Archive for December, 2009

6 New Year’s Resolutions For You From Western Florida’s Mold Removal Experts

It’s New Years Eve, the clock is ticking and the pressure to commit to a New Year’s resolution is on. As Tampa Bay’s industry leader of water damage, mold damage and sewer damage remediation and property restoration, we wanted to share a few possible New Years resolutions for you to choose from. These are so easy that you may want to choose them all!

I resolve to:

1) Change the Shower Curtain Liner often, long before I notice any mold buildup.
2) Leave the washer door open after a laundry cycle
3) Invest in a Relative Humidity Meter (starting as low as $29.99 online!) so I can monitor the levels at my property
4) Purchase a dehumidifier for my home if the humidity level at my property exceeds 55% so as to maintain an environment less hospitable to mold spores
5) Fix all water leaks, leaky pipes, wall cracks and leaky plumbing at my property
6) Call for a mold inspection if my property has every suffered any damage from a flood or hurricane or other, especially if I have any children, pets, seniors or otherwise vulnerable residents at the property

Advanced Restoration, Inc. would like to wish everyone a very safe and fun New Years Eve as well as a wonderful and prosperous New Year. From New Port Richey, a special shout out to all of Tampa Bay, Sarasota and Bradenton, and Okaloosa County. Here’s to 2010!

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is a Water Damage, Mold Damage, Sewer Damage and Emergency Disaster Recovery Restoration Company in Tampa Bay, Florida. Company Services Include: WATER DAMAGE EXTRACTION and RESTORATION; MOLD REMOVAL and MOLD REMEDIATION; STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION; FLOODS; HURRICANE DAMAGE; SEWER DAMAGE; Complete Restoration Services. Residential, Commercial & Industrial structures in the Tampa Bay Metro Area, Sarasota County, FL, Manatee County, FL and Okaloosa county, FL.  1-800-DRY-ME-OUT Contact Us!

Living in Florida means dealing with high humidity and a potential list of high indoor air contaminants, including mold spores. Air quality is a serious issue and for years and years, people have used house plants as a way of cleaning indoor air.

Did you know that there is a list of plants approved by NASA to remove harmful chemicals from the air? Considered beneficial houseplants, here is the list:

Bamboo Palm
Chinese Evergreen
English Ivy
Gerbera Daisy
Dracaena Janet Craig
Dracaena Marginata
Dracaena Massangeana
Dracaena Warneckii
Mass Cane/Corn Plant
Mother-in-Law’s Tongue
Pot Mum
Peace Lily

It has been noted that all philodendron varieties as well as African Violets help filter out the air. As well, a recent study supports that the purple waffle plant (Hemigraphis alternataa), English ivy (Hedera Helix), variegated wax plant (Hoya cornosa), Asparagus fern (Asparagus densiflorus) and the Purple heart plant (Tradescantia pallida) proved to remove the most VOCs (volatile organic compounds) from the air.

However, there is a recent controversy surrounding the benefits of indoor plants in eliminating airborne contaminants. Some studies show that plants themselves emit VOCs. Fortunately, not all VOCs are toxic and most plant VOCs appear not to be non-toxic (at normal exposure levels). Also, it should be noted that mold can be attracted to soil and thus, release mold spores into the air. Always let your soil dry out thoroughly and check for signs of mold. Change soil often.

To answer our question, “Do house plants improve indoor air quality?”, the jury is still out. Nonetheless, it appears that the general consensus maintains that introducing common indoor plants, especially the above noted, into indoor spaces can significantly improve the quality of indoor air.

If you have any concerns about your For any other information about indoor air quality or indoor mold spores, please visit our website to learn how Advanced Restoration, Inc. can help you.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. proudly services Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County, Sarasota County, Manatee County & Okaloosa County. Call us today at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is a Water Damage, Mold Damage, Sewer Damage and Emergency Disaster Recovery Restoration Company in Tampa Bay, Florida. Company Services Include: WATER DAMAGE EXTRACTION and RESTORATION; MOLD REMOVAL and MOLD REMEDIATION; STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION; FLOODS; HURRICANE DAMAGE; SEWER DAMAGE; Complete Restoration Services. Residential, Commercial & Industrial structures in the Tampa Bay Metro Area, Sarasota County, FL, Manatee County, FL and Okaloosa county, FL.  1-800-DRY-ME-OUT Contact Us!

Advanced Restoration, Inc. uses a Thermal Imaging Camera to Detect Water Damage and Mold Damage in Tampa, Clearwater, New Port Richey, Sarasota, Niceville and more

Thermal Imaging has several different applications, from electrical system maintenance to night time fugitive searches to even ghost hunting made popular by shows like “Ghost Hunters.” At Advanced Restoration, Inc., we utilize thermal imaging to help us identify water damage and potential sources of mold damage. Since we work on Florida’s West Coast and deal with cities constantly affected by water damage due to heavy rainfall from hurricanes and storms like Sarasota, Palm Harbor, Clearwater, New Port Richey, Holiday, Tampa and Niceville, we utilize only the best equipment available to detect water damage, including a top of the line Fluke TIR 1 thermal imaging camera.

So first things first: what is a thermal imaging camera anyways?

Thermal imaging cameras utilize the test technique of thermography by converting infrared radiation into a visible image. Thermal imaging cameras are non-destructive and can be used in any situation to observe heat patterns and associated temperatures while noting any inexplicable differences or anomalies. Put simply, thermal imaging cameras pick up on temperature signatures. These temperature signatures are depicted in different colors on the thermal camera’s imaging screen: normal or expected temperature ranges will be depicted in grayscale while unusually cold or hot areas are depicted in color. Extremely hot areas may be shown in pure white, with regular hotspots being depicted in red, orange and yellow. For Advanced Restoration, Inc., the colors we look out for are colors such as green, blue and violet, as these are depicters of moisture in objects and the sources of possible water damage which could lead to mold damage. In sum, we use the camera to aid us in identifying areas that could be afflicted by water infiltration or water damage and need further investigation.

Whenever Advanced Restoration, Inc. is called out to an emergency situation, we know we have to act quickly. The presence of moisture means a very high chance of mold. Did you know that mold can form as quickly as 72 hours after a leak has occurred? Due to the fact that a thermal imaging camera can scan large areas at a time to obtain a more broad-based reading of moisture presence as well as pick up on areas not visible to the eye, we use a Fluke TIR 1, the industry leading Thermal Imaging Camera, on every job. Not only does the camera tip us off to moisture damage, the camera is engineered to withstand a 6.5 drop, which means we can assess water damage in the trickiest of places. Once anomalies in temperature signature are found, we will further to attempt to determine the source of the leak so we can take care of that for our client as well.

We use the thermal imaging camera for several uses. The Fluke TIR 1 is a great tool that helps us to identify water damage in internal and external walls, ceilings and floors. We often use thermal imaging to help locate water leaks from pipelines buried within concrete. Also, we can scan in, under, and around plumbing fixtures in a property to determine if there is active leaking going on.

At Advanced Restoration, Inc., we are trained in disaster recovery and it is our mission to have your property restored as quickly as possible. By using this non-evasive camera, we can detect the smallest amount of moisture. We act quickly to remove all of your property, extract water and to completely restore your property.

In addition to being a necessary piece of equipment in an emergency flood or water disaster, thermal imaging cameras come very useful to us during preventative water damage and preventative mold damage inspections. Recently, our team was called out to a home in St. Petersburg, Florida, to inspect a client’s roof for water damage. The client had not noticed any leaks in the building but was aware that water damage could be assessed long before leaking became a problem. Because the roof was a low slope roof (the best candidates for infrared inspection are flat or low slope roofs) we were able to utilize our Fluke TIR 1 to assess water damage. This was possible because in flat or low slope roofs, the insulation is located between the roof deck and the membrane, and is in direct contact with the underside of the membrane. Thus, the water damage can be picked up by a thermal imaging camera. On other types of roofs, other types of moisture assessing equipment are better suited. By the time our team was finished with the thermal imaging camera, we were able to detect a source of excess water. We instantly went into action to remove the affected area and restore the roof to a better than new condition.

Further to preventative roof inspections, Advanced Restoration Inc. suggests preventative inspections for other areas of your property as well. A thermal imaging camera can be extremely useful in identifying water leaks from the plumbing system that have gone by undetected as no major damage. Also, using a thermal imaging camera on your heater’s steam traps before the heating season begins, or on an air conditioner to check for compressor leaks during the cooling season, can greatly help to pinpoint costly leaks.

Of all the applications of the thermal imaging camera, the most invaluable may be it’s capability to verify that all water-damaged areas are completely dry at the end of a restoration job. At Advanced Restoration Inc., we are extremely proud of the reputation we have built by our quick and thorough restoration jobs. And thanks to our Fluke TIR 1, we can present the client visual evidence of a job well done!

For more information on how Advanced Restoration, Inc. might use a thermal imaging camera to help restore your property or to prevent moisture damage before it occurs, please contact us at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT or on the web at www.drymeout.com.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is a Water Damage, Mold Damage, Sewer Damage and Emergency Disaster Recovery Restoration Company in Tampa Bay, Florida. Company Services Include: WATER DAMAGE EXTRACTION and RESTORATION; MOLD REMOVAL and MOLD REMEDIATION; STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION; FLOODS; HURRICANE DAMAGE; SEWER DAMAGE; Complete Restoration Services. Residential, Commercial & Industrial structures in the Tampa Bay Metro Area, Sarasota County, FL, Manatee County, FL and Okaloosa county, FL.  1-800-DRY-ME-OUT Contact Us!

It’s finally winter here in the Tampa Bay! So a quick note on your beautiful floral friends who have brought you joy all summer long: you may want to bring them inside.

In general, if the temperature is going to be below 50 °F degrees for more than two hours, bring your plants indoors or protect them by covering them with newspaper, burlap , a light blanket, plastic bags, bubble wrap , etc. Fragile flowers like orchids do not like temperatures much below 50 °F degrees. Such a low temperature will weaken them and often create a situation where flowers will no longer be produced. As well, simply covering them will not protect them if the temperature drops below 40 °F degrees. So bring them in and keep them warm so you can enjoy more flowers in the spring!

Out of curiosity, what are some current temperatures? How about 48 °F in New Port Richey, 45 °F in Bradenton and 35 °F in Fort Walton Beach! Brrr!

Stay warm and stay dry!

Contact Advanced Restoration, Inc. for all of your water damage, mold damage and sewer damage remediation needs. We proudly service Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County, Sarasota County, Manatee County & Okaloosa County. Call us today at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.

Recently, in our article on Winter Mold, we discussed the benefit of using a vacuum with a HEPA filter. Some of you may be familiar with it and some of you may not be; for those of you who are not, we thought we’d unlock the mystery!

By definition, HEPA means High Energy Particulate Arresting. The filters remove at least 99.97% of airborne particles (mold spores, pollen, dust etc.)

Put as simply as possible, HEPA filters are composed of a mat of randomly arranged sticky fibers (typically fiberglass). The filter acts like a sieve and trap particles through a few different methods.

Interesting fact: the original HEPA filter was designed in the 1940s.

In addition to being used in vacuums, HEPA filters are also found in air purifiers as well as in biomedical applications. HEPA filters do have to be changed per manufacturer’s directions.

In sum, HEPA filters can be a great preventative measure you can take to help protect your home and family from mold spores, mold growth and bacteria.

For any other information about mold damage and mold remediation, please visit our website to learn how Advanced Restoration, Inc. can help you.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. proudly services Tampa Bay, Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Pasco County, Sarasota County, Manatee County & Okaloosa County. Call us today at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.

Fog is every tonight! Driving back from a mold remediation job in Clearwater on our way to New Port Richey, we can’t help but notice the blanket of fog over Northern Pinellas County. Fog is interesting. It is fascinating and beautiful and tends to play by its own rules. Fog generally forms when the humidity in the air reaches near 100%. Though, this does not apply all the time. In the UK, if the humidity is over 95%, the fog is referred to as a mist. If under 95%, it is referred to as a haze. The current humidity level in Palm Harbor is 93% and it is quite foggy outside!

A higher humidity outside means that the inside of your property is at higher risk for water damage and mold growth. Signs of increased humidity include condensation on windows and sliding glass doors. If you notice this, dry off the moisture and keep at it while the condensation lasts.

The best thing you can do is have your property checked and get a prevention plan in place. Whether for prevention or in the case of an emergency, Advanced Restoration, Inc. is here for you 24 hours a day. Click here for more info or call 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT.

Water Damaged Property & Belongings Springhill Ozona Destin 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT www.drymeout.com

Floods can be devastating to property owners. Even as flood waters eventually recede, some property owners will discover water damaged properties and ruined belongings. The good news is that the majority of water damaged properties can be saved and restored. With proper and extensive techniques, such as water extraction and mold remediation as well as a fortified prevention plan in place, your property will be better than new in no time.

When we at Advanced Restoration Inc. have to work on a damaged property, we not only have to deal with water damage issues, but also environmental concerns. Environmental concerns could range from mold growth to sewage contamination to even chemical contaminants from the flood waters. To ensure a safe environment, our experts will perform environmental testing to determine if mold, bacteria, viruses and chemical contaminants are present. And if we find evidence of any contaminants, you can rest assured that we will completely remove all sources of damage and contamination.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is committed to providing you with unparalleled restoration service. www.drymeout.com 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT

Quick Tip on How To Prevent Mold Growth In Your Home 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT www.drymeout.com Tampa New Port Richey Clearwater Niceville Sarasota Crestview

Here’s a quick tip on how to prevent mold from growing in your home: Leave your washer door open!

Mold thrives in a moist environment. Put simply, water equals mold. Leave the washer open to air it out. Easy!

For more tips, please contact Advanced Restoration, Inc. at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT and www.drymeout.com We proudly serve the Tampa Bay area, Manatee County and Okaloosa county.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is a Water Damage, Mold Damage, Sewer Damage and Emergency Disaster Recovery Restoration Company in Tampa Bay, Florida. Company Services Include: WATER DAMAGE EXTRACTION and RESTORATION; MOLD REMOVAL and MOLD REMEDIATION; STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION; FLOODS; HURRICANE DAMAGE; SEWER DAMAGE; Complete Restoration Services. Residential, Commercial & Industrial structures in the Tampa Bay Metro Area, Sarasota County, FL, Manatee County, FL and Okaloosa county, FL.  1-800-DRY-ME-OUT Contact Us!

Rainfall Repreave – Tampa Ruskin Brandon Beware 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT Do you have any water damage?

The heavy rainfall that experienced over the weekend has got our phones ringing off the hook. If you are suffering the effects of the recent front and have any water damage, we are experts at water extraction. Call us at 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT or visit www.drymeout.com. Our team at Advanced Restoration, Inc. is standing by to help you!

In the meantime, please make sure you read our article on flood damage.

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is a Water Damage, Mold Damage, Sewer Damage and Emergency Disaster Recovery Restoration Company in Tampa Bay, Florida. Company Services Include: WATER DAMAGE EXTRACTION and RESTORATION; MOLD REMOVAL and MOLD REMEDIATION; STORM DAMAGE RESTORATION; FLOODS; HURRICANE DAMAGE; SEWER DAMAGE; Complete Restoration Services. Residential, Commercial & Industrial structures in the Tampa Bay Metro Area, Sarasota County, FL, Manatee County, FL and Okaloosa county, FL.  1-800-DRY-ME-OUT Contact Us!

Advanced Restoration, Inc. Now Providing Water Damage, Sewer Damage and Mold Damage Removal and Remediation in Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Destin and other areas of Okaloosa County, Florida www.drymeout.com 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT

Advanced Restoration, Inc. is pleased to announce that we are now available to provide 24/7 emergency and non-emergency water damage restoration services to Okaloosa County, including Niceville, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, Crestview, Valparaiso, Mary Esther and Shalimar. In addition to water damage services, we are also the industry leaders in mold removal, mold remediation and sewer damage restoration.

Call us today 1-800-DRY-ME-OUT or visit us at www.drymeout.com