwood flooring. This type of meter can also test individual layers of building materials.

Non-Penetrating Moisture Meters

These meters use sensors to confirm moisture readings when held against surfaces. The mechanism used to reach a determination is how conducive the material is, which can result in skewed readings when metal materials are adjacent to the tool, such as steel framing, screws, nails, and foil-backed insulation. This tendency is another reason why several readings need to be taken by a trained and experienced technician.

Note: We recommend that the same individual perform the testing throughout the project to obtain as much consistency as possible.

How Is Trapped Water Removed After Location and Measurement?

Once the professional detection and metering tools have directed our employees to the spaces where water collected and materials absorbed moisture, the team gets busy. We remove standing water with submersible pumps and extractors, the latter both truck-mounted and portable. Water that is hard to suction out even with extractor wand extenders needs help with release. After extraction, our drying equipment also requires access to wet cavities. We use controlled demolition to meet both challenges, opening areas that otherwise would hold moisture, reasoning that drywall and ceiling tiles are reasonably inexpensive and straightforward to replace. The methods we employ include:

  • Flood cuts in walls, from floor level to several inches above the waterline, completely opening the space for drying
  • Prying off baseboards and drilling holes to drain water and permit warm, moving air to direct inside during the drying phase 
  • Drilling holes in mortar joints in cinder block and other masonry construction for fluid release and drying

SERVPRO of Washington County has the trained technicians, moisture detection tools, and extraction equipment required for rapid water removal. Call (401) 315-2337 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster.

How Can I Safeguard My Charleston House After A Storm?

6/11/2020 (Permalink)

Living room and Dining Room Flooded Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 to help you protect your valuables.

SERVPRO Provides Resources Useful in Protecting the Valuables in Your Charleston Home after Floor Damage

Apart from filling your home with gallons of filthy water, storms can also cause other damages. Forces such as high winds, downdrafts, microbursts and gust fronts pushing against the house or driving flying debris can rip open walls or roofs in your Charlestown home.

Are Safeguards Necessary after Flood Damage Happens in Charleston Properties?

Although there is little you can do to stop a storm from damaging your Charleston property, you need to protect your home against secondary damages. Actions that our SERVPRO technicians take to help in protecting the structure and the valuables within include:
    •    Sealing wall or roof openings
    •    Moving contents
    •    Spraying wet areas with antimicrobials and disinfectants
    •    Covering items with plastic sheets

How much do such steps help?

The main aim of the safeguards is to stop any damage yet to happen or slow down some forms of deterioration in areas already damaged. Boarding up wall openings or installing roof tarps protects the interior of the house from further damage by rain or other weather elements. Spraying antimicrobial chemicals directly into the standing water in the house before starting cleaning processes helps delay or stop microbial growth limiting chances of mold infestation.

Moving contents helps protect them from direct exposure to water or humidity. Although the floodwater may only pool on the ground, evaporation and condensation can transfer damages to other sections of the property. Such moisture transfer mostly affects:
    •    Internal components of electronics
    •    Items made of hygroscopic materials
    •    Fabrics

Do safeguards work in every case?

Sometimes, it might not be possible to protect valuables in the damaged structure. The common reasons might be severe damage or if other factors delay the restoration process. In such a case, content move-outs help save your valuables. We can move the undamaged items to safe storage away from the structure. Our SERVPRO technicians can also restore damaged items more effectively at an offsite facility.

You should not give up after your property floods. Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 to help you protect your valuables. We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster.

SERVPRO of Washington County & Barstool Sports

6/8/2020 (Permalink)

Barstool Sports & SERVPRO of Washington County Promotion SERVPRO of Newport & Bristol Counties and Barstool Sports have teamed up to offer a special discount to their listeners. Give us to call today!

Hey Rhode Island Barstool Sports Fans… Thanks for visiting our website and we hope you are enjoying your summer in Washington County. We are excited to be working with Barstool Sports on this new promotion and appreciate you taking the time to learn more about our services.

Act now and receive 10% off your first COVID-19 Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned Disinfection Cleaning Service.

Call our office, 844-895-9116, and a sales associate will schedule a time to meet with you and help your business become Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned!

How Can I Reopen My Motel After A Fire?

5/26/2020 (Permalink)

fire damaged motel Don't let your Westerly business miss any work because of the fire. Call SERVPRO to mitigate the problem.

Call SERVPRO to Quickly and Safely Reopen Your Westerly Business

With counties starting to reopen, every Westerly business is essential once again. Families can begin to take vacations, with many of them still staying close to home for a while yet.

It’s a Large Motel, how far can One Fire reach?

Single story motels share an overhead crawlspace, so fire damage to Westerly individual units spreads quickly along with the airflow, especially smoke and soot particles as the fire burns and then cools. SERVPRO specialists can follow this same airflow to clean out the residues left as the particles settle. They can clean surfaces by hand or generate a cloud of cleaning particles that neutralize odors and render the residues inert and reduce the risk of later mold growth.

Can SERVPRO do something about the Water and other Property Damage Left by the Fire Department?

Absolutely. We have specialists trained specifically on water and debris removal. They carefully demolish the unrepairable property for disposal and then use extractors to draw water off the carpets and floors. Finally, they apply special cleaning agents with shampoo machines to remove any remaining residues.

For any amount of fire damage to your business, contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337. We are here for you.

Is It Realistic to Hope My Family and I Can Return to Live in Our Flood Damaged Charlestown Home Again?

5/23/2020 (Permalink)

flooding in luxurious kitchen interior. SERVPRO of Washington County commits itself to rapid professional recovery from flooding and other catastrophes for the members of our community.

Call in the Experts -- Your Local SERVPRO Is Well-Trained and Equipped to Restore Flood Damage in Your Charlestown Residence

The key to returning to your Charlestown home after a disaster like a flood is to engage the services of a reputable recovery company, skilled and certified in multiple mitigation and remediation specialties. The path back to your normal life might have some twists and turns, and you need a restoration firm that has broad experience, top-notch training, and cutting-edge equipment, as well as a successful track record.

What Are the Boxes You Need to Tick When Choosing a Flooding Response Team?

Charlestown flood damage related to storms can include saltwater involvement, from storm surge or salt ponds within the municipal boundaries. As climate changes, we have seen more frequent severe multi-day rainstorms per authorities. Average single day flooding events in the state average 15 and peaked at 22 in 2018. Annual precipitation has increased a foot in the last century. The risks are sobering and increasing. When flooding strikes your home you require:

    •    A local company, with a rapid and scalable response for your current emergency and available in the future for questions or new concerns
    •    Technicians familiar with the complications of a saltwater surge, and the unique dam it can do to wood, concrete, and metals
    •    A one-stop resource for water removal, structural drying, and attention to secondary damage
    •    Help with insurance claims and the precise needs of contents also suffering the effects of flooding.
    •    The opportunity to obtain wrap-around restoration services to repair and rebuild storm damage and address controlled demolition

Can You Get All of the Services Necessary from Our Team?

With more than 15 years in the restoration and construction business, SERVPRO checks out on all you require. Our managers and technicians earn multiple certifications from the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), the international restoration standards-setting organization. We lead as restoration experts by example, all in for events such as the  Rhode Island and Massachusetts Floods (2010), Hurricane Irene (2011), Hurricane Sandy (2012),  and Hurricane Irma (2017). Our team answered the call for help in other natural disasters across the nation, helping out our nationwide disaster recovery affiliates on dozens of occasions.

What Do We Offer Residential Victims of Flood Damage?

Our service vehicles arrive stocked with water removal, cleaning, disinfecting, and drying essentials and more, ready to scope out the damage specific to your situation. Although similarities abound among flood damage projects, our project manager must inspect and assess your home, ensuring we craft a recovery plan that is as unique as your circumstances. Once safety considerations are noted and accommodations made, we begin the water removal phase:

    •    We shovel silt and debris to ease the load of solid contaminants on the extraction equipment.
    •    If the flood fluids contain saltwater, we consider the need for fresh water flushing to prevent the delignification of wood building materials, save concrete from long-term damage, and avoid corrosion of metals.
    •    Water deeper than two inches pumps out, with submersible units set up and repositioned as needed.
    •    Truck-mounted extractors then take over, pulling water from flat surfaces -- extension attachments and portable extractors can access water in recesses and other confined spaces.
    •    Cleaning and disinfecting with EPA-registered products ready the surfaces and space for drying.
    •    Moisture detection and measurement provide data for drying goals and a baseline against which to gauge the drying progress.

What Can You Expect During Structural Drying?

    •    Our trained technicians calculate the number of air movers needed for circulation, placing them at appropriate angles.
    •    The temperature of the space must be established and then monitored -- warm air can accept more of the water evaporated from wet structures.
    •    We position dehumidifiers to absorb the water vapor best and use the exhaust of warm, dry air to facilitate the work of the air movers and heaters.
    •    Water contained in the dehumidifier is discarded.

What About Damaged Contents?

In some cases, we pack-out furnishings, household goods, and personal possessions before water removal. We might stage the items in a dry, secure place within your property. Our production facility also can be a place where we evaluate, clean, dry, disinfect, and deodorize items, storing them until the house is ready to move in. We track the contents using our Contents Claim Inventory Service (CCIS), using a combination of lists, digital photos, and barcoding to keep your property safe and prepared for pack-back.

When disaster strikes, who will you rely upon for help? SERVPRO of Washington County commits itself to rapid professional recovery from flooding and other catastrophes for the members of our community. Call us at (401) 315-2337 for a speedy assessment and efficient and effective restoration plan.

Can Demolition Be Avoided After Water Losses in My Westerly Shop?

5/20/2020 (Permalink)

reconstruction in motion Not only can SERVPRO mitigate your water damaged business in Westerly, but it also can do the controlled demolition and restoration.

Controlled demolition depends on the severity of the loss effects in your business, and our SERVPRO team can work quickly to minimize this step. 

While terms like demolition might seem alarming in your Westerly shop, this mitigation step is often one of the pinnacle actions that ultimately save time and money on restoration. This decision is not one that gets made lightly, however. 

It is always the objective of our SERVPRO team to restore before replacement when it is cost-efficient, which can mean alternative water cleanup for Westerly businesses when possible. Controlled demolition is done meticulously, however, only removing the portions of materials too severely impacted to restore. 

What Materials Are Most Sensitive to Water Exposure? 

While much of your stock and inventory can be damaged by standing or spreading water, many of your shop's structural elements can also remain threatened by saturation. Some of the most sensitive materials in the boutique include: 

  • Drywall
  • Wood Flooring
  • Shelving
  • Clothing
  • Ceiling Tiles 
  • Carpets

No matter how threatening that water losses might be to your shop, or when controlled demolition might be necessary, our SERVPRO of Washington County team can help. We have a full-service approach from restoration to reconstruction. Call us today at (401) 315-2337.

What Can I Do to Drain Water from My Westerly Basement?

5/20/2020 (Permalink)

flood in basement Who are you going to call if you have a flood in your Westerly home basement? Call SERVPRO the team experienced in flood water extraction.

Our SERVPRO team has multiple extraction options that can remove standing water from your basement and start the drying process. 

Flooding in the lower levels of your Westerly home can be disastrous for your residence. From the struggles of extracting standing water to the obstacles involved with drying out concrete flooring and masonry units, our SERVPRO team can help.

Extracting water is one of the first steps that must happen when addressing flood damage to Westerly homes. Standing water is one of the biggest threats to the house, from promoting microbial growth to deteriorating exposed materials. Trash pumps and truck-mounted pumps are often the best choices for these situations to remove water with solids and debris.

How Can My Basement Get Dry After a Flood? 

Drying out the basement area after extraction is another set of concerns. We can begin to evaporate trapped water in concrete and blockwork through the use of several traditional and specialty drying tools. Some of these tools include:

  • Air movers
  • Desiccant dehumidifiers
  • Floor mat drying systems 
  • Positive pressure systems

Flooding in the basement can be challenging, but our SERVPRO of Washington County team can help with a full-service approach, including both mitigation and reconstruction. Give us a call anytime you need us at (401) 315-2337.

Can Some Drying Tools Save Restoration Times?

5/20/2020 (Permalink)

water drying tools Let SERVPRO put their professional tools and techniques to work for your Westerly home.

We have dozens of drying tools used in Westerly homes, depending on the situation, from standard units to more advanced technologies new to the industry.

Without a working knowledge of the restoration industry, it is not uncommon for many Westerly homeowners to believe that drying only requires implements like towels, mops, and airflow. 

Professional services like our SERVPRO team provides seeks to address water damage in Westerly home as efficiently as possible. To do this, we have several extraction, drying, and cleaning tools and products to help. Choosing the right drying tool can substantially reduce restoration times and ultimate costs. 

What Tools Does SERVPRO Use for Drying? 

Removing moisture from an environment can happen in several ways. The choice in these tools and devices often falls to the materials and areas affected and how challenging they might be to dry with more conventional approaches. Our primary drying tools include:

  • Air movers (Centrifugal and Axial)
  • Dehumidifiers (Desiccant and Low-grain refrigerant)
  • Positive Pressure Systems
  • Floor Mat Drying Systems

Removing water and drying up your home after a water loss incident can be faster with our SERVPRO of Washington County team. Give us a call today at (401) 315-2337.

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned – a defensive cleaning program

5/20/2020 (Permalink)

Table tent signs describing the Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned program on top of a wooden table. Our defensive cleaning program gives your business a way forward by providing your employees and customers ongoing safety and assuredness.

Let us help you get back to business

As our communities re-open in Westerly, we’re all moving back toward a new kind of normal. The expectations of visitors, customers, and employees who come into our establishments have evolved, and staying safe and well is a top concern. The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed what it means to be clean, and we’ve developed a program to help your business meet the new higher standard of clean that is now expected.

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned is a defensive cleaning program we’re offering to businesses and commercial locations to address the current COVID-19 pandemic. This proactive viral pathogen cleaning program goes well beyond janitorial or carpet cleaning. By choosing Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned, you, your employees, your customers, and your community can rest assured that you’ve selected a higher cleaning standard – you are Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned.

Extensive training and specialized products

As the #1 choice in cleanup and restoration*, we stand on more than 50 years of experience and expertise to help your business become Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned.  Beyond fire & water, SERVPRO professionals are trained and experienced in biohazard decontamination and chemical spills – always adhering to the cleaning and decontamination standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities. 

From formulating and creating our proprietary cleaning products, like SERVPROXIDE, at our headquarters in Gallatin, TN, to taking the utmost care while disinfecting, we will ensure you and your business are set up to inspire consumer confidence as the economy continues to reopen.

3 C’s – Consult, Clean, and Certify

When the stakes are this high, you want a partner who has developed an industry leading, proprietary training program, cleaning solutions, and remediation processes over decades. We’ve cleaned up some of the most challenging biohazards imaginable. Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned reflects our unique experiences and capabilities. The program is grounded with our unique 3 C’s: Consult, Clean, and Certify.

  • Consult – Every business is different, which is why you’ll be assigned a Cleaning Protocol Consultant who understands your business and will create a cleaning program to meet your specific needs. This program will be developed based on your business type, size of space, amount of high frequency touchpoints, foot traffic and congestion points.
  • Clean – Based on your specific business needs, your location will undergo a thorough, deep clean, using exclusive cleaning products, according to protocols set forth by the CDC. Our employees have years of experience, and we will go beyond the scope of work that regular janitorial staff perform. Cleanup procedures generally include cleaning of porous and non-porous surfaces, disinfecting of non-porous surfaces, cleaning and disinfecting of equipment, tools, and/or supplies used for cleanup process, and disposal of hazardous materials.  In the event of a suspected or confirmed COVID-19 event, we will be there cleaning within 24 hours to ensure you get back to business as quickly as possible. 
  • Certify - Once your business location has been Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned, you will gain access to proprietary signage, digital emblems, and other collateral that communicates that you’ve selected a higher standard of clean available to help protect your employees and customers. And because we add the day, month, and year to that proprietary stamp of clean, your guests will know that not only did you choose Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned, but that your location is being cleaned regularly at this standard.

Call today for a Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned consultation

We’re Here to Help – 24 hours a day, seven days a week – until life is back to normal in the communities we all call home.

Call SERVPRO of Washington County today at (401) 315-2337 for your Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned consultation.

* #1 Choice in cleanup & restoration based Commercial Attitude & Usage Tracking study. Polling 816 commercial business decision makers on first choice for future needs related to cleanup & restoration work. Study conducted by C&R Research: October 2019

Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned means professionally trained SERVPRO franchises perform the requested cleaning, sanitizing and disinfection services according to proprietary SERVPRO protocols and recognized industry and CDC standards with EPA approved cleaning products to deliver a SERVPRO certified cleaning experience.  Each SERVPRO franchise is independently owned and operated.

Can I Wait to Fix a Leak?

5/19/2020 (Permalink)

leak in the bank of computer terminals Water leak in your Westerly Office? Call SERVPRO to take care of your problem.

A Small Leak in your Westerly Business can Cause Big Damage

Commercial property owners in Westerly need to be vigilant of their spaces and resolve maintenance issues as soon as possible. Sometimes we are unaware that water is leaking, but others we fail to give the leak the importance it deserves. We leave repairs to the last minute, and a simple situation becomes a disaster.

Water damage in a commercial building in Westerly can use our help.

 As SERVPRO technicians in Westerly can determine water damage. We prepare to serve all of our community by learning from industry experts and keeping up to date with the latest practices and technology. Call our 24/7 hotline as soon as you detect the water event and let us gain time by starting the restoration process as soon as it is safe to do so.

What steps should I take to restore water damage in my business?

As a business owner, there are several steps you can take to reopen your doors and get back to your clients. Our SERVPRO crew is here to assist you and to enhance your efforts with industry-specific equipment that can speed up some tasks. Some of the basic steps to counteract water damage include the following-

  • Use industrial pumps to extract water.
  • Use air circulators to dry your space.
  • Apply cleaning solutions to kill microorganisms.

SERVPRO of Washington County is at your service. Call us at (401) 315-2337 and let us be partners in leaving your business "Like it never even happened."

Should I Worry About an Overflowing Bathtub?

5/19/2020 (Permalink)

leak in bathroom Don't let a leaky pipe mess up your plans for a party. Call the local SERVPRO in your Westerly area for more information.

Water from an Overflowing Bathtub in Westerly Can Cause Big Problems in the Long Term

It only takes a malfunctioning faucet or an oversight to let a bathtub overflow and leak all over the floor of your Westerly home. Once you discover the mishap, you may call a repairer and soak up excess water with towels, but you may be underestimating the damage caused. Your best option is to call a professional water restoration team for guidance.

In Westerly, water cleanup is our specialty at SERVPRO. Our technicians train in the latest techniques to achieve restoration and minimize your loss as much as possible. Our goal is to control any excess water hiding in flooring and wall cavities that could pose a threat later in time.

What should I use to extract water from a flooded bathroom?

The typical homeowner relies on mops and household tools to remove water from the site of the accident. At SERVPRO, we rely on specialized equipment to achieve faster and more complete results. Depending on your needs we may use some of the following items to extract excess moisture from your home-

  • Wand extractors to access hard to reach corners
  • Dehumidifiers to evaporate water
  • Drying mats to extract humidity from flooring materials

SERVPRO of Washington County is with you throughout the process to restore your home seamlessly. Call us at (401) 315-2337 and let us make your home look "Like it never even happened."

Can a Summer Barbecue Cause a Fire?

5/19/2020 (Permalink)

out of control barbecue If you had a fire in your Westerly backyard from the barbecue party and don't know what to do? Call SERVPRO to walk you through the steps to get you

A Barbecue in your Westerly Home Can Become a Fire Hazard

We are eager for summer so we can enjoy the outdoors and barbecue. Westerly homeowners enjoying beautiful weather should be vigilant that their event does not convert into a fire hazard. Where you place your grill, citronella candles, and fireworks, you may can all pose a threat to your home.

If you face fire damage in Westerly, you can call our SERVPRO crew for help. Our services are essential even if the fire is not catastrophic, and an assessment upon our arrival can help you corroborate the extent of the damage. Call us around the clock whenever you need a fire restoration technician and let our crew work for you.

Can I wipe fire damage with a household cleaner?

Household detergents are great for the upkeep of your home, but you may cause more damage than you think if you use it on all surfaces. Some cleaners are abrasive, and your furniture and fixtures could suffer if you don't handle them carefully. When you allow our SERVPRO team to lead the effort, you can count on our expertise to decide-

  • Which EPA-approved solution to use to clean your belongings
  • Which items are beyond repair and need to be discarded
  • How to isolate other areas of your home to avoid cross-contamination

Make SERVPRO of Washington County part of your summer plans. Call us at (401) 315-2337 and let us leave your home, "Like it never even happened."

How Do I Get Rid of the Mold in My Home?

5/12/2020 (Permalink)

scraping mold off walls Does your Westerly home have mold? Call SERVPRO.

Call the Mold Remediation and Restoration Experts at SERVPRO for Quality Results in Westerly

In Westerly properties, mold damage can occur anywhere in a home where there is enough water for mold spores to expand and become active. Once that happens, a colony can spread throughout the home if there is enough food.

Why SERVPRO? I can use bleach as well as anyone else.

Residential mold removal in Westerly takes far more than a sponge and spray bottle of bleach. SERVPRO understands that growing spores can dig into the surface of property like drywall. With enough time, spores can even penetrate structural supports in the attic and walls.

How do you get rid of it then?

Our restoration teams use cleaning products and anti-bacterial agents designed to penetrate and destroy mold. Where the mold dug into drywall panels, team members can remove and dispose of them without spreading the infestation. If the fungi got into the support structure, technicians can use sanders to remove the surface along with the mold. They also have the option of using a device that blasts soda powder into the affected piece, removing the mold for easier cleanup without damaging it. This process also helps to deodorize the affected area.

To clear your home of mold, call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337. You can quickly schedule a service visit to begin removing mold and returning your home to its original, clean, and safe condition.

Where Can I Find Reliable Help Removing Water from My Business?

5/11/2020 (Permalink)

cleaning lunch room Do you have a water damage issue in your Westerly Business? Call SERVPRO mitigate your water damaged loses.

Help Is on the Way Fast When You Call SERVPRO for Westerly Commercial Water Removal

Although the stories in the media focus on dramatic water emergencies like overland flooding and Westerly municipal water line breaks, the more common reasons for water loss are the same in both residences and businesses. Neglected leaks in pipes; condensation from cooling, freezing, and refrigerator systems; malfunctioning water-using appliances; and accidental overflows or spills cause the majority of water damage. Regardless of the source, water filling recesses, and spaces, spreading down and across surfaces very swiftly creates significant problems for the structure and contents in your commercial building.

Can You Find and Fix Water Damage We Did Not Notice Until Later?

Never fear. Unnoticed long-term damage is familiar to our team, and we seek for it persistently when we arrive to assess your Westerly business’s water removal needs. Every water loss call includes a thorough evaluation of both obvious evidence of the loss as well as a research-based inspection to detect the migration path or paths of the water. We use sensitive devices both to find puddled or trapped water and also to measure moisture levels of structural components. This data helps us determine the perimeter of the water incursion and gives us a baseline upon which to design a drying plan and goals.

How Do You Take Care of the Hidden Water in Building Cavities?

SERVPRO’s trained and certified team knows water is incredibly corrosive, tarnishing metals and causing wood and cellulose products like drywall and subflooring progressively to deteriorate, swell, weaken, and warp. We gain access to and remove the water and moisture through a variety of strategies:

- Controlled demolition to create access points to wet materials
- Negative or positive air pressure systems like Injectidry
- Carefully positioned and heated air movers, partnered with high-efficiency dehumidifiers

Can you count on SERVPRO of Washington County to free your commercial property of damaging water and moisture? Be confident that your call to (401) 315-2337 will result in a professional and successful response to any water loss.

What Needs Cleaned Up After Water Losses in My Westerly Home?

5/10/2020 (Permalink)

water on floor and under couch Without proper treatment water damage can create additional problems in your home. Call SERVPRO to mitigate the malicious effects of water damage.

Our Professionals Can Evaluate Structural Concerns and Efficiently Clean After Widespread Water Damages. 

It might always be as clear as you might think to learn what has gotten damaged or compromised by water losses. Cleaning up after this mess is one of the many stages of water restoration provided by our SERVPRO team.

When it comes to water cleanup for Westerly homes, our team can work quickly to establish what damage exists and the appropriate approach for making it “Like it never even happened.” In most cases, this involves a blend of our proven cleaning practices and potent products.

How Does My Home Return to Normal After Water Disasters? 

Many stages of cleaning and recovery must occur along with the arrival of our emergency response team. Some of these services begin before job scoping has taken place, but are vital steps to reducing the total loss for our customers and the ultimate expense for the job. Some of these emergency services and mitigation tactics might include:  

  • Controlled Demolition – This tactic removes any of the exposed or damaged structural elements throughout the loss area. By identifying deteriorating materials, we can provide a safer environment for recovery and reduce the time and costs of later reconstruction. 
  • Surface Cleaning – Residues and soiling can be challenging obstacles for our technicians, but with the use of our potent chemical and cleaning agents, we can restore the look and vibrancy of wall, flooring, and other surface materials. 
  • Flooring Renewal – While water loss incidents do not typically require a resurfacing of the floors in your home, there are cleaning practices that can help to improve their appearance that can get dulled with standing water. Thymol oil can return a gleam to the wood. 

These are some of the immediate practices necessary for cleaning up a damaged home after a water loss incident. No matter how we can help, give our SERVPRO of Washington County team a call today at (401) 315-2337.

For more information about Westerly, click here.

Will Water Damage in Westerly Harm My Engineered Hardwood Floor?

4/23/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO restoration equipment inside of storage facility Take a peek in side our warehouse and see just some of the equipment available to restore your home.

SERVPRO can give your Westerly home's hardwood flooring the attention it needs to avoid loss from floodwater damage 

Flooding in Westerly happens unexpectedly, fast, and most often, the flooring gets the brunt of it. The key to any water spill in a home is removing the water as quickly as possible, which may involve actions such as mopping, blotting. If there is any inkling water seeped under the floorboards or behind baseboards, you need professional assistance to extract the water and dry the boards. 

What Does Water Damage Do to Engineered Hardwood Flooring? 

Several factors affect the outcome of water damage in Westerly homes to engineered hardwood boards. First, the construction of this type of flooring differs from a conventional hardwood floorboard and tends to with water loss better. Second, the length of the exposure the boards had with the water.

If your engineered boards meet the following criteria, there is the potential for restoration through rapid action for extraction and drying:  

  • Your floorboards have hardwood or plywood materials
  • The top layer veneer is not thin
  • The sealant on each board is intact
  • Your floorboards do not have fiberboard centers 

Necessary Actions to Save Different Types of Wood Flooring from Water Loss 

Hardwood floorboards are absorbant, and, to some extent that assists in saving the boards in a water loss event even though they may cup and buckle; most boards return to their original shape with little to no sanding necessary. However, the longer the high moisture conditions exist, the less chance of full restoration as the sealant and top veneer layer can only hold up so long against water. Avoid contact with the water, mainly if it is groundwater, and put down towels or rags as needed. Additionally, if it is safe to do so, move furnishings and small items out of any room experiencing flooding as a precautionary measure. If the water has a foul odor or has known chemicals in it, avoid all contact and await the arrival of the SERVPRO technicians.  

Engineered floorboards are a more complex product that gets created in layers. The inner layers are plywood or hardwood, and the outer layers are veneer (a thin slice of wood) of whatever tree species you desire, such as oak or cherry. Because of the way the boards get constructed in layers with a sealant, it can’t swell or warp.  

The type of wood-look flooring with the least amount of restorable potential is wood laminate flooring, which is essentially a high-density fiberboard with an image of wood on top. While it is less expensive than solid or engineered hardwood flooring, it also fares the worst after a water loss event due to the fiberboard core, which reacts poorly to moisture exposure and tends to deteriorate when it comes into prolonged contact with water. 

Extraction and Drying Methods for Engineered Hardwood Flooring 

The goal of SERVPRO is to use their advanced equipment and cleaning methods to save property owners from replacing their floorboards with flood damage in Westerly. Our methods include:  

  • The use of powerful water extraction equipment
  • Doing several "dry" passes to ensure the maximum amount of moisture gets removed
  • Removal of baseboards for water removal and drying

Situations When Removal of the Flooring is Necessary 

The seal on the boards is usually enough to halt the penetration of moisture into the flooring; however, that may not stop seepage under the boards into the subfloor or substrate underneath. When the techs' moisture detection equipment shows the subfloor needs drying, the boards are carefully removed in the area and set aside for reinstallation.  

Drying Tactics for Engineered Hardwood Flooring 

The use of air movers is standard when drying this type of floorboard. However, the techs often rely on individual add-on devices such as drying mats. These mats lay flat on the boards and deliver a steady stream of warm, dry air directly into the boards, which causes any embedded moisture to rise and assists in drying the wood from the inside out.  

Dehumidification equipment is a vital part of the restoration process. As the drying equipment runs, it causes moisture to rise. The dehumidifiers capture that water vapor and port it away, which creates a steady cycle of progressively drier air and works to lower the interior humidity levels quickly. 

Contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 when you need help with water damage on engineered hardwood flooring. The technicians have the experience and equipment to extract the water and, in many cases, restore your flooring to its pre-water loss condition.

Can I Ever Get Rid of the Soot in My Home Since the Fire?

4/21/2020 (Permalink)

smokey soot on the white wall SERVPRO can clean the soot off your Queens apartment walls and ceilings.

SERVPRO Addresses Fire Damage and Soot in Your Queens Home to Return it to Pre-Loss Condition

Fires happen unexpectedly, and the aftermath leaves your Queens home with an unprecedented amount of debris and sticky soot residue. SERVPRO is here to make sure that your interior is back to normal and free of any reminder that the fire took place. With a simple phone call, we deploy a team to your residence to start with emergency fire restoration services.

How Can You Make Sure All Soot and Odors are Gone?

Smoke and soot particles are some of the top elements that we address when it comes to fire damage in Queens. Soot residue is acidic, meaning that it can cause certain materials like metals to corrode. We address soot residue in several ways, including:

• Dry or wet cleaning methods to loosen soot and smoke particles from various surfaces
• Thermal fogging technology heats deodorant agents that put out a chemical cloud, which penetrates materials to pull out tough odors
• In some situations where a lot of smoke residue is present on exposed surfaces, our skilled technicians seal off the walls with a special primer followed by the final paint color

Will the Air in My Home be Safe?

We utilize a variety of filtration tools to pull particles from the air to improve upon the air quality in your home. This ensures that your interior is both safe and free from lingering smoke odors after the fire.

• Air Scrubbers are powerful tools that reduce particulates from the environment while cutting back on microorganism colonization.
• Hydroxyl Generators work to both deodorize your interior while purifying and filtering the air with the help of HEPA filters.

There is nothing like the prompt, professional fire damage service that we offer at SERVPRO of Long Island City. With a quick phone call to our team at (718) 440-6994, we can be there 24/7 to get started with emergency restoration services.

How Do You Dry Electronics After a Water Leak in Westerly?

4/15/2020 (Permalink)

woman standing by window holding tablet Water quickly damages the electronics we have come to rely on make our lives easier. Don't stress over water damage. Call SERVPRO!

Rely on the Experience of SERVPRO Professionals to Help Save These Resources in Your Westerly Home

Water leaks often wreak havoc throughout a home. Homeowners use electronics in many rooms, which means a water leak can take out phones, tablets, and even computers and larger items. Given the hidden cost of lost equipment and data, you should consider using experts who know how to protect these items.

What kind of damage does a water leak typically cause?

Having a water leak in your Westerly home can cause power issues with different electronics. It is vital to get your electronics out of harm's way as quickly as possible.

What are the initial procedures when electronics are damaged?

The first step is to ensure that no electrical hazards are present. Also, all electronics should be unplugged, backup batteries should be disconnected, and all fuse breakers or trip breakers need removing.

What other steps are involved?

If possible, remove all electronics should from the exposed environment. If removal is not possible, electronics should be covered with plastic to prevent additional water damage.

What about the water from the leak?

SERVPRO professionals know how to remove any standing water. After the water removal process, wipe any remaining excess water from electrical equipment. Don't turn the equipment back on until it has been thoroughly evaluated, as running a charge through electronics may cause further damage.

What other equipment may we use?

Dehumidification equipment may be used by SERVPRO professionals to stabilize the electronics. Electronics should not be allowed to cool to the dew point of the room, as this can cause condensation and corrosion.

What if further specialized expertise is required?

To finish the job and verify the integrity of the electronics, we may use a qualified electronics restoration specialist to complete any necessary work. 

Count on SERVPRO of Washington County to help save your electronics. Call us at (401) 315-2337 for an evaluation.

More about Westerly.

How Can I Remove Water Quickly from Westerly Restaurant Kitchens?

4/1/2020 (Permalink)

"Come in we're open" Let SERVPRO Help get you back to business as usual. We are always available.

SERVPRO Can Help with Fast Extraction and Drying for Westerly Businesses.  

When a pipe bursts or some other clean water emergency occurs in your Westerly restaurant that leaves your staff contending with several inches or more of standing water, you do not have time to lose. Water has likely already begun migrating to dining areas and other rooms of your restaurant, so containment and mitigation are vital services that business owners look to our SERVPRO team to provide.

With the tile flooring in your kitchen area, we can often utilize our squeegee wands on extractors to begin water cleanup in your Westerly restaurant. Many of the surfaces in the kitchen area have low-permeance, making it faster to remove standing water and reduce migration into more challenging drying areas like the dining space with carpeting and wood fixtures.

What is necessary for effective containment of water damage? 

  • Air movers
  • Plastic sheeting containment barriers
  • Air scrubbers
  • Extractors
  • Dehumidifiers

It is our business to get you back in business – give our SERVPRO of Washington County team a call today at (401) 315-2337.

Learn more about Westerly.

We are Cleaning Experts

3/17/2020 (Permalink)

baby holding a toy crawling on a floor Stop the spread of pathogens with a professional cleaning for your home or business.

SERVPRO is Here to Help during this time of need

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 today – SERVPRO of Washington County, (401) 315-2337

SERVPRO Provides Full-Service Cleanup and Build Back for Westerly Homes

3/16/2020 (Permalink)

Box icons of natural disasters SERVPRO Is There for You in Your Time of Need--We Make Westerly Homes Whole Again with Cleanup and Restoration

Why Westerly Residents can use on Restoration Service from Start to Finish

When tackling a home emergency, you may find that a job is too big or that you are unsure of the appropriate restoration techniques and equipment. In these situations, most Westerly residents seek out professional assistance. Our restoration services combine over fifteen years of experience in the industry for the repair of mold, fire, storm, and water damage. Working with residents as well as local commercial companies, our team of qualified technicians can put in place a strategic plan to get your home back to its preloss condition while causing as little inconvenience to you, the homeowner.

Fire

During a fire, combusting materials release significant amounts of smoke into the surrounding environment. A lack of proper ventilation can create a pressure vacuum in the area, causing fire damage to your Westerly home. If your heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) unit are on during the fire, then smoke can enter and harm the interior walls of ducts as well as return and supply-side filters. SERVPRO restoration services work closely with the national air duct cleaners association to perform the assessment and repair of a damaged HVAC system.

HVAC systems draw clean air through a supply-side duct, which then sends air throughout the home via ventilation shafts. Return side ducts release cold or heated air into rooms around your Westerly home. Unfortunately, during a fire, HVAC systems can draw in smoke from one area of the home, causing significant harm by circulating it through the network of ventilation shafts and depositing ash or hot smoke into previously unaffected areas of the home. SERVPRO technicians incorporate an HVAC inspection when providing fire restoration services to both residents and commercial clients.

Our first step is to remove the vent connecting the supply side of your HVAC. These vents are typically fitted with filters which can undergo significant harm from smokes or soots during the fire. Using air whips, our restoration service technicians can dislodge soots from the interior walls behind a return side vent or feed longer mechanical brushes into the shaft itself. By applying negative air pressure to the shafts themselves, we can withdraw the loose soots from the system give your Westerly home the best chance of a full recovery.

Mold

Mold can crop up during any time of year, but it is commonly associated with the winter months when increases in rainfall create the prime conditions for mold growth. Mold, like other microbes, is a natural part of the home environment; however, in the presence of moisture, it can proliferate rapidly and begin affecting indoor air quality. Once spores grow into colonies, you are dealing with a mold damage situation in your Westerly home. Microbial growth can be challenging to control without the correct equipment and know-how of professional restoration services.

In Westerly, Mold remediation requires council-approved licensing. SERVPRO is Council-certified microbial remediator (CMR) with the experience to bring a microbial growth issue back under control. Our first duty is to dry the property using either air-movers and dehumidifiers or essential cavity drying equipment. By drying the source of mold, we can ensure that it does not grow back after the restoration service. Typically, we follow the drying process with thorough removal, cleaning, and anti-microbial treatment of the affected area.

One of the biggest concerns for Westerly homeowners dealing with mold is their indoor air quality. Mold releases unpleasant odors as well as having an unhealthy effect on the air you breathe. SERVPRO technicians can seal the affected area using either negative air-pressure or physical sheeting then deploy air-scrubbers into the area to clean and filter the surrounding air. Air scrubbers pass air through a series of filters, including charcoal, to remove particles as small as 0.3 microns. By incorporating this equipment into our restoration services, SERVPRO can remove spores as well as odors from the home that may otherwise put Westerly homeowners at risk of inhalation or ingestion.

Water

The work, our restoration service technicians, are most familiar with is water damage restoration for Westerly homeowners. Your property has thousands of gallons of water passing through it throughout the year. These sources can be rainwater draining through roof gutters to your freshwater supply pipe as well as clean water used in appliances and wet-rooms like bathrooms or kitchens. We rarely notice the amount of water we are using until something goes wrong with leaks or pipe joints breaking apart and spilling into the home environment.

Water emergencies are time-sensitive, and the sooner restoration services begin, the sooner mitigation of damages can occur. One of the reasons water incidents are time-sensitive is that microbes degrade over time. They can also affect electrical equipment with permanent harm. SERVPRO restoration services here in Westerly practice appropriate electrical safety at any site by carefully inspecting the area for loose wiring or shutting off power altogether.

Electrical supplies need grounding using a ground fault circuit interrupters (GCFI.) If you have valuable electronics in the area of the home where water damage is prevalent SERVPRO engineers can maintain temperature and humidity above the dew point until specialists arrive. Circuitry needs managing with qualified electricians, which we can contact on your behalf. At the end of service, any outsourcing is included in your stress-free claim meaning you only have to deal with one point of contact throughout the service.

Storm

Natural disasters are an irrepressible part of life in Washington County, which can cause severe storm damage to your Westerly home. Restoration services need the experience to counteract the effects of a violent storm on the structure of your home. We can answer questions like where to store contents during structural repair, how to make a home secure to prevent looting or unlawful entry, as well as what steps we need to take in the immediate aftermath to reduce your claim expense.

In our time as a Westerly restoration service, we have notched up a massive amount of experience in extensive loss recovery from a natural disaster. This experience includes Hurricanes Sandy, Harvey, Irma, Matthew as well as the Colorado floods of 2013. To better serve the community in times of emergency we ensure that our roster of technicians here at SERVPRO undergo a 10-hour general and construction industry training program (OSHA.)

An OSHA qualification allows us to perform the critical aspects of structural repair to ensure that your property does not collapse following an especially damaging storm or flood. These duties may include replacing roof tiles, doors, or windows. Reinforcing waterlogged floors and ceilings as well as reconstructing attics or loft spaces. Intervening early in a weakened structure can go a long way to preventing escalating costs. By having general constructors within our Westerly team at SERVPRO, we can intervene early without having to wait for third-parties.

Dealing with multiple facets of restoration for water, mold, storm, or fire can be unbearable for a homeowner. To deal with one company from start to finish, contact SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337.

Fire Damaged Westerly Property Owners Recognize SERVPRO as a Premier Full-Service Cleanup and Restoration Company

3/8/2020 (Permalink)

toy building blocks for a house with a Disaster Sign House Fire Disaster in Westerly? Contact SERVPRO To Clean It Up and Build It Back!

Repairing Structural Damages to Westerly Homes After a Fire

Fire losses can be among the most destructive disasters that affect Westerly homes, especially those that go beyond smoke and soot effects and present physical destruction to structural elements. Restoring your home becomes as essential and prioritized as repairing the damages to the structure. With a team of well-trained restoration professionals accredited in Fire & Smoke Restoration (FSRT) and a division of licensed residential contractors in-house, our SERVPRO team can help in both of these needed areas.

In many ways, the recovery of fire damage and build back of Westerly properties must go hand in hand. Our restoration team can respond quickly to this emergency, working first to uncover any physical red flags on the property during the initial phase of removing fire debris and inspecting the final results of extinguishments. During this scoping of the job, we can identify three instances where controlled demolition and/or reconstruction might be necessary.

Fire Destruction

Likely the bulk of the work that needs to happen with our in-house contractors following a fire loss happens because of the destruction the disaster caused directly. Structural collapse and failures pose substantial threats to homeowners and must get repaired and rebuilt throughout the restoration process.

Controlled Demolition

During the inspection and scoping of the work to get done, our SERVPRO project manager can make a note of surfaces and materials that appear too damaged to restore with our recovery efforts. In some situations, removing these areas of your home’s construction can be safer and more efficient to restore than working to clean and recover them.

Man-Made Breaches

During firefighting efforts, it is not uncommon for first responders to need more direct access to areas where the blaze is burning the worst. Pathways to reach these damage points often come from holes cut into the roof or siding of the house. These structural breaches must get repaired along with other areas reconstruction is necessary.

 Restoring and repairing your home after a fire loss is two areas where you can count on our SERVPRO of Washington County team. We have experienced restoration technicians and a talented division of in-house residential contractors to make fire losses “Like it never even happened.” Give us a call today at (401) 315-2337.

The Design of Westerly Homes Affects Both Water Removal and Restoration Services

3/4/2020 (Permalink)

"Contact Us" We can be reached at (401) 315-2337 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

SERVPRO Team's Swift Actions Working Around Your Westerly Homes Design

The layout and floor plan of a home contribute to potential water damage and also restorability. The rules of the restoration sciences are finite and get applied to each situation for the best outcome, but it makes every job individual and unique for the technicians.

A home needing water removal in Westerly had a stacked plumbing design, which meant the second-floor bathroom was above the kitchen and a downstairs bathroom. A long term leak behind the walls ran downward for a long time before it became visible on the first floor. By then, significant damage happened. 

Necessary Controlled Demolition Actions

The ceramic tile around the upstairs shower required removal as they were wet from the inside. SERVPRO technicians also removed all the sheetrock and insulation as it had no restoration potential from long term saturation. Because the homeowner acted quickly, although the floor the bathroom needed pulling up, the techs saved the original flooring for reinstallation, saving the homeowner the cost of replacement. 

Drying Above and Below

When a water loss affects two floors, the drying presents specific challenges for the SERVPRO techs. They use drying equipment with air movers aimed at the walls and drying mats to force air into the subfloor and floor joists. Below, they commonly use air movers, and for small areas within wall cavities, the Injecti-Dry system is ideal for ensuring all traces of moisture get removed. Because the upstairs bathroom had building materials removed down to the framework, the drying phase of restoration went quickly. 

Prepping the Bathroom for Reconstruction

SERVPRO techs got the bathroom ready for repairs by taking air measurements and scoping the interior of the walls and ceilings to confirm the area verified as dry. They then treated the framework with an antimicrobial sealant to inhibit any mold growth and left the bathroom, ready for the necessary reconstruction to bring it to its preloss condition.

SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 brings all the necessary equipment for water removal needs from local properties. Through the advanced techniques and restoration methods, the certified techs make the water loss, "Like it never even happened."

See more about Westerly.

Mitigating Clothes Dryer Fire Damage in a Westerly Home

2/26/2020 (Permalink)

Fire damaged washer and dryer Call SERVPRO when things heat up in your Westerly home.

SERVPRO Turns up the Heat on Fire Restoration in Westerly

There are as many as 2,900 clothes dryer fires reported each year, and they can cause a whopping $35 million in property damages. A lack of cleaning causes 34% of these fires. All that a fire needs to spread is organic material to consume and sufficient oxygen. When is the last time you had the dryer vent checked or cleaned of lint and debris? However, there is a team that can restore your home after disaster strikes. 

If your Westerly residence has suffered fire damage, IICRC-certified SERVPRO technicians are ready to assist you. These professionals are dedicated to helping the community by restoring homes to their preloss condition. SERVPRO not only thoroughly trains its staff, franchise owners, and technicians, but it also offers educational opportunities for real estate and insurance professionals so that this knowledge can further help homeowners recover from a disaster. 

SERVPRO's Cutting-Edge Tools

SERVPRO tools are both heavy-duty and build to address modern-day concerns after disaster strikes. For fires, technicians have access to a variety of tools, including:

  • Water extraction and drying tools for removing moisture from sprinklers or firefighting efforts
  • Wet and dry cleaning methods, including alkaline cleaners, blast media, and dry cleaning sponges, for removing soils
  • Thermal foggers that penetrate and eliminate fire-affected surfaces
  • EPA-registered broad-spectrum antimicrobials designed to disinfect your home thoroughly
  • HEPA-filter air scrubbers that remove impurities as small as 0.3 microns in size

SERVPRO's Fire Cleanup Methods

Technicians start by removing loose, dry soils, working from top to bottom in the affected area to maximize efficiency, and minimize the spread of soot to other rooms in your home. These soils and deposits are then vacuumed and removed. Once dry cleaning methods, including dry cleaning sponges and Crumbly Cleaner, have eliminated all they can, wet cleaners are used to address tougher stains. 

If your laundry room has tiles in it, technicians can utilize specially-made tile and grout cleaners to remove soot from grout and hairline cracks. Chlorine bleach may also be used to get a deeper clean on grout. Strong acids, including phosphoric acid or stabilized acids, can be highly effective for addressing more substantial grout staining.

SERVPRO of Washington County is always prepared to be Faster to Any Size Disaster. Call (401) 315-2337 for rapid disaster cleanup services today.

Want to learn more about Westerly?

Winter Worries, Commercial Water Damage to Retail Shops in Westerly, and SERVPRO to the Rescue

2/17/2020 (Permalink)

Neon open sign with arches SERVPRO Keeps Your Westerly Retail Store Open during Water and Freeze Loss Recovery

Westerly Water Damage in a Jewelry Store Due to Freeze-Thaw Issues

Temperatures below freezing point followed by a weekend of warm weather led to thawing and rupturing of waterlines affecting many properties in Westerly, including a jewelry store. The damage was extensive necessitating help from a professional restorer such as SERVPRO.

The problem originated from the sprinkler systems. The overhead nature of the commercial Westerly water damage in the jewelry store meant the water had spread all over contents, affecting even high-value items locked inside the counters. The sudden change from a frozen state damages most interior parts of sprinklers leading to sudden leaks, and unless the mains are shut off immediately, significant amounts of water are released, causing widespread damages. Freeze-thaw problems are common in underheated buildings.

Our SERVPRO team had to work fast to remove the water pooling in the building halting further deterioration. We also had to carry out thorough cleaning since the water had spread dust and other soils all over the interior. Before we could start the cleaning, we had to make a full inventory of the items within the store. Our electronic CCIS, Content Claim Inventory Service, helped us record all items. We also confirmed that the owners had secured high-value jewelry items.

After working 15 hours cleaning up and restoring damaged areas, the store regained a semblance of normalcy. However, we still had to keep going to restore it to its preloss state. We applied deodorizers using ULV misters to take care of any bad odor. We then set up two additional dehumidifiers and several air movers to control the drying process.

After confirming that all sections of the property had dried to standard levels through constant monitoring, we returned all the contents that we had moved to pave the way for restoration. The records from the CCIS came in handy for this task. Resources such as handcarts also helped when moving bulky items, allowing us to finish the re-arrangement process fast.

Simple problems such as changes in temperatures can lead to massive losses. Call SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 to help. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

What to Do After Storm Damage Hits Your Westerly Home

2/5/2020 (Permalink)

Active Storm Our teams are always available. Give us a call anytime at (401) 315-2337.

It Is Important To Have a Well Thought Out Plan For Your Home In Case Of Any Emergency From a Storm In Westerly

Water loss hits homes in many forms. One of the most severe is flood and storm damage. There are proactive measures homeowners can take, such as directing drainage away from the house, ensuring gutters are in working order and making sure the roof is leak-free.

Storm damage in a Westerly home can be a tree limb breaking a window and allowing rain into the house, leaking roof or flooded basement. The key to limiting the loss to the property is that cleanup efforts begin quickly. 

First Actions 

If water is in light fixtures or near electrical outlets, turn off the electricity to the home. When arranging for SERVPRO to come to your home, inform the technician during the call, there is no available electricity on-site, and the techs can bring generators to power their equipment. 

Move out valuable items and heirlooms if it is safe to do so. If not, tell the lead technician when SERVPRO arrives, and they can retrieve the things for you. Safety for all is a priority, and homeowners should not underestimate the danger of slip and fall accidents on wet floors. 

Restore Rather Than Replace

The technicians use their extensive training to clean up water damage to both the property and contents and save homeowners the cost of replacement whenever possible. For example, the fast extraction of water can make the difference between being able to dry a carpet in place and having to remove and replace it. 

Hardwood Flooring Gets a Recovery Chance

When water loss happens on a hardwood floor, the natural inclination of the wood is to absorb it. The result can be crowning, cupping, or warping in rapid succession. The faster the removal of moisture happens, the less chance of delamination of tile and loss to hardwood flooring. Composite pressed wood boards generally are a loss after prolonged exposure to water and require removal. 

SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 has the trained technicians that arrive fast to your property and restore it from storm damage to make the loss to your home and contents, "Like it never even happened."

Learn more about Westerly.

Fire Damage in Westerly Bedroom from Forgotten Candle

1/31/2020 (Permalink)

A Candle burning. Fire damage in your Westerly home from a candle can be hard to wrap your head around, let us be there.

Let SERVPRO help with your Westerly fire damage.

Candles provide both a pleasing look and aroma to rooms. They are also a source of fire damage in homes when left unattended.

A homeowner in Westerly needed help with fire damage to his daughter's bedroom after she left a candle burning, and a fan blew a piece of paper into the flame. Firefighters extinguished the blaze quickly, but smoke damage covered much of the room. 

Removal of Charred Items

The burned contents of the room around where the candle sat were too damaged for restoration through cleaning and required removal. the techs do not dispose of any items without approval of the homeowner or adjuster; this ensures that property owners know what is going on with their restoration, and no actions taken by SERVPRO are out of the scope of coverage by insurance.

Testing Before Cleaning

In the case of removing smoke residues, it is vital to test them before applying any solutions, so the appropriate agents and methods get used. Depending on the heat of the fire and the objects consumed by flames, the residue can vary, and both dry and wet smoke may be in the same room. 

The techs rely on dry cleaning sponges to gently pick up the dry smoke found frequently on walls and other painted surfaces as a fine, dark particulate. Wet smoke often needs solvents to release its grip on surfaces.

Odor Control for the Bedroom

Removal of charred items goes a long way to reducing the fire odors in the room. However, because hot air expands during a fire, it literally pushes odorous smoke into porous objects. In many cases, the scents have the potential for removal by using odor control methods that work in the same manner, such as thermal fogging. 

Duct Inspection

Even though the fire loss occurred only in the daughter's room, the family used the HVAC, and the potential for soot spreading throughout the home via the ductwork was high. SERVPRO technicians cleaned the ducts, so no residual odors remained.

SERVPRO of Washington County at (401) 315-2337 restores properties with fire damage to their preloss condition, "Like it never even happened."

To find out more about Westerly, click here.

SERVPRO Offers a Many-Faceted Approach to Water Damage Mitigation for Westerly Homeowners

1/26/2020 (Permalink)

green drying equipment in a flood cut bathroom Broken Water Lines Can Mean Damage in Westerly Homes, Call SERVPRO for Fast Help

What to Expect from Professional Water Damage Restoration in Westerly

A water loss can strike your Westerly residence at any time. Typical causes include leaky pipes, condensation from heating and cooling systems, or appliance breakdowns. Sometimes the issue is obvious, such as when a dishwasher hose breaks and spews water across the kitchen. Other times a slow leak under a sink or a poorly sealed shower stall gradually permits water to infiltrate cabinets, walls, and floors. Any scenario requires expert assessment and a recovery plan that follows industry best practices.

Determining the Extent of the Damage

Mitigating and remediating water damage in Westerly presents challenges because of the tendency of water to migrate from the original incursion. Our managers and technicians receive comprehensive training assisting us in determining the perimeters of the water spread and the extent to which structural components and contents suffer from the destructive effects of absorbed moisture. Expect our team to evaluate your unique water damage scenario both visually and using sensitive moisture detection and measuring devices.

Extraction Precedes Structural Drying

SERVPRO employs scientific-based strategies to rid your home of water. Removal is the first phase after assessment. Research supports aggressive extraction, pumping and suctioning out as much liquid water as possible. Extraction is far more effective than drying alone, significantly reducing the time needed to return to pre-water loss moisture levels in building materials and contents.

Controlled Demolition Is a Viable Option

If the water emergency feels overwhelming already, a recommendation by SERVPRO experts to drill holes or tear out sections of building materials might be distressing. Understanding the purpose underlying controlled demolition helps ease concerns. Water often seeps into building cavities, and we must find ways to access the fluids for removal. Carefully removing baseboards to drill “weep holes” for water release or cutting out sections of drywall several inches above the waterline provides needed access.

Water Removal and Drying Strategies

Hoses connected to extractors attach through the holes to draw out water. Warm, moving air directed in through the holes or flood cuts dries out structural components far faster and more completely than waiting days or weeks for the water to evaporate without facilitation. SERVPRO employees monitor the drying continuously, creating a balance of airflow, temperature, and dehumidification to prevent under or overreaching of scientifically based drying goals for each type of material. We help arrange for repairs and rebuilding after the drying phase, confident that our efforts inhibited progressive deterioration or secondary damage like mold growth.

Trust the professionals at SERVPRO of Washington County to manage your water damage woes. Call (401) 315-2337 day or night to set up an expert assessment and begin planning for a successful recovery.

Water Damage Repair Near Me

11/20/2019 (Permalink)

SERVPRO trucks are lined up and ready to help. Our fleet of vehicles and experienced technicians are prepared to help you this fall.

When you are frantically completing a google search for 'water damage repair near me' you are most likely in a dire situation and require a prepared team of water damage repair technicians to quickly arrive on the scene and manage the situation. This is why SERVPRO of Washington County is the first and ONLY call you need to make. We are available 24/7 and will arrive quickly to stop the damage and restore your home or business as quickly as possible. Furthermore, we provide all phases of construction services. This way, if there is further damage to the home your single search for 'water damage near me' will give you a complete repair experience!

UN's IPCC Report on Climate Change Dire For the Oceans

9/25/2019 (Permalink)

This year's report by the United Nation's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gives dire warnings about the state of our planets oceans and polar ice caps. The oceans are warming at a much faster rate than the land and the impact could be devastating for marine life and for those of us who live along the coastline. We have recently seen the impacts of these warmer oceans in Hurricane Dorian, Hurricane Harvey & even Hurricane/Tropical Storm Imelda. Hurricane Harvey & Imelda both hit Houston TX hard with heavy rains and flooding the later of which the city and surrounding areas are still in recovery. Here in Rhode Island, we will need to be prepared for the next storm that comes our way. Our experienced team of technicians were part of the recovery in Houston in 2018 and will be ready to help out when the next storm hits.

Back To School, Fire Safety 101

9/3/2019 (Permalink)

This time of year children around the country start college. For many of them, it will be their first time living away from home, for others they will be returning to complete their studies and spend time with college friends. In recent years it has become quite common for colleges to build apartment-style dorm suites that allow a small group of students (normally 4-6) to share an apartment like space with common living spaces and, in some, even a kitchen. While this may be fun for the students it does present the potential for fire. Kitchen fires are the most common cause of residential fires and when so many young people have access to their own kitchen (some for the first time!) their is much more potential something could go wrong affecting everyone in the building! If your child is off to school be sure to remind them of the dangers of fire in the kitchen and that they have a working fire extinguisher nearby. 

Be Caution When Lighting Fireworks

7/9/2019 (Permalink)

The summertime allows us all to have a little more fun. Kids are out of school, days become longer and the warm weather gets us out and about in our communities. Throughout the summer nights, most of us will hear the crash and pop of fireworks off in the distance in neighboring backyards. This display of pyrotechnics is no longer reserved for the 4th of July and is a rather common sight and sound on just about any summer night. This commonality of fireworks is unfortunate because they are still very dangerous and the potential for injury or damage from fireworks is very high. Disregarding precautions when lighting fireworks is the most common cause for an accident, especially when individuals act in haste to light illegal fireworks quickly so they are not to be caught by local authorities. Many times this is when property damage or injury can happen. Remember that if you wish to enjoy fireworks in your yard to take all recommended precautions and to never light fireworks that are illegal in your community. 

Rent Drying Equipment For The Summer

6/26/2019 (Permalink)

Do your properties get damp and musty during the summer months? This seasonal humidity is a staple of a New England summer and thanks to one of the rainiest spring seasons on record we can expect this summer to be more humid than most. If you already know that your properties struggle with humidity in July, August and September contact our office and we can help. We can determine the best course of action to rid your properties of damp and moldy odors. We then provide rental equipment to run throughout the summer months ensuring your properties are prepared for humid weather. This will also prevent mold growth saving you thousands of dollars in clean-up costs. Renting our professional drying and air purifying equipment is a smart move because you save on the cost of having to purchase the equipment, avoid the hassle of storing it in the off-season and never have to worry about your equipment breaking down and requiring repair!

Mold Removal Near Me

6/20/2019 (Permalink)

So far 2019 has been one of the wettest years on record! While this is great for the lawn and the garden it is not so great for your home or business. Many times the reason for a mold outbreak is due to damage from excessive rain and storms. Whether it is a flooded basement, or a small leak in the roof without fixing these issues you are always just a little rain away from a mold outbreak. When dealing with mold you should always call a professional. Attempting to clean and remediate a mold outbreak without the proper equipment and training can be futile and potentially dangerous to your health. If you believe your home or business has a mold issue, don't wait, call our office now. The sooner we can contain the event and begin the remediation and drying process the better!

Large Loss Restoration & Construction Rhode Island

5/15/2019 (Permalink)

In a disaster restoration scenario, why choose SERVPRO? The answer is simple, peace of mind.

When a natural disaster, a fire, or even the wear and tear of time has caused damage to your home or business you need a restoration and construction team you can trust. We are prepared for any project and have the capability to grow our team and resources as needed if the restoration project is worse than expected and requires more immediate attention. We are so much more than your typical contractor and offer more value and better communication during restoration construction because it is already part of our day to day protocol.

Our experience cannot be understated. With almost 20 years in business, we have been part of recovery efforts in many of our countries largest natural disasters and are available to help our home communities 24/7. If you are in need of restoration and construction services make us your #1 call SERVPRO of Washington County.

Growing Our Commercial Division

5/9/2019 (Permalink)

Disaster relief is no easy job. It takes a team of dedicated individuals willing to go the extra mile at a moments notice. 

Our commercial division is a segment of our team dedicated to large loss recovery. Many times when these types of losses occur we know we will be on the job for weeks or even months and so our chain of command needs to be prepared and ready to dedicate themselves solely to the job for the duration.

This is what sets us apart from the competition, we have cultivated a workplace atmosphere and energy that inspires our team to always give their best effort. We are consistently training and learning from our experiences and passing this knowledge onto our new team members and to other recovery teams that we may work with when a large-loss is on the line.

In a large-loss nothing is more important than the client and the job at hand, we are here to lead the way to recovery.

A Team On The Rise

4/18/2019 (Permalink)

We are fierce competitors always striving to improve our game. This is how we approach every job, with a dedication to hard work and an understanding that we should always be learning and improving from our experiences. We have been on the front-lines of some of the countries biggest natural disasters where we managed every stage of the recovery & reconstruction process. 

Our aggressive work ethic has helped us to earn the trust and respect of many well-recognized subcontractors including many of the north easts largest reconstruction contracting companies who rely on us when everything is on the line.

Of course, our experienced professionals can only be as good as their equipment allows. We boast an impressive inventory of restoration equipment allowing us to be prepared to manage and mitigate multiple disasters at one time.

We are proud of our team and will continue to build upon the hard work that has brought us so far already!

Schedule A Facility Cleaning Today!

4/9/2019 (Permalink)

We were out early on a Sunday morning visiting a commercial client for a monthly facility cleaning. This particular client requires we clean the premises outside of their regular business hours when they are closed and there are no employees in the building. Did you even know SERVPRO provides scheduled cleaning services? Most people are not aware of this service and assume we only handle disaster restoration clean-up after a flood, storm or fire. But our general cleaning services are second to none. Our technicians are professionally trained and have access to a vast array of SERVPRO equipment, cleaning solutions and techniques. If your business is in need of a weekly, monthly, annually or even one-time cleaning services we can help! Our professionally trained cleaning technicians can handle any industry, such as commercial, industrial, service businesses, warehouses, government buildings and more. Schedule your cleaning today!

Parking Lot Clean-Up, Repainting, Repair & More

3/12/2019 (Permalink)

Now that the winter is over it is likely you and your client's parking lots need to be cleaned and possibly repainted. We can help. We are your #1 call for any and all types of cleaning and repair and are on the scene shortly after of your call. If you need parking lot cleaning, repainting, repair, or lightbulb replacement contact our office now and we can send out a crew for a one-time cleaning and damage inspection or schedule regular clean-up inspection times to ensure your property always looks great. We make the process simple, SERVPRO of Washington County, offers one-stop shopping when it comes to property clean-up, maintenance, construction and restoration. Our team of highly skilled technicians, contractors, and craftsmen make us the #1 choice for large corporations looking for a full-time, fully-capable maintenance team that is available at a moments notice. Call us today!

A Professional Restoration Company Can Save You Money In A Water Damage

3/6/2019 (Permalink)

When your home or business is struck by a water damage event, such as a flood, burst pipe, or roof leak, you will see many restoration options in a google search. Here is why it is so important to carefully consider the company you choose to repair your property. 

1. Evaluating exactly what can and cannot be saved in the property is crucial. This is where our experienced managers quickly determine the best course of action to save as much of the structure as possible. This first step can determine a huge chunk of your upfront costs for repair and materials for replacement.

2. Drying Equipment. If the company you hire is not using the best drying and air scrubbing equipment available, chances are they will need to use that equipment on your property for a longer period of time, costing you more money. Our techs are trained to work and act efficiently and we invest in the best possible restoration equipment so everything we do is efficient. In the long run, this is the best possible way to save our client's money.

3. We offer all phases of restoration and reconstruction services. Again, as we strive to be an efficient company we employ a team of talented and experienced craftsmen and carpenters to remove the need to hire subcontractors on your project and to be 100% sure your job will be completed professionally.

Despite a mild December; Winter is Coming

1/11/2019 (Permalink)

Sure we will have to wait until April for 'Winter to Come' in the world of Westeros, but here in New England, despite the mild December, winter is finally here. Below freezing temperatures have been consistent the last few weeks and it feels like snow will be on the ground any day now. Are you prepared? And more importantly is your home or commercial property prepared for the extended freezing cold weather? Here are some things you can do to make sure your home is ready for winter.

  • Check attic and basement eves - If you live in an older New England home chances are you have a vented attic if this is the case double check to make sure attic insulation is still in place and working and that there are no drafts in the attic or basement. If you have any exposed water pipes you should insulate them and if necessary install an electric pipe heating cable that will monitor the pipes and keep them warm enough to keep water flowing.
  • Make sure water to outside water faucets is shut off - Leaving water on can cause the faucet to freeze and leak, this slow leak will allow ice to form around your hose bib and your foundation with the potential to cause structure and water damage to the property.
  • Monitor the temperature in your garage - If you have an attached garage there is a chance there are water pipes within the ceiling or walls adjacent to the garage, monitor the temperature of your attached garage and, if needed, install an emergency heat source to kick on when the temperature is low. This can save you thousands in water damage in the case a pipe were to burst! 

Christmas Tree Fires Account for Millions of Dollars in Property Damage Annually

12/12/2018 (Permalink)

Christmas trees and holiday decorations account for millions of dollars in property damage every year. Please share these basic safety tips to ensure your family's well being this holiday season.

  • Look for a fresh tree, these are less likely to catch fire. Vibrant green needles that do not fall off easily. The Frazier Fir is a great choice and has a softer needle that does not dry out as quickly.
  • Remember to water your tree immediately after getting it home and in the stand. Continue to water the tree until it stops taking water.
  • Keep your tree away from heat sources, candles and other electronics.
  • All your Christmas lights should be UL or ETL/ITSNA tested for safety, and you should throw away damaged lights.
  • Be sure to plug outdoor lights into a ground-fault circuit interrupter protected receptacle.
  • Keep all your candles away from your Christmas tree, surrounding furniture and décor. If possible avoid candles all together especially this time of year when there tend to be more flammable items around the home.
  • Don’t forget to turn your Christmas tree lights off each night.
  • When your tree's needles begin to fall, it is time to take it down.

Follow these guidelines and avoid being another statistic in the National Fire Protection Association or United States Fire Administration report this holiday season. Of course, if you do have an emergency contact us immediately along with the local emergency response departments needed. We will be there to help you get things back, "Like it never even happened".

Duct Work Cleaning Westerly RI

12/1/2018 (Permalink)

Is the ductwork in your building clean and ready for the winter months? As forced hot air systems are turned on all over the area for the cold winter months we are reminded that it is important to make sure the ductwork that supplies that warm air is clean. Clean ductwork makes for a healthier environment inside your home, office or business. Clean ductwork also makes your heating system more efficient and reduces your fuel costs. There are some factors that make cleaning your ductwork a necessity, one such factor is if you have recently had flooding, water damage or mold within your building. Mold in ductwork can lead to health issues for anyone within your building and regularly having your ducts cleaned is the easiest way to avoid this type of disaster. For a free evaluation and price quote call our office, (401) 315-2337.

We are here when you need us.

11/1/2018 (Permalink)

Recently we were called upon by a local school for an emergency cleaning. This wasn't our typical emergency, such as a flood, fire or storm damage, but instead was a job that needed to be completed quickly due to the start of the school year!

When preparing to open for the 2018-2019 school year many teachers and faculty complained about a musky odor in the building. We were called in to test the quality of the air in the building and were able to detect impurities in the air, and with only 3 days to go until the start of school.

Due to the expedited time schedule, we brought in dozens of techs and a management team that would teach and lead our techs to ensure the school was safe and ready for students on the first day.

Storm Damage Repair & Dry Out

9/24/2018 (Permalink)

Heavy rains from Hurricane Florence and other weather systems have soaked the east coast of the United States over the last couple of weeks. Our team of Disaster Restoration techs have been working around the clock restoring and drying out homes and businesses up and down the eastern seaboard, but we're not done yet! In fact, we have only just begun what we consider to be one of our busiest times of the year. There are of course major events, like hurricanes, that when they occur require several teams of restoration experts to band together. And there is also the change of seasons that will bring with it the cold weather that will inevitably cause pipes to burst, ice dam and snowmelt flooding. We recommend to all of our neighbors to take this time of year to prepare for the winter and other potential weather-related events that could cause damage to your property. Being prepared is the first step to a successful restoration.

Commercial Fire Damage

8/27/2018 (Permalink)

Recently we needed to pull resources from our multiple franchise locations to a fire & water restoration at a food distribution center. The partially damaged building needed to be restored quickly to prevent contamination and mold growth in areas of the warehouse that were not directly affected by the fire. In disaster restoration time is always crucial and we train our techs to work quickly and efficiently to ensure the environment is returned to normal ASAP! In this particular case, we knew there were hundreds of thousands of dollars in perishable products that were at risk to be damaged so we arrived on scene within hours and had equipment and techs on site shortly thereafter. We were able to clean and restore the facilities within 48 hours in time to re-open only 3 days after the fire damage occurred.

Carpet Cleaning Services

8/16/2018 (Permalink)

Summer is the best time to be in Rhode Island. But the trips to the beach, the increased foot traffic, playing in the yard and the overall humididty can be tuff on carpets leaving them damp and dirty with debris. 

We can help.

SERVPRO professionals are available to clean, renew and help protect your carpets. We offer complete carpet and upholstry cleaning services to residents and businesses in Rhode Island & Connecticut.

Because our techs are professionally trained to remediate disasters like fire, water damage, smoke damage and more we are already equiped and prepared to offer commercial grade cleaning services right in your neighborhood. And, because we have decades of experience we offer service and products unmatched by other carpet cleaning services. Contact our office today for a no obligation estimate.

Artists' Cooperative Gallery in the Westerly Train Station

7/25/2018 (Permalink)

The Artists' Cooperative Gallery is moving into the Westerly train station and we were called upon to help prepare the new location for what is sure to be a great move for the Co-Op. Jobs like these are one of our favorites because we get to share in the growth and progress of a local business and help to improve another building in our beautiful hometown. For this particular job, our clean-up crew worked top to bottom because for the past four years the station's ticket terminal moved to only online sales. Removing cobwebs and years of dirt and debris from the ceiling and walls and finally restoring the original flooring to a 'like new' lustrous shine. We wish the best of to the Artists' Cooperative Gallery of Westerly in there new home!

2018 Report: Above Average Rainfall Throughout the Northeast

6/14/2018 (Permalink)

It seems like it is raining every other day here in the northeast lately, so over here in our SERVPRO® of Washington County office, we decided to figure out just how much more rain has fallen in 2018. Using tools available on the National Weather Service website we were able to generate this map showing rainfall accumulation for the year and comparing it to the average amount of rain for this time of year. As you can see rainfall along the coastal regions of Rhode Island, Connecticut, and New York are 4"-12" above average! This will be something to keep an eye on going into what many believe will be a busy hurricane season this year. If your home or business is near any of our located near a resevour, river, lake or pond keep our number on hand, we will continue to monitor the weather! 

Association for Facilities Engineering at the Matunuk Oyster Bar

6/14/2018 (Permalink)

We love to get involved in local events big and small. Recently we were excited to be invited for a tour of the Matunuck Oyster Farm in Charlestown Rhode Island. We attended the event hosted by the Association for Facilities Engineering at the Matunuk Oyster Bar and enjoyed a boat tour of the farm guided by the Matunuck Oyster Bar's owner Perry. We learned about the importance of protecting the fragile saltwater bay ecosystems along the coast of the state and how climate change and severe weather is impacting these areas today and will continue to do so in the future. 

Thank you to the Matunuck Oyster Bar for your generousity and for allowing us to learn more about your amazing facilities. It was great meeting other like-minded business owners on this impressive tour. 

Proudly Serving the Communities in Washington County

5/23/2018 (Permalink)

SERVPRO® is often recognized as a nation-wide leader in disaster restoration services but, it is important to note that SERVPRO® of Washington County and all SERVPRO® locations are locally owned and operated. As a local business, we enjoy getting involved in our community; getting to know each other, engaging in community events, and of course, working with other business owners in our area when needed. We know that working locally means our reputation is always on the line and for each and every job it is of the utmost importance for our team to maintain our great reputation, especially with our neighbors!

In addition to our restoration services, we can also provide our neighbors cleaning services. We provide carpet and upholstery cleaning and ductwork cleaning, contact our office today!

Water Extraction Reduces Overall Costs

5/8/2018 (Permalink)

As an insurance agent, adjuster or property manager you may wonder why SERVPRO extracts water from soaked rugs and carpets that will most likely end up being thrown away anyway! There are a few reasons for this; first, the weight of a wet carpet or rug requires more manpower to remove and move, so extracting water reduces the weight of the carpets to be removed significantly. This not only makes the material easier to lift and requires fewer technicians but it is safer for our technicians to handle, reducing on-site injuries. Also, by removing the weight of the water we reduce the amount of total weight of the waste removed, helping to keep waste removal fees down. Finally, by extracting and removing the water from wet carpets and rugs we are removing the water from the property entirely! The importance of this cannot be understated because removing water from the property quickly is the first step in preventing further structural damage and mold growth. Dragging wet rugs and carpets from a property without extraction can leave water behind and exasperate an already dire situation.

Thanks For the Recognition!

1/11/2018 (Permalink)

Every once in a while we get a little special recognition from our clients. It's not that we need it, our clients are always thankful, but it is great to know we personally helped someone so much they felt the need to send a gift. Here is a photo of a note and gift to one of our project managers Ray Erazo, who once again went above and beyond for the comfort of a client. Ray is one of our longest tenured employees and an all-star in restoration project management. Great work Ray! 

Winter Water Damage

12/7/2017 (Permalink)

In the wintertime, we tend to forget about mold becoming an issue in the home. For the most part, we associate mold with humid summer days creating the perfect environment for mold growth in dark, damp spaces… but this is not always the case. For example, mold growth can strike quickly after a flood or fire even in the winter. We recently encountered a home in which the pipes had burst on the third floor of the dwelling. With no one home, the water soaked the home for 2 days before the leak was discovered. Our crew began working in the home within 72 hours of the disaster and within that time mold growth could be seen on wet surfaces throughout the house. If not properly treated mold can quickly make its way into difficult to find places like vents and ducts where it may cause health issues to those in the home if not removed.

Revitalizing Old Buildings? You Might Find Mold.

11/30/2017 (Permalink)

Finding mold in your home or commercial property is a precarious situation. Sometimes it may be a localized outbreak that can be easily cleaned away, other times what appears to be a small patch of mold is an indication of a much bigger issue that could be hazardous to the health of those living in the home.  SERVPRO of Washington County’s mold remediation is second to none and will evaluate and remediate mold outbreaks. 

As many areas in the US see continued growth many old, unoccupied commercial buildings are now opening their doors again. If you encounter mold in your new commercial property SERVPRO of Washington County can help. Call our office today and we can send an experienced technician to review your mold issue.

Fire Restoration

11/8/2017 (Permalink)

Restoring a home or place of business after a small fire is always a difficult task. Even a small cooking fire can cause damage and immerse the surrounding areas with soot and a smell that will linger permanently if not treated correctly. SERVPRO® of Washington County is the area's most experienced disaster recovery team. We have decades of combined experience amongst our ranks and we extensively train each and every new crew member to utilize proven techniques and to optimally manage all drying equipment. Since we are a SERVPRO® Franchise we have access to new technology, equipment, and methods that are backed and tested by the nation's most reliable disaster relief franchise. Hopefully, you will never need our services, but if your home or commercial properties ever experience a fire we will be there when you call. 

Residential Fires

11/7/2017 (Permalink)

Residential fires are some of the most difficult situations we encounter. Not because our crew is unprepared for the event, but because the personal loss of a home and possessions is extremely painful for the owners and can lead to a highly scrutinized job site. Our crew is prepared for this and sympathizes with the anguish each and every homeowner feels after a disaster has impeded their life. We are trained to move quickly understanding that every moment saved at the onset of disaster recovery increases the chance of a successful mitigation exponentially. We carefully attempt to salvage any items that can be restored and store them in our warehouse to be cleaned and dried. After the structure has been reviewed we then begin the cleaning process, being careful to protect any undamaged areas of the home before we start. Once clean we can begin drying and assessing the damage totality, our trained crew includes carpenters and other subcontractors that can help to expedite the recovery process and get you back in your home faster.

Retail Store Flood

11/2/2017 (Permalink)

Reaction-time cannot be underestimated when disaster strikes a retail establishment. At SERVPRO of Washington County we strive to react and be onsite within the hour for most disasters. Recently we responded to a call from a retail store where flooding had occurred. Our team arrived on-site and immediately removed & stored all retail goods from the affected area, saving the owners thousands in lost merchandise. Next the crew began to contain the water damage to the already affected areas of the store to prevent further damage. Using our know-how and the drying equipment at our disposal the crew was able to begin mitigation processes within 45 minutes of arrival. Once further damage was contained our repair crew began to take preventative measures to safeguard the structure from further flooding knowing another rain storm was due the following day. Once drying was complete our contracting team took over and began the repairs needed to fix the damage from the flood and to repair the building to prevent a future flood.

Hotel Lobby Flood

10/30/2017 (Permalink)

When disaster strikes a business or commercial property SERVPRO of Washington County has scored high ranks with our clients, we understand the importance of ensuring a business or commercial is in operation as soon as possible. In many cases we are able to isolate the area where the disaster has struck and the business can remain in operation. Recently we were called to a disaster at a hotel where water from persistent rains flooded the lobby. Upon arrival our first goal was to clean and restore as much of the lobby as possible. We knew that by doing so we could allow the hotel to operate and service their customers as we continued to mitigate and dry the public areas of the business. Our team built temporary barriers to block the view of the equipment and the crew as the mitigation work was underway, 24/7 until the lobby was 100% recovered.

Serving Westerly, RI

10/30/2017 (Permalink)

Some of the most rewarding work we do is directly in our community. When we are called to a disaster in our hometown of Westerly, RI we know that our every-step is on display to individuals we may end up seeing around the community many times over afterward and we must step-up our performance. A few years ago we had been called to a summer home on Atlantic Ave which had flooded after a winter storm. We were on the scene within the hour and began the process of mitigating and repairing the home. Little did we know the owner of the home was also a local business owner and his boatyard also suffered damage after the storm. Thanks to our crew and their professional approach in the beach home we were called into work on and mitigate the water damaged suffered in the warehouse and office building of the yard.

Flooded House, Now What!

10/23/2017 (Permalink)

Ceiling underneath the washing machine.

All too often homeowners wait too long before contacting a water damage mitigation expert in the event of a flood. A good example is when an appliance (like the dishwasher or washing machine) breaks and leaks throughout the house. If you are lucky you realize the leak right away and are able to fix the problem before any real damage is done. But many times a small leak goes undetected for weeks until the leak expands and parts of the home begin to show water damage. 

In one particular example, a two-story single family home was set up with the washer and dryer on the second floor. The homeowners left the machine running before leaving for the day and returned home to find the supply hose had become detached from the washing machine and was draining onto the carpets and throughout the house.

They attempted to dry the mess themselves and waited 5 days before contacting SERVPRO of Washington County multiplying the problem and damage to their home.

Hurricane Report: 2017

10/11/2017 (Permalink)

Needless to say, it has been a busy hurricane season in the United States. SERVPRO of Washington County has been busy serving the affected communities while also leaving an experienced crew behind ready to serve Rhode Island in case emergency restoration services have been needed. 

During the last few months, we have provided equipment, manpower, and management in the hurricane-affected areas of Texas, Florida, Louisana, Mississippi & Alabama. It has been difficult work and hard to witness the damage first hand but it has also been uplifting to see the resolve of the people who want to get back to normal and have pitched in to help their community.

We would like to send our continued prayers to the communities surrounding the hurricane zones of Houston & Florida, SERVPRO of Washington County is available if you need us!

Back to School Is Here, Schools Need ERPs Too!

8/29/2017 (Permalink)

AT SERVPRO® of Washington County we believe learning shouldn’t be paused or canceled, even in the face of disaster. Disasters at an educational facility are highly complex and require a knowledgeable and flexible response. Whether we’re dealing with a small school or a campus of higher education, we work quickly to assess each unique situation and isolate the damaged area so that normal operations can continue while we restore your facility. Our professionals are trained to be mindful of legal and environmental concerns and strive to fully restore the damaged area. Your job is to provide valuable lessons and information to the students; ours is to make sure you have a safe place to do so.

An Emergency Ready Profile Can Save You Thousands. 
By profiling your school, library, daycare or event facility with SERVPRO of Washington County you allow us to document and understand how to approach any disaster with the intent of mitigating further damage immediately upon our arrival on the scene.

Setting up your Emergency Ready Profile is easy, simply call (401)-315-2337 and we will schedule a convenient date and time for an SERVPRO Project Manager to review, document, tag, and photograph your facilities as part of your new Emergency Ready Program Profile. 

Healthcare Facility Disaster Restoration

8/1/2017 (Permalink)

Our team of disaster restoration professionals is well trained in adhering to the highest sanitation standards, especially when working in 'clean spaces' such as hospitals, doctors offices, rehab facilities, etc.. Our team knows time is crucial for both your operations and your patients and we strive to work around the clock to complete the task at hand as quickly as possible.Each crew member undergoes specialized training to work in operating rooms and other restricted areas and knows how to handle regulated medical waste according to HIPPA regulations. We also adhere to a strict policy that every medical facility disaster is prepared for environmental and infection control, and teams establish containment areas, monitor progress and make sure that all necessary health certifications are obtained prior to completing any job. Our number one priority is to quickly and safely take full responsibility of your cleanup needs so that you are free to focus on your number one priority: the patients. Our experience in the healthcare industry has given us the ability to provide a variety of detailed services for the following:

  • Hospitals
  • Assisted Living Centers
  • Outpatient Surgical Centers
  • Hospice Facilities
  • Rehab Facilities
  • Medical Office Buildings

Celebrate Summer Safety

7/25/2017 (Permalink)

Summer is a time to enjoy the great outdoors, but it is also important to keep safety in mind. Consider the following tips, provided by the National Fire Protection Association to keep you and your family safe all summer long.

  • When using a charcoal grill, only use starter fluids designed for barbecue grills; do not add fluid after coals have been lit.
  • When using a gas grill, ensure the hose connection is tight; check hoses for leaks. Applying soapy water to the hoses will easily and safely reveal any leaks.
  • Always build a campfire downwind from the tent area. Clear vegetation and dig a pit before building your fire. Extinguish the fire before going to sleep or leaving the campsite.
  • Store liquid fire starter (not gasoline) away from your tent and campfire and only use dry kindling to freshen a campfire.

Your local SERVPRO® of Washington County wishes you a safe and happy summer!

Professional Carpet Cleaning

7/18/2017 (Permalink)

Choosing the right carpet cleaning company has never been easier. SERVPRO of Long Island City's professional cleaning crew is available for carpet cleaning work of any size. Our experience and powerful cleaning equipment can handle large commercial and residential cleaning jobs such as hotels, lobbies, and common hallways. Or small jobs such as residential homes and small business retail locations. As the country's leader in disaster restoration SERVPRO employees have become accustomed to clean-up work that appears to be beyond repair. Yet time and time again their training and determination prove otherwise thus earning a reliable reputation for disaster clean-up. Carpet cleaning, although smaller in scale visually, is not much different than a full on disaster. It requires the technician carefully evaluates the situation and determines the course of action to produce the best results.

Hurricane Season 2017: What to Expect.

7/10/2017 (Permalink)

As we begin the summer months it is important to note the start of the 2017 hurricane season is also underway. Meteorologist and scientist around the world believe this year we could see an increased number of Atlantic Ocean hurricanes due to a weak to non-existent El Nino effect.  SERVPRO of Washington County offers experienced leadership and crew members when it comes to hurricane damage and flooding mitigation.

Experienced team members play a crucial role in reducing the damage caused by severe weather, especially in coastal communities. SERVPRO of Washington County managers and crew members have participated in mitigating floods across the country including floods caused by Superstorm Sandy in 2014.

Please take a minute to note this phone number, 401-315-2337, our office is available 24-7 and ready to send a prepared crew to your emergency situation in a moment's notice. We offer several mitigation services that can drastically reduce the overall damage caused by weather.

2017 Mold Report & Preparation

7/1/2017 (Permalink)

Nationwide 2017 has been a unique year for weather. Across the country cities and towns have been stressed by the weather extremes from snowfall accumulating in 48 of 50 states to almost non-stop rain storms and flooding throughout the spring in some areas. The next battle will be the warm summer months and mold will be a new challenge as a result of the spring weather. SERVPRO technicians everywhere are getting prepared for what they believe will be an above average year for mold contamination in homes and commercial properties everywhere.

In New England states like Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Massachusetts many homes and commercial properties will have mold issues, especially in basements and lower levels.  These areas tend to get very little light and remain damp even when the temperature rises creating the perfect environment for mold to thrive. 

If you believe your home, office or commercial building could be experiencing mold issues call us today! 401-315-2337

Damage Estimating

6/8/2017 (Permalink)

Commercial damage and restoration projects can be difficult for Insurance Adjusters to project and estimate. Our executive team recently held a class offering an opportunity to meet with area adjusters and help them to understand commercial disaster applications and how to better cost analyze these specific types of projects. Insurance adjusters from several different companies attended the class and were each able to take away helpful tools and tips for several different types of restoration jobs such as water and fire damage, mold remediation and more.

SERVPRO of Washington County is happy to arrange these types of seminars for insurance agents and adjusters who would like to better understand how to estimate and price services in a disaster situation. Contact our office today and we will provide you details for your companies private seminar.

Professional Spring Cleaning

5/10/2017 (Permalink)

Considering Spring Cleaning?

Springtime cleaning in the coastal New England states of Connecticut, Rhode Island & Massachusetts usually means the typical top-to-bottom refreshing of a home or place of business that is needed after a long winter. Many times homeowners and business managers take on these tasks in-house and spend hours cleaning surface dust and dirt refreshing and cleaning the space. While this may give an appearance of a freshly cleaned space SERVPRO Professionals know there is so much more to true “spring cleaning”.


 


One of the first task to evaluating a commercial or residential space is to identify the type of heating source used throughout the winter; homes or businesses using duct work to provide heat should begin by cleaning ducts ensuring the dust a debris collected after a full season heating is removed. SERVPRO of Washington County provides duct cleaning services throughout Rhode Island and the surrounding area; so even if you prefer to do the bulk of spring cleaning in your home we can help to clean your duct work to ensure clean air when it is time to turn on the air conditioning.


For commercial spaces duct work cleaning is imperative as larger buildings will accumulate  more dust and debris and, in turn the accumulation reduces airflow and air purity for the entire property. SERVPRO of Washington County is an experienced commercial property duct cleaning provider and can offer you a no obligation evaluation of your property. Clean ducts can not only help to provide cleaner air into your facility but drastically reduces cooling and heating cost and can prevent the likelihood of fire do to a heating system malfunction.



Contact a SERVPRO professional from SERVPRO of Washington County today. We specialize in spring cleaning of any size from duct and carpet cleaning, to hoarder clean-outs and disaster restoration we are a team you can trust!

Fire Pit Safety Tips

5/2/2017 (Permalink)

Fire pits are a great way to accessorize your yard and they are perfect for gatherings! When you use your fire pit, make sure you are keeping you and your property safe by following these safety tips!


Location


Make sure you keep your fire pit AT LEAST 10 feet away from any structures. This may help prevent sparks from hitting your home and excessive smoke from entering your or your neighbor’s home.


Do NOT put your fire pit under tree branches or on a covered deck. Make sure your fire pit is in a location where the flames and sparks will not hit any objects.


Under the Pit


If your fire pit is not built into the ground, make sure you have stone, brick, gravel, or concrete under the pit. This will help prevent the area below the pit from burning. You should NEVER place your pit over dry grass or over a wooden deck. This is because the heat from the base of it pit may spark a fire to the ground below it.


Weather


Do not use your fire pit if it is windy. The wind may push sparks from the fire to an area that is flammable.


When you are using your fire pit, you should notice the direction the breeze is blowing. You should move any object out of the way of where the breeze is blowing to help prevent a fire from occurring.


Lighting the Pit


When lighting your fire pit, use a commercial fire starter pack. Do NOT use lighter fluid or gasoline to light the pit or to relight fires. You should always keep water nearby just in case the fire inside of the pit spreads.


Before you use your fire pit, you should check your town’s laws on fire pits. Some towns require a permit and an inspection. If the unfortunate happens, call the experts at SERVPRO. We will restore your property and make it look “Like it never even happened.”

Should you Clean your Air Ducts?

4/24/2017 (Permalink)

It’s that time of year where everyone wonders if they should get their air ducts cleaned. Dirty air ducts usually spread dust, dirt, and mold around your property. This can lead to poor indoor air quality.

While it is normal to have some dust and pollen in your air ducts, you might want to consider getting your ducts cleaned if the following is true:

1. There is mold growing inside of the air ducts

It is not always easy to see if mold is present. If your service provider says that mold is growing, ask him to show you where it is. If you do have mold in your air ducts, please note that it is impossible to completely get rid of mold.

2. Your ducts are infested with vermin

Do you have unwanted guests living in your air ducts? If so, you should call an expert to get them out as quickly as possible in order to prevent the problem from getting worse.

3. Your ducts are clogged with debris and dust

If your air ducts are clogged, you should call a professional to clean out your ducts. A clog can contribute to poor air quality.

If you have experienced any of the above issues, make sure you find out what caused the issue because it is likely that it will happen again.

If you believe your ventilation system falls into one of these three categories, call SERVPRO! The experts at SERVPRO will inspect your ductwork and HVAC system, give recommendations about the best way to address poor air quality, and fix your problem.

How to Prevent Mold

4/19/2017 (Permalink)

Mold can grow everywhere, from your carpet to your window seals, and even inside of your walls! Sometimes it is easy to detect mold, and other times it’s more difficult. While it is impossible to completely eliminate mold, here are some tips on how to prevent mold from growing.

Dry Wet Areas

Mold needs moisture to grow. You can help prevent mold from growing by wiping away condensation and by not leaving wet items around. Always make sure you wipe down the bathroom after you shower and hang wet towels in a room with good air circulation to dry.

Proper Ventilation

Poor ventilation allows water to stay in the area and may help mold grow. If you are doing an activity that produces a lot of moisture, like cooking, make sure you are using the exhaust fan. You can always open up a window in addition to using an exhaust fan.

Monitor Humidity

The EPA recommends indoor air humidity should be between 30 and 60 percent. You can keep an eye on humidity levels in your home with a moisture meter which can be picked up at your local hardware store.

If your home has high humidity levels, you may want to get a dehumidifier. This will help keep humidity levels down.

Direct Moisture Away from your Home

If your property constantly is flooded, you may want to develop a way to prevent water from getting inside of your home. This will help prevent water damage and it may help prevent mold from growing inside of your home. This can be done in a few ways.

  1. Create a barrier
  2. Dig a trench
  3. Build a dry well

If you suspect that you have mold growing in your home, call SERVPRO. The experts at SERVPRO will inspect and assess your property with our specialized training and equipment. We will make your property look “Like it never even happened”.

5 Spring Cleaning Tips

4/7/2017 (Permalink)

Spring has officially sprung and that means it is time for spring cleaning! If you think the only way to clean your home is with harsh chemicals, think again! You can clean almost every surface in your home with distilled white vinegar. Get every room in your home looking clean and smelling fresh by following these spring cleaning tips.

Clean Carpet

Over the course of the winter, your carpet may have developed an odor and it may have sand, salt, and dirt trapped inside of it. Help eliminate the odor and remove anything trapped inside of the carpet by mixing essential oils and distilled white vinegar. Before applying this mixture, test it out on a small area of your carpet because some fabrics are sensitive and it may cause damage.

Clean Windows

Over time, windows get dirty or develop smudges. You can make your windows look crystal clear by mixing one part hot water and one part distilled white vinegar in a spray bottle. Simply spray the solution on the window and wipe away to clean.

Follow these three steps to make your windows truly shine.

  1. Clean from the top down.
  2. Do NOT clean your windows in direct sunlight. This will cause streaking.
  3. Avoid damage to your window frames by drying immediately.

Clean Mattress

Dust mites and odors are inevitable when it comes to mattresses. You can help eliminate them by doing the following steps.

  1. Remove all sheets and blankets from the bed.
  2. Spray mattress with distilled white vinegar.
  3. Sprinkle baking soda over the white vinegar and let it bubble.
  4. Place a towel over mattress for 1-2 hours or until dry.
  5. Vacuum up any residue from the baking soda.

Clean Refrigerator

You probably want to avoid using harsh chemicals where you store your food. Follow these steps to get your refrigerator looking like new!

  1. Remove all contents from the refrigerator.
  2. Wash shelves and the sides of the refrigerator with one part hot water and one part distilled white vinegar.
  3. Dry all areas of the refrigerator
  4. Wipe down jars before putting them back in the refrigerator.

Clean Bathtub

Over the course of time, your tub can build up with grime and soap residue. You can eliminate the buildup with ease by doing the following.

  1. Fill a spray bottle with one part hot water and one part distilled white vinegar
  2. Spray mixture in the tub and let it sit for 15 minutes.
  3. Wipe clean with a sponge or a towel
  4. Rise tub with water and wipe again

These cleaning tips should make your home look and smell great. Remember, you can always call SERVPRO to do your spring cleaning for you. SERVPRO offers “green” cleaning products and we are available 24/7!

Types of Fire Damage

3/24/2017 (Permalink)

According to the NFPA, the number of fires your household can expect in an average lifetime is five. Any fire regardless of size will cause damage to your property. Fire damage is classified into six different classes and the type of fire damage can be classified in two ways.

Six Types of Fire Damage

Fires are classified into six different classes. These classes are Class A, Class B, Class C, Class D, Class E, and Class F.

  • Class A: Involves flammable solids, plastics, paper, rubber, cloth, and wood
  • Class B: Damage is caused by flammable solids that became liquids and by liquids. Examples of these types of substance are gasoline, petrol, oil, plastics and, paints. Cooking oils and fats are excluded from this class
  • Class C: Involves flammable gasses such as hydrogen, natural gas, butane, and propane
  • Class D: Damage is caused by combustible gasses such as potassium, sodium, and magnesium
  • Class E: This class is a combination of Class A and Class B but, it involves electrical elements
  • Class F: Damage is caused by cooking oils and fats. Cooking oils and fats are in their own class because the fire is usually hotter and more damage is caused.

Fire extinguishers are not a one size fits all. Make sure you read the label on your fire extinguisher to see what types of fires it can put out. Some fire extinguishers are water based which would not be safe to use on a Class E fire. Also, check the expiration date on your fire extinguisher to make sure it is still good to use in case of an emergency.

Types of Fire Damage

Most insurance companies use two classifications for fire damage. These categories are primary damage and secondary damage.

  • Primary Damage: Damage is caused by direct flames to the structure or to objects inside of the structure
  • Secondary Damage: Damage is caused by corrosive substances, smoke, and water from putting the fire out

Secondary damage typically causes the most damage to the structure. This is because soot and smoke can work its way throughout the structure.

If you experience a fire in your home, the first step you should take is to call the fire department. Your second step should be to reach out to your insurance agent. Your final step should be calling SERVPRO. All SERVPRO franchises are available 24/7 with highly trained restoration technicians. SERVPRO specializes in fire and water damage and will get your property looking “Like it never even happened”.

Restoring Your Newport and Bristol Counties Commercial Property After A Water Damage Event

4/29/2016 (Permalink)

Flooding and water damage events at SERPVRO of Newport and Bristol Counties commercial properties are often complex with numerous issues that require a knowledgeable and flexible response. Whether we’re dealing with a relatively small water cleanup scenario or a large scale event, we work quickly to assess each unique situation and isolate the damaged area. In many instances, normal operations can continue in a temporary space while we restore your facility.

Restoring Commercial Properties Presents Unique Challenges

Our professionals are trained to be mindful of legal and environmental concerns and strive to fully restore the damaged area while working within your budgetary constraints. We understand that every hour spent cleaning up is an hour of lost revenue and productivity. So when an emergency situation arises in your business, give us a call and we’ll be there fast with the help you need.

About SERVPRO of Newport and Bristol Counties

SERVPRO of Newport and Bristol Counties specializes in the cleanup and restoration of commercial and residential property after a water damage event. Our staff is highly trained in property damage restoration. From initial and ongoing training at SERVPRO’s corporate training facility to regular IICRC-industry certification, rest assured our staff is equipped with the knowledge to restore your property.

How To (and how NOT to) Spend Your Tax Refund

2/17/2016 (Permalink)

(From Staff Editors of "The Fiscal Times" on Yahoo!)

Getting a tax refund can feel like winning a small lottery. And it’s tempting to blow the windfall. But hold tight: There are smarter ways to use your mad money than putting a down payment on a Harley or jetting to Aruba for the weekend, and they will put you a step closer to financial security.

Last year the IRS issued more than 77 million tax refunds averaging about $2,800, the agency said. That’s not pocket change. For many people, that’s bigger than a paycheck. So think before you splurge.

“Have a plan for the funds before they arrive and implement the plan as soon as you receive your check,” says Michael Busch, president of Vogel Financial Advisors in Dallas. “It’s dangerous to let the money sit in your checking account—it might get spent.”

Here’s are some do’s and don’ts from financial experts.

1. Fund your golden years. Use the refund to beef up your IRA or Roth IRA, says James Guarino, tax partner at Moody, Famiglietti & Andronico in Wakefield, Massachusetts. This only works as long as you have enough earned income for the year to meet contribution requirements.

Or consider increasing your contributions to your 401(k), says Busch. You can’t deposit the refund directly into the 401(k), but you can increase the amount that is taken from your paycheck for the rest of the year. The refund will offset your reduced take-home pay. It’s a double win, too. “Not only will you get the refund into your 401(k) account this way, but you will also lower your tax bill because the increased 401(k) salary deferrals will reduce your taxable wages,” Busch says.

2. Put a dent in your debt. Eliminate that credit card balance once and for all with your tax refund. If you don’t have enough money to cover all of your outstanding balances, start with the one that has the highest interest rate and move down the rate ladder, says Chris Hardy, CEO at Paramount Investment Advisors in Suwanee, Georgia. In certain cases, interest you pay on student loan debt can be deducted from your taxable income (for the following year) up to $2,500, Hardy notes.

3. Save for a rainy day. If you don’t have an emergency fund or have a very small one, use the tax refund to increase your peace of mind. The rule of thumb is to be able to cover at least three months to six months of expenses. Keep it in a savings account or other account that can be accessed quickly.

“You never know when you need cash and since you have a nice inflow, now is a good place to start,” says Neil Waxman, managing director Capital Advisors in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

4. Pay down your mortgage. Use your refund to make an extra principal payment on your mortgage, Busch recommends. “A $1,000 extra principal payment at the beginning of a 30-year, $100,000 mortgage at 6 percent will save you nearly $5,000,” he says. “If your interest rate is higher, the savings will be even greater.”

5. Fund a child’s education. A tax refund is a great opportunity to start or increase your child’s or grandchild’s college savings fund, says Busch. You can use the refund to open a Coverdell IRA or a 529 college savings plan. If used for education expenses, the earnings on these funds grow tax-free.

“And the return on this kind of investment—a college education for your children—can’t be measured,” says Busch. “It’s priceless.”

6. Give it away. Pass along your good fortune by donating your tax refund to your favorite charity. This is also a smart tax move, because you get an extra income tax deduction for the following year.

7. Invest it. Make that tax refund work hard for you by investing the money in a non-retirement brokerage account. Then, watch that tax refund grow over time, increasing your overall net worth. “If you put away $2,700 a year for 10 years at a modest 5 percent return, you will have over $32,416,” says Vickie Adams, a certified financial planner in San Pedro, California.

Related: The 8 Most Common Tax Mistakes That Can Cost You Hundreds

8. Buy something. Even financial planners think its O.K. to indulge in guilty pleasures every now and again. “I’ve never been one to tell a client what they shouldn’t do with their money,” says Taylor Schulte, president of Define Financial in San Diego. “It’s important to maintain balance in their lives, and if they think that making a material purchase or taking a family vacation is what would be best, I can respect that.”

Here’s a good way to figure out how to spend it smartly, according to Waxman. Write down all the things you want to save for and prioritize them by importance. These can be short term, like buying new clothes or furniture; medium term, such as a big vacation or down payment on a house; or long term, like retirement or college savings. “Save or spend according to that list, but try and at least fund all of them,” Waxman says.

Niv Persaud, managing director of Transition Planning and Guidance in Atlanta, recommends doing a little of everything above. “Follow the philosophy spend-save-share,” she says. For example, take 10 percent—that’s $280 of the average refund—and spend it on something frivolous. Save 80 percent or put that money toward a financial goal such as buying a new home, preparing for retirement or college or paying down debt. Give the remaining 10 percent to your favorite charity.

But don’t…

Experts also offered some of the ways you shouldn’t use your tax refund.Don’t spend indiscriminately without a plan, says Waxman. “Consumption isn’t bad as long as it’s measured and done after thinking about the alternatives,” he says. He also says to avoid investing in your buddy’s stock tip.

Don’t purchase high-cost mutual funds or expensive insurance products, says Hardy.

“Do not spend it without having agreement in your family,” says Angela Giboney, owner of AFG Financial in Mill Creek, Washington. “Do not use it as a down payment on a car.”

Last, don’t get a refund next year, says Bryan Lee, founder of Strategic Financial Planning in Plano, Texas. “Rather than giving Uncle Sam an interest-free loan throughout the year,” he says, “they should change their withholding and use that money to invest throughout the year.”

The Oddity That Is Super Bowl Prop Bets

1/31/2016 (Permalink)

Prop Bets for Even the Most Casual Fans
Super Bowl Prop Bets

Beyonce, Coldplay, Gatorade pop up in Super Bowl prop bets.

By Lori Kelly

Special to Outkick The Coverage from OddsShark.com 

Sportsbooks have released some of the exotic props for Super Bowl 50, involving everything from the musical acts performing to the color of the Gatorade that will be poured on the winning coach after the game. 

Beyonce and Coldplay will entertain the crowd and what could be a record television audience during the halftime show, and each of them have their own Super Bowl 50 props. Bettors can wager on what color Beyonce's shoes will be when she comes out on stage, with black a slight +150 favorite (bet $100 to win $150) over gold/brown (+250), white (+275), silver/grey (+475) and any other color (+700).

You can also bet on what song British band Coldplay will open with during their set. Their recent hit "Adventure of a Lifetime" from their latest album A Head Full of Dreams is the +200 favorite with "Fix You" the +350 second choice followed by "A Sky Full of Stars" (+450), "Viva La Vida" (+500), "Clocks" (+750), "Speed of Sound" (+900), "Paradise" (+1000) and the title track "Head Full of Dreams" (+1000). 

As well, you can wager on the annual Gatorade shower. Orange remains the favored color for the Super Bowl 50 Gatorade shower at +125 followed by Blue (+300), Clear (+400), Yellow (+400), Red (+600), Green (+1000) and Purple (+1000).

Blue has emerged as the second choice after New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was doused with that color of Gatorade last year following his team's 28-24 victory against the Seattle Seahawks. 

Some other interesting exotic props for Super Bowl 50 include how many times Archie Manning -- the father of Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning -- will be shown during the television broadcast along with Broncos General Manager and former quarterback John Elway.

Manning's OVER/UNDER has been set at 1.5 with the UNDER favored at -140 (bet $140 to win $100) while Elway's number is 2.5 with the UNDER also favored at -140. 

Those who think Peyton will announce his retirement in the postgame interview after the Super Bowl can bet on that happening at +500. 

Chicago Bears head coach John Fox had the same job with both Denver and the Carolina Panthers previously before getting fired by each team, and you can wager on how many times his name will be mentioned during the TV broadcast with the O/U set at 1. 

And if you have a good feel for TV ratings, you can bet on how many viewers will be tuning into the big game on February 7, taking OVER or UNDER 117 million, or pick whether you think the Nielsen Rating will end up OVER or UNDER 48.5.

Inspiration Personified

1/21/2016 (Permalink)

#DSTRONG

A dying boy's wish, to become famous in China, is being fulfilled by thousands of people online.

Dorian Murray, 8, from Rhode Island in the United States, is fighting cancer and has chosen to stop treatment.

An 11 January post on a Facebook page run by his family said that before Dorian died he wanted to be "famous in China", because it had the Great Wall.

It asked people in China and other countries to send pictures so Dorian knows "he is internationally famous".

Dorian has been battling rhabdomyosarcoma, a type of soft tissue cancer, since the age of four.

He recently told his parents he wanted to be famous on "the bridge in China" - a reference to the Great Wall of China, local media reported.

"I'm just thinking before I go to heaven to try to be famous as much as I can," Dorian told local broadcaster WPRI.

Not long after his family made the Facebook appeal, the first few posts from the Great Wall started pouring in - despite Facebook being blocked in China.

The appeal has also been shared thousands of time on social media.

Image copyrightFacebook

On China's microblogging site weibo, Dorian Murray started trending with thousands of users sharing his story.

"Cancer is already a terrible thing to go through, what's more, a young boy? He is so courageous and innocent and I hope we can make his dream come true. Let's make it trend," said Kara_ Star 289.

Weibo users have also been uploading and sharing photographs, carrying signs reading #D-strong, taken at various locations around Beijing including the Great Wall.

Staff of state-run newspaper China Daily have also shown their support.

Dorian's mother has written that she is "amazed and completely in awe of the response to Dorian's request".

"Dorian has brought so much inspiration to people, around the world! I couldn't be more proud of my son."

Homes Of Holiday Movies

12/11/2015 (Permalink)

The Griswold House from "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation".

Home Alone

“Buzz, your girlfriend…WOOF!”

Good news for “Home Alone” fans -- you can drive-by the famous McCallister family home at 671 Lincoln Avenue in Winnetta, Illinois. The 4,243-square-foot home is as large as it appeared in the film (4 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms and 9 rooms in total). The residence was purchased in 2012 for over $1.5 million, according to Zillow.

Miracle on 34th Street

Despite the addition of a second-story window, little Susan Walker's "dream home" from "Miracle on 34th Street" appears just as it did almost 70 years ago.

Located at 24 Derby Road in Port Washington, New York, the single-family home features 7 rooms.

The home featured in John Hughes' 1994 remake starring Mara Wilson, is located at 771 Washington Road in Lake Forest, Illinois, and it's more than quadruple the size of the home from the original film. The Illinois house was listed for sale on Zillow in July for a cool $3.4 million.

Elf

Walter Hobbs (James Caan), father to Buddy (Will Ferrell), resided in the Upper West Side of New York City in the movie. The apartment was located at 55 Central Park West, where scenes from the 1984 film "Ghostbusters" took place as well.

The 19-floor co-op building was used for exterior shots but interior shots of the apartment may have been a set.

A Christmas Story

Beware of the Bumpass' dogs.

Thanks to "A Christmas Story" super-fan Brian Jones of Jacksonville, Florida, Ralphie's home located at 3159 W. 11th Street in Cleveland, Ohio, has been well-preserved from the inside and out.

Jones, who purchased the house in December 2004, turned it into a tourist attraction complete with a museum and gift shop open to the public.

For the past five years, he has even held eBay auctions inviting people to come and stay in the house where Ralphie lived with his mom, dad and little brother Randy.

This year, the winning bid was $8,700. The winner will get to spend two nights in the three-story, 1940s-style home complete with four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a loft, a leg lamp in the window and an old fashioned radio to listen to "Little Orphan Annie."

Scrooged

The comedic take on the Charles Dickens' “A Christmas Carol" starring Bill Murray (Frank Cross), told the laugh-out-loud story of a self-absorbed television executive who's visited by three ghosts on Christmas Eve night

"Scrooged" was largely filmed in New York City with interior (lobby) and exterior shots of the 38-story, 516-foot Seagram Building located at 375 Park Avenue in Manhattan.

Other notable Big Apple locations from the movie can be seen on 5th Avenue and the 45 Rd. Courthouse Sq. subway station in Long Island City.

The Family Stone

With 5 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms, the 3,554 square-foot home from the "The Family Stone" still appears large enough to house a semi-awkward Christmas gathering, just as it did for the 2005 holiday film.

Built in 1860, the colonial sits at 144 Riverside Avenue, Riverside, Connecticut, and was sold in January 2008 for $4.1 million, according to Zillow.

With no up-to-date interior shots of the home, it's a wonder if Sybil Stone's (Diane Keating) clutter-filled kitchen and worn-in, cozy living room remain as they were 10 years ago.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

Sad but true, the "Griswold House" from the classic Christmas comedy "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation" sat in The Warner Bros. back lot. According to IMDB, the neighborhood where the Griswolds lived was the same as the one used on the 2009 television series "The Middle" (2009), which funny enough, featured Brian Doyle-Murray (Clark's boss Mr. Shirley) in a recurring role as the character Mr. Ehlert.

It's a Wonderful Life

George and Mary Bailey's “drafty old house" in the fictional town of "Bedford Falls" was also built as a residential set on the RKO Ranch in Encino, California, according to IMDB.

Mold Prevention Tips

11/21/2015 (Permalink)

WHY PREVENT MOLD?

Mold can also be harmful to your health, so mold prevention is very important. Mold uses tiny spores to reproduce, and inhaling those spores causes respiratory problems and other health problems, like headaches, depression and fatigue.

Mold is a type of fungus. In nature, mold eats dead plants and animals, serving an important purpose. Mold can grow indoors, however, where it does not serve a purpose but can destroy materials. It can damage materials in your home. It can ruin carpet, even walls. Preventing mold is important because if mold takes hold, you can spend a fortune replacing ruined items.

Mold prevention is also important because once it takes hold; it’s hard to get rid of it. If you see mold or notice a musty smell in your house, you have a mold problem and need to address it. If you don’t see or smell mold, you probably do not have a mold problem and you want to keep it that way. If you’re not sure if you have a mold problem, you can have a professional come in and conduct a test. Your homeowner’s insurance may even pay for it.

HOW DO I PREVENT MOLD?

Mold requires organic material and moisture in order to grow and thrive. There is usually plenty of organic material in homes and it’s almost impossible to get rid of it all, so the key to mold prevention is eliminating excess moisture. Water leaks, high humidity and condensation all provide moisture that allows mold to grow. If your roof leaks or water comes in around windows, fix it. If humidity is high, invest in a dehumidifier.

If you experience flooding or a leak, you need to dry things out thoroughly. Use fans and a dehumidifier (or two), take up all carpet and remove all soaked objects until they can be dried. Some items may need to be discarded and replaced.

Make sure your home has adequate ventilation in areas like bathrooms, laundry rooms and attics. Energy efficient homes may hold moisture inside, in which case opening a window or turning on a fan when showering and cooking will help with mold prevention.

USE MATERIALS THAT PREVENT MOLD WHEN RENOVATING

You can purchase mold-resistant drywall or sheetrock, which are particularly useful in high-moisture areas like bathrooms and laundry rooms. Ask for mold-resistant products at your local home improvement store, or if you have a professional contractor handling your home renovations, ask him or her to use mold-resistant products whenever possible.

MONITOR INDOOR HUMIDITY

The Environmental Protection Agency recommends keeping indoor humidity between 30 and 60 percent. Purchase a moisture meter at your local hardware store and use humidifiers or dehumidifiers if necessary to keep the humidity at the right level to prevent mold.

DIRECT GROUND WATER AWAY FROM YOUR HOME

Another key to mold prevention is directing ground water away from your home. If the ground slopes toward your home, you’re likely to have leaking in your basement or in a crawlspace, which will lead to the growth of mold.

KEEP YOUR GUTTERS CLEAN

Clogged gutters often lead to leaky roofs. Prevent mold by preventing leaks. Clean your gutters regularly and if you notice stains on your ceiling, check the gutters for clogs and check the roof right away for leaks. 

Sometimes It PAYS To Be Forgetful!

11/20/2015 (Permalink)

Bernard Bennick had two winning tickets for the "Bank a Million" Virginia Lottery game. (Photo: Virginia Lottery)

When Bernard Bennick couldn’t remember if he had purchased a ticket for the November 18th drawing of the Virginia Lottery’s 'Bank a Million' game, he ended up buying another one with identical numbers; both matched the numbers that were selected, giving him the top prize of $1 million twice for a win of $2 million.

(Source:  Virginia State Lottery)

Fudge Recipe

11/19/2015 (Permalink)

Microwave Chocolate Pumpkin Fudge. Yes, It Turns Out You Need This!
 Tess PanzerNovember 17, 2015

The holidays are all about sweet indulgences, and one of our favorites is fudge. We love, love, love a good, creamy, toothsome piece of fudge, and we’ve found a way to make it perfect for the holiday season — pumpkin!

Making fudge may seem a bit intimidating, but we assure you it’s really very simple. With no more than five ingredients and a microwave, you’ll be rollin’ in the sweet stuff in no time. Hurray!

Materials:

  • 4 cups White Chocolate Chips
  • 1/3 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
  • 2/3 cup Pumpkin Purée, at room temperature
  • 2 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Tools:

  • 9 x 9 in. Baking Dish
  • Aluminum Foil
  • Nonstick Cooking Spray

Related on Yahoo Makers: Pumpkin Cheesecake — No Baking Required

Instructions:

1. Line a 9 x 9 in. baking tin with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine white chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave at 50 percent power for 1 minute, then stir.

3. Continue to microwave in 30-second increments at 50 percent power until chocolate is completely melted and the peanut butter is completely incorporated.

4. Add the pumpkin, spice, and vanilla, and stir to completely combine.

5. Quickly pour the mixture into the lined baking dish and refrigerate overnight.

6. Slice the fudge with a sharp knife and enjoy.

Barbie Ad

11/17/2015 (Permalink)

The World is Falling in Love With the Boy in the Moschino Barbie Commercial
 Jihan ForbesNovember 16, 2015

The commercial for the Moschino Barbie collection dropped about two weeks ago, but the spot is finally getting some buzz thanks to one particularly enthusiastic cast member. The actor is, according to the New York Post, the first little boy to be cast in a Barbie commercial.

“Moschino Barbie is so fierce,” our young mohawked prince exclaims, punctuating his enthusiasm with an equally fierce neck roll and hand gestures. The boy’s appearance comes at a time when society is moving away from gendering toys and clothing for children. Target, for example recently decided to remove gender-based signs in their toy aisle

This commercial is just another step forward in ending the stereotype that children’s toys are suitable for one gender as opposed to another. After all, the only real difference between a Barbie doll and an “action figure” is stylish clothing options – and who it’s been traditionally marketed to.

Most importantly, we hope the commercial will connect with little boys who actually enjoy playing with Barbie dolls, showing them that liking those things isn’t a bad thing, and that their playtime options shouldn’t be limited. Barbie is a fun toy and all kids should be able to play with her regardless of societal pressures. And it seems the world is ready for these changes, as the reaction to the video has been overwhelmingly positive

You stay fierce, Moschino Barbie boy.

Football Contest

9/9/2015 (Permalink)

We're excited to announce a contest we will be running this football season.  It is FREE and open to all in our service area.  If you aren't a fan of football, feel free to submit an entry on behalf of family, friends, etc.The contest is simple, each week, on Tuesday, I will select 5 NFL games and you just reply to my email with your pick for the winner of each game (straight up, no spread involved).  Then you select the total number of combined points for the Monday Night game as a tiebreaker.  It's that simple.There will be a weekly winner of a $100.00 gift card, and there will be a end of the season grand prize winner for a $500 AMEX Gift Card; so your best chance is to enter every week since the person with the most total "wins" overall will be the grand prize winner.  If you have any questions just reply to this message.  Going forward, I will only send the email out to those interested in participating.  You may indicate so simply by entering your picks for this week.You can type in your picks in a forwarded message to jay@SERVPRO9563.com or you can just delete the team you DON'T want to pick.Week 1Pittsburgh Steelers @ New England PatriotsNew Orleans Saints @ Arizona CardinalsBaltimore Ravens @ Denver BroncosNew York Giants @ Dallas CowboysPhiladelphia Eagles @ Atlanta Falcons   (Monday Night Game)Monday Night Combined score for both teams (i.e. if you predict 24-21 then your tiebreaker is 45)Good Luck, I will need all picks by end of business Thursday's.Feel free to forward to any colleagues I may have missed, the more the merrier!

Beware of Spring Flooding

3/12/2015 (Permalink)

As the weather warms and the snow melts beware of the potential water damage that may be brought on by local flooding. Besides the major threat of river and run-off flooding, your home or business could fall victim to the amount of water that is created by melting snow adjacent to structures.

To reduce the risk of water damage try to remove melting snow that is too close to your home or business so that it may melt into the ground and not into your basement!

Frozen Pipes

1/21/2015 (Permalink)

The below freezing temperatures of January and February are the most likely time your pipes can freeze and burst. Creating a costly disaster in your home or business. Be sure to shut off water to faucets not in use this time of year and to keep temperatures warm enough in the basement and attic to avoid a problem.

If you do experience a broken, or burst pipe, call SERVPRO of Washington County or SERVPRO of Newport & Bristol Counties immediately. Response time is crucial to minimizing damage to your property.

SERVPRO® of Washington County Social Updates

8/20/2014 (Permalink)

Have you had a chance to like us on Facebook?

If not CLICK HERE! 

We will be updating our Facebook page much more frequently with useful information for home and business owners in our area.. Follow us today!

Shelton CT, Fire

7/7/2014 (Permalink)

Servpro is on the scene.

SHELTON, CT (WFSB) -

Firefighters quickly knocked down a fire at a latex factory in Shelton, which is the second time that the building caught on fire in less than a week.

 
  • Investigators look into latex factory fire in Shelton

     

    Thirteen years after a massive fire burned down a latex factory, it went up in flames again on Thursday.

    It started at the Latex Foam factory on River Road in Shelton just before 1 a.m. The fire was reported in the basement of the building where the large industrial dryers were kept. 

The fire was reported at the Latex Foam factory on River Road around 10:45 a.m. 

No injuries were reported. 

The same building caught on fire Thursday. That fire took hours to get under control and caused massive damage to the building.

All Latex Foam employees were able to evacuate safely, four firefighters sought treatment. Three were treated for heat exhaustion and the fourth suffered a broken arm. 

Investigators are still looking into the cause of that fire.

The company, which is owned by Latex International, has been part of the Naugatuck Valley for almost 40 years. It makes latex mattresses and pillows. 

About 180 workers are employed by the factory, according to Fisher. The business operates 24 hours a day.

For Monday's fire, fire officials said there was a city-wide response with a few calls for mutual aid.

The cause of the Monday's fire has determined, according to investigators.

This was not the first time the Latex Foam company has been in trouble.

Just last month, Latex International filed for bankruptcy. Two years ago, a former CEO and vice president were sentenced to federal prison for embezzling $3.5 million from the company.

For more information about Latex International, click here.

Copyright 2014 WFSB (Meredith Corporation).  All rights reserved.

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