’Paramedics of Property Damage’ Help Relieve Stress of Local Property Owners Suffering from Property Damage

Thornton, CO  (Grassroots Newswire) 15 June 2009 –  Home owners suffering from water damage are faced with an extremely stressful experience. PuroClean Disaster Recovery Experts, part of the nation’s fastest growing property damage remediation franchise, is prepared to immediately restore property, relieving the stress of  property owners during an extremely vulnerable time.

Water loss and damage is a real threat for property owners. In fact, according to the Insurance Information Institute in the last year, 22 per 1,000 households have entered a claim for water related damage.  “These situations are more common than most people think,” said Mark Wilson, owner of PuroClean Disaster Recovery Experts.  “Water damage can often result from weather, such as storms or melting snow, or more often, from common household malfunctions such as pipe leaks, washing machine malfunctions or other plumbing problems.”

To help minimize loss, and prevent further damage while technicians from PuroClean Disaster Recovery Experts are en route, Wilson suggests property owners follow these guidelines:
Insurance
o Call your agent.
o Take photographs of the damage.
o Keep all receipts from hotel stays, home repair materials, etc.
Plumbing
o Check pipes on well pumps and irrigation systems.
o If sewage is backing up in the shower or under the toilet, your whole system is backed up. Call a professional and don’t use other sinks or toilets.
Roofing
o If the neighbor’s roof is missing shingles after a storm, you can assume that yours probably is, too.
o If only a few shingles are gone, try to cover the area with a garbage bag.
o If you have a large area of ripped tar paper or wood, cover it with a tarpaulin and call a roofer immediately.
Electric
o Most damage to electrical systems comes from water.
o Appliances exposed to water should be serviced before being used again.
o Check for sparks or frayed wires if wires are exposed call an electrician and do not turn on the power.
o If it appears that water has infiltrated your breaker box, call an electrician.
o Avoid fallen and dangling wires or metal fences.
o If a limb has fallen on a power line, turn off the power and call the utility company.
o If a fallen limb touches your property, it becomes your responsibility, but you should not attempt to clear them as they may be tangled in power lines. Call an electrician.

Flooding (Take these steps to minimize damage before the restoration professional arrives.)
o Throw out all food, including canned goods, medicines and cosmetics that have been touched by flood water.
o Keep a photographic inventory of anything that must be thrown out.
o Don’t take pets into a flooded area and never let them drink standing flood water.

Miscellaneous
o Turn on air conditioner if damage occurs in summer.
o Move valuable paintings, art objects and photos to a safe, dry place.
o Open closet doors, furniture drawers and luggage to aid in drying.
o Remove any wet fabrics and dry immediately.
o Hang furs and leather goods to dry separately at room temperature.
o Stay out of any rooms where the ceiling is sagging from trapped water.
o Turn off the breaker before unplugging appliances.

From our friends at Envergent  –  www.evgt.net

Floodwater may be contaminated with sewage waste, leaving harmful bacteria in clothing. Hot water and detergent are not enough to reduce the number of bacteria to a safe level.

Research by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that certain types of disinfectants will greatly reduce the bacteria that survive the hot water and detergents used in home laundering. A disinfectant must be labeled as such. Products not labeled “disinfectant” will not control bacteria effectively.
Home Laundry
In a report from Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension Yates Association, comes research and information about how to kill bacterial and viral infections in your home laundry.

Research shows that it is rare to become infected from handling biologically infected garments. However, until this clothing is washed or dry cleaned, we encourage you to wear disposable rubber gloves and discard the gloves after use. Laundering is the preferred method of cleaning because of the many flushes used in the laundering process.

Disinfecting your home laundry can be done inexpensively, easily and without damage to the fabric. Microbiologists at U.S.D.A.’s Textile and Clothing laboratory have identified 4 categories of products which are effective, safe for fabrics and are available in local stores. Use the amount of disinfectant listed on the product’s label.
•    Pine oil disinfectants, which are effective in hot and warm water. Some brands include Pine Sol, Real Pine, Spic-n-Span Pine and Lysol Pine Action. They should be added at the beginning of the wash cycle.
•    Phenolic disinfectants are also effective in hot and warm water. Lysol brand disinfectant is available locally. Phenolic disinfectants may be added to the wash or rinse water, if the rinse water is warm.
•    Liquid chlorine disinfectants may be used in hot, warm or cold water temperatures. Chlorine bleach should always be diluted with water before adding it to the washer, and should never be poured directly on clothing. It also is not suitable for use on wool, silk, spandex or certain dyed and finished fabrics. Be sure to read the care labels on all items to be washed. Examples of liquid chlorine bleaches include Clorox and all supermarket house brands.
•    The last category, quartenary disinfectants, is extremely effective in all water temperatures, but is less available than the other products. The Amway company manufactures Pursue, which is specifically formulated for laundry. Label directions should be followed. Many household cleaners contain the effective disinfecting ingredients, but are not recommended for laundry purposes.

Cleaning Contaminated Clothing
Proper sorting, washing or dry-cleaning, drying, and storing flood-soiled clothes will reduce the number of harmful bacteria and prevents contamination of clean clothes.

SORTING
To prevent the bacteria of flood-soiled clothes from contaminating clean clothes and surfaces:

• Do not sort flood-soiled clothes with uncontaminated clothes.
• Do not shake flood-soiled clothes near clean, uncontaminated laundry or near surfaces that will later be used for sorting and folding clean laundry. Shaking contaminated clothes releases bacteria which then settle on nearby surfaces.
• Sort dirty clothes on a table or in an area where you will not fold clean clothes, or cover the table or the work area with clean paper, plastic sheeting, or any other clean material before working with clean clothes.
• Cover canvas-bottomed carts with clean paper or plastics before loading them with clean laundry. Such precautions are especially important when laundry facilities are shared.

CLEANING FLOOD SOILED CLOTHES
Check the garments’ care labels to determine whether the garments are dry cleanable or washable. If you have a choice between washing or dry cleaning, washing garments with a disinfectant may be more effective in reducing bacteria than dry cleaning.

DRY-CLEANING
Take dry-clean only garments to a professional dry cleaner. Tell the cleaner that the items have experienced flood damage. The professional dry cleaning process can reduce harmful bacteria to safe levels due to the flushing action and the steam used in finishing. Steam at 325° F. will kill bacteria. However, the temperature of the steam used will vary depending on the fiber content of
the garment, pressure of the boiler, the distance from which the garment is steamed and whether or not the garment will be ironed. The steam is particularly effective in killing bacteria, so do not use a coin-operated dry cleaner for disinfecting, because steam is not used in the finishing process.

Before you take clothes to be dry-cleaned:

• Allow garments to dry slowly at room temperature inside or line dry outdoors. Do not hang garments near a warm stove or radiator. Be sure garments are dry before you take them to the cleaners.
• Shake and brush clothes well outside to remove as much dirt as possible.
• Tell the cleaner the fabric’s fiber content, if this is not apparent, along with the cause of any known stains, and that the garments are flood-soiled.

MACHINE WASHING

• Make sure your wash water is safe to use before washing clothing. [Flood waters may have impacted your water source.]
• Wash flood-soiled clothing as soon as possible to prevent mildew. If this can not be done, shake out or brush off excess soil outdoors. Rinse items several times in cool water; then air dry.
• Even if you do wash right away, rinse clothes several times in cool water to remove as much mud as possible before washing. A cold water soak with an enzyme product like Bix or Axion may help. Do not soak flood-soiled clothes with rust stains in hot soapy water as hot soapsuds will set rust-colored stains. If there are rust or rust-colored stains, use a commercial rust removal product.
• When no more dirt can be rinsed out, machine wash using the highest water level possible. Use the hottest water and longest agitation period appropriate for the clothing (many more bacteria survive cold water laundering than they do either hot or warm water laundering).

For effective cleaning, do not crowd clothes in the machine.

• Add a disinfectant to the wash water. For disinfecting, use only products that display an EPA Registration Number on the label. This assures that the product has met EPA requirements for disinfectants. When using any disinfectant, follow label directions. Most disinfectants, other than chlorine bleach, are effective only on hard surfaces so make sure the disinfectant that you use has laundry directions on the label. Liquid chlorine bleach is the most accessible, cheapest, and easiest disinfectant to use. It
effectively kills bacteria in warm, hot, or cold water. Follow the directions on the label for disinfecting. Amounts of chlorine bleach will differ depending on desired results, fiber content, and color. A disinfectant like chlorine bleach reduces the number of bacteria to a safe level. Ordinary laundry detergent and hot water are not enough. A disinfectant in the wash water prevents harmful bacteria from being transferred from one article of clothing to another during the wash cycle, or from remaining on the inner surface of the washing machine and being transferred from one load of clothes to the next. In fact, not only should you use a
disinfectant when treating flood-soiled clothing, but also when there has been an illness in the family or when using a coin operated washing machine.

HOW MUCH BLEACH
Follow the recommended amounts given on the product label. However, if that is not available the following guidelines can be used. Depending on desired results, fiber content, fabric color, and item use, the following amounts of bleach:

• To sanitize clothing, 2 tablespoons of liquid chlorine bleach per washer load effectively kills bacteria.
• Chlorine bleach is harmful to certain fibers, such as silk, wool, and spandex, and to durable press fabrics and generally should not be used on them. However, research indicates that a sanitizing amount of 2 tablespoons liquid chlorine bleach per washer load will kill bacteria without substantially damaging clothes. Do not use more than 2 tablespoons per washer load. Such disinfection should not be done on a regular basis.
• Brightly colored fabrics that may fade when chlorine bleach is used at higher levels, generally can be successfully sanitized with 2 tablespoons of liquid chlorine bleach per washer load without significant color loss.
• For stain removal or heavily soiled items ½ to 1 cup of liquid chlorine bleach per washer load is generally needed. Check directions on bleach container for the specific amount to use. NOTE restrictions for certain fibers and brightly colored items above.

DRYING
More bacteria are killed by drying clothes in an automatic clothes dryer than by line drying. Both methods, however, will reduce the number of bacteria. Survival of bacteria varies with the size of the load, the drying temperature, and drying time. Do not dry fabrics in a dryer unless you are satisfied with the results. Drying in a dryer can set stains, making them impossible to remove.

• Select the hottest drying temperature and longest drying time safe for the fabric.
• Make sure the exhaust of the dryer is vented to the outdoors so that bacteria released from fabrics will not be dispersed into the room, basement or other living area.
• Line drying is most effective on a sunny day because the sun’s ultraviolet rays help destroy harmful bacteria.

IRONING
Ironing will also help kill germs on cottons and cellulosic type fabrics such as rayon. Steam pressing will kill germs in items that require air drying away from the sun, such as washable wools.

STORAGE AREA
Before putting away clean clothing, make sure you have disinfected the storage area. (Check Home Furnishings materials for how-to.)

CLEANING FLOOD-SOILED LEATHER SHOES
Remove mud before it dries on shoes. Mud may stain leather and the longer it stays on, the worse the stain may be. To clean shoes:

• Scrape off moist mud as soon as possible.
• Wipe leather with soft, damp cloth.
• Stuff shoes with soft, crumpled paper to help them hold their shape and to absorb moisture on the inside. Shoe trees may stretch the leather out of shape.
• Dry shoes at room temperature. Too much heat will ruin leather. An electric fan will help the drying process.
• As shoes dry, clean with saddle soap (which can be purchased at shoe store or grocery).
• When shoes are thoroughly dry, polish with a good paste or cream.
• Don’t wear shoes until they are thoroughly dry. Wet leather is soft, pulls out of shape easily, tears and wears out quickly.

REFERENCES
This synopsis was compiled from various sources, including:
IICRC S500 – Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration
IICRC S520- Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation
ISO 3175 – Textiles – Professional care, drycleaning and wetcleaning of fabrics and garments
Cornell University’s Cooperative Extension Yates Association
U.S.D.A Textile and Clothing Laboratory
Disclaimer: This material is intended for use by Envergent clients and business associates. It is not intended to be an all encompassing report only a reference guide. Envergent assumes no liability for any material or consequences based on this material. Please consult with your IICRC remediation professional for advice and support. Copyright 2009 Envergent

We see it alot, a broken hose behind your clothes washing machine bursts while the homeowner is off at work or on vacation flooding the basement in their absence. The fine print on your washing machine paperwork says that these hoses should be replaced every 3 to 5 years. But who reads this, much less remembers to change their hoses every few years?

The best advice is to swap out your plastic hoses with wire-mesh hoses. The plastic version has a habit of bursting when it finally fails and the results are catistrophic. On the other hand, the wire-mesh hoses don’t rupture but, instead, start to leak when they fail. The difference is, you’ll see the leak and respond to it when a little water starts to appear and with the plastic hoses it’s usually too late to avoid a disaster once you’ve discovered it’s failed.

Please take a moment to swap out your washing machine hoses. A new set of wire-mesh washing machine hoses only cost about $15 to $25 and your local home-improvement store and it’ll save you much more than that when compared to paying for a water loss.

We’re seeing a lot of mold problems starting as a result of leaking rain-gutters or loose flashing on roofs. Please make sure that you have your rain-gutters and flashing checked by a qualified professional. If you notice a problem don’t put off calling a professional like PuroClean to come out and make sure that your walls are dry. Mold problems are rarely covered by insurance and are usually quite expensive. A PuroClean professional can give you the peace of mind that you need to know that you’re not headed into some costly home repair projects.