How Flooding Works


While flooding can occur at any time, in many parts of the country it is more common with spring rains. It just depends on where you live. That being said, it is worth noting how flooding works, why rainwater can build up and become a devastating force to deal with, and other causes of flooding.


Flooding usually happens when an abundance of water covers dry land. It can happen when a lake, river, creek, or other waterway overflows its banks. That can be from heavy rainfall or even when water is released from a reservoir, canal, or dam.


Some flooding may be a few inches deep, and at times in severe weather or a devastating event, it can cover a house. It can come ashore near an ocean in the form of a hurricane, be carried by high winds, and other natural causes. It can come down from mountains when there is heavy rain or even snow melting.


In fact, mountains and hills produce an impressive amount of runoff, which can cause streams and waterways to quickly rise. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says this can happen in just minutes in heavy rainfall, which means there is virtually no warning time. All you can do is appreciate potential danger and watch the weather, and not just in your area, but for any part of the waterway you are near. This type of flash flood is really considered the most dangerous type because it happens in a… well… flash. Quickly. It occurs when heavy rainfall exceeds the ground’s ability to absorb moisture, or when a previous-mentioned event (overflowing banks, release from a reservoir) happens.


In the United States, floods kill more people than tornadoes, hurricanes, or lightning. Floods are extremely dangerous but often the risk is downplayed.


Areas that are densely populated are at risk because the construction of buildings, roadways, parking areas, and what is typical of an urban area allow rain to build up with nowhere to go, especially if it has rained over an extended time and the storm drain system is overworked.


Never enter a flood zone unprepared or untrained. Rely on the experts. Even a small amount of flooding can be dangerous. We have all seen the pictures and videos of those stranded in their vehicles, some standing on top of them, while flood waters raged by. And some have lost their lives because they thought they could get through flood waters. Don’t become a statistic.


With flooding comes water damage in homes and buildings, which bring unique potential dangers, such as mold contamination. When you experience water damage, do the right thing. Call your favorite disaster restoration company. After all, it pays to call a pro!

Cleaning With Baking Soda and Vinegar


While it is true you purchase brand-name cleaning products for specific tasks around the home, such as carpet spotters or toilet bowl cleaners, you have some chemicals you use every day that can also be used for cleaning.


You no doubt have heard of the many uses of baking soda, from absorbing odors to absorbing liquids, as a cleaning additive, and more. Don’t confuse baking soda with baking powder, which has other additives. Then we have white (clear) vinegar, which is an acid-based chemical that we use for many recipes but that can also be used as a cleaning product.


While you can use them separately in many ways, when you mix the two together you get that fantastic fizzy reaction that can be used for some of the toughest cleaning chores. And when it is all said and done and the cleaning is complete, the residue from baking soda and vinegar converts into water. This means you can’t mix them up and store them. When mixed, use them right away and discard any you don’t use.


Here are a few common uses for vinegar and baking soda. And remember, white vinegar only, leave the apple cider vinegar for cooking.


Shower heads


Hard water can plug up the tiny holes that are part of a shower head, and it is tough to clean them out. But with baking soda and vinegar, you have a fighting chance.


Remove the shower head and place in a bowl. Add enough white vinegar to cover it, and then liberally sprinkle baking soda over the surface, carefully mixing it in. The acid in the vinegar breaks down the minerals that are plugging up the holes and the baking soda adds more cleaning power. Let it soak for several hours, and once in a while stir the concoction in the bowl. When the bubbles are done, and a few hours have passed, rinse it all out and reinstall and you should be good to go!


Toilet bowls


Flush your toilet bowl and turn off the water, and then spray or pour the inside of the bowl with white vinegar, and sprinkle baking soda all over it. Let it sit a few minutes and then scrub. Turn on the water, flush, it should be clean! Repeat as necessary.


Clogged drains


Pour half a cup of baking soda in the clogged drain and the pour one cup of white vinegar. Let it sit for an hour. Then pour boiling water into it to flush it out. That should do it unless the clog is severe.


And remember, for all your cleaning questions and when you need help, call your favorite cleaning company. After all, it pays to call a pro!

When Mold Attacks Grout


Your bathtub or shower are prime locations for mold to grow and thrive. After all, mold needs moisture, a relatively dark area, and a food source — all of which can be found almost any bathroom.


Mold growth in a home is a concern because of possible health hazards from exposure. If you see mold, it’s best to call a professional restoration company because the root cause may be more serious than you think. Mold under cabinets and in dark areas of a bathroom can be a cause for concern.


But mold on grout, especially in a bath or shower, is a task you should be able to handle on your own easily and safely. When mold attacks grout, you need these tips to get the job done right.


Scrub brush and detergent solution


This is an easy first step. You can use an off-the-shelf bathroom surface cleaning product, or create your own from warm water, a little dish detergent, and some baking soda. The detergent will help clean, and the baking soda will raise the alkalinity which helps clean mold. Apply the solution liberally to the grout and use your scrub brush vigorously and this might do the trick. Rinse and repeat. Grout is tough, scrub away!


Bleaching solutions


If cleaning doesn’t do the trick, it’s time to get creative and do what the pros do — bleach away discolorations. Remember that bleach alone is not the best cleaning agent. The job of a bleach is to remove color, and the dark stains from mold in grout is just that — color. If you clean thoroughly, then bleaching comes next.


You have choices with bleach. The safest to use is hydrogen peroxide, which can be purchased at any grocery store or pharmacy. Pour the peroxide directly on the grout, give it several minutes to work, and scrub and rinse. Let it dry and see how it looks. This might do the trick. Some recommend chlorine bleach, the common household bleach used in laundry. If you use it, be very careful as this is very strong and must be used according to directions and never mixed with other products.


The professionals have answers to any of your mold questions. When you see mold, do the right thing. Call your favorite disaster restoration company. After all, it pays to call a pro!

Hints from Housekeepers


You pride yourself on your own abilities and skills to keep your home clean and healthy. And while you know what you are doing, who doesn’t appreciate a few tips now and then to make the work easier — and more effective?


One source of tips can be professional housekeepers, those who work for maid services… cleaning professionals who spend all day cleaning houses and doing it right.


When it comes to the work they do, here are three easy strategies they use each and every day.


Start with clutter


When faced with a room that might seem a little overwhelming by how much there is to do, tackle big items first. Put things back where they belong, give the room a facelift of sorts and then work on smaller tasks, such as dusting and vacuuming. Think triage, which means doing a preliminary assessment of a situation and determine the order of things to bring it all back to normal.


Vacuum heavy traffic areas three times


Running a vacuum cleaner over carpet at warp speed is what many do. It’s best to slow down. Move the vacuum slowly over the floor and allow the beater bar to do its job. And for areas that are walked on more often, go over those three times, back and forth. What happens is the beater bar loosens soil on the first pass, then on the second it picks up most of it, and on the third gets the rest. Smart vacuuming means less dust in your home. The same principle can be used for hard floors, but the advantage there is you can see the dust and soil that isn’t as easy to see on carpet.




Shine those surfaces


Professional cleaners know that simply cleaning a surface sometimes isn’t enough. You want shine, you don’t want to see fingerprints, smears, or smudges. For glass and metal surfaces, after a thorough cleaning, wipe those surfaces with a lint-free cloth and a little rubbing alcohol. This dry (waterless) solvent makes quick work of fingerprints and smudges and gives surfaces a shine you can be proud of.


While some tasks are easy, others are not. When you need help, with any cleaning task but especially deep cleaning carpet and furniture and other tough chores, do the right thing. Call your favorite cleaning company. After all, it pays to call a pro!

Fear the Storms


The numbers are amazing, and at times they can be scary.


When you think of your worst storm fears, tornadoes may come to mind, with some $2.5 million loss per storm as a common occurrence. And then we have hailstorms, with some 5,382 major hailstorms in 2020. Hurricanes in 2018-2019 hit some $136 billion in damages. Are you afraid of lightning? Yearly ground strikes in the United States is close to 200,000,000, with Australia following at almost 150,000,000 and Canada at 18,000,000.


Those are amazing, and devastating, numbers.


But most often, flooding is the biggest fear. And the price is going up, with some predicting an increase in damage of some 60% in the next 30 years.


What’s the point? Storm damage is on the increase, with the average cost of a flooded basement between $15,000 and $20,000, and more, depending on estimates. A flooded house can be devastating to your pocketbook.


There is a lot that can happen to your home! And when that happens, what do you need to do? You want to get things back to normal, of course. Here are some tips to do that, according to the experts.

1. Take care of yourself first. If you are ill or injured, get immediate medical attention.
   
2. Give your home first aid. Get organized and make sure your home is safe and sound.
   
3. Dry out your home. Make sure you can turn on the power, be safe. Listen to the authorities.
   
4. Dig into the financial assistance you may need. Not many of us have spare cash but we all have government help.
   
5. Look at your insurance policy and coverages. Make sure you know what is covered and what is not.
   
6. Just be smart. Know your insurance policy and coverage and what you are expected to pay out of pocket.
   

Know your rights, know your coverage, and take care of what matters to you the most.


Of course, your favorite restoration company knows all of this. They are on your side. Talk to them and get their help. After all, it pays to call a pro!

The Power of Household Products


It’s amazing how many cleaning products you have on hand, that aren’t actually considered traditional “cleaning products”. If you start analyzing what’s in your home, you will find that you have a nice selection of items that can help you keep your house clean and healthy.


Recently, we discussed the categories of dish detergents, baking soda, and vinegar as products you can use as part of your cleaning arsenal. Yet we aren’t done. There are more products you have on hand that will prove worthy in the fight against grime! The following three products are probably in your kitchen or bathroom.


Salt


Here’s a great secret. Salt is an absorbent compound. When you spill something, like coffee, on a carpet or rug, liberally sprinkle salt on it. Yep, that regular Morton’s is fine. It will absorb the liquid; you can see the salt turn from white to the color of the spill. When it is all dry, you can vacuum it all up. You may still need to do more spotting, but the majority of the spill is gone.


Rubbing alcohol


Sometimes, you need a dry solvent. By “dry” we mean without water. It’s still a liquid but doesn’t have water. Think gasoline. You might have on hand some fingernail polish remover, also known as acetone. While that dry solvent might work great on dry solvent-soluble residues, it might be too aggressive for some surfaces. Instead, rubbing alcohol can be used on surfaces with adhesive residues, oils, tar, grease, anything that will dissolve in a dry solvent. Use rubbing alcohol on a white towel and wipe away those spots and residues. Never pour solvents directly on the surface. Always do a small test in an inconspicuous spot to make sure the surface won’t lose color.


Hydrogen peroxide


While used for first aid and to stop a skin infection from spreading, it’s also a great, color-safe bleaching agent. When you get blood, vomit, food stains, anything organic-related, on fabrics (carpet, clothing, etc) apply some 3% hydrogen peroxide. The type you buy at your grocery store or pharmacy. Cleaning pros use peroxide but usually a stronger variety.


Of course, your favorite cleaning company knows all about these products, and more. They have the right stuff. When you need help, call them. After all, it pays to call a pro!

Measuring Moisture After a Flood


When the unthinkable happens and your house suffers from any type of flood, you want to know how extensive the damage is. There is the obvious squishy carpet to tell you part of the story, and the visible standing water such as you might have in a basement. But do you really know how far water has intruded?


Water intrusion can go into all types of areas, such as under hard floors, in walls, filling the ductwork, wicking up surfaces and going places not even close to the original flooded area. It can destroy HVAC systems and valuable furnishings and belongings.


When that happens, some of the items damaged are discarded and replaced, hopefully by your insurance company. But even when things seem dry, are they? If you don’t take care of all the moisture, you could have a buildup of malodors, musty smells, and even mold growth that can be extremely costly to remediate. If you wait too long and then see a little mold, there can be much more behind the surface that you will have to remediate.


All this means it’s important to have the “right stuff” to find moisture.


Restoration professionals have the equipment needed to detect and pinpoint moisture. Moisture hunting should never be a guessing game. After there has been a water damage or leak, it is critical to be able to gauge how much moisture remains in walls, floors, and ceilings, and any other affected areas. Bacteria and mold growth is no joking matter. It can even damage the actual structure of your home.


Moisture meters help detect this moisture. The pros use different types. One is the pin moisture meter that has two metal probes that penetrate the surface to take a moisture reading. When activated, an electrical current will flow from one pin to the other and measures the resistance. Another type is the pinless moisture meter. These work by an electromagnetic sensor pad put on the surface, and it takes a moisture reading, measuring down as far as 1.5 inches in some cases, depending on the meter.


Using a professional restoration company helps with many aspects of repairing a flooded home, one of them with your own stress level. When something as devastating as a flood occurs, it can have a devastating effect on you and your family.


Do the right thing when you have water damage. Call your favorite restoration company. After all, it pays to call a pro!