Have you ever wondered what a property with water damage looks like? Now’s your chance. Plus, find out what needs to be done to restore water damage after it has occurred.

Water Damage Tampa

If you need a bit of a laugh, watch this video called “How to remove mold“. More appropriately, it should be called “How not to remove mold“!

WARNING: DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS AT HOME!

How NOT to remove mold

For all of your mold damage or mold removal needs, contact us at
1-800-DRY-ME-OUT (379-6468)

In our last Blog, we talked about Water Damage Tampa Bay horror stories. Well what about mold remediation horror stories you might ask? Recently, we were posed the following question.

“How do I sue this company and what do I sue for? We had a mold problem in our walls and we called several companies that claimed they did mold remediation for estimates. The one we chose was the one who could come the fastest because we were feeling sick. This company came out and screwed up everything, they did not seal the affected room, they didn’t clean any furniture before moving it out of the room. All they wanted to do was remove some dry wall and spray “mold eating enzyme” on the rotted black moldy wood and then leave some dehumidifiers and air cleaners for 3 days. Then come back and spray some harsh chemical to “kill” any mold that was left. I wound up doing all the tear out of the wood and studs and flooring myself because they said they only did that if we hired them for the “rebuild”. So they wanted to leave all this black toxic mold there until then. They never came back to finish the job, just came back to retrieve their equipment. Their equipment was more contaminated than my wall and it stunk up my home. The independent air quality tests we did showed toxic mold before they came and little else. After they left there was no more toxic mold thanks probably to my hard work at cutting out all the moldy studs and flooring, but there was more not so toxic mold that should not have been there and it was all throughout the house. They put my family at risk due to their lack of proper containment procedures and further contaminated my home with other strains of mold, AND never did come back to finish the job…”

This is a terrible sory that is unfortunately too common. The bottom line: Call Advanced Restoration, Inc. 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT. If you live outside of Western Florida, make sure you follow these steps:

1) Check with the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration http://www.iicrc.org/ Find a restoration/remediation company in your area that is certfied.

2) Check references. Any decent professional company will be able to supply a list of satisfied clients.

One huge red flag in the story above was the fact that these so-called mold specialists did not remove the mold. Mold must be removed, dead or alive.

If you are reading this blog and live outside of Florida, feel free to contact us with any questions you may have. Situations like the one descirbed above do not have to happen.

1-800-DRY-ME-OUT www.drymeout.com contactus@drymeout.com

If you read the following client testimonial on water damage restoration, you will notice an interesting statement:

“Great company. They answered the phone immediately and were at my house in less than 45 minutes. Dressed professional and they knew their stuff. I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about other restoration companies. Not this one….they are THE BEST. Offered to clean my carpets for FREE after the job was completed throughout my whole house. Not just the area affected. Thanks John and Josh.”

If you picked out “I’ve heard a lot of horror stories”, then you picked the right one. This statement is a bit shocking to us because we take what we do so seriously, but, we guess, as with any occupation, there are always the bad seeds. After some asking around, we talked to someone who had a visit from, we’ll just call them the Tampa Water Cleanup company. Anyways, they showed up hours later than they were supposed to and were down right unprofessional. The job was sloppy and the house was left in a mess.

Another story we were told of involves a woman who had called a plumber to come repair some sewer damage at her home. Apparently, he asked her out on a date while he was holding pieces of sewage that were obstructing the sewer line. Now, asking a client on a date is a number one no no in the world of professional services. Let alone asking someone out in that manner!

We would like to know: Have you suffered any “horror” stories from having to deal with shoddy restoration, remediation or plumbing companies? If so, email us at contactus@drymeout.com or send us your response on Facebook or MySpace.

Advanced Restoration Water Damage Restoration 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT

Here’s the scenario. Your toilet is backed up and overflows. You panic! Unfortunately, panicking will not help you get your bathroom cleaned up. So what should you do in the event of a sewer overflow?

Here are the basics when it comes to toilet and sewer cleanup. Note: This lens only refers to basic toilet overflow. If you are experiencing serious sewer backup, please follow this advice on sewer damage

Toilet Overflow…Well, Almost:

1) Stop the water from surging out of the toilet. Most of the time, toilets begin to overflow after being flushed. As soon as you notice the water rising, turn off the immediate water supply (this is a knob found behind and below the toilet, usually either on the left or the right).

2) Once the water has been contained, get a plunger. Grease up your elbows and begin to plunge. The goal is to get the toilet to drain itself. If you succeed, wait a few minutes and then turn on the water supply again.

3) With the water supply on, attempt a flush. If the toilet water begins to rise again, repeat the above steps. Keep doing this until your are able to achieve a flush.

4) Read the rest of the article on What to Do if Your Toilet Overflows

It was 3am and we received a water damage crisis call over a pipe that burst at someone’s home in New Port Richey. We immediately sent out a crew to the home, only to find out that it was actually the homeowner’s neighbor who had called us because the homeowners did not live there full time.

“I wasn’t sure who to call at first. I looked online and found a list of companies. Although other companies may say they are available 24/7, when I called around, these guys were the only ones who actually answered the phone!”

After working throughout the night to make the initial repairs and restoration, we came back to the property several times to make sure there were no more problems. In addition, we worked directly with the homeowner’s insurance company regarding the issue.

Next time you have a problem with water damage or a flood in the middle of the night, regardless if you live in Clearwater, Bradenton or Niceville, call 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT. When we say we are available 24 hours a day, we are.

Toilet overflow. A homeowners worst nightmare. But, it doesn’t have to be.

One night, our 24/7 team answered a phone call from a homeowner who was extremely distressed about her toilet overflowing. We immediately sent over a crew and took care of the problem for her. This is what she had to say about her experience:

“After my toilet overflowed causing a flood, I called several places and this was the only one where I got a live person. They responded promptly, were very professional, and explained what they were going to do and why. I was extremely impressed with this company. I would recommend them to anyone.” Mary, Largo

Unfortunately, we were the last people Mary called when her toilet overflowed. Make sure we’re the first if yours ever does.

Quick tip: If you can actually catch your toilet starting to overflow, turn off the water valve at the base of the toilet. Many times, this will prevent the water from flowing out of the toilet while you are waiting for help.

For all of you mold, water and sewer damage concerns, 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT. Advanced Restoration, Inc.

Last Friday, Peter Linton-Smith from Fox News 13 Pasco reported on a story that is getting more and more common. Foreclosures that become infested with mold.

With unnerving statistics reported such as “In 2009, Florida posted almost 517,000 foreclosure filings, a 34-percent jump from filings in 2008 and a 213-percent rise from postings in 2007. Its foreclosure rate of nearly six percent was the third highest rate among the states and its filings total was the second biggest” and “foreclosures will continue to rise in number this year (2010) because of the double-digit jobless rate, the refusal of banks to provide refinancing, the decline in property values and the high percentage of adjustable-rate mortgage loans”, it’s no wonder that mold is taking over with so many empty properties just waiting for a pipe to burst or a sewage leak to occur. The worst part about it is, as reported in Linton-Smith’s story, there is no one to pay for the remediation and consequently, the health of neighbors is at a huge risk.

If you need any advice on mold or water damage, please contact Advanced Restoration, Inc. today 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT

Click here to read the story

Hey Tampa Bay, let’s talk about MERV Ratings!

The acronym MERV stands for “Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value”. MERV is a standard used to measure the overall efficiency of a filter’s ability to remove airborne particles as they pass through the filter; the higher a MERV rating, the better the filter’s ability to remove dust particles and airborne contaminants. MERV ratings range from 1 to 16, with 16 being the best air filter, and are based on their effectiveness to remove particles according to size. Particles are measured in microns and the sizes measured fall between 1 and 12 (12 being the largest). It is important to note that most filters found in residential use are rated MERV 1-4. At these low ratings, the filters do not catch any particles that measure below 10 microns, leaving an enormous amount of contaminants, including mold spores, airborne. FYI – Visible dust particles start at a measurement of 10 microns.

To learn about how to choose the best air filter for you, read our article Air Filters and Effective Mold Spore Removal: What you need to know.

For more information on how to protect your family from mold and mold spores, please contact Advanced Restoration, Inc. at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT or at www.drymeout.com.

Some of the areas we proudly service are Hillsborough county (Wesley Chapel, Town and Country, Brandon, Ruskin and more), Pinellas County (Palm Harbor, Tarpon Springs, Largo, Pinellas Park and more), Pasco County (Trinity, Springhill, Zephyrhills and more), Manatee County (Bradenton, Palmetto, Anna Maria and more) and Okaloosa County (Fort Walton Beach, Crestview, Shalimar and more).

Recently, we were asked by a client in Palm Harbor exactly how a pin hole leak might contribute to water damage.

The answer is quite significant so we wanted to share the information with everyone. Statistics prove that 250 gallons of water can be released per day by a mere 1/8-inch pipe crack (aka pin hole leak). To give you a frame of reference, 250 gallons is the equivalent of 250 jugs of milk, about 63 propane tanks (20 pounds each) or one really really big fish tank that measures 6′ long and 2′ high. What’s even worse, a pin hole leak could go undetected for months if inside a wall or under a slab.

In sum, a pin hole leak can cause a significant amount of damage. If you need any help with water damage assessment or water damage remediation, please call us at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT. Our team is standing by 24/7 for all of your emergency and non-emergency water, mold and sewer damage needs.

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