Recent Posts

Being Storm Ready

2/23/2023 (Permalink)

Technology is a great tool to help prepare for emergencies or disasters, as well as a great way to stay informed of the situation and in communication with others. The following tips will help you be ready in the event of an emergency or disaster.

Store Information Online

There are many online services that offer free ways to store different types of files, from photos to images of important documents. It’s a good idea to save an electronic version of insurance policies, identification documents, medical records, and even information on your pets.

Follow the News

Stay informed by following local news channels and community groups online. You can also sign up for free electronic alerts to the most up-to-date information in a disaster situation. 

Mark Yourself Safe

There are many organizations and social media platforms that offer ways to list yourself as safe or find family and friends in situations where communication is difficult to establish. Facebook also has a feature called Safety Check that is activated after natural disasters or a crisis. You will receive a notification from Facebook if you’re located in the affected area at that time.

Keep in Touch

Make sure your contact information is up-to-date in your phone and e-mail for communication with family, friends, business contacts, and others whom you may need to get in contact with before, during, or after an emergency or disaster.

Charge Up

Keep a portable charger in your car and home in case of an emergency. You can also buy solar-powered chargers.

Get an Emergency READY Profile®

SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna offers Emergency READY Profiles® (ERP) for free to help prepare your business for an emergency. By developing a SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna Emergency READY Profile® for your business, you can minimize interruption by having an immediate plan of action. Knowing what to do and what to expect in advance is the key to timely mitigation and can help minimize how water and fire damage can affect your business.

Contact us today at 916-525-1241for more information on developing an ERP for your business, and SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna will be there to help make it “Like it never even happened.” 

Your Possessions After The Fire

2/23/2023 (Permalink)

Your valuable possessions may look ruined after a fire or water event but that’s not necessarily true. An ultrasonic cleaning system from SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna may restore your possessions. It’s a most efficient and effective way to restore your smoke, water, soot, and mold damaged property.

Ultrasonic systems use a process known as cavitation. Our ultrasonic systems can perform intense cleaning. They create millions of microscopic bubbles to help remove dirt, mold, and soot even from hard-to-reach crevices. The bubbles are repeatedly formed and immediately collapse. This action causes the bubbles to penetrate into every niche and crevice. There’s no scrubbing or abrasive chemicals. The process involves submerging your items into a pre-wash station, then a wash station, then a rinse station.

The ultrasonic process at SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna uses ultrasound (usually from 20–400 kHz) and an appropriate cleaning solvent (sometimes ordinary tap water) to clean items. While the ultrasound works with just water, using a solvent appropriate for the item to be cleaned and the type of soiling present enhances the cleaning.

Some Restored As Good As New

Fire is terribly destructive. Items that are physically burned or melted cannot be restored. But SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna can restore property that has been engulfed in smoke, covered in soot, stained or discolored by water or contaminated by chemicals or molds. With ultrasonic cleaning we can restore some items to be functional or even to good-as-new condition: Like it never even happened.

Among the items ultrasonic cleaning might save without removing them from your home or property are:

  • Children’s toys
  • Dishes
  • Golf clubs
  • Knick-knacks
  • And more

A different cleaning process at SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna can save some:

  • Computer monitors
  • Electrical appliances
  • Industrial parts
  • Televisions
  • And more

Water Damage To Mold Growth

2/22/2023 (Permalink)

If your home in Friendly Hills,CA has experienced any water damage from a burst pipe, storm, or other cause, you might be wondering how long you have until you need to worry about mold starting to grow. You might be surprised at just how quickly mold growth can occur in the right conditions, which is why it so important to call for help from a water restoration company as soon as excess water is discovered. Here is some information on what causes mold to grow and how long it takes for it to begin growing.

Common Causes of Mold Growth

The main thing mold needs to grow is a continued source of moisture. Whether due to high humidity levels or standing water in your building, wet areas can eventually lead to mold growth. Common ways moisture enters buildings and causes mold to grow includes:

  • Roof leaks and improper ventilation
  • Excess humidity or moisture in bathrooms
  • Water damage from faucet leaks or pipe bursts
  • Flooding from rain or outdoor water sources
  • Sitting puddles and spills
  • Improper cleaning of wood and laminate flooring

How Long for Mold to Grow

Given enough moisture to live on, mold can grow as quickly as 24 to 48 hours. This means that if a pipe does burst in your building or a storm causes flooding, you need to start thinking about mold prevention right away. If possible, turn off the source of the water and do what you can to dry the area. Don’t wait to call in the restoration company to help address all water damage that has occurred to your building, including areas that are hard to see such as inside drywall or underneath carpets and flooring.
While dealing with excess water in your commercial building is stressful enough, dealing with mold growth makes the situation even worse. Always act quickly to prevent more damage from occurring.

Water Damage And Flooring?

2/22/2023 (Permalink)

It is Possible to Save Flooring in Your Home That Has Been Affected by Big Water Leaks?

Whenever a pipe in your home ruptures, your floors are often suddenly covered in inches or even feet of water, and water can quickly inundate your carpeting, wooden floors, tilework, and subfloors. Experts estimate that this catastrophic issue could result in more than 160 gallons of water per hour leaking into your residence. In a matter of hours, this could rapidly produce thousands of gallons of standing water in your home. Luckily, trained professionals can quickly remediate clean water damage if you call them soon enough. Water cleanup services like SERVPRO can help and save most kinds of floors.             

How Does Water Damage My Carpets, Wooden and Hard Floors, and Subfloors?

SERVPRO has encountered various types of water damage affecting flooring. Our experience with water damage has ranged from relatively minor in effect to quite severe. Of course, each flooring material handles water exposure differently, and some react to it better than others. Some of the forms of water-related damage that affect carpeting are:

  • Bubbling from water washing away the adhesive that binds it to the subfloor
  • Delamination, or when the primary and secondary backing layers of carpeting separate
  • Latex deterioration that leads to the loss of carpet fibers and reduces carpeting’s overall integrity

Although these effects can force you to replace this floor covering, you can usually avoid experiencing them if you address your standing water issue quickly.

Water’s impact on wooden flooring often depends on the construction, but the damage is usually more severe and costly. Moreover, it does not take long for these effects to result. A few examples of wood floor impairments due to water exposure are:

  • Water stains or discoloration
  • Swelling and warping, or deformation, of the wood
  • Buckling that tents, or forces upward, floor sections at joints where they meet and at the walls
  • Delamination of particleboard or oriented strand board (OSB) layers
  • Dry rot resulting from fungal growths

If water ever covers your wood flooring, remember that the faster cleaning occurs, the less damage it usually does. The longer the liquid remains on floors, the more their wooden surfaces absorb. The water causes the wood segments of your flooring to change shape and eventually buckle against each other—also, ground coverings comprising weaker wood products like particleboard and OSB. Glued-together layers, which are more likely to delaminate, the more prolonged exposure to water occurs, compose these boards.

Hard flooring, like concrete, asphalt or vinyl tiles, and ceramic tiles, is much more resilient to water damage than carpet or wood floors. Often, it is also much simpler and less expensive to remediate. With that said, however, these ground coverings are harmed by water in the following ways:

  • Blistering or flaking of painted concrete surfaces
  • Mineral deposits from evaporated water in concrete
  • Mold growth fostered by dirty, wet surfaces
  • Separation of vinyl and ceramic tiles from the floor
  • Warping and expansion of subflooring

Concrete and asphalt tile floors are least at risk of substantial water damage. Concrete floors mostly suffer minor surface cosmetic issues like paint flaking and calcium deposits. Often, water can only remove the finish from asphalt tiles. Since the adhesive of vinyl tiles dissolves relatively quickly, the tiles themselves are prone to separating from flooring if submerged for a sufficient period. Water can penetrate the grouting between ceramic tiles, causing the subflooring to swell and warp and break away from the floor.

What Can SERVPRO Do to Save Your Flooring? 

When dealing with water-damaged flooring, SERVPRO employs various advanced tools and methods. Once our technicians extract all standing water with truck-mounted/portable extractors or wet vacs, they get to work on remediating your floors. Some of the tools and techniques they use to do the latter are:

  • Wands using hot water extraction and shampoo to clean and extract excess water from glued-down carpets
  • Heavier extraction devices to squeeze excess water out of thicker carpeting and padding
  • Moisture meters that identify and measure moisture levels in affected flooring and subflooring
  • Injectidry panel drying systems that dry out subflooring
  • Sanders to sand out cupping and other forms of warping in wood surfaces
  • Brushes and HEPA vacuuming to clean concrete surfaces

Was Mold Discovered? Contact SERVPRO of Elk Grove/Laguna

11/28/2022 (Permalink)

Mold can be found just about anywhere. There is a lot of good information, but many people do not have a solid understanding of mold. SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna is your specialist for mold remediation.

However, you may be interested in finding out if the mold you have in your home is something to be concerned about.  The US Environmental Protection Agency's website has a great deal of information to help a home owner or renter. 

Ten Things You Should Know about Mold:

  1. Potential health effects and symptoms associated with mold exposures include allergic reactions, asthma and other respiratory complaints.
  2. There is no practical way to eliminate all mold and mold spores in the indoor environment; the way to control indoor mold growth is to control moisture.
  3. If mold is a problem in your home or school, you must clean up the mold and eliminate sources of moisture.
  4. Fix the source of the water problem or leak to prevent mold growth.
  5. Reduce indoor humidity (to 30-60%) to decrease mold growth by:
    • Venting bathrooms, dryers and other moisture-generating sources to the outside
    • Using air conditioners and de-humidifiers
    • Increasing ventilation
    • Using exhaust fans whenever cooking, dishwashing and cleaning
  6. Clean and dry any damp or wet building materials and furnishings within 24-48 hours to prevent mold growth.
  7. Clean mold off hard surfaces with water and detergent, and dry completely. Absorbent materials such as ceiling tiles, that are moldy, may need to be replaced.
  8. Prevent condensation: Reduce the potential for condensation on cold surfaces (i.e., windows, piping, exterior walls, roof, or floors) by adding insulation.
  9. In areas where there is a perpetual moisture problem, do not install carpeting (i.e., by drinking fountains, by classroom sinks, or on concrete floors with leaks or frequent condensation).
  10. Molds can be found almost anywhere; they can grow on virtually any substance, providing moisture is present. There are molds that can grow on wood, paper, carpet, and foods.

For more details visit: https://www.epa.gov/mold/ten-things-you-should-know-about-mold

SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna is here to take care of you – call 916-525-1241. Follow us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SERVPROelkgrovelaguna/ and online http://www.SERVPROelkgrovelaguna.com.

Is That Wood Rot? Did Water Damage Do That

11/28/2022 (Permalink)

Could your home be threatened by dry rot? If you are homeowner, you may want to be aware of this hidden problem. According to BobVila.com in nature, wood rot is a vital decomposition process, turning fallen logs into nutritious soil. But few things send homeowners into a panic as quickly as discovering it their homes, because wood rot can lead to a number of structural problems, including deteriorated support posts and beams, rotted floor and ceiling joists, and destroyed roof decking. The cost to repair the damage—or, in other words, replace the rotted wood—can run in the tens of thousands of dollars.

Because wood is the most prevalent building material, it’s essential to understand what causes wood rot, how to prevent it, and what to do if you discover it—discover being the operative word, as wood rot is often hidden from view beneath flooring, wallboard, and siding. For more information on wood rot, visit: https://www.bobvila.com/articles/wood-rot/

Do you think water damage has caused wood rot in your home? Not sure where to begin when it comes to water damage? Give SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna a call at 916-525-1241. Why choose SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna? We are highly trained professionals skilled in handling your home disaster. Also, our fantastic employees and testimonials speak volumes. Visit our website to discover what people are saying: https://www.SERVPROelkgrovelaguna.com/testimonials

Need immediate help? Please call 916-525-1241 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We can handle your emergency. Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SERVPROelkgrovelaguna/

Preparation For The Storm

11/28/2022 (Permalink)

How to prepare for your next storm: 

  • Be aware of low-elevation spots that could flood.
  • Store emergency items such as first aid kits, flashlights and portable radios in a safe, high place.
  • Store drinking water in closed, clean containers in case water service is interrupted. Allow one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days.
  • Consider installing a back-flow prevention device if any of your inside drains or fixtures are lower than the side sewer vent on the sidewalk.
  • Prepare written instructions on how to turn off electricity, gas and water if authorities advise you to do so. (Remember, you'll need a professional to turn them back on.)

Need help after a major storm? Call SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna at 916-525-1241. We are here to help 24/7!

Choosing The Right Restoration Company

11/28/2022 (Permalink)

According to the IICRC (Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification) there are a couple of reasons to choose a professional over doing it yourself. Below are a few reasons:

  • The process of fire and water restoration is very involved when it is performed properly.
  • With quick reaction time and the appropriate skill set, a technician can help to prevent further damage and repair that which has already been done
  • The process and equipment used during fire and water restoration will vary from case to case, since different materials require their own unique care. 
  • For fire damage, general cleaning is done to remove ash and soot from ceiling to floor. 
  • The quick remediation of the problem is important for more than repairs, it is also a health consideration
  • Choose a company for fire and water restoration with the appropriate licenses and proof that they have the proper insurance.
  • Whether the work to be done is in a commercial or residential location, technicians with experience and certification should perform the damage recovery.

Call us at SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna (916) 525-1241 so we can help you with your water, fire or mold damage

Before The Flood Here’s What To Do!

11/28/2022 (Permalink)

Things to know and do before the flood

  • Reduce the risk of damage from flooding by elevating critical utilities, such as electrical panels, switches, sockets, wiring, appliances and heating systems.
  • In areas with repetitive flooding, consider elevating the entire structure.
  • Make sure basements are waterproofed and your sump pump is working. Then, install a battery-operated backup in case of power failure.
  • Installing a water alarm will also let you know if water is accumulating in your basement.
  • Clear debris from gutters and downspouts.
  • Anchor any fuel tanks.
  • Move furniture, valuables and important documents to a safe place.
  • Store copies of irreplaceable documents (such as birth certificates, passports, etc.) in a safe, dry place. Keep originals in a safe deposit box.
  • Build an emergency supply kit. Food, bottled water, first aid supplies, medicines and a battery-operated radio should be ready to go when you are. Visit govfor a complete disaster supply checklist.
  • Plan and practice a flood evacuation route. Ask someone out of state to be your “family contact” in an emergency, and make sure everyone knows the contact’s address and phone number.
  • Make a pet plan. Many shelters do not allow pets. Make plans now on what to do with your pets if you are required to evacuate your residence.

What’s Quicker Than The Slow Drip?

11/23/2022 (Permalink)

Flooding and water emergencies don’t wait for regular business hours and neither do we. SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna provides emergency cleaning and restoration services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week—including all holidays.

Faster To Any Size Disaster

Flooding and water damage is very invasive. Water quickly spreads throughout your home and gets absorbed into floors, walls, furniture, and more.  SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna arrives quickly and starts the water extraction process almost immediately. This immediate response helps to minimize the damage and the cleaning and restoration costs.

Need Emergency Service? Call Us 24/7 SERVPRO Elk Grove / Laguna 916-525-1241

Water Damage Timeline

Within Minutes

  • Water quickly spreads throughout your property, saturating everything in its path.
  • Water is absorbed into walls, floors, upholstery, and belongings.
  • Furniture finishes may bleed, causing permanent staining on carpets.
  • Photographs, books, and other paper goods start to swell and warp.

Hours 1 - 24:

  • Drywall begins to swell and break down.
  • Metal surfaces begin to tarnish.
  • Furniture begins to swell and crack.
  • Dyes and inks from cloth and paper goods spread and stain.
  • A musty odor appears.

48 Hours to 1 Week:

  • Mold and mildew may grow and spread.
  • Doors, windows, and studs swell and warp.
  • Metal begins to rust and corrode.
  • Furniture warps and shows signs of mold.
  • Paint begins to blister.
  • Wood flooring swells and warps.
  • Serious biohazard contamination is possible.

More Than 1 Week:

  • Restoration time and cost increase dramatically; replacing contaminated materials and structural rebuilding may be extensive.
  • Structural safety, mold growth, and biohazard contaminants pose serious risks to occupants.

About SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Laguna

SERVPRO of Elk Grove / Lagunaspecializes in the cleanup and restoration of residential and commercial property after a fire, smoke or water damage event. Our staff is highly trained in property damage restoration. From initial and ongoing training at SERVPRO’s corporate training facility to regular IICRC-industry certification, rest assured our staff is equipped with the knowledge to restore your property.