Preparing Your Commercial Business for a Disaster
7/22/2019 (Permalink)
It is stated that about 50% of commercial business who run into a disaster never re-open after that disaster occurred. SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord wants to help more business stay in business after an emergency happens and be there for support when needed.
SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord established an Emergency Disaster Program so that when a disaster comes, you will have a blanket of security in times of panic. This is a detailed description of where to go, when to take action and who you can call. An emergency ready profile is vital for your commercial business because a disaster could happen at any moment, and SERVPRO wants to help prepare our customers for any disaster that may come your way. The ERP, or emergency ready profile is a profile that will have all the necessary information you need to handle situations with disasters. No contracts are involved and it is at no cost to you or your business. We locate all the emergency numbers you may need and emergency action checklist for a step by step on what to do in a disaster. We also have provided the necessary utility shut off locations for all the gas, electric, heat, water and other important locations to know and understand how to turn them off. This is vital because in case of emergencies and panic, you may not know how to even shut off the source, which is important because the source needs to be shut off before any action can be done. It will also give you a complete property overview, showing where emergency exits are and where exactly you should leave the property when evacuating.
Time is of the essence in cases of emergency, so it is important to act fast to eliminate anymore disaster from occurring. By having a plan of action, you can readily be prepared and act in a timely manner, and limit the amount of time you as a company are inactive. Not only does the ERP save you time, but money as well. We obtain all your insurance information so you have it readily available at your convenience as a mobile app as well. We have detailed an insurance policy information in your pamphlet to inform our customers what their policy is and what is covered by insurance. It is important to keep in mind, safety first and to account for everyone in the building and make sure everyone is okay before moving on. Things get crazy and hectic and emotions run high when a disaster occurs, so SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord wants to make this as easy as possible for our customers because we understand the hardships you might be going through at that moment. We can offer you all the services in the world to cleanup the damage, but the best service we can offer is helping you be prepared.
SERVPRO wants the best for our customers and we know the best for them is the Emergency Ready Profile. SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord always has your back when it comes to preparedness and the essentials when dealing with a disaster.
SERVPRO / GreenSky Financing Help for Marlborough Area Homeowners
9/13/2017 (Permalink)
SERVPRO Partners with GreenSky to Help with Financing of Mold, FIre & Smoke or Water Damage Restoration in the Greater Marlborough Area
Help Is Here with Mold, Fire, or Water Damaging Restorations Costs
We try to reduce the cost of remediation and restoration, but the amount to a customer can quickly run into thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars. Groundwater flooding is often not covered by homeowner insurance policies. If you had never purchased insurance or perhaps let it lapse when the economy was tight, this entire amount can come down on you just as hard as the original disaster.
In situations where there is no insurance coverage for a loss, some Marlborough residents may attempt to clean-up their property without a professional service like SERVPRO. Do-it-yourself may be fine if only a few dozen gallons of water from a split washing machine hose spread across an empty garage floor. However, when the problem is hundreds of gallons over carpets or wood floors, attempting to clean or remove them as a DIY project often causes more problems and higher costs.
We believe we have found a solution for homeowners caught in this situation. Our office has recently partnered with GreenSky, a company that specializes in approving installment loans to people in this situation, and the approval happens much faster than most other lenders. The company is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and has loaned over $8 Billion to homeowners in need of restoration funding.
Our office has trained and been approved by GreenSky's financial program to help our customers finance their restoration projects. We can assist an individual in getting loans with competitive rates and regular monthly payments, compared to the exorbitant rates and payments from a large credit card transaction. We have the options to assist by filling out an online application at our office or over the phone, and thanks to GreenSky’s new Mobile App, we can even get a customer approved for a loan on site at your home within minutes of arriving at the front door.
Other than the fast approval, this is not a rush loan in any other sense. GreenSky understands that the restoration process can take weeks or months depending on the level of the damage. Recipients have up to four months to exhaust the amount of their loan with our office. It is not a short-term loan with a limited 18-month payment structure. Qualified customers can spread their payments up to as long as 84 months (7 years) or 96 months (8 years).
For more details about what SERVPRO of Marlboro /Concord can do for you after a disaster and how our new partner, GreenSky can make it affordable, visit us at http://www.SERVPROmarlboroconcord.com or call us today at (978) 486-9868.
Be prepared by winterizing your home.
1/28/2016 (Permalink)
Even if it's not necessary this year, there's never a bad time to be prepared. Winterize your home now before it becomes a burden on your budget.
In lieu of the light snowfall we’ve had this year, it’s easy to think the worst is over; but it is imperative that you don’t let your guard down and pass up the opportunities to winterize your home during the coldest months. Frozen pipes and ice dams, among other things, such as severe drafts or even ill-maintained heating supplies, could lead to thousands of dollars in repairs or even wasted energy. In this entry I will go over some tips and tricks to help keep your home, as well as your wallet, secure.
One culprit for those high energy bills in the winter is one that can’t be seen, drafts. Identifying drafts isn’t always simple, but there are a few different ways to find all the faulty spots in your home that are letting all your warm air out.
The first is something referred to as the incense test. It’s very simple, light an incense stick, and while carefully avoiding any flammable materials, make your way around your home, carefully watching the thin trail of smoke. If there is a draft nearby, you should be able to recognize the difference in how the smoke moves. Another method of draft-checking is to stand on the inside of your home with a candle, as someone on the opposite side tries to blow air in using something along the lines of a hair dryer, or, if available, a leaf blower. If there is any area where air could escape, you should see the candle light be shook by the passage of air.
Remember to check anywhere two materials meet. Such as corners around chimneys, where pipes and wires exit the walls, and along the foundation. Albeit tedious, being thorough is the only guarantee that you’ll be able to find every seam, gap, crack, or crevice where a vacuum can be created, and warm air can be lost.
Once located, this problem can be remediated in a variety of ways. Each method will have its time and place, so discretion is advised. There’s no need to go overboard when a simple draft snake can keep the air from escaping your home. Applying a window insulation kit, coupled with the use of draft snakes, can have a meaningful impact on your energy consumption this year. For a more long term solution, consider caulking, weather stripping windows and doors, or even perhaps replacing your current windows with storm windows; which excel at reducing drafts and can help a household increase its energy efficiency. There’s never a poor time to perform this maintenance, as these actions can also benefit you in the warmer seasons by keeping the cool air inside.
Keeping the warm air inside will only help so much, though. Maintaining your heating unit is imperative in the winter, as the heavy use can leave it looking worse for wear. The filter in your heating unit should be replaced monthly, at the very least. A dirty filter will greatly hinder your heaters ability to properly function, impairing its range of heat and potentially causing a fire under constant use, and duress. Permanent filters are another option that, although expensive up front, will help you save greatly in the long run.
An electrostatic filter can trap up to 88% of airborne pollen, dust, dirt, bacteria, mold, and even viruses. We at SERVPRO® use HEPA filters in the field, which will filter at least 99.97% of airborne particles. This is your best bet when it comes to air filtration. Beware of products labeled or marketed as “HEPA-like” as they will surely suffer in quality, and when it comes to the wellbeing of those in your home, no expenses should be spared.
However, not all methods of retaining heat require home improvement. Ceiling fans may be regarded as a tool for keeping your house cool, but many ceiling fans have a switch that will reverse the rotation of the fan blades. While a counter-clockwise rotation will push cool air downwards, reversing it to a clockwise rotation can help push warm air that would pool at the ceiling and circulate it. This simple action can help cut energy costs by as much as 1/10th.
Insulation is an invaluable tool in combatting the harsh winter weather. Adding additional insulation between your walls, and making sure your attic floor and basement ceiling are well covered will go far in keeping everything and everyone comfortable without relying on the excessive use of heating instruments. If time is money then every moment that you can turn off your heater is money you’ll be saving. With added insulation, the warm air will remain trapped inside, keeping families happy and costs down.
The duct work in your home is another culprit of lost heat in the winter. Studies show, that anywhere form 10 – 30% of heated air can escape through your air ducts. Having a professional come to your home and properly seal your air ducts could save your household upwards of 150$ every year. Couple this with the aforementioned methods of preserving heat and you are well on your way to having a truly winter-proof home.
One of the two greatest obstacles that people face in these cold months is also one of the most financially and physically damaging: Frozen pipes. As water turns to ice, it expands, which leads to numerous problems, including the bursting of water lines within the home. A simple way of ensuring that you’re safe from being the victim of the weather is to insulate your pipes. You can get pre-slit pipe foam at most hardware stores. Cut it to size and fasten in place with duct tape. Ideally, you should choose the insulation with the highest R-value practical, which is a measure of its heat-blocking power. Pipe insulation is often R-3 or, for batt styles that you wrap around, a stronger R-7.
It is imperative to halt the freezing of pipes before they burst, as a burst pipe will do much more to damage your home then the elements themselves. The ensuing water leak could lead to structural damage of your home’s infrastructure, as well as the microbial growth of mold in the affected area. These problems alone could leave you with a hefty bill for remediation.
Along with freezing pipes, another problem for homeowners in the winter are ice dams. Ice dams occur when the snow and ice melting off your roof is trapped inside by the small “Ice Dam” that forms on the edge of the roof, over the gutters. The water that is trapped behind the ice dam will most likely travel downwards into your home. This can create many problems as the draining water will not only affect the insulation in the attic, and the roof itself, but may also become trapped in the cavities of your walls. This could cause irreparable damage to your home if not swiftly remediated, and is one of the most common causes for SERVPRO workers to be dispatched during this season.
One things that can be done to prevent ice dams is to ensure that as little heat as possible escapes through your roof. Keeping your roof cold will keep the snow from melting as easily, helping to curb the buildup of trapped water. If this isn’t an option, another way to stop the forming of ice dams is to use a snow rake. A snow rake is an aluminum scraper attached to a telescoping pole. Which can be used to remove heavy snow after snowfall. If you can remove the snow before it has a chance to melt, it will have no opportunity to reform into an ice dam.
A more passive way to handle ice dams is with heat cables. Heat cables are resilient wires that you can run in a zigzag pattern across the bottom of your roof, where ice dams would normally form. Take caution, though, as you will need to redirect the flow of water. You should run the heat cable down the gutter and into a GFCI outlet, so as to ensure the gutter is not clogged with ice.
These tasks can seem like an insurmountable financial burden, but there are programs and means to assist you in making your home more hospitable. Federal tax credits can be implemented to help offset the cost of these renovations, upwards of 30% with a standard maximum of 1500$. A list of available local incentives by state can be found at the following url: http://www.dsireusa.org.
We here at SERVPRO hope that this article will help you keep the cold out while we all wait for spring. It may take time, money, and work, but protecting your home is a project that will surely see a return of investment in time.
New and Improved Equipment
7/31/2015 (Permalink)
After attending the National SERVPRO convention, SERVPRO of Marlborough/Concord has decided to invest in some of the new equipment that was shown on display. SERVPRO of Marlborough/Concord has invested in 10 new state of the air-scrubber and 10 new more efficient dehumidifiers.
These new pieces of equipment will allow SERVPRO to purify and the rid the air of any harmful substances such as microbial spores. Along with the air purification equipment the new dehumidifiers will help to dry out an area or room more efficiently. These tools enable a faster and more efficient cleanup to any disaster.
SERVPRO Marlborough/Concord Attends SERVPRO Annual Convention
7/27/2015 (Permalink)
The National SERVPRO convention is the best way for SERVPRO of Marlborough/Concord to keep up with the new euipment and techniques that come out every year. There are always awesome new pieces of equipment that will help us clean any disaster quicker and with more efficiency. It is great to be able to meet up with new or exisiting franchise owners, talking and exchanging new innovative ideas for the company.
Just about every supply company out there has a new and improved piece of equipment they like to show at this convention. However, this year it seemed to be Pheonix that was at the top of their game.
SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord Becomes an IICRC Certified Firm
8/29/2014 (Permalink)
Our Framed IICRC Firm Certification
SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord has been an IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification) certified firm for almost a year. The IICRC sets the gold standards for the Cleaning and Remediation industry, of which SERVPRO is an industry leader. The following is from the IICRC official website (http://www.iicrc.org).
”IICRC Certified Firms have earned the right to display the cleantrust logo as a symbol of quality. In order to achieve IICRC-certified status, firms must meet a rigorous list of standards in business ethics and expertise.
"IICRC Certified Firms must:
"• Present accurate information to consumers and conduct business with honesty and integrity.
"• Require a technician on all jobs who has been formally trained and passed all required tests.
"• Require a continuing education program to keep technicians up-to-date on the latest changes in the industry.
"• Maintain liability insurance to protect all parties in the event of an accident.
"• Maintain a written complaint policy and agree to Better Business Bureau or similar arbitration to resolve disputes, and accept the conclusions and recommendations of arbitration.
"The IICRC actively pursues relationships with fiber producers, carpet and fabric mills, furnishing manufacturers and retailers, and others affiliated with the industry. The use of IICRC-certified service professionals is specified in leading manufacturers’ maintenance brochures and warranties.”
SERVPRO of Marlboro/Concord is honored to count it among the select organizations to receive this certification. We will continue to offer the same standard of excellence that you have come to expect, but now we have the IICRC stamp of approval to back that up.
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