Archive for March, 2011
Everything You Should Know About Mold in CT..
Posted by: | CommentsAfter a treacherous winter, most of us here in Connecticut are worried about high water tables and flooding basements. We at Al’s Absolute Best received thousands of calls for flooding due to ice dams from panicking CT residents.
Many, many people could potentially have had water entering the walls of their home without ever even knowing it, and may still not know! This is not ok because mold can begin to form on wood, drywall or insulation within just 3 days!
Mold Found On A Basement Wall
Contrary to popular belief, mold which is a fungi can and will grow even during colder winter months, just because it’s cold outside doesn’t mean your home isn’t warm enough to help produce mold. Mold thrives in moist, warm and dark places especially with stagnant air. Thus re-iterating the possibility that many people have no idea that just a little bit of water trapped in a wall could potentially explode in to a major mold and health issue this spring.
There are thousands of types of molds, mold actually will produce and release millions of spores so small they can be air-, water-, or insect-borne. They can also produce toxic agents known as mycotoxins. Spores and mycotoxins can have extremely negative effects on human health.
With only about a week left to the official beginning of spring, we already got hit with 2 or 3 inches of rain causing major flooding issues across Connecticut. One home in particular had a whopping 6 feet of water in their basement!
Example of a Flooded Basement
It is extremely important to choose a reputable restoration company when you run into a flood, if not properly cared for it will most likely turn into a mold issue resulting in an exponential increase in restoration service fees and labor costs. Molds should never be taken lightly…. children, the elderly,pregnant women, people with allergies and weakened immune systems could become deathly ill just from breathing the air around an infected home.
If you rent your home, it is in your best interest to express deep concern to your landlord as explained before, water damage can easily become mold damage and can effect the health of your friends and family. Not everyone realizes how easily mold can form and how dangerous it really is. Sometimes it will be up to to you to stand up for your rights and your health! Al’s Absolute Best Cleaning and Restoration is a nationally certified and recognized firm dealing in disaster restoration and cleanup services. For more information please view our other blog posts.
For immediate assistance with a flood or mold issue please call 800-416-2620.
We separate ourselves from the competition by providing the public with reliable and up-to-date information, we also act as consumer advocates with insurance restoration work and are here to help you!
Water Damage in Your Kitchen
Posted by: | CommentsWater Damage In Your Kitchen…
Finding water damage in your kitchen can be devastating, especially
when you take into consideration how much labor is involved when removing kitchen cabinets after water damage strikes! Over the last month our company has handled dozens of water damage restoration claims, mostly due to ice dams and intrusive snow and rain water. We would like to share with you, one way Al’s Absolute Best Restoration saved a home-owner a good chunk of cash when drying their kitchen. Upon initial inspection in this Hebron, CT home we
took notice the water mark depicted below. The drywall above the kitchen cabinets was saturated indicating that we would need to completely remove all the cabinets to properly dry this home, and prevent future mold growth.
In this particualr case, we got one beautiful day reaching almost 50*F! This home also had vinyl siding which comes off and goes back up in a jiffy. Rather than ripping apart the entire kitchen, removing cabinets and a gas stove, our water damage technicians attacked the flooded areas from the out side. This un-lucky family (with young children) would have been with no kitchen for 3 days
We began by unzipping the vinyl siding then removing the tyvec, and plywood. The Insulation was wet along with the back of the ply-wood and drywall just as assumed.
Dehumidifier On Platform to Dry Kitchen Wall
Our Water Damage Technicians then built a custom platform to support a commercial dehumidifier, the platform was then enclosed with plastic and monitored for 3 days. This is very important; each material such as the dry wall and ply-wood must be dried to certain industry standards to prevent future mold growth. Al’s Absolute Best Restoration also goes the extra mile by applying an anti-microbial to areas that were once wet, from intrusive water.
After 3 Days the wooden stud’s, and drywall were dry! We had also brought the ply-wood that we had removed back to our shop and dried it in our drying chamber. Everything went back together like a charm. Unfortunately this method only really works out with vinyl siding…wood and aluminum sidings are very different situations and would most likely require a restoration company to remove all cabinets and kitchen fixtures to make re-pairs.
We are proud to say that we truly satisfied this family and went the extra mile to save them a lot of money and chaos.
This is just one more example of why Al’s Absolute Best Restoration and Cleaning services is your best option when choosing a water damage restoration company in the Connecticut area. We come highly recommended, please read our other blogs for more water damage restoration and cleaning information.
