4 Ways To Be Proactive And Avoid Plumbing Issues In Your Home

3/13/2023 (Permalink)

Plumbing problems are never fun. They can cause water leaks, flooding, and expensive damage to your home.

Plumbing problems are never fun. They can cause water leaks, flooding, and expensive damage to your home. However, if you're proactive about keeping your plumbing in good condition and recognize signs of trouble before they become major issues, then you can avoid these problems entirely!

Get Regular Plumbing Inspections.

To avoid plumbing problems, you need to be proactive and keep an eye out for them in advance. You can do this by getting regular inspections of your home's plumbing systems and fixtures. This will help you catch issues before they become serious problems that cost thousands of dollars to fix.

To help ensure that your plumbing system is in good working order, it's important to have a professional do a thorough inspection on it at least once every year. During this inspection, they will be able to identify any potential problems before they become serious and expensive to fix later on. If there are any issues with the system found during this inspection, they'll point them out so that you can take care of them right away.

Look Out For Leaking Pipes & Faucets.

Leaking pipes and faucets are a major cause of water damage in the home, so it's important to know how to identify them. The first step is turning off the water supply, then checking for drips or pooling water around your plumbing fixtures.

If you notice any leaks around faucets or pipes in your house, take care of them right away so they don't get worse over time and cause damage to other parts of the house.

Flush the Water Heater.

Flushing the water heater is an important step in maintaining its efficiency. It's recommended that you flush your water heater once every year, but if you live in an area with hard water or high mineral content, then flushing more often may be beneficial.

To flush your hot-water tank: Turn off the power supply to your water heater and drain all of its contents into a bucket or drain outside of your house. Then refill it with fresh cold water and turn on the power again so that it can heat up again before use!

Flush the Drains.

One of the best ways to keep your plumbing functioning properly is to regularly flush out all drains with hot water and a drain cleaner. This will help clear out any debris that may have built up in the pipes, preventing it from clogging up later on.

Avoid Plumbing Problems by Being Proactive.

Plumbing issues can be a pain, but they don't have to be. By taking care of your home's plumbing systems and fixtures on a regular basis, you can easily avoid most problems before they even happen.

The Effects of Mold on Commercial Buildings

8/31/2022 (Permalink)

It is not uncommon to find water damage in commercial buildings. If left unattended, this will provide mold the conditions it needs to grow. Any areas that provide moisture, nutrients, and darkness will give fungus an environment where it will thrive, causing damage to building materials. To prevent mold, it is important to check consistently for:

• Water damage
• Leaks
• Moisture retention in HVAC systems
  
  

What Is Mold?

Mold is a member of the fungus kingdom. This species is an essential member of the ecosystem with the role of decaying natural materials. Mold spores are microorganisms that travel through the air and attach themselves to materials that provide them the right nutrients and living conditions. Given these, they develop into colonies, feeding off of and decomposing their host.

Why is Mold Dangerous for Buildings?
Mold's function in the wild to decompose waste favors greatly for the ecosystem. However, it can cause severe damage in commercial buildings in Potowomut, RI, where it will gradually decompose natural building materials. If left unattended, mold damage will make some materials irreparable. Fungus should not be allowed to dwell on building materials to prevent damage costs from adding up.

Is Mold Preventable?
You cannot prevent mold from traveling into buildings, but there are ways to minimize the potential for its growth. Mold prevention includes controlling the moisture levels in a building to reduce favorable environments for mold, especially in areas where running water is frequent. Inspecting HVAC drip pans regularly to ensure they are not plugged will also help to minimize its growth. Regularly search commercial buildings for any leaks and repair them immediately to prevent damages.
If your building has been affected by water damage and unattended mold growth, a mold remediation service will help to clean and restore the property. It is important to clear buildings of any mold upon finding it to prevent unexpected costs for repairs.

Bread Is One of Mold’s Favorite Foods

7/18/2022 (Permalink)

One of Mold's Favorite Foods Is Bread

Virtually everyone has experienced bread mold. It won’t take long for a loaf of bread sitting in a pantry to develop mold, especially in warm and humid environments. There are some good, scientific reasons why bread is so attractive to mold:

• It has a near-ideal moisture level for mold development
• The basic ingredients of bread are perfect for mold growth
• Most bread is kept in a warmer location, like a cabinet, which favors mold growth.
  
  

Mold Is a Form of Fungus

Fungus is essential to the functioning of the world. It’s actually neither a plant nor an animal, but instead is in its own biological classification, called a kingdom. These life forms can’t produce their own food like plants or go hunting for it, like animals. Instead, they live on other forms of life, leeching their nutrients directly from whatever it’s living on. Without fungi, virtually nothing in nature would ever decompose.

Fungus Growth Can Be Slowed But At A Cost

There are some steps you can take to prevent bread mold, but they will impact the flavor somewhat. Most commercial bakeries use calcium propionate as a preservative. It retards the growth of mold and other microorganisms, extending the shelf life of food products. The FDA says it’s “generally safe to eat,” which is good because it’s used a lot. However, some studies have indicated that it may cause irritation in a small number of children. It may also cause headaches for some individuals, and some people say it affects the flavor of food.
To slow the growth of bread mold in homemade baked goods, you can store leftovers in the refrigerator. Inside the fridge, mold growth will be substantially slowed. However, it also tends to dry out the bread and reduce the natural flavor. Like many things in life, it’s a trade-off, but at least it’s a reasonable option.
If you have mold damage in your home, talk to a local mold remediation company in West Warwick, RI, about getting an inspection and starting the cleanup process. Once mold starts growing on building materials, you’ll really need an expert to determine the scope of the infestation.

How Pretesting Keeps Claims Expenses Lower

6/28/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technicians can prevent damage from spreading.

Pretesting Process

Like most businesses, insurance companies need to stay vigilant about costs. You need to provide your customers with quality service without wasting their resources.
When a Cowesett, RI, customer has a claim, you can help keep costs down by implementing the pretesting process. Here is a look at the method and how it helps.

What Is the Process?
A SERVPRO technician visits the damaged property after a fire, storm, flood or other peril. The technician inspects the damage to determine the need for:

• Repairs
  
• Restoration
  
• Remodeling
  
• Cleaning
  
  

What Does Pretesting Determine?
The process helps the professional restoration company decide what materials they need to replace and what they can restore. It is not always necessary to completely replace items or structures if they can be cleaned and repaired.
The method can also uncover the best cleaning techniques to restore damaged belongings.
The process can define what areas are unaffected. Technicians can cover or seal off these areas to prevent further damage.

What Are the Advantages?
It keeps down the cost of an insurance claim to fix or clean items that are not a total loss. As an example, If a building has water damage from a burst pipe, the mitigation process can be less complicated than if the water is from a flood.
By determining what areas are unaffected, SERVPRO technicians can prevent damage from spreading. They can also help the insurance agent avoid the unnecessary cost of making repairs to areas that don't need it.
Pretesting helps the insurance company focus on the affected sites and avoid wasting time or resources on unneeded repairs or replacements. When you can save your client time and money, everyone benefits.
Conducting tests at a Cowesett, RI, property helps you provide your client with a thorough investigation. It also helps you reduce expenses and avoid wasting precious resources.

Unexpected Consequences of a Home Water Leak

5/16/2022 (Permalink)

Water leaking on ceiling.

Water Leak in the Home Has Unexpected Consequences

You are not alone if you worry about a water leak that could cause damage to your home in Nooseneck, RI. In fact, a water-in-home incident ranks as one of the biggest fears of homeowners. You probably are aware that a cracked pipe or a faulty appliance could release hundreds of gallons of liquid into your home. Even if that water is clean, it can result in significant damage to furniture, walls, flooring and more. If the water is contaminated, it can do even more damage and require the services of a highly-trained water mitigation team.

Unpleasant Surprises of a Broken Pipe
When water is released into a room, it can spread quickly and result in damage almost immediately. The longer the water remains, the more damage it will do. You might be concerned with fabrics and less durable surfaces, but water acts as a corrosive and can result in multiple avenues of property damage:

The ruination of drywall and underlying insulation
The tarnishing of metals, wiring and gas lines
The spoilation of foods and other perishable items
The harm to paintings and other family heirlooms

When you have water in the home incident, you could also be at risk for mold growth. This could happen even after the water has been cleaned from your property.

Positive Results From a Water Cleanup
To minimize the damage to your home, a professional cleanup will look at all areas of damage. Trained technicians will use a variety of advanced techniques to save property and restore personal items. Dry cleaning and additional methods are often the best chance to save clothing and other valuable items.
If you do experience a water-in-home event, you might be surprised at the level of damage that occurs. A professional response is often the best way to guard against the consequences of unwanted water.

3 Steps in the Mold Remediation Process

1/30/2022 (Permalink)

Mold containment in Shawomet, RI.

Mold Cleanup Process

When you notice black mold in your home in Shawomet, RI, you may be concerned about the process of mold removal and remediation. There are several crucial steps to the mold cleanup process.

1. Containment

When mold is first noticed, mitigating the damage becomes a priority. To prevent mold from spreading and causing damage to other areas and items, mold is contained. An important part of the containment process involves assessing the environment and ensuring the environment is not conducive to mold growth. Moisture is eliminated as much as possible to prevent mold from continuing to grow, and locations that have been affected by mold in the home are dried as well.

2. Cleaning

Once black mold is contained, the process of cleaning will begin. However, since mold spores are difficult to clean and spores spread so easily, the process generally requires specialized equipment. Though there are treatments that help sanitize areas affected by mold, some items that are covered in mold may need to be removed rather than cleaned. In order to ensure the air quality is restored, the air within the affected location is also filtered through powerful air filtration devices.

3. Restoration

After mold has been contained and the affected area has been cleaned, the structures and items in your home will be restored. While structures in the home are often replaced, whether or not a specific item can be restored often depends on the material and the amount of damage the mold has caused. Items such as paintings or clothing can generally be sanitized and restored, though the process of restoring these items can be time-consuming and costly.

When black mold occurs in a home, containing the mold, cleaning and sanitizing the area, and restoring and replacing structures and items within the home are important steps in the mold remediation process. Often, mold removal and remediation professionals can assist in restoring your home.