Superior Restoration

This morning I look out the window in the front of the office, and what do I see? The sun is shining and warming the farmlands ready for harvest, birds flitting about to catch the waking insects before their long flight south. The gentle yet constant white noise of the cicadas buzzing in what I think is the most iconic sound of summer that no one remembers but all know. It makes it hard to try and write about tornado damage, flooding, and other terrible dilemmas that can happen to your home. I, like you, get caught up in the grand splendor of the season and forget, sometimes foolishly, that disasters happen when we forget they can come around the corner.

A lot of what we talk about are extreme circumstances and complete run downs of damages for certain situations. The point of our blog is to inform you, the homeowner, of any possible threat to your home and how we can help you. Keep in my however that we’ve been in business over 30 years, and that means bad stuff does happen. Today we’re going to give you a few checklist maintenance ideas to help keep your home safe.

1) Check and change batteries in all Smoke Detectors

Why: More often than not fires can rage out of control and pose fatal consequences for anyone inside should smoke detectors not work. Change the batteries with every season and test them. Each room should have its own detector, including hallways.

2) Invest in Flood Insurance

We’ve see this happen so many times: a family has made it through a heavy rain storm that lasted several days, but ground water has flooded their basement. However insurance does not cover ground water in basic coverage policies like it would a hot water heater breaking, the only way to protect yourself from a hefty restoration bill coming out of your pocket is flood insurance.

3) Have your Furnace and Hot Water Heater inspected each year

These two items are the biggest tickets we find year after year in causing damages. Furnaces puff back soot and debris which is notorious for causing breathing problems, and hot water heaters break. Have specialists come and inspect these items each year to ensure they are maintained and working properly. If you suspect it is not working properly turn it off and call a professional immediately.

4) If you leave on vacation, have someone check your home periodically

This again is a very common problem we see. People leave on vacation and a pipe breaks, or someone breaks it, or maybe leaves the fridge door open for two weeks causing all the food to spoil. This is simple, have someone trusted pop by every day or every other day just to check on things. You’ll be glad you did

5) Winterize your home for all seasons

Winter is coming up fast, make sure that your heatng system is functioning properly and make sure your home is ready for the season. Fill gaps in windows, make sure doors are air tight, and move objects away from heaters. One of the best ways to ensure a happy, healthy home is with a little forethought and a lot of knowledge. A local handy-man or contractor would be happy to assist you in winterize your home. In fact we can recommend some.

Your home shall and always will be a place of joy and love. Sometimes some rather unpleasant things happen, but there is always someone in your corner. We understand that you may not know how to proceed or even what you should be doing, but we do. If you have a problem and your home has suffered internal damage call us today. We may just be able to make it all better.

If you have questions regarding accident prevention, losses, or anything else related to the topics covered in our blog leave us a message in our ask box. We’d be happy to help.

Considering the fact that we all woke up to rain I thought it only right that for the last day of our health awareness week we discuss what standing water, or a persistent leak might do to your health.

Directly one might not think there is much that can happen when there is water in your home, but that it just not true. Leaks and water damages can be some of the most silent, harmless experiences for a family. Lets put it this way, have you ever traveled to a developing country? You know how they say ‘don’t drink the water’? That standing water in your basement could be teeming with the exact same bacteria, if not mosquito larva.

That last part is a little hard for people to except but we’ve seen many cases where water left standing for over a week before a happy breeding ground for these disease-spreading insects. It’s summertime, and many mosquitoes are in their peak-breeding season where hundreds if not thousands of female mosquitoes are looking for any stagnant water source to lay their young. Your basement is a perfect, nearly predator free place for their babes to hatch, grow, and breed again.

Minus the insects, bacteria will cultivate and become an issue. Many of these bacteria will feed off, and destroy sheetrock and wood compromising the structural integrity of your home. For this example lets get out of the basement and into the attic. Mr. Thompson has had a leaky roof for ages. Actually he can’t remember when it started, just that it’s there and he forgets about it. One day a strong storm comes, and the support beam that has been slowly rotted by water and mold is too weak. It collapses and nearly destroys the house. Terrible isn’t it? It could all be avoided by just repairing the roof and potentially having an expert examine the beam to see the level of damage it has sustained.

Standing water and leaks also give rise to mold. Your home is made of what mold eats, so here is the formula to remember:

Water + Humidity + Food Source = Mold

This can happen all year round, and many times remain hidden between walls where a leaky pipe might be. Frankly most people do not catch their mold problem until it is far too late. These damages can go up into the thousands incredibly easily, and some even in the tens of thousands. A recent large mold remediation we administered cost almost twenty thousand dollars.

Water is a sneaky thing, it gets everywhere it shouldn’t, but it doesn’t ever completely disappear without proper drying and handling by trained professionals. If you have a water damage contact us seven days a week. We’ll be happy to help.

If you have questions about water damage please leave a message in our ask box.

In 1999 a family moved into what they thought was their dream home. The sprawling 22 room mansion on nearly 72 acres of land in the country seemed ideal for raising their young family. Until now they had enjoyed the city life, so this new prospect was something they both thought was an adventure and fantasy. However that dream come true would soon become a waking nightmare.

A toxic mold has crept into their home, and within little over a year the family was forced to leave their home. Almost like a grotesque still-life dishes were left in the sink, and the toys of their young children still set up in the living room. What had happened, and what lead up to this terror?

After moving into their new home, the couple’s four year old son began coughing blood. In addition he could not stand on his own, and suffered from debilitating stomach issues. With symptoms that ranged across the board the child was admitted to the local hospital for observation and fluids. After rounds of tests the doctors were stumped, what could be making this once utterly healthy young boy so ill? Worse yet was that his symptoms improved once he was in the hospital, but after a merry-go-round of home to hospital nothing was getting better.

That was until the husband got sick. It started first with dizziness and losing his short term memory: something a investment banker simply could not afford to lose.. However it didn’t stop there, soon he too was coughing blood, and experiencing the same stomach problems.

It was then that the wife who had been researching on the internet for months discovered that the family’s problem matched the descriptions of an insidious mold called Toxic Black Mold or Stachybotrys. In light of his revelation she sought out the services of one of the world’s leading mold experts: Dr. David Strauss. The son and husband were given a battery of tests, and the home was finally tested. What was found was nothing less than shocking.

The home was a loss. This dream home had nearly ten times the normal level of Black Mold a case normally sees. Dr. Strauss theorized that the family was getting so ill from the mycotoxins the mold releases which effects the nervous system and lungs. It was also found that the mold probably came from a water damage that was not properly fixed, or disclosed in the final sale. From the level of damage there would be absolutely no way to eliminate every trace to mycotoxin from the home. He ordered the family to evacuate.

The doctor in an interview with CBS news said the disaster was in all ways like a flood, the family had lost everything they owned. They could not take a single piece from their old home for the risk of carrying spores. Wedding photos, baby shoes, everything gone.

By this time the husband had to resign from his high paying position. His memory was gone. His wife recalls him going to the grocery store and coming back without groceries, while his coworkers recall coming into his office and watching him stare at the wall like he had “had a stroke”. He was now on disability.

Upon leaving the house the wife’s milder symptoms disappeared. However her son developed asthma and a difficulty concentrating in school. The young boy saw a doctor who specializes in mold exposure cases who saw a low level of antibodies, which likely means a prolonged exposure to mold. He stated most assuredly that the family should never be exposed to mold again. The husband’s condition only marginally improved. While they still could recover, for now the family still suffers from a creeping killer that made what should have been the happiest days into ones that would forever scar them.

In some ways the family was lucky, Stachybotrys can kill. Especially in infants the mold can cause hemorrhaging in the brain resulting in fatal pressure on the brain. Since this finding was found there have been over thirty cases of hemorrhaging in infants alone, and over five deaths.

Black Mold is not terribly common in our neck of the woods. Most cases occur in the southwest, to mid-west due to their high heat and low humidity, however it is not unheard of. Mold is not the first thing most doctors will think of, as when you see stripes on a horse you think zebra. If you think their may be cause to have your home tested do so. It could mean the difference between an unlucky chapter in your life, or the end of it.

If you have questions about Mold, Toxic Black mold, or the effects mold can have on your health leave a message in our ask box, or contact your doctor for more information on the symptoms.

Sources:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/01/31/health/main327526.shtml

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stachybotrys

http://www.cdc.gov/mold/stachy.htm

Mold, it happens, and we’ve gone over this at least a dozen times before. However unlike the other days where we talk about the need to catch mold early, or how to go about inquiring to a mold remediation today we will be focusing more on why having a mold problem in your home can be detrimental to your health.

Mold happens in everyday things, like that bagel you ate this morning (yeast), those mushrooms in your pasta sauce, or growing outside on leaves and trees. However when mold enters the home different problems can occur. Not saying you should remove bread from your house, or never have mushrooms, no we’re talking about mold you personally did not want.

Typically New England springs and summers are the worst times for mold growth. With high heat and humidity areas like attics and between walls become perfect breeding grounds for mold. Mold does not affect any two people the same way, while some might itch, others may suffer from migraines, while others may have their airways swell shut in a terrible reaction. The trouble is knowing the signs.

If you live in a home with a mold contamination, chances are you think any symptom your facing is related to something else entirely. Since mold has the ability to slowly grow, the acclamation process is prolonged meaning you might not notice the problem until you hit the proverbial iceberg. That one change in the atmosphere can change your drippy nose into nose bleeds, or worse.

If you notice that your condition at home decreases, that you feel ill while in your home you should seek a doctor’s opinion as to why this is happening. You may ask if mold could be a culprit,  and if they think so hire a certified air quality professional to take samples of the air to monitor the amount of spores in the air. If there is a high amount of mold present, call us.

Only a doctor can determine if what you are experiencing is the result of a mold problem in your home, and likewise only a professional can monitor the level of contamination in your home. Self diagnosis or testing is not the answer.

Later we will be discussing what one family went through when their home was attacked by an aggressively active mold. Stay tuned.

Lets face it, summer is here and it’s not about to go away for at least a few months. The heat, and the severe weather have returned to our state and already we’ve been getting calls in from people who’s homes just can’t handle the sudden downpours, or heat. As a result we’ve been busy as bees with water losses and mold damages.

Each season certain problems become more prevalent. In the winter we’re more likely to see kitchen fires, or smoke damages, while in the spring we see a lot of ground water losses from the melting snow. Summer, like any other season poses it’s own unique challenges. In summer for instance we see a lot of mold damages. Not saying that they don’t exist in other seasons, they do, but the rate in which the spores multiply is only made worse by New England’s hot, humid summers.

Mold is pretty easy to cultivate. You need darkness, heat, moisture, and something for it to feed on. Lucky or not our homes are made of the materials they enjoy to eat more than anything. Mix in the muggy air and you have a breeding ground for mold.

Commonly we see mold losses in attics where the air simply can’t escape, and few have AC or dehumidifier units present. These damages can range anywhere from a small isolated area, to a complete contamination which requires full teams to handle. What’s scary is that a small problem can turn into a far larger one very quickly, sometimes in the span of just a few short weeks depending on the species of mold.

A question pops up rather regularly from readers asking about “Toxic Black Mold” which has been highly publicized in the recent years. They ask: can we get it around here? The answer is yes, but it’s not as common as one would think. Many molds are black in color, and it takes a lab analysis to determine if your mold is Stachybotrys. This species of mold can cause brain damage, memory loss, violent allergic reactions, lesions, dizziness, and a host of other nervous system complications.

What we can say about this kind of mold is that you should not panic if you see a black mold. Obviously inquire and work to fix the contamination, but do not rush to the conclusion of toxic mold. Unless you are a certified mold specialist working for the department of health, and an equally qualified position this is not something you can just say “Yep, that’s toxic mold”.

However, if you or someone in your house begins to feel ill, or has an allergy to mold it is in your best interest to seek medical attention and perhaps stay elsewhere until the contamination is under control.

Time does not fix mold. It will not disappear, it will not get better. You need to have this kind of loss handled by certified professionals, like us, who have been dealing with all kinds of mold for 33 years. Always ask a restoration company about their certifications, we hold ours in high esteem. We comply with all IIRC mandates and regulations, and regularly attend classes in mold remediation to remain on the cutting edge of this field.

No one can ever guarantee that mold will ever be completely gone. Mold spores exist in every breath we take, in the food we eat, and in our homes. However we don’t let that stop us from trying everything we know to get your home back to normal, and our customers are never dissatisfied with the result.

Do you have questions about mold, mold remediation, or any other kind of loss? Send us a message in our ask box, on Facebook, or on twitter for a speedy and informed answer.

Lets face it, the heat is finally here and begrudgingly many of us have turned on our AC units, or at least turned on fans. For that matter some of you might be gearing up for the annual July 4th sidewalk egg frying contest which is exactly what it sounds like. The pools are open, the grills are fired up, and vacations to be had. We’ll be putting on sun block, our bathing suits, and suddenly those cold months seem so far away.

Living in New England summer offers up some of its own troubles. Now, we may not have the heat of the southwest, but we do have to deal with one thing in abundance: humidity. Now you may be asking why you need to care about how humid your home is, but that’s what we’re hear to discuss.

Humidity is the result of water vapor being present in the air. Generally a summer day in New England hovers around a dew point of 70 to 80, meaning unless the humidity is controlled you could be looking at rot, and mold.

We’re already seeing cases come in of mold in attics. People are going up into their attics to find mold growing on the rafters, and then call us in a panic. Thankfully we are trained to handle these situations, but why let it get to that point? A little bit of precaution goes a long way.

If you have an air conditioning system you’re already reducing the humidity in your home thanks to the filter system. However I do know that some people don’t like AC units, or can’t have them. An option would be to buy a dehumidifier, which you can find at department stores, or home good shops across the country. These may not cool the air but will reduce the moisture in the air to lower levels.

These dehumidifiers can be expensive, but for a moment lets give a comparison. A dehumidifier from the department store may cost you a hundred dollars, but an average mold loss can range anywhere from $800 to $5000 (and those are just the smaller ones). In some cases insurance companies may not cover mold damages as they feel it is a result of neglect, why not take the precautionary steps to reduce your risk? We highly recommend investing in a dehumidifier.

A note we do want to add is if you see mold do not try to clean it with bleach. Bleach does not kill mold spores, it only bleaches them white. Mold should only be treated by a trained professional. Make sure to ask any restoration company that offers mold remediation if they are certified. If not, remember that we are.

Our summers should not be the cause for headache. Continue going to the pool, grilling, and going on vacation, just remember the risks and you’ll be just fine.

If you have questions about mold, mold prevention, or mold remediation please leave us a message in our ask box today. We’ll be happy to help.

I would like to share with you a story we have gotten in the last year about a person who just bought a home, and discovered mold and other problems…

Last summer a young couple purchased their first home which had a reduced price. They thought it was too good be to true, but they never bothered to question why their basement which was listed as unfinished now had freshly painted walls, new trim, and gorgeous new carpeting. They thought it was a last minute addition to sweeten the deal, and they fell for it.

About a month after they moved in the wife began to notice a strange smell, and that her allergies were flaring up again. She thought the allergies was just the result of an awful lot of ragweed, and that the windows must be old. After replacing all the windows her symptoms did not improve, but got worse.

Out of ideas the couple had an air quality test done to figure out what was making the wife so sick. When the results came back they were shocked. The mold spore levels in the home were almost four times higher than normal, and that’s when they called us. They explained they just bought the house and no one made mention of any mold, but it had to be somewhere.

It took us all of about a minute to say the basement was the cause. With permission we took up part of the carpeting to expose thick black mold growing under it. The walls were in about the same shape. They were shocked and appalled that no one had mentioned such a problem was never mentioned, they ended up having to pay for the remediation and lost much of the basement. Drywall had to be cut out, the carpets removed. What they were left with was a shell, a clean one, but a shell none the less.

The wife’s symptoms did improve rather quickly. Though the price tag for this job came to over nine thousand dollars their insurance had stepped up to pay for it. “It’s piece of mind.” The wife says “You think when you buy a house people would have the common decency to tell you about mold! I’ll never make that mistake again.”

The home they bought had been vacant for some time and was in the possession of the bank. These situations are sadly more typical than anyone would like, but you as a buyer need to be aware that such misleading and flat out cover ups happen. If you think there is something suspicious about a property you’re looking to by have a home inspector come and check it before you buy.

Don’t let any nasty surprises come your way. Be cautious and follow your gut, oh and call us if you find anything. We’ll be happy to help.

With so many homes going up on the market it’s easily to think you’re getting a great deal on a foreclosed home that if hundreds of thousands of dollars below the market value. But at what cost? It’s become an epidemic in the housing market for mold to be covered up, or simply not mentioned. With homes changing so many hands it can be impossible to tell when the mold became an issue.

We’ve been getting a lot of calls lately from people who have bought homes only to find that there is mold that was covered by paint or carpeting. To get any idea on how bad these are just this week we did a mold remediation that carried a price tag of over $15,000. They had bought a home from a foreclosure and found out that their basement and first floor was claimed by mold.

So how can you protect yourself against this kind of poor sales? The first thing be recommend is when you’re going through a home to look for first paint above baseboards, new carpeting, new trim, and fresh coats of paint. If you find these ask why that was done, and then we’d recommend getting an inspector out there to do a more complete investigation to assure the home has not been misrepresented. They are very, very good at their jobs.

Another thing we have seen done is that if mold is found the potential buyer calls us to get an estimate for how much it would cost to remediate the mold, and then fight to have that removed from the final cost. While we are happy to do this service we also can’t help but feel a bit of frustration. Many of these people will never call us to do the remediation portion, and if my emails are correct many just use bleach.

Important note: bleach does not kill mold, it only bleaches out the color. You need to have cleaners and supplies that actively kill mold which we do offer.

Trying to handle a mold remediation is not a DIY project by any means. There are reasons that mold specialists are trained and certified. Sometimes by disturbing the moldy area it can release even more spores into the atmosphere creating a hazardous situation that could affect your breathing. Some molds when this happens can even lead to brain, and nerve damage.

Unless you are a trained professional you should not attempt to handle a mold issue on your own. We’re here to help with a friendly, certified staff that knows their stuff. We’ve handled countless situations where the scene looked like something from a horror movie, but in just about a week the home was restored to a normal, healthy state.

Homeowners and potential buyers: be aware. Know what to look for. Ask if there has ever been water damage, leaky pipes, ask why there is new carpets and paint, and never be afraid to seek a second opinion.

If you have any questions regarding mold, remediation, signs of mold, or any other topic please leave us a message in our ask box. We’ll be happy to help you in any way we can.

As promised we are going to be telling one of our strangest mold cases I have been here to witness. I tried to come up with a clever name about what to call it, but in the end I went with “Mushrooms in the Bathroom”. And I am not exaggerating that in the least.

Early this year we were called into a home for a water loss after a pipe broke in their basement, we figured this would be a routine drying project. However, we should have remembered that nothing is ever routine.

We went out to this small, ranch style home and went inside. However right off the bat we noticed something was terribly off: this person had a hoarding condition. On top of that they had apparently has leaks before, one being in the bathroom.

This job quickly turned into a complete move out as a severe mold problem was discovered. Many things were simply thrown away, but what caught us by surprise was in the bathroom. Behind the toilet and all around it brown straw-like mushrooms were growing. At first I thought the estimator was joking, so I looked at the pictures myself and I think my head tilted to the side and exclaimed “How?”

How exactly? The owner of the home had not cleaned in some time, so a layer of sediment had formed in the harder to clean areas like behind the toilet. Obviously spores had come into the bathroom and planted themselves in that sediment, and suddenly mushrooms began to grow. I this was the first, and only time I have seen this condition, and the only time I had ever seen this type of mushroom.

We felt bad for this woman, there were mushrooms, web like mold on old toys and in the kitchen, patches of dark mildew, mold in the basement— truly it was like a biology book had exploded in her home. Of course many of you will ask how this woman managed to live in such conditions, and to that I can only say you need to understand the hoarding mentality. They don’t see this kind of thing, or if they do it’s blocked out. All we could do was removed everything and remediate the situation as a whole.

Today, the home is clean and mold-free. The mushrooms are gone, and the house is a livable space once again. I just never think I’m going to forget the mushrooms in the bathroom.