Effective SERVPRO® Restoration Services for Wilmington Emergencies

12/21/2023 (Permalink)

Wilmington problems with water, mold, fire storms or hurricanes? SERVPRO® has all the needed equipment and training to restore your home!

We have been serving the area for decades, and have made considerable strides in attracting the right talent and acquiring the best equipment and products to ensure that the restoration services we offer in Wilmington are top of the line. We know how quickly these disasters can occur, which makes our team's fast response time even more critical. We want to be a one-stop shop for restoration and recovery, and that is why apart from water, fire, storm, and mold loss incidents our SERVPRO® team also addresses biohazard cleanup, air duct service, and even full-scale reconstruction. 

Fire Damage 

Every minute counts once fire damage in Wilmington homes is present, and the most critical point for restoration and recovery happens in the window of opportunity after extinguishment. The longer these disasters sit unattended, the more damaging they can become. Symptoms like soot and smoke particles continue to spread unabated without the deployment of effective mitigation and cleaning strategies that arrive with our SERVPRO® professionals. 

Experience and education count when you are already under a strict timeline to recover a fire-damaged Wilmington home or business. We encourage our entire loss team to pursue more than the base certifications like Fire & Smoke Restoration (FSRT) through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration (IICRC) and also add in secondary focuses like Upholstery & Fabric Cleaning (UFT), Carpet Cleaning (CCT), Water Restoration (WRT), and Odor Control (OCT.)

We have unique practices that make us the leading recovery specialists in the industry regarding present fire damage in Wilmington properties. We have advanced tools for deodorization, including hydroxyl generators and air scrubbers with charcoal. To help clean surfaces before they become irreparably damaged, we utilize soda blasting approaches that can revitalize the look and function of wood, bricks, glass, ceramic, and natural stone. 

Water Damage 

Much of the success that our Wilmington team has had in water loss recovery stems from our union of experienced technicians determined to educate continually and a broad inventory created from the best restoration and mitigation machines and tools in the industry. This division of our team has more experience than any of the others, boasting more than 75 years of expertise in the industry in these niches. To ensure that our staff can overcome any damage they encounter, they get accredited through the IICRC in multiple areas, including: 

-    Water Restoration (WRT)

-    Applied Structural Drying (ASD)

-    Applied Microbial Remediation (AMRT)

-    Biohazard Cleaning

-    Air Duct Cleaning 

From leaking pipes and fixtures to full appliance failure that results in rapidly spreading water damage in Wilmington homes, our SERVPRO® team knows that no two disasters are the same. While we might utilize many of similar tools and machines in recovering from these emergencies, each property needs a tailored and site-specific response based on the severity of the damage. We can develop this plan and help our customers to understand it. 

With advanced detection tools, our professionals can monitor the progress of essential mitigation and restoration services to come for Wilmington properties. These devices can identify the ideal placement for air movers and desiccant or low grain refrigerant (LGR) dehumidifiers. 

Storm Damage 

Hurricanes are more of a common threat to our Greater Wilmington area than many of the residents here would often like to admit. Even our professionals have seen the destructive hand of these powerful storm systems on our properties, so we are even more focused than ever to help our customers and clients through that traumatic experience. We have a multi-faceted response explicitly designed for the needs and obstacles within the damaged building.

Storm damage can quickly compromise structural integrity and present vulnerabilities to Wilmington properties. We have a team of licensed contractors that can help with emergency board-up and tarping – but later also become instrumental in the full-scale reconstruction these same homes and businesses require. The faster penetration points can get addressed in the house, the less damaging and devastating flooding becomes. 

Hurricane Florence was a destructive force to our area in recent years, but our SERVPRO® team was there to help address each level of storm damage in Wilmington homes and businesses. Many residential and commercial properties required complete reconstruction, while some needed our professionals to work to remove floodwater, and clean, and disinfect the building. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster. This motto is not just a slogan, but an assurance that whenever disasters like Florence strike again, we are ready to help you quickly.

Mold Remediation

We know that you cannot account for the discovery of mold damage in Wilmington properties – especially your business. To avoid costly relocation and displacement, you can trust in the experience and fast response of our remediation specialists on our SERVPRO® team. Each of these individuals holds multiple certifications through the IICRC: WRT, ASD, and AMRT. We pursue additional endorsements and accreditations for this department through the National Organization of Remediators and Mold Inspectors (NORMI) as well. 

With the threat that active colonization can be to structural elements as well as the health of those exposed to the organism, it is vital to get this situation under control quickly. Our dedicated professionals can mobilize quickly to Wilmington homes and businesses to set up practical containment barriers with plastic sheeting and zipper-lock temporary walls. This quarantine can prevent your company from shutting down while remediation work is completed and keeps you from making a profit through an already traumatic time. 

With our colony removal strategies, we lean heavily on practices like soda blasting because of their long-term results and the annihilation of growth traces and spores within a hosting material. We also offer a full-service reconstruction and build-back team for damaged Wilmington properties to quickly make mold losses "Like it never even happened." 

We are an experienced and professional team of restoration experts that can help our customers through every damaging experience their properties endure. You can reach our IICRC-Certified SERVPRO® of New Hanover specialists 24/7 by calling (910) 762-8180.

Cleaning Walls and Ceilings of Residue caused by Fire Damage in Your Wilmington Home

10/8/2023 (Permalink)

You can rely on SERVPRO® to restore your home after fire damage leaving it "Like it never even happened."

SERVPRO® is Here to Help Restore Your Home after Fire Damage

Many of the homes in the Wilmington area contain unique wall coverings that add a special touch to their interiors. When a fire occurs, these surfaces can pose difficulties because their textures retain considerable amounts of greasy soot. Making them come clean requires specialized cleaning treatments.

Wilmington homeowners whose properties sustain any size fire often notice the immediate area exhibits smoke residue on surfaces. You might see a distinct line between soot-covered areas and the still-clean surfaces that remained covered by an object during the fire. In other areas of the home, however, soot contamination may not show as easily. If soot and ash fell in a less-dense manner, this can occur.

We have different ways to discover where soot contamination fell in sparse enough layers to avoid detection. By using a Dry Cleaning Sponge, our technicians can reveal many of these areas. Smoke can permeate into areas that might seem off-limits to smoke, such as closed rooms, drawers, and closets, and detecting these locations helps us eliminate more of the soot that can cause odors later. The possibility that soot contains carcinogenic properties also raises concerns for many homeowners.

When wall and ceiling paint consists of more durable, washable paints, we can use wet sponges or cleaning cloths. Depending on the surfaces cleaned, as we can use these for other things, as well, such as trim and moldings, we may or may not use a cleaning agent or plain water. Our goal in restoring your home "Like it never even happened" means we always use the method that provides the results you, the customer, want. Returning your home to its preloss condition only happens when we undo the damage caused by the fire.

Although our employees remove the majority of the soot the fire produces, our Odor Control Technician (OCT) can help immensely by providing your home with treatments designed to neutralize any remaining soot particles. These produce odors whenever they disintegrate and become airborne again. Thermal fogging can eliminate these odors quite efficiently and thoroughly because the fog acts in a similar way to the smoke.

SERVPRO® of New Hanover strives to assist the communities of Castle Hayne, Carolina Beach, and the surrounding areas. You can reach us by calling our 24-hour hotline, (910) 762-8180. If fire damage has become an unwanted aspect of your life, let us help you resolve the problem and get your home and life back under control.

Commercial Flood Damage Restoration Options in Wilmington

10/3/2023 (Permalink)

When flooding affects your medical office and electronic records, contact SERVPRO for water removal and remediation services.

Recovering Flooded Electronics in a Wilmington Office Building

Many office buildings and medical facilities throughout Wilmington have put considerable stock into the technological age and transitioned almost exclusively to digital record keeping and account information. A water loss incident like a flood in your building could threaten these records, even when you have no physical hard copies within your property. With such a dependence on the electronics, devices, and hardware required for a digital-based office, floodwaters could threaten these crucial elements and cause significant problems for accessing the necessary information for your clients in the future.

While you might not be tech-savvy enough to understand what elements can short out and quit working in servers and hard drives, you know enough to understand that flood damages in your Wilmington office put these devices at risk. Even without direct contact with electronics, excessive moisture and dampness in the environment can have the same undesirable effect. Our SERVPRO mitigation team can help.

From the moment that we arrive at your facility, our experienced team can run risk-assessment on the contents of the building to determine which items are in harm’s way. Electronics, computers, servers, hard drives, and other critical components to your operation can get removed from the premises and stored safely and securely in our nearby facility until full restoration work completes.

If these devices have already become affected by the moisture and dampness present by the flooding in the building, our SERVPRO Contents Department has the training to recover these devices and safely dry them out to salvage them. We can work quickly with exposed devices to protect the vital information that your firm has stored on their drives. Once restoration work completes within the building, we can return these electronics and devices to their original positions.

Recovering from a flood is challenging enough for a business owner responsible for a building. When you have to worry about the sensitive information contained on standalone servers and hard drives of computers within that building, you need a team of professionals that can show up quickly to help you protect that information. Our SERVPRO of New Hanover rapid response team is available 24/7 at (910) 762-8180.

Flood Damage Follows Tropical Storms

10/3/2023 (Permalink)

When a tropical storm or hurricane bears down on a community, water can enter your home from a wide range of sources.

Located a few miles from the ocean and bounded by the Northeast Cape Fear River, our community just north of Wilmington contends with flooding when the weather conditions align. The lower levels of your home may fill with water, contamination being a potential issue. Because of the complications dirty water in the lower levels of your home can bring, be sure to contact SERVPRO® immediately after the water infiltrates. It is extremely important that professionals assess the quality of water soaking your walls and flooring before a decision is made to try either to restore them or to remove them because of concerns about potential biohazards and microbial growth. 

When a tropical storm or hurricane bears down on a community, water can enter your home from a wide range of sources. The rain often measures more than 12 inches and flood damage can spread to Castle Hayne from the ocean or the river. Rainwater is relatively clean, but the waters from rivers, streams, and the ocean usually must be considered infectious waste. The storm surge can contain water that has raw sewage, dead animals, and a random mixture of chemicals and toxic wastes. As the water seeps or rushes into your home, it can also loosen building materials within your house that pose dangers such as asbestos in insulation and pipe or furnace coverings. If you store paints, pesticides, and cleaning agents in the basement, the contents of cans and bottles can leach into the standing water in your home.

Because this mix of water can be so dangerous to you and your family, a do-it-yourself cleanup is strongly discouraged. SERVPRO® technicians have the experience and the specialized training and equipment to guide you through a difficult clean-up. We will assess the danger of retaining items that are porous and unlikely to be satisfactorily disinfected. Carpeting and upholstered furniture are usually considered too risky to keep. These and other items that have absorbed contaminated water will be discarded according to local codes while non-porous structures and contents will be professionally treated with proper products to abate the danger of contamination. If possible, you and your family will be barricaded away for the areas of your home that contain toxic waste as we clean and remove articles. If containment is not possible, we recommend a temporary evacuation while we manage the flooded areas.

Locally Owned Company with National Resources

When contaminated flood waters threaten your home SERVPRO® of New Hanover can help you make the best decisions to restore your home to preloss condition. Call us at (910) 762-8180 as soon as possible after the waters enter for the best outcome.

Combatting the Odors from a Toilet Overflow in Your Wilmington Home

10/3/2023 (Permalink)

An overflowing toilet can cause damage to your home and leave behind an odor. Rely on SERVPRO® to restore your home, "Like it never even happened."

Professional Services for Water Damage in Your Home

One of the most common causes of water damage in homes in Wilmington is overflowing toilets. Imagining your life without toilets is probably difficult, but there are many things that can go wrong with one that is not properly maintained. Children attempting to flush toys, general clogs, and septic tanks not draining correctly are all situations that can cause problems. Most homeowners thankfully are quick to discover an overflowing toilet, meaning they can act quickly to alleviate the issue.

Depending on the location of the bathroom in your Wilmington home and the type of overflow you are dealing with, you must approach the situation from different angles. A second-story bathroom or an overflow that contains sewage presents obstacles that are unique in handling this kind of water damage.

When it comes to sewage, you want the expert help of the professionals at SERVPRO®. Not only can we clean up all the water and dry your home back out, but we also need to combat the smells of the mess left behind.

The first step in getting rid of odors is to of course get rid of what is causing it – in this case, the sewage. Odor problems from water damage occur because wet materials are not dry. Once the moisture level returns to normal, a lot of the odor problems go away as well.

In most situations with deodorization, odors are coming from multiple sources. To find all of them and figure out the specific methods to fight each of them requires technical equipment and much knowledge. Instead, SERVPRO® techs use various methods to combat the smells.

One kind of deodorization agent does not work on every odor, so we use more than one type to treat the various odors we encounter in these situations. Plus, we ensure that you as our customer like the smell of the professional product we choose to apply.

When it comes down to it, SERVPRO® of New Hanover is the one to trust with a toilet overflow disaster. Not only can we clean everything up, but we ensure that your home in Castle Hayne, Wilmington, or Wrightsville Beach is back to itself again when you call us at (910) 762-8180.

SERVPRO Restores Your Home after Fire Damage to its Pre-Loss Condition

9/6/2022 (Permalink)

Fire damage comes in a variety of forms requiring professional restoration services.

Damage caused by a fire starting inside your Wrightsville Beach home comes in a variety of forms. The flames and heat coming from a blaze, char contents, and building materials inside your house make replacement a requirement. Smoke coming from the fire spreads across the building and affects surfaces with soot residue.

After materials get cleaned and removed, sometimes smoke odors still exist. As a final step, SERVPRO's fire damage technicians in Wrightsville Beach deodorize the structure. When getting rid of foul smells, we use a few different chemicals, application methods, and techniques.

Deodorization chemicals help fight odors in two primary methods. Some chemicals bond to the odor molecules and cause a chemical reaction with them to neutralize the smell. Other chemicals work as masking agents and overtake the foul odors with more appealing aromas.

In some cases, just spraying the chemicals out of an electric or hand sprayer works for eliminating the foul odors. In other situations, the compounds need to get applied in the same way the malodor particles got inside the materials in the first place. Combustion causes smoke particles to become microscopic and penetrate deep into porous materials. When mitigating foul smells, our SERVPRO experts attempt to re-create smoke behavior by breaking chemicals down into tiny particles.

When using a fogging system, microscopic chemical particles gain the ability to penetrate into surfaces that emit foul odors. The chemicals then attach to the odor molecules both neutralizing and masking the pungent smells. The restoration industry typically uses both dry and wet fogging methods depending on the scenario.

Ultra-Low Volume or ULV foggers dispense chemicals in "wet fog." The machine breaks down liquid chemicals to a size of 8 to 15 microns. ULV foggers are useful in a variety of general air deodorizing applications and often get used to seal and deodorize ventilation ducts and air-handling systems.

Thermal foggers heat up chemicals and turn them into "dry smoke." The thermal fogging system can break down compounds to the size of one-half of a micron. Thermal fogging is the best way to mimic the exact conditions that took place when the odor particles entered the affected materials.

After any fogging gets completed, the structure gets ventilated so that no hazards exist. For professional help with removing smoke-related odors, call SERVPRO of New Hanover at (910) 762-8180 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Click here for more on Wrightsville Beach.

Our Professionals Overcome Water Damage In Your Wrightsville Beach Home

8/15/2022 (Permalink)

Disasters can strike Wrightsville Beach homes without much warning, from flooding to storm surges, SERVPRO if New Hanover is here to help!

Effective Drying Equipment for Damaged Wrightsville Beach Homes

Disasters can strike Wrightsville Beach homes without much warning, from flooding to storm damages. However, there are also concerns that can happen within the home that can allow for damages of their own. Leaks to fixtures, failing appliances, and user errors are among the top culprits for water loss incidents that occur within the house, and our team can help to ensure that these occurrences are not devastating to your home and its contents.

While many Wrightsville Beach homeowners might not view water damage as a serious occurrence, it can have severe effects on your property without the right drying and moisture removal efforts. To adequately clean up the mess and dry out the saturated materials affected, you need advanced equipment and the expertise of professionals like our SERVPRO response team. We can arrive quickly to emergencies to ensure that the right steps get taken to protect the structural elements and contents of your home from impending irreparable water damages.

One of the ways that we can ensure our success when we get to work on water damage incidents within your home is through our advanced technology. We have tools like leak detection equipment and thermal imagery cameras. These devices can help to locate concerns within the plumbing where there might be potential leaks, and the cameras can help to identify moisture pockets in wall cavities, flooring materials, and more to ensure that we set up our drying equipment in the right locations for maximum results.

Our focus from the moment that we arrive is to protect and preserve installed materials when possible. When this is not possible through our conventional restoration techniques, our SERVPRO professionals can utilize controlled demolition strategies to remove irreparable portions of material without needing to take down entire walls or remove entire floors.

Finding the right professionals to help you overcome water damage in your home is simple. If you want to make the damage “Like it never even happened.” give our SERVPRO of New Hanover water restoration technicians a call today at (910) 762-8180.

Preventing Water Damage from Faulty Appliances in Your Wilmington Home

8/6/2022 (Permalink)

Your dishwasher uses a lot of water to get your dishes clean. Prevent a water damage emergency resulting from your dishwasher with maintenance.

SERVPRO Technicians can Remediate Water Damage AND Provide You with Tips to Avoid Future Damage

Most home flooding and water damage occur from appliance and plumbing failure. The cost of these disasters can add up fast to hundreds, or even thousands of dollars. There are certain everyday appliances in your home which you should be more aware of to prevent water damage. When an accident does happen in your home, SERVPRO is the one who can help you clean up the mess and dry out your home.
 
You should also know ahead of time what your home owner’s policy covers in case of water damage to your Wilmington home. Then if something does happen, you can get the coverage you need.
 
Dishwasher
 
The hoses and lines on your dishwasher can blow out or leak, many times during a wash cycle, and your kitchen is flooded with many gallons of water. You should never run your dishwasher while you are not at home. If a pipe bursts, you can lower the amount of water damage done by shutting the water off at the water supply line undeath the sink. Then, SERVPRO technicians can come in to help you repair and clean up the damages.
 
Rubber hoses are used to supply water to dishwashers in many cases, and they break down over time. Therefore, you should take the rubber hose and replace it with a much sturdier, steel-braided hose which you can find at most home improvement stores.
 
Washing Machine
 
Dishwasher drains or water hoses that malfunction results in some of the most common insurance claims for homeowners. You should inspect your washing machine hoses often. If they are more than five years old, replace them with steel-braided hoses.
 
For even more peace of mind, you can install an automatic shut-off valve that is equipped with an alarm to let you know of any problems with the hose.
 
Leaky Toilet
 
Any leaks from your toilet are signs of trouble. Cracks in the toilet or tank are not common unless something hits the tank. More frequently, the supply line to the water tank gets a leak in it. It is better to replace a toilet that is leaky than to repair it.
 
If the problem is the water supply line, it is simple to repair with a metal-braided supply line since they usually hold up better in the long run.
 
SERVPRO of New Hanover is specially trained in handling all sorts of water damage situations. If you have an appliance that has failed, give us a call at (910) 762-8180, and our technicians come out to your home quickly to fix the damages and get your life back on track.

Finding Hidden Fire Damage

7/6/2022 (Permalink)

HVAC Systems Must Be Cleaned So That They Don't Spread Fire Damage

The most extensive part of fire damage to a facility is not usually the fire itself. Most commercial structures and many private homes now have fire suppression systems in place. It is the hidden damage from that which can wind up costing more than actual flames.

Fire damage in Wilmington homes and businesses caused by flame and heat is readily visible and for the most part, quickly demolished and removed. Soot damage is also easy to see and either remove or clean depending on how extensive it is and how long it has been left in place. SERVPRO knows that smoke damage has to be sought out and found the same way an inspector examines a home or facility before it goes into escrow.

Every room and closet have to be checked. Ceiling tiles have to be examined and removed so crawl spaces can be examined. HVAC systems must be inspected and cleaned before they are reactivated. If not, then the damage can be blown into areas that previously had no damage from the fire. All of this, especially the crawl spaces, must be accomplished in appropriate safety gear which can range from a basic mask and gloves to a protective suit and breathing apparatus.

This is why fire suppression is so important. Flame and heat damage can be stopped quickly with the right setup, and water damage can be ameliorated if caught quickly enough. Smoke and soot damage, once it occurs, usually requires extensive cleaning and repainting at best or removal and replacement at worst.

SERVPRO of New Hanover has been in the business of restoring the effects of fire damage to commercial facilities and private residences for many years. We are proud to serve our North Carolina communities with some of the best trained and experienced inspectors and restoration crews in the industry. If you have need of our expertise or wish to schedule a free inspection to determine a preventive plan, contact us at 910-762-8180 today.

What You Can Do When Your Wilmington Area Movie Theater Sustains Flood Damage

4/20/2022 (Permalink)

When it comes to flood damage that is caused by storms, being prepared and following through with your plan is essential.

What You Can Do When Your Movie Theater Sustains Flood Damage

When it comes to flood damage that is caused by storms, being prepared and following through with your plan is essential. Following a plan might not only help prevent disastrous levels of damage to your business, but it could also help ensure that injury does not occur. Making sure that you are in a safe place when the storm hits are critical. Insurance and remediation companies can handle the damage done to your business, but they cannot fix permanent harm done to your body.

The ocean-based storm that hit your independent movie theater caused flood damage inside the building you own. The lobby doors were breached, and now there are several inches of water inside, soaking into the carpet. Upon finding the damage inside of your theater, it is vital for you to call for professional help as soon as you can.

The faster that you can get a team like SERVPRO inside of your building to remediate, the better it can be for the outcome of the job. Flood damage is often time-sensitive and leaving it can cause further complications down the line, such as mold damage.

SERVPRO makes it a priority of arriving at your business when you need us there. We understand how vital foot traffic is for small businesses and, because of it, we work around your schedule. Our employees can even work through the night to keep out of sight and mind.

When SERVPRO arrives at your theater, we can bring advanced technology to handle removing the water from your building. Equipment such as wet/dry vacuums and extractors are excellent at removing water as quickly as possible. Considering that movie theaters are usually covered in carpet, extractors are a very useful tool. They remove water with suction, but also have a heating element inside that simultaneously helps dry carpet, upholstery, and drapes. Once the floodwaters are removed from your lobby, SERVPRO can do one last sweep to make sure that no water remains.

If flood damage impacts your business after a storm, never wait to call for help. Get in touch with SERVPRO of New Hanover by calling (910) 762-8180. Day or night, we can be there for you.