Merritt Island's Fire Damage Experts Describe Cleaning Appliances

3/20/2023 (Permalink)

If a fire burns at your Merritt Island residence, structural components and building materials can suffer extensive damage.

Fire Damage Experts Describe Cleaning Appliances

If a fire burns at your Merritt Island residence, structural components and building materials can suffer extensive damage. Depending on the size of the blaze, parts of the structure might have to be removed and rebuilt. Aside from the heat and flames engulfing and charring parts of the house, smoke created by partially combusted particles can cause problems in areas far from the source.

Smoke put out by burning materials travels all over your home creating pungent aromas and leaving behind soot residues. During some fire damage restorations in Merritt Island, soils coat several indoor surfaces including contents. To prevent damage to items and to aid in deodorization all soot residue gets removed from affected contents and materials.

Different things inside the house require various methods and chemicals to clean soot damage. How difficult soots come off surfaces changes based on what burned in the fire and the type of surfaces affected. Non-porous surfaces are typically the simplest to clean because wet chemicals can be used to wipe off the soot.

When smoke spreads throughout your house, appliances often get coated with soils. Appliances usually contain surfaces made from metal, paint, plastic, and glass. These surfaces can be cleaned using a water-based detergent solution. If the soot is challenging to remove with the cleaning agent, then our SERVPRO technicians use another chemical to increase the alkalinity of the detergent.

Many appliances have highly polished finishes that can get damaged by cleaning agents. Chrome or aluminum can pit if industrial detergents are left on the surface. After using soaps to remove soot residues, applying a rinse chemical can prevent damage caused by the cleaning process.

In some cases, heat from a fire can cause finishes on appliances to turn yellow. When yellowing occurs, wood creme paste gets applied to the affected surface with a towel. We then allow the creme to set on the surface for two to three minutes. After it sets, we use steel wool to gently scrub the yellowish staining off. Once we agitate the surface with the paste, it gets polished with a clean towel.

Using the correct methods to remove soils can reduce the overall cost of the restoration project. For help from the professionals with any mitigation project, call SERVPRO of Central Brevard, at (321) 638-4947 seven days a week.

Click here for more about Merritt Island.

Why should I not take care of water damage myself?

3/8/2023 (Permalink)

Water damage left too long and it resulted in have to remove all the dry way down to the bare studs-- you can even see rust on the stud!!

Even a small amount of water can cause a lot of damage to a property and if corrective action isn’t taken right away, the homeowner may bear the cost of the clean-up.  This is because most homeowner insurance policies will state that it is the homeowner’s responsibility to try to limit further damage to their home after a water loss.  If they don’t do anything, the insurance company could deny the claim.

On top of this, the longer there is water in a home, the greater the possibility of the home experiencing secondary damage.  This is when materials that are wet sustain additional damage that then becomes more expensive to fix.  A good example is when wet drywall is not properly dried and then becomes moldy.  Another one is when you have a wet room that is not addressed and the high humidity levels cause damage to another room that wasn’t originally affected.

Secondary damage is always more expensive to mitigate than the original water damage but can be avoided is corrective action is taken right away!

At SERVPRO of Central Brevard, we have successfully mitigated water damages in hundreds of homes in our over 19 years of service to the Space Coast!!

Once you see our green trucks pull into your driveway or parking lot, you can rest assured you’re in capable hands. We have the latest modern, commercial-grade drying equipment available, including, extractors, dehumidifiers, air movers, hardwood floor drying systems, and each of our trained technicians are certified and water restoration.

Drying Structural Areas of Your Cocoa Home after Water Damage

7/26/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO provides advanced equipment for water damage mitigation in Cocoa. "Like it never even happened."

SERVPRO Follows Protocols to Facilitate Water Mitigation in Cocoa

Water becomes a menace when it spreads to unintended areas of a Cocoa property. Structural materials such as frames, studs, walls, and ceiling panels are particularly vulnerable to moisture exposure. Luckily, drying procedures can help prevent or reverse severe water damage. Drying structural areas to combat water damage requires combining several strategies, including demolition, manipulating airflow, and dehumidification.

When an incident at your Cocoa home leaves water damage, the impact can be selective, affecting contents such as furniture, or it can be restricted to structural areas such as walls, floors, or ceilings. The source of the leak plays a significant role in determining what is affected. Unlike contents that you can easily move to facilitate drying, wet structural materials are rigidly attached to the building. SERVPRO provides the expertise and technological resources that ease water restoration.

Removing moisture from structural materials occurs in different states, including liquid and vapor. Moisture has to move from the core of the material towards the surface, where it can escape into the air through evaporation. Although evaporation happens naturally, the standard rate is too slow, especially in concealed areas, so it is essential to find a way to fast-track it.

Ways to boost evaporation

• Improving airflow
• Humidity control
• Temperature control

If the air circulating over wet surfaces is constantly moving, it acts as a sweep moving the moisture escaping from the wet materials away, thus speeding up the drying process. Our SERVPRO crews set up several air movers to create a constant air stream over a damp surface. The air moving around the wet materials should have minimal humidity levels for sustained evaporation and faster drying. If deemed necessary, our technicians include dehumidifiers within the set-up of drying equipment. Temperature control complements the drying efforts by improving the capacity of air to hold moisture.

Reaching Wet Structural Materials

Structural materials such as drywall, floorboards, and ceiling panels are readily accessible, making it easy to execute the drying processes. However, the elements hidden within ceiling spaces, subfloors, and wall spaces are not readily accessible, so extra steps are necessary to facilitate drying. Our SERVPRO IICRC-certified technicians can punch vent holes or make flood cuts to create the required access to circulate dry air close to the wet materials. Vent holes are small openings, usually less than an inch in diameter, drilled through a wall to create access for circulating air inside the wall. Our technicians hook special wall ventilators through the holes to facilitate positive or negative air pressure into the cavity. We can rig various InjectiDry devices to optimize the drying time and result.

In some cases, materials may be readily accessible but have vapor barriers that impede drying. A vapor barrier is a material that does not let moisture through, or if it does, the rate is very slow. For example, wall surfaces coated in gloss paint or wallpaper. Defeating the vapor barrier is essential before drying can be successful. Our SERVPRO technicians use different workarounds against the moisture barriers, including modifying or removing the material. We can use a perforation roller to create tiny holes allowing faster moisture release. Stripping the surface, especially if the barrier is wallpaper is also helpful.

Other common vapor barriers:

• Felt paper under hardwood floors
• 4-mil polyethylene sheet under drywall
• Semi-gloss paint

SERVPRO of Central Brevard uses professional approaches to handle water damage making it "Like it never even happened." Call us at (321) 638-4947.

What It Takes to Restore a Cocoa Home after Fire Damage

7/26/2022 (Permalink)

Fire damage cleanup and controlled demolition are cornerstones of SERVPRO. We make your Cocoa home look "Like it never even happened."

SERVPRO Provides Comprehensive Resources to Cocoa Homeowners after Fire Loss

Fire is a combination of different elements. Apart from the heat, it produces various chemical agents that spread across properties as fine particles, aerosols, and gases. These byproducts have distinct effects on materials, so restoring fire damage takes several approaches, including applying different cleaning products and procedures. Without sufficient resources, restoring your Cocoa home to its preloss state can be a mirage.

In your Cocoa home, fire damage occurs in stages. The most significant damage occurs when materials are engulfed in flames. This stage can consume many elements, reducing them to ashes. The gases, aerosols, and fine particles floating around the home during combustion, soil, stain, and leave a strong odor in fabrics, wood, and other materials. Finally, when residues like soot settle on surfaces, they can degrade them through corrosion and staining. Polished metal and stone surfaces such as backsplashes or countertops are susceptible to such damage.

Fixing fire issues requires the right:

• Knowledge
• Equipment
• Workforce
• Chemical agents

You can categorize knowledge about fires. Knowing what is affected, what can be salvaged, and what should be immediately disposed of are some of the top categories of information. Whether something is salvageable depends on factors like the level of damage, restoration cost, and the ease of replacement. SERVPRO has extensive industry experience, making it easier to categorize items as salvageable or unsalvageable. Whether canned or refrigerated, foodstuffs fall in the unsalvageable category since they are readily replaceable and become toxic from heat or chemical exposure.

Resources that Help Resolve Fire Damage

Appropriate resources are essential whether you need to clean, strip, or refinish a burnt area. These could be products or equipment to facilitate specific processes. Extra pair of hands is also helpful in facilitating simple or complex tasks. SERVPRO combines all these factors by sending a well-staffed and equipped team to your fire damaged property.

Necessary restoration equipment

• Abrasive cleaners
• Deodorization equipment
• Deep cleaners
• Drying equipment

Fire and smoke residues adhere strongly to surfaces due to bonding with the surface or deterioration of the underlying material. For example, areas with wet smoke residues are deeply soiled. Breaking the bonds requires sufficient force that only abrasive cleaning equipment can deliver. Pressure washers and rotating brushes are standard tools when a strong physical force is needed. For deep cleaning, immersion in cleaning solutions may be necessary. Ultrasonic cleaners help when cleaning small items.

In some cases, chemical breakdown of soils is better than using physical force, especially when it might damage the affected materials from poor handling. Our SERVPRO crews use specially formulated products to facilitate such cleaning. Heavy-duty cleaning detergents that are highly alkaline and contain ammonia are essential for this task. They are reliable in removing greasy fire residues and other difficult soils.

One should not forget secondary or invisible problems after dealing with the soiling and material deterioration left in a property by fire. Moisture issues and odors fall in this category since it is easy to overlook them until they interfere with your daily routines. Our SERVPRO technicians set up dehumidifiers or air movers to manage moisture, whether from cleaning processes or firefighting efforts. An air mover evacuates wet air from the house. A dehumidifier removes the humidity accumulating in the air. In both cases, the evaporation rate from wet materials increases, thus boosting drying.

SERVPRO of Central Brevard addresses all aspects of fire damage, from deteriorated materials to strange odors. Call us at (321) 638-4947. We're Faster To Any Size Disaster.

Cocoa Residences Require Professional Mold Damage Remediation

7/26/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO techs don Tyvek clothing and respirators when remediating mold damage in Cocoa homes and attics.

SERVPRO Uses EPA Approved Mold Remediation in Cocoa Homes

Effective mold damage interventions for Cocoa properties are essential when spores encounter water and microbial growth gets out of hand. The use of proven best practices helps preserve and restore structural components and contents affected by rapidly multiplying fungi. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducted extensive research that resulted in a comprehensive mold remediation protocol applicable to and successful in commercial and residential settings used by professionals specializing in microbial removal and control.

EPA-Guided Mold Clean Up Delivers Consistently Outstanding Results

Remediation strategies designed by the EPA comprise the undisputed industry standard, clarifying why SERVPRO crews responding to Cocoa mold damage confidently rely upon them. Resolving a fungal infestation includes ticking off the specific steps listed in the EPA process to find and safely rid a dwelling of active colonies of mold organisms. Mold damage results only when endemic spores encounter and absorb water, fueling growth on available organic surfaces such as a broad range of common building materials. Inhibiting resurgence is also vital to protect properties from continuous microbial damage and requires an overarching moisture management plan.

Why Is SERVPRO A Good Fit for Mold Damage Removal?

Expertise in water damage restoration and applied structural drying techniques offers Cocoa customers an advantage when choosing a mold remediation partner, which is why SERVPRO ranks highly among property owners struggling with persistently wet areas. Lingering water damage can fuel mold outbreaks if not remediated within 24 to 48 hours. Our Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC)-trained technicians are experts in finding the sources of water incursions and tracing moisture migration throughout a home’s building materials and fixtures. Techniques and tools employed include:

• Infrared imaging, which permits comparing temperature fluctuations to pinpoint wet or water-filled spaces behind surfaces
• Moisture detectors help establish the perimeters of water spread
• Moisture meters are critical to developing drying goals and monitoring progress by periodic moisture level measurement of wet components contrasted with baseline data from unaffected yet similar building materials
• Thermo-hydrometers, are capable of recording both temperature, and relative humidity levels as some spores begin multiplying when humidity levels exceed 60 percent

What Are the Other Steps in the EPA Mold Remediation Protocol?

Identifying and testing for the intensity of water damage and persistent moisture helps remediators locate the spaces within your Cocoa home that exhibit conditions supportive of microbial growth and damage. This is the crucial first step in fungal remediation, which is why SERVPRO uses its expertise and takes the time to scope for water and moisture damage. The subsequent phases in the EPA process include:

• Containing the affected structural components and workspace to prevent the spread, our technicians wrap the area with 1.6 mil polyethylene and use negative pressure air scrubbing technology to filter contaminants.
• Manually removing the moldy residues with scrapers, brushes, and other abrasive tools -- sometimes adding controlled blasting with media such as soda or dry ice to loosen organisms from porous materials and incapacitate the invasive hyphae that could otherwise encourage mold rebound.
• Clean up debris and residues with HEPA-filtered vacuums and wipe downs with EPA-registered cleaning products.
• Treatment of the affected materials and space with EPA-registered antimicrobials to inhibit the growth of spores in the area.

Water damage restoration and moisture management also must be part of the ongoing maintenance of your Cocoa home, which is why SERVPRO advises customers on how to limit water incursions and ensure optimum indoor humidity of 30 to 50 percent. We also offer services to address and resolve any underlying water issues.

Professional understanding of and capability to provide mold damage remediation best practices is why SERVPRO of Central Brevard is a regional restoration leader. Call (321) 360-4932 to conduct a mold damage assessment.

Commercial Water Removal for Cocoa Beach Eateries

7/25/2022 (Permalink)

Air movers and dehumidifiers like these can help remove water from your business.

How SERVPRO can help you remove water from your business

Like many other cities and towns in Florida, Cocoa Beach relies on local and tourist patronage. Keeping the doors open for every viable hour is essential to pay the business' power bill, provide employees' paychecks, and keep the local economy moving. 

This is impossible when water is in a Cocoa Beach restaurant's foyer, dining area, bathrooms, or kitchen. Commercial water removal must be done immediately to serve customers and prevent secondary damage. SERVPRO keeps a trained restoration team on-call to meet every need. 

If our team receives pictures and video of the flooding, they can bring in the right equipment to get started minutes after arriving on site. The first task is to remove any standing water. As one of our inspectors looks for the water source and turns it off, others set up a commercial grade pump and begin the removal process. Technicians direct the water into the nearest sewer drain. 

After removing the bulk of the water, team members utilize extraction wands. These smaller devices draw water off wood and concrete floors and pull it out of carpets. The wands have a built-in heating element, so SERVPRO technicians can carefully begin drying carpets and wood floors simultaneously. 

Depending on the size of the restaurant, our team has two options. Members can use portable wands with a battery pack or plug into the wall for smaller cafes or, for large, buffet-style restaurants, utilize wands that pump the water directly to a holding tank mounted on a truck outside the structure. 

Once they finish with the wands, technicians install fans and air movers to draw out the damp air inside and replace it with warm air to speed up the drying process. As the fans and air movers work, team members use long-handled squeegees to push any remaining spots or pools of water out of corners and out from under appliances and furniture. 

Our goal at SERVPRO of Central Brevard is to support our fellow business owners and help them reopen to customers as soon as we can safely do so. If you need our services, call us today at (321) 638-4947 to schedule a visit.

Fire Damage Experts In Cape Canaveral Talk About Different Cleaning Products and Methods

7/25/2022 (Permalink)

Cape Canaveral House Fires Can Leave a Lot of Smoke and Soot Behind--Call SERVPRO for Rocket-Fast Cleanup and Restoration

SERVPRO Technicians Provide a Large Arsenal of Equipment and Cleaning Agents to Mitigate Fire Damage

Any fire that burns on your Cape Canaveral property can cause several different kinds of damage to buildings. Even small fires that do not burn building materials can cause smoke damage throughout the house. Smoke first rises with the heat of the blaze; then, it is attracted to cooler surfaces. When smoke hits cold surfaces, it leaves behind soils and soot residues. 

Since fires burn various types of materials, the chemical composition of the soot also varies. During fire damage mitigation in Cape Canaveral, the removal of soot residues is a significant part of the project. Residues can ruin the finished contents inside your home and produce burnt aromas. Some types of soot are easily wiped off, whereas others can be nearly impossible to remove. 

To find the most efficient method, our SERVPRO technicians try until they find the one that works best for each scenario. In some cases, multiple methods are needed to remove different types of soot found in the same building. Other times various techniques must be used to clean the same kind of soot off different materials. Typically, vacuuming coated surfaces is initially a practical first step.

If the surface is non-porous, our SERVPRO restoration team can use wet chemicals to clean off soot damage. Using wet chemicals on porous substances can cause the soils to soak into the item and create more problems. Permeable surfaces are best cleaned with dry cleaning methods such as compressed air or dry sponges. 

When wet cleaning items, most paintable and washable surfaces can be cleaned with a general surface cleaner. These cleaners have a low enough alkalinity to where they will not ruin the interior paint. Heavy duty cleaners remove heavy grease and thick soils. These chemicals usually have high alkalinity and contain ammonia. The high alkaline detergents cannot be used on some surfaces because they will eat away the finish and ruin the item. 

Once the best cleaning method and chemicals for the job are discovered, we clean everything inside your home that got affected by smoke with detail. Often items can get hand scrubbed until there is no soot present. If you ever need help with smoke-related problems, call SERVPRO of Central Brevard at (321) 638-4947 24/7.

The Importance of Deodorization to Cocoa Fire Damage Restoration

7/25/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO knows how to remove malodors left over from fires. Call us today!

Deodorants Used in Fire Damage Restoration

Regulating post-fire effects combines several cleaning and air quality improvement strategies beginning when SERVPRO professionals first arrive at damaged residences. With how fast threats like malodors can move in the house and infiltrate porous materials, swift action is needed to neutralize the smell and return to normal living conditions.

How Does Pairing Work? 

One of the more effective methods of reducing the impact of smoke during fire damage restoration in Cocoa is the pairing products we use. Odor neutralization gets achieved with this approach by combining the odor molecules with unstable compounds capable of bonding with the malodor byproduct in the environment. Two common varieties include:

• Humectant –These chemicals get distributed as a vapor that attaches to odor molecules and falls to surfaces to be wiped clean. 

• Counteractant –These products destroy bacteria or will change the properties of a molecule, so combining odor molecules with these products can neutralize their effectiveness. 

What is Masking? 

In some cases, the desire to have normal operating conditions for a household or business supersedes the full deodorization process. Masking agents help to overpower smoke smells temporarily for this purpose. These products are stronger than the present smells, which is especially effective when contending with situations like imaginary odors common with customers after experiencing fire damage firsthand.

Disinfection Cleaning

Disinfection cleaning is another effective management of odors in the environment. We have several methods of overcoming the more odorous and problematic airborne contaminants and air quality obstacles. There are numerous approaches available for overcoming bacterial, viral, or other threatening microbes and particulates creating offensive odors, including: 

• Ultraviolet light
• Extreme temperature changes
• Oxidation with ozone

Post-fire cleanup and recovery cleanup can often hinge on the efforts made in odor management. Our SERVPRO of Central Brevard team is ready to help with all the cleanup your home needs after a disaster. Call now at (321) 638-4947. 

Addressing Contents in Your Cocoa Property After Fire Damage

6/29/2022 (Permalink)

Let your local SERVPRO of Central Brevard professionals resolve your fire damage problems.

Cocoa Residents Count on SERVPRO for Fire Damage Cleanup

Once first responders deem your Cocoa property safe to enter after a fire, the next thing to do is contact SERVPRO to initiate house fire cleanup services. We know that property fires are financially and mentally devastating, but our team is here 24/7 to give you the prompt response you need to try getting your home back in order. We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster, handling debris removal, drying, smoke remediation, and detailed contents cleaning.

A common question many homeowners have after fire damage in Cocoa is what items they can keep. Some of the things SERVPRO technicians will tell you are easy to clean include:

• Metals – Generally resistant to smoke damage, many metal-crafted items can withstand surface cleaning and light sanding and refinishing. This all depends on the item, the design, and coatings or paint.
• Glass – Glass is relatively resistant to fire, so our crew may be able to use immersion techniques or spray and wipe methods to clean various glass items in your home.
• Furnishings and Hardwood Flooring – Unless the smoke and fire damage is severe, we can work to clean and restore furniture and hardwood flooring with specialty cleaning techniques, sanding, and refinishing.

Items that often get disposed of after a fire

In many situations, the following may not or cannot get salvaged after a fire:

• Linens, mattresses, and clothing – Some clothing or linens may successfully get cleaned with light smoke damage. Otherwise, disposal is often best.
• Hygiene products, cosmetics, and medicines – These items are sensitive to temperature changes and fragile. Due to the loss of efficacy, discarding it after a fire is better.
• Food – It is always advisable to toss food items, even those unopened. If your home is without electricity, things within your refrigerator or freezer can start to spoil after 6 hours.

No matter the level of fire damage, SERVPRO of Central Brevard is here to help! Call us 24/7 for rapid response with our Green Fleet – (321) 638-4947.

Malfunctioning Dishwashers Can Damage Your Cocoa Beach Kitchen

6/29/2022 (Permalink)

Cocoa Beach Homeowners Rely on SERVPRO for Water Removal After Appliance Mishaps

SERVPRO Quickly Removes Water to Mitigate Damage to Your Home

Dishwashers are convenient and are designed to ease daily chores. When appliances, like dishwashers, malfunction, it is annoying. Excess water in the kitchen can be disastrous if the proper steps are not taken as soon as possible. Expensive flooring, cabinets, and baseboards can be ruined if homeowners do not call trusted and reputable water damage professionals immediately. Also, items stored in the lower cabinets can be lost, such as food, copper pots and pans, and valuable cookbooks, without rapid water removal.

Our team works quickly to save stored items and minimize the amount of water damage to your Cocoa Beach property. SERVPRO technicians are well-trained and have the know-how to do what is needed to dry and restore your beautiful kitchen. Top-grade equipment is used to extract water from the kitchen floor and from under and behind the dishwashing unit. We carefully remove the dishwasher to inspect the area and remove any remaining moisture. Plus, we check for damage. Also, specially formulated cleaning agents are used to thoroughly clean and sanitize the space behind and under the unit and the surrounding affected area. Upon completion, we put the dishwasher neatly back in place.

SERVPRO suitably handles all types of water issues, big or small, in the home. The proper measures are taken to put your property back in order. We will inspect the area to determine if there is structural damage or an electrical problem. You can trust our technicians for safe and effective water damage restoration. Our IICRC certified technicians use commercial grade dryers and air movers to fully dry and dehumidify the kitchen and then verify with infrared and moisture readings. Drying is an important step taken to ensure all dampness has been extracted from the home. If pockets of water are left behind, bacteria and mold can grow.

Our SERVPRO of Central Brevard water damage services is available around the clock. You can reach us seven days a week. We work fast to restore your home "Like it never even happened." Give us a call at (321) 638-4947.