How to Avoid Clogged Drain Gutters

3/4/2022 (Permalink)

Have you checked your rain gutters on your home lately? Many types of water damage are preventable by conducting routine inspections maintenance of your home’s exterior. One easy and safe way to check your rain gutters for debris clogs is to fly a drone over your roofline. This way, you can avoid getting on a ladder more than necessary, and you will be able to see where the debris is, making easy work of the task. We offer these tips from the Insurance Institute of Business and Home Safety for maintaining your gutters and downspouts:

• Clean gutters and downspouts twice a year, ideally spring and fall, to prevent clogs that can cause water damage to your roof
• Keep trees trimmed and away from the roof to prevent leaves from clogging gutters
• If there is standing water, adjust the gutters, so they gently slope toward the downspout allowing water to drain
• Ensure downspouts funnel water away from the building to prevent water from accumulating at the foundation or entering the basement

How to Prevent Water Intrusion

3/4/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO® of Citrus County has been restoring commercial water damage in the Citrus County area for many years. One area of a structure where water can enter that is often overlooked is the wall where air conditioners are located. Here are some tips from the Institute of Business and Home Safety for protecting your business from rain intrusion:

 Check wall air conditioners

Internal Drain

If the air conditioning unit has an internal drain, make sure the pipe size is adequate and water is running and flowing freely in order to handle a high volume of water.

Caulking of Air Conditioning Unit Sleeve: Look for any gaps, cracks, or other damage that indicates improper caulking around the edge of the sleeve to the exterior of the building. This increases vulnerability to water entry.

Orientation: Tilting the air conditioning unit sleeves slightly (two degrees) towards the exterior wall can significantly reduce the water’s entry.

Weather Stripping: Proper weather stripping between the air conditioning unit and the sleeve can reduce the water from entering.

Identifying the Source of Moisture Intrusion

12/21/2021 (Permalink)

Living in a region with high humidity, and heavy rains, we have to move through water jobs with consistent precise processes. Accurately identifying the cause and source of water intrusion on an initial scope is key to a successful job completion. Our technicians use specific tech and instruments for mapping out the moisture levels in the building. Thermal imaging using a Flir Camera gives us a way to visually scan and detect areas that are showing potential moisture. The Flir is a great way to photo document a specific location. For a more detail and exact reading technicians will use a surface moisture reader that can give a reading. Although a service moisture reading and a Flir thermal reading can both fail to detect moisture when it is far behind walls or thick surfaces, for this we have to bring on an invasive moisture reader which actual penetrates through surfaces to reach wet areas. If somehow the mystery continues, we will remove a minimal piece of structural surface, to create a visual opening. There also are times that it requires a full leak detection report that examines the interior of pipes and plumbing. 

Water Shut Off Valve Location

6/24/2021 (Permalink)

Locate your Home’s Emergency Water Shut-Off Valve in the Event of a Plumbing Disaster

If something goes seriously wrong with your home's plumbing system, such as a burst pipe that’s spraying water on your walls and floors, you’ll want to stop your home’s water flow as soon as you can. To do this, you’ll need to know where your emergency water shut-off valve is located and how to use it properly.

Where are emergency water shut-off valves located?

Depending on your home, your emergency water shut-off valve can be located in one of a few different places. The first place is outside near your water meter. Your water meter will either be located on the side of your house or in the front of your house near the street, and it will likely be in a covered box. Some homes also have a water shut-off valve located where the main water line enters the home.

Hidden Water Damage in Your Home

10/28/2020 (Permalink)

Water damage does not only come from burst pipes or flooding to damage your home. In most cases, undetected water damage can cause the most damage and quite a headache.

There are five indicators that there’s water damage going hidden in your home:

• Stains on walls and ceilings: Nobody purposefully looks up at their ceiling. However, it is important to thoroughly check the ceilings in your home for stains. There might be a bathtub or shower leak from one floor to the next, or your ceiling could be leaking into the attic.
• Musty or unpleasant smells: Do you smell something musty, or even earthy, in your home? Hidden water can cause mold to grow, and a nasty smell is a good signal that something is wrong.
• Peeling paint: Not only can water stain your walls, but it can also cause the paint to lift. If you see your paint starting to peel, quickly find the source of the problem, or call a professional to fix it.
• Mold Growth: Just like with ceilings, we do not exactly pay attention to the corners of our homes, but often these small hidden areas can tell us about potentially harmful leaks or spills. Check to see if there are any discolored or fuzzy looking spots in isolated corners or hidden areas.
• Flooring: When allowed to flow, water naturally seeks the lowest level. Therefore, the rivers flow downstream. Water can seep under your flooring and collect – damaging your sub-floors. Check for and warping or deformation to make sure there is no water hiding beneath the floorboards. When this happens, it is important to act as quickly as possible, so we can restore your flooring to good as new.

Flood Safety: 3 Tips

10/28/2020 (Permalink)

Strong storms in Citrus County can produce moderate to serious flooding in your area. Flooded streets, saturated yards, and indoor floods may also pose a variety of dangers for you and your family, even if the water levels do not seem very serious. Practicing flood safety can help you recognize some of these dangerous situations and avoid them until help arrives.

1. Avoid Driving Through Floods
Flash floods can fill roads with water within minutes and in some cases, these floods hide strong undercurrents that may be powerful enough to pull your car into deeper water. If you encounter a flooded road, pull over to a dry area, or turn around to go back the way you came. The water you see may be deeper than it looks, and driving through it may be dangerous.

2. Avoid Contact With Flood Water
Sometimes flood water may look fun or inviting, but it could carry dangerous debris or sewer chemicals that could harm you. Deep flood water can pull you into overflowed rivers or creeks, where it may be difficult for you to get back out on your own. One important aspect of flood safety is to avoid letting children and pets play in deep floodwater, as it may be contaminated with sewage.

3. Call in a Flood Damage Team for Help
Cleaning up flood damage on your own can be difficult, especially if it caused mold growth or strong odors in your home. Water damage and restoration service can provide you with inspection, mitigation, and repairs after a flood, including disinfection and deodorizing services. Your flood technicians can also provide you with additional safety tips that may help you and your family stay safe until the storms and flooding subside.
When powerful storms invade Citrus County, and cause heavy flooding, it can be a frightening experience. Keeping flood safety at the forefront of each action you take during and after this kind of event can reduce the risk of injury.

SERVPRO Tips: When Floods Hit Your Building, Dealing With it as Soon as Possible is Essential

10/19/2020 (Permalink)

When flooding occurs in buildings it needs to be dealt with as soon as possible in order to combat and prevent the litany of issues that come with water damage. Flooding brings with it structural degradation, outside contaminants and bacteria, odor, warping, and possibly mold growth.  All of which threaten both your home or business and the health of the people who reside within. 

In order to take care of your flood damage in your home make sure you hire professionals who know how to prevent mold and deal with water, toxins, and odor. Our technicians here at SERVPRO of Citrus County are specialized in handling the challenges posed by flood damage and know what needs to be done to ensure the highest standards in restoration service. 

Going through any kind of damage to your home is a stressful experience that can put any homeowner on the edge. This is why we train our technicians to treat every job they go on whether it is big or small damage with compassion and respect. We find that walking our customers through our process puts them at ease and lets them know they are incompetent and responsible hands who will take care of their issue. 

When flooding strikes your home, our technicians have the expertise to make it “Like it never even happened.” We are faster to any disaster and are here to help get you back to preloss condition. 

Citrus County 24 Hour Emergency Water Damage Service

2/27/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Citrus County is available 24 hours a day for water emergencies, large or small. When you are dealing with water damage, immediate action is crucial. A delay of just a few hours can greatly increase the severity of the water damage.

We Answer the Phone Ready to Help
Call Today - (352)-533-1053

We understand that when you call us, you may be feeling confused, stressed, and vulnerable. You need an expert to guide you through this crisis. SERVPRO of Citrus County has specific water damage training and experience to help you through this tough time. We specialize in water damage restoration—in fact, it's the cornerstone of our business.

What to Expect

When you call, we will ask several questions regarding your water damage emergency. These questions will help us determine what equipment and resources to bring, including how many trained SERVPRO Professionals may be needed.

Our SERVPRO Representative will ask several questions:

• Your name and contact information
• Your insurance information (if applicable)
• The street address of the water-damaged home or business
• When did the flooding or water damage occur?
• What caused the water damage (if known)?
• Is there electricity available (on-site)?

Flooding and water emergencies don’t wait for regular business hours and neither do we. SERVPRO of Citrus County 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 Citrus County 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 – (352)-533-1053

About SERVPRO of Citrus County

SERVPRO of Citrus County specializes 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.