Smoke Damage Hazards

After the immediate damage caused by a fire, the lingering smoke damage is one of the most damaging effects of a fire. Smoke damage can discolor your walls and carpet, make your home smell terrible, and cause you serious health problems. Below are some of the specifics of 4 of the most common hazards posed by smoke damage. Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. in the Goshen, New York area, is here to help you with all your smoke damage restoration concerns.

Respiratory Issues

This is the most hazardous result of smoke damage. Smoke and soot can be very dangerous and hazardous if inhaled. Even though the visible smoke is no longer present, its effects linger. You should be very cautious going back to your home after a fire. It would be wise to wear the appropriate respiration protection as well.

Soot particles are a part of the smoke and pose a serious threat. Soot particles are microscopic and will spread everywhere. They also contain burnt particles or a variety of materials. Oftentimes, those particles are remnants of plastic or metals. As a result, you could potentially inhale many dangerous materials without even knowing it.

Skin and Eye Irritation

Along with damaging your respiratory system, the smoke and soot particles can also irritate your skin and eyes. Along with irritation, the could also cause skin dryness. You can use some lotion to combat the dryness, but if you are exposed to the smoke enough, it could cause more serious skin issues to develop.

Discoloration

When it comes to discoloration, the more porous the material, the worse shape it will be in. If it is porous, the smoke will seep into it and potentially even cause the discoloration to be permanent. Soot that is acidic is important to look out for as well. The acid in the soot will cause discoloration to occur more quickly. Therefore, in response to a fire, it’s critical that you contact the professionals as soon as possible so they can begin working on it right away to prevent the damage from becoming worse.

Lingering Smoke Smell

The smoke smell that remains after a fire is just terrible. It’s that the last thing that anyone ever wants to have to smell. Fortunately, there are restoration companies, like Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. that have trained technicians who have the equipment necessary to get the smoke smell removed from your home. Not only does this just remove the unpleasant smell, but it will make your home safe to be in again by preventing you from inhaling the smoke and soot.

It’s important to remember that once the fire has been put out that there is still plenty of work to do. The smoke and soot that lingers can have many hazardous results for your health and for the shape of your home.

Answers to Common Questions About a House Flood

As a homeowner, it’s not uncommon to make the occasional call to a local plumber, electrician, or handyman for a few small projects or issues around your house. However, when it’s time to call a restoration company, you know there’s likely a bigger problem present. At Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc., we realize many people don’t even know what a restoration company is until they need our help – but the good news is, we can help with a lot of problems, and answer a lot of your questions about the whole process.

When someone calls us about a flood in their Goshen home, our goal is to instill a sense in you quickly that we understand the problem and can get you quickly on the path to fixing it. We are happy to answer your questions, and understand the better you understand this restoration and insurance claim process, the better you’ll be able to cope and recover from the flood itself.

So here are three of the most common questions we’re asked after a house flood.

  1. Am I covered?

It’s probably no surprise that homeowner’s almost immediately want to know if the water loss will be covered. Unfortunately, we don’t have a straight answer for that question, but based on trends we can offer you a pretty good idea of whether or not it will be. To put it simply, there are two categories: flood damage and water damage. Flood damage is when water comes in from outside your home, and generally, in instances where that flooding is due to a swollen river or lake, that won’t be covered by a standard homeowner insurance policy. This type of damage requires actual flood insurance. On the flip side, if a pipe bursts in your home and your basement is flooded, it’s probably covered. That is considered water damage.

If you aren’t sure what exactly is on your insurance policy, we certainly suggest speaking with your insurance agent about your coverage sooner than later.

And, if you’re calling us once the water loss has happened, rest assured that we also will work with your insurance company to see what is covered and what is not so you understand what you’re dealing with right off the bat.

  1. Who do I call for help?

When there is a fire in your house, you automatically know to call 911. But what if there’s a flood or water damage? Calling a restoration company, like Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc., is a very good first step to be sure the drying and restoration process gets started quickly. The sooner the drying begins, the less extensive the damage to your home will be and the quicker the entire restoration process will go.

It’s also wise to put in a call to your insurance agent or company to talk through what has happened and get the claim opened. This could also help ease any worries you might have about your policy covering, or not covering, the damage.

If the event is severe and you need help beyond a restoration company, you can consider calling the Red Cross or a local shelter. Those are options mostly for after a natural disaster but are great resources year-round when families suffer a disaster of any kind.

  1. How much will this cost?

This goes hand-in-hand with the question about coverage, and unfortunately, it’s not something we can answer. Every situation is unique. However, you’ll see as the restoration process gets underway, we communicate often about as much as we can so you will understand the costs from start to finish of the project so there are no gray areas, and hopefully no surprises.

A high-quality water damage restoration company like Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. in Goshen will be able to answer all of your questions and meet all of your needs. Contact a professional in any water emergency situation.

Common Reasons for Water Damage and How to Prevent It

After finding water damage in their home, most people’s first reaction will be to ask how this happened, and how to prevent it from happening again. If you aren’t sure how the water damage in your home was caused, start looking at the three most common causes of water damage.

Flat Roof

It’s pretty obvious that flat roofs are a lot harder to drain than pitched roofs. Even though most flat roofs are slanted slightly to allow water to exit the roof through drainage points towards the edges, these can easily become clogged. If this happens or if the roof is not angled correctly, water can collect on the roof and begin to seep through and into the house over time. If you have a flat roof, it is important that you check to make sure there isn’t any water buildup after heavy snow or rainfall.

Gutters

If you have a pitched roof, gutters are vital to making sure rainwater is not only drained off of your roof, but also directed far enough away from your home that it doesn’t over saturate the ground and cause flooding on the ground level. Gutters can also be easily clogged with leaves, mud, sticks, etc. Because of this, it is important to clean out your gutters regularly. If they are clogged or even broken, it won’t be able to carry water away from your home. Instead, water can spill through cracks and breaks, or overflow and land right next to your house and eventually make its way inside, causing an even bigger, more expensive problem.

Leaky Pipes

If you turn on water from any source and you notice water coming out of anywhere other than the faucet, under your sink perhaps, you’ve got a leaky pipe. Pipes have tons of connections on their road from the supply to your faucets and older connections can start to leak after a few years. Then there’s the nightmare scenario of a burst pipe. Pipes usually burst because the water inside them freezes, causing the metal pipe to rupture and once it thaws and the water is turned on, you are going to have a huge mess. If this disaster strikes, cut off the water supply and call Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. to ensure the mess is properly and completely cleaned up.

Though these are a few of the most common reasons for water damage, they are far from the only reasons. A lot of the time, spotting water damage from any water source can be difficult. Here are some signs to look out for:

  • Faulty Paint

If your paint begins to bubble, peel, chip, or show any evidence of discoloration, that’s one of the easier signs of water damage to identify

  • Cracked Caulk

Deteriorating caulk around the base of your sink faucet or windows is another sneaky sign of water damage.

  • Damp Doors

If you’re noticing that your doors (or windows, for that matter) are becoming increasingly difficult to open or close, that could be a result of them taking on water like a sponge. Wood windows and doors are clearly the most susceptible to this sneaky sign of water damage.

  • Damaged Foundation

A cracked foundation could be a result of water seeping in. This could likely be a result of improper drainage from gutters and downspouts, among other sources.

  • Funky Odors

Eventually, water damage will start to emit a musty, mildewy smell. Listen to your nose, it is on your side.

If you are experiencing any type of water damage in Goshen, contact a trusted, certified professional water restoration team like Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc..

How to Rebound from Fire Damage

Fire is the one natural disaster that doesn’t discriminate. No matter where you live, fire is always a risk. We hope that you and your family won’t have to deal with fire and the resulting damage (or any other natural disaster), but if you do, it’s important to be prepared. While you can take several precautionary steps like making copies of important documents, installing smoke detectors, and exercising good judgment in the kitchen, there is one preparation step often missed by homeowners: creating and maintaining a home inventory.

What is a home inventory?

In short, a home inventory is a list or collection of pictures that keeps track of your valuable items. It is a comprehensive report that includes descriptions, price values, and locations of your personal property in Goshen. Since fire has the capacity to wipe out nearly anything, it’s important to have a working inventory for insurance purposes as well as your own personal benefit. Here are some reasons to make the compilation of a home inventory one of your top priorities in preparing for fire damage:

  • Protect your investments by having proof of ownership.
  • Speed up your insurance claims by having concrete evidence of your belongings.
  • Preserve your family legacy by documenting prized heirlooms.
  • Know what to replace after fire damage occurs.

Why should I have an inventory?

The first question that might come to mind is, “Why should I create a home inventory? It sounds overly time-consuming.” Yes, it does take a bit of time. However, that time will be worth the effort. After living in constant connection with your valuable items, you will want them replaced as soon as possible. Trying to recall these items, although they mean a lot to you, will be nearly impossible. Especially when attempting to remember hundreds of items, it’s almost guaranteed something will be left out. Overcome fire damage faster with a current home inventory.

How to create a home inventory to prepare for fire damage:

  1. Take pictures of every valuable item. Be sure to take clear snapshots to ensure quality. Make sure to open drawers and look under beds to find the overlooked items.
  2. Upload the pictures to your computer in a word or excel document.
  3. Next to each picture, include its current condition, cost, and location. Be specific. This step is especially important for your most used and most expensive items like electronics, furniture, and appliances.
  4. Continue to update as you replace items. The point of a home inventory is to keep tabs on your current Every year or so, go through your home and note new items.

This is just one way to create an inventory to prepare for fire damage in Goshen. There are even apps specifically designed to help you maintain an inventory of your valuables. Whatever your method, be sure to remember the benefits. If you’re ever subject to fire damage in your home in Goshen, you will be thankful for a home inventory to help you rebound quickly after damage.

What should I do if I have fire damage?

Although a home inventory is a great step to prepare for fire damage, it won’t prevent a fire. Unfortunately, fire ravages thousands of homes a year. If you’ve fallen victim to fire and the following damage that occurs, let Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. in Goshen help you in repairing your home. The smoke, soot, and ash is too overwhelming and complicated a task for the average homeowner. Get in touch with us today if you need to get rid of fire damage ASAP.

How Clogged Gutters Create Water Damage

Spring is (finally) in the air! And that means that homeowners across the country and in Goshen are creating their “To Do” lists for their annual spring cleaning routine. The last thing you want is another item to add to your list, but there is one item of spring cleaning that shouldn’t be skipped. It’s gutter cleaning.

You may think that clogged gutters are just an ugly nuisance; however, they are much, much more than that. Clogged, malfunctioning and broken gutters can cause both minor and extensive water damage this spring. If you’re not convinced, take a look at these four water damage problems caused by rain gutters.

  1. Roof Damage

If your gutters are clogged with water after a storm, the water will have no choice but to stay put. The standing water will result in a soggy roof. The edge of your roof surface and the underlying materials (usually wood sheeting) can be damaged by prolonged contact with water. After time, the materials weaken and need to be replaced. Water damage in your roof can also lead to water damage ceilings. If the water is left to drip or leak for an extended amount of the time  the damage can reach as far as your ceiling and even walls. Having a water damaged ceiling is not something any homeowner wants to deal with.

  1. Damaged Exteriors

Gutters are designed to pull water away from the home. However, if gutters are plugged with leaves, forgotten baseballs, and dirt, the water will begin to spill over the edge. It will fall onto exterior walls, windows, doors, and other structures. Since these features aren’t designed to undergo excessive water contact, they will begin to rot, warp, and weaken.

  1. Weakened Foundation

Since the foundation of your home supports everything on top, it may be one of the most valuable structures. If your rain gutters aren’t working properly, countless gallons of water may seep into the foundation of your home and ruin it. This can cause your foundation to leak, shift, crack, or even sink in extreme cases. You’ll be left with a massive water damage restoration project that could have been easily prevented.

  1. Slippery Surfaces

Again, with clogged gutters, water is falling in places you don’t expect it to. Your visiting friends and family may be subject to a slippery walkway if your rain gutters aren’t in great condition. Usually, homeowners are primarily concerned with ice (rightfully so), but excessive water is surprisingly slippery and unsafe. Prevent any potential accidents by making sure your gutters are in great working condition.

Cleaning Gutters

Since dirty gutters can create a host of water damage problems, take a look at these simple tips to ensure clean gutters and a damage-free spring.

  • Pre-Clean Gutters. Carefully climb a ladder and simply scoop the leaves, dirt, and other materials out.
  • Check gutter spikes. To confirm that your rain gutters are properly attached, check that all the spikes properly attach into the fascia board and into the rafter behind it. If necessary, invest in new spikes.
  • Check for leaks. Leaks are an obvious contributor to spring water damage. If found, remove the old caulking, dry the area, and apply fresh bead silicon sealing.
  • Ensure rivets are properly attached. During this procedure, check the rivets on the downspout. Use a rivet gun to reattach if they are loose or completely missing.
  • Use a pressure washer. Assuming your gutters have no debris and are properly attached to the house, pressure washing will not hurt them. Following the pressure washing instructions exactly for maximum cleanliness.

Hopefully, now you recognize the importance of clean rain gutters. Varying degrees of water damage can occur if rain gutters are clogged of malfunctioning. However, if you do incur water damage from rain or any other source, Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. in Goshen is your place! We are familiar will all types of water damage and will help you on the road to recovery.

Goshen Content Cleaning Services

When your home suffers from a fire or water damage disaster it can be very frightening.  There are so many tasks that need to be completed and it can get overwhelming when you try to tackle them on your own. Your building structure may not be suitable for living after the disaster until your property has been repaired and restored back to its pre-damaged condition. Once you figure out what needs to be done to repair your properties structure what do you do about all your belongings or all the items in your home? With all the damage they sustained they should be thrown out right? No, there is still hope for your belongings. You need to contact a professional who offers content cleaning.

Content cleaning is the process of taking the contents from a building that has been damaged by a disaster of some sort and need to be professionally restored. Items that have sentimental value, or high-value items or even a family heirloom, they all can potentially be cleaned, sanitized and restored. There are professionals who specialize in restoring content. If you have items covered in soot or really dirty items, content cleaning helps get these items back to the pre-loss condition. Another plus is that with content cleaning you can potentially eliminate the risk of cross contaminating items and contaminating the items again. You can breathe a little easier knowing that there is a good chance that your belongings will be restored, especially after you have been shaken by a disaster.

Depending on what content cleaning company you put your trust in there will be certain steps involved in the content cleaning process. Some of these steps may include:

  • Deodorizing – removing that nasty smell.
  • Sanitizing –removing any bacteria and chemicals.
  • Fabric cleaning
  • Removal of soot
  • Drying.

The content cleaning specialist you hire might offer you a variety of cleaning methods. Some of these methods include:

Upholstery cleaning which will remove the dirt from your sofa, chairs, and other stuffed or cushioned items. This method will thoroughly clean and sanitize your upholstery.

Ozone cleaning which is the use of the ozone to get rid of smoke and other foul smelling odors from materials. This process kills the allergens and other particles that are harmful and air bound.

Ultrasonic cleaning which is a quick, precise and powerful method that uses sound waves in the removal of soot and soil from many different types of materials. For example figurines, car parts, dishes, and wine glasses with a great deal of char on them, knickknacks, jewelry, guns, shower doors, rugs, fire-damaged furniture and much more.

It is recommended by Hudson Valley Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. that you immediately contact a content cleaning professional. The longer you wait to have your contents cleaned the higher the chance of those belongings becoming unsalvageable. The Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc. experts understand that your belongings are important to you and will always treat them with the utmost respect.

Dealing with Fire & Smoke Damage in Goshen

A small fire broke out in your kitchen and the fire department came racing to put it out. Your Goshen home is still standing and there doesn’t seem to be much damage on the outside. Good news! The fire didn’t destroy everything. Now for the bad news. There is still a lot of damage on the inside. The fire department has come and gone and now you are stuck hopelessly staring at the charred and smoke-filled remains of your kitchen. What do you do now?

Dealing with a fire can be traumatizing and knowing what to do once the fire has been put out is very important. There are roughly 370,000 house fires a year in the United States. How many of those homeowners do you think were prepared to deal with the after math of the fire? You may think that cleaning up the mess on your own is daunting but doable, but don’t fool yourself. Cleaning up the damage dealt by a fire and the water that was used to put it out can be a huge undertaking and if not done correctly, can lead to even more damage. Performing do-it-yourself fire and smoke damage cleanup can also put your health at risk.

Most people don’t understand how much damage smoke can cause. So what exactly is smoke and why is it so dangerous?

Smoke is the fuel that didn’t burn. It is made up of particles of carbon, tar, and other materials including tiny particles called PM10. PM10 means “Particulate Matter less than 10 microns in diameter”. Most smoke particles are less than 1 micron in diameter. Smoke from house fires can contain a big range of toxic gases. Smoke leaves behind a black powdery residue, film, and an odor. The film is a greasy yellowish brown color.  It is hard to get off and the longer it is on, the harder it gets. The soot, film, and odor need to be cleaned out of the house. Any materials that don’t need pulled completely out need to be properly cleaned so they are free of toxins.

Safety First!

Unless you have gained permission from your fire marshal you should refrain from entering your home. There are several reasons why the fire marshal might not let you enter your home, including integral damage to the buildings structure.

Cleaning up your home

What you need to do is call a professionally trained company. The professionals will come in and decide what can be saved and what cannot. It is understandable that you will be shaken up and exhausted after dealing with the fire incident, but don’t put off call the professionals. Time is not on your side when it comes to fire and smoke damage cleanup, but we are!  Ash is acidic and will continue to cause damage until it is cleaned up and soot will cause permanent staining if left for even a short period of time. If you end up needing fire and smoke damage repair in Goshen, call Advanced Disaster Recovery Inc..