PuroClean Property Rescuers NC

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Your shower and commode are separated your master bathroom and can be closed off when you are using that area.  You notice some minor discoloration on the ceiling above the commode, but you are not concerned.  You can wipe it off another day.  Wrong.  It is not dirt or soot; this is not “mildew” which technically only grows on plant life…  it is MOLD, and although it is only small, if you do not do something immediately, the mold will continue to spread and since 15-20% of the population has significant and some cases life threatening mold allergies, this could create a potentially serious health hazard to you and your family members.

Mold forms in places that either are naturally humid, or where there has been a water problem caused by a leaking roof or pipe.  Some mold may be hidden behind wallpaper, under carpets in wall cavity spaces or in other areas not easily seen.  If not remediated quickly (not just color changed with beach) , mold can spread and cause neurological symptoms such as headaches, trouble concentrating; short attention span, memory loss, dizziness, or it can cause or worsen allergies or allergic reactions causing skin irritation, rash, or pulmonary disease.  It can even cause or aggravate life threatening chronic conditions, such as asthma, cancer or hypersensitivity pneumonitis (HP).

Mold can grow indoors and outdoors, and it more prevalent in localities that have high humidity problems such as North Carolina and is especially prevalent in areas affected by water and structures built with damp or wet building materials.

Mold can readily be recognized by a damp or musty smell, and the areas that have been subjected to water leaks and improper drainage all associated with water damage events and will generally have tell-tale water stains and marks that one can be sure either contain mold or will contain mold.  To help prevent the growth of mold, the following steps are recommended:

• lower indoor humidity with air conditioners, de-humidifiers and exhaust fans
• inspect hoses and fittings on appliances, sinks, washing machines, refridgeratorsand toilets
• use household cleaners with mold-cleaning detergents ingredients to removed bio-film which mold grows on
• opt for paints and primers that contain mold inhibitors
• clean gutters to avoid overflow and check roof for leaks
• avoid carpet in wet areas like basements and bathrooms

Once discovered, the mold should be remediated quickly by a professional what is both certified and insured against mold related liabilities.  Depending on how big the mold infestation is, the cost of remediation will vary from several hundreds of dollars to many thousands.  In any case, drying out the affected areas may not be enough (below 17% moisture content); the requirement may be that all affected areas must be removed and replaced.

Mold damage has resulted in some monstrous jury verdicts including $14 million in Florida, $18 million in California and $32 million in Texas.  Some well-known individuals have initiated mold law suits including Michael Jordan, Ed McMahon and Erin Brockovich.

As a result, insurance companies now often have disclaimers for mold damage, so it is important to read the policy to determine if such exclusion exists.  If it does, the insurance adjuster will generally attempt to deny coverage claiming that the homeowner caused the mold or contributed to its spread by allowing wet areas to fester.  However, if the mold is caused by a sudden and accidental incident, such as a pipe bursting, the cost of remediation probably will be covered by insurance.  The reasoning is that technically the pipe burst and that caused the claim, not the mold itself.  Roughly 22% of all homeowners’ insurance claims result from “water damage” and “freezing”, which includes remediation.

Some insurance companies also offer mold riders to the general homeowner’s insurance policies.  However, a mold rider could cost an additional $500 to $1,500 a year on an existing policy, and more in humid climates.  If your insurance carrier refuses to provide a rider because of the increased risk, some casualty companies might sell you a standalone mold policy if you are still concerned.  However, the premiums for a standalone mold policy might range from $5,000 to $25,000, making the cost of the policy disproportionate to the value of your home.

In short, the prevention of mold through safeguarding measures is, in the long run, far less expensive than remediating mold or carrying expensive insurance.  The homeowner must make that choice.  If you have any type of water damage event at all, do yourself a huge favor and have it properly dried (a.k.a mitigated) and decontaminated.  Do not take the take the position that it is only water.  Water that is out of site and then considered our of mind, could totally destroy your largest possession and worse, perhaps make you and your loved one extremely will depending on allergy sensitivities.

Water Damage Statistics

If you’ve read our blog for any length of time, then you know that water damage is a serious business when it occurs. The common wisdom is that most homes will experience at least one major water damage event during their existence, but available evidence suggests that the problem may be more widespread than originally thought.

What water damage can do:

The average home loses 14% of the water delivered to it through leakage. Even more astounding, up to 22 gallons of water are lost daily due to leaks from dripping faucets or malfunctioning toilets. A 1/8 inch crack in a pipe can release up to 250 gallons of water per day. Some toilet leaks can account for up to an additional $500 a year in additional costs. Kinda makes you want to go and inspect your pipes, doesn’t it?

As odd as it may sound, recent improvements in water quality can contribute to the accelerated corrosion and failure of copper piping, with 90% of copper pinhole leaks occurring on horizontal runs of pipe.

Property damage due to water is the third largest cause of homeowner loss, with over $9 billion in losses reported between 2007 and 2009. This makes up a whopping 23 percent of all reported property loss. According to the American Insurance Association, water damage is the second most frequently filed claim for homeowners in the US.

If the preceding isn’t bad enough, studies have shown that up to 93 percent of these problems could have been averted if a detection and shut-off system had been present in the homes affected. Damage costs averaged $20,000 more than three times the amount required for homes where detection and prevention devices were installed.

Water damage is also the primary cause of rising homeowners insurance rate costs. The average water damage bill has increased from around $600 or so in the 1970′s to an average of more than $5000 today.

Some of the most damaging leaks are those that develop and grow slowly over a long period of time, as opposed to those that occur rapidly and without warning. The reason is that these slow growing problems have more time to set the stage for subsequent problems such as mold and mildew. All too often, once the problem has been detected, considerable damage has already been done.

Lack of early detection and response from the homeowner can result in loss of the ability to collect from your insurance provider. Water damage claims are frequently denied if the problem has existed for more than 24 hours, or if it can be traced to any sort of negligence on the part of the homeowner.

Almost 40% of all homeowners have reported loss due to water damage. If you have a basement, that figure jumps to 98%. Draw your own conclusions.

To help prevent water damage to your property there are some things that you need to do. This blog has plenty of tips to prevent this sort of damage. Start by reading this article on water damage prevention.

Your local PuroClean Clean Trust (IICRC) certified water restoration provider is available 24/7 to properly examine and diagnose your water issues. They offer same day service and can properly assess the problem and determine a course of action. Call today for an estimate or phone consultation.

Your insurance agent will refer you to PuroClean Property Rescuers NC.   We can provide hints to prevent further damage, help determine which items can or cannot be refurbished, and provide estimates and services for thoroughly cleaning and deodorizing your home. Their services can be expensive, but the cost may be substantially less than the cost of replacing damaged furnishings and floors.

Preventing Further Damage

In the mean time, you can minimize further damage by following these guidelines. Be sure you have permission from your fire marshal to safely re-enter your home before doing so. Get the air moving. Open windows to ventilate areas. Install a fan to circulate air. Note: if there has been substantial water damage and the weather is warm, you will probably need to keep the windows shut and run a dehumidifier. In cold weather, your heating system is operating and the cold air will usually help remove the moisture. In this case, change your furnace filter daily until it shows no soot. Dry wet items as soon as possible. Use fans and dehumidifiers to dry carpets and draperies. If not thoroughly dried, carpets and floors underneath may be quickly damaged beyond repair by mold and mildew.

Remove brass and copper items and clean them using brass or copper cleaner (smoke can etch brass or copper in 24 hours).

Place aluminum foil or plastic food wrap under furniture legs. Remove oriental rugs or other colored rugs from wet wall-to-wall carpeting.

Cover dry, clean items with plastic while repairs are in progress.

Removing Soot from Household Textiles

Soot is oily and easily stains carpets, draperies and other household textiles. For this reason you must remove it before you attempt to clean or deodorize items. If possible, hire a professional restorer to remove soot with a
heavy-duty vacuum. If you don’t plan to hire a professional, you can remove some soot by holding a vacuum cleaner nozzle slightly off the surface of the item. Do not use vacuum attachments or an upright vacuum because the brushes tend to force soot into fabrics. Cover carpets after removing the soot to keep other soil from being tracked in during clean-up.

Removing Smoke Odor from Textiles

Smoke odor may remain in clothing, upholstered furniture, carpets and draperies unless they are properly deodorized before cleaning. Professional assistance is recommended.

Consult PuroClean and/or dry cleaners about using “counteractants,” chemicals or additives that break up smoke molecules to eliminate odors. The type of counteractant used will vary with the type of material burned in the fire. Counteractants may be professionally applied to furniture, carpets and draperies. PuroClean also may provide them for laundering clothes.

PuroClean sometimes uses hydroxyl generators or ozone treatment to break up smoke molecules and eliminate odors. If the process is done in the home, items are put under a tent while a hydroxyl generators or ozone generator is operating.

Keep in mind that most household deodorizing sprays and disinfectants provide only temporary relief. In addition, deodorizing sprays may interact with smoke odor and create an additional odor.

If you are unable to have clothing or similar textiles professionally treated, try one of the following methods:

- Dissolve one cup of dishwashing detergent—the type used in an automatic dishwasher—in one gallon of warm water. Completely submerge the items and let them soak all night in your washing machine or bathtub. Drain and launder as usual the next day.

- For items that can be bleached, mix 4 to 6 tablespoons trisodium phosphate (available from your hardware store) with 1 cup Lysol or household chlorine bleach and 1 gallon of water. Add clothes, rinse with clear water and dry.

Cleaning Furnishings and Clothing

After deodorizing, it’s time to clean household textiles. Take nonwashable clothing and draperies to a dry cleaner for traditional dry cleaning or a special cleaning process.

Wash regular clothing in warm water with a liquid detergent. Several launderings may be needed.

Have carpets cleaned twice—both before and after repairs. Wet carpets must be dried before cleaning. In some cases, removal of carpet is necessary for complete drying and to save the wood floor
beneath.

Cleaning Soot Stains from Walls

If possible, use a chemical sponge available from a cleaning supply company or some other non-water-based cleaner to clean soot from walls.

Paint thinner or rubbing alcohol may work, but use with caution because of toxicity and fumes. Wear rubber gloves, open all windows and use an electric fan to increase ventilation while working. Do not use a water-based cleaner on plaster walls. It will cause the stain to bleed into the wall.

Removing Smoke Odor from the Home

During a fire, smoke can permeate walls and other surfaces and drift through household ducts, where it becomes trapped. If not properly removed, smoke odor reoccurs from time to time, especially during warm or damp weather.

Consult PuroClean about a process known as “thermal fogging.” This warm chemical fog penetrates your home and walls just as the fire did, neutralizing the smoke odor as it goes.

Consult PuroClean about smoke removal from ducts. We may use a chemical sealer to secure smoke permanently to the sides of ducts since these areas, with their joints and crevices, may be difficult to clean with conventional vacuum-and-brush methods. Consider replacement of attic insulation. Insulation may retain
odors.

Additional Resources

- Your local fire department

- The American Red Cross

-The National Institute of Fire Restoration

-The Federal Emergency Management Agency

·         For soft materials such as clothing, fabrics, and upholstery you can use a power vacuum to remove the soot from the affected articles. Keep in mind to use only the most powerful vacuum and to cover the cleaned up article immediately so that it will not get re-soiled during the entire cleaning process.

·         For carpets, you can hire a professional carpet cleaner only after you have restored your carpet yourself. You can also rent a rotary scrubber or an extraction machine from your local tool rental shop to help you with either wet cleaning or injection cleaning of your carpet.

·         Remember that it may be necessary to wash fabrics and clothing to completely remove the soot and odor brought about by the smoke. Try to soak the articles overnight in a solution with deodorizers before machine washing them the following day.

·         If soot has permeated through porous hard surfaces, you can use a dry chemical sponge to scrub off the soot and then spraying the surfaces with a chemical cleaning solution. Make sure to dry the surface properly and well before applying any deodorizing agent.

·         For less porous hard surfaces, you can try to make some changes in the concentration of the chemical cleaning solutions you have used for cleaning porous hard surfaces.

 There’s nothing worse than coming home to find it looking like this, charred with fire damage.

Your life comes to a screeching halt as you watch in horror. It’s a good thing you weren’t inside. Worse yet, what if a family member was? Unfortunately, most house fires can be avoided. It’s all about being safe.

 There are many ways a fire can be caused. Here are some tips for what to look for and how to prevent potential fires in and around your home:

1. Clean out lint traps:  My mother has preached this to me since day one. Every time you do a load of laundry, clean out the lent trap. Lent is highly flammable, so do laundry with care.
2. Space heaters need their space: If you use a space heater, keep it clear of any article of clothing, curtains or furnishings. Don’t forget to turn it off before you leave!
3. Check wirings and circuits: If you look behind your TV and can’t see the ground or there’s a ball of wire, I think it’s a good time to reorganize. Keeping too many wires and cords together can cause overheating. Plus, you don’t want to overload the circuits. Unplug electrical appliances before going to bed or leaving the house. Plus, this can save on energy costs.
4. Test smoke detectors: They can save your life, but only if you keep them alive. Change their batteries twice a year, but it doesn’t stop there. Regularly test to see if they are functioning properly.
5. No smoking: Take your smoke break outside. No exceptions. When you throw away your cigarette butts, make sure to wet the end.
6. Don’t let your meal cook itself: Never leave your kitchen post without turning off the stove, oven or any other cooking appliance. This is only asking for trouble. Also, make sure to cook safely by keep any flammable objects away from appliances.

If you’re ever unsure about a potential fire hazard, just give it some thought. If you find you keep second guessing yourself, then it might be a good idea not to do it. There are two types of knowledge in these situations, semantic and instinct; what you do because of what you know and what you think you should do. It never hurts to know as much as you can in order to do the right thing, but sometimes it’s your instinct that saves the day.

Water damage is one of the most common reasons people make claims on their home insurance. Burst pipes, leaky appliances and flooded basements often lead people to discover the details of their home insurance policies.

home insurance for water damage”Water damage and homeowners policies can be a volatile issue in many ways,” says Don Griffin, vice president of personal lines at the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a trade group. “Generally, the damage caused by water will be covered, but whatever causes the damage — say, a leaking dishwasher hose — may not be.”

Although insurance companies may pay to replace a carpet damaged by your dishwasher leak, you probably have to replace or repair the hose at your own cost. If a sudden, unforeseen problem such as a frozen pipe leads to water damage, your home insurance covers repairs to both the broken pipe and your home and furnishings.

Here are common water-damage scenarios and their insurance consequences.

Scenario No. 1: The temperature drops to 10 below zero, causing your water pipes to freeze and burst. Your floor is now covered in 6 inches of water.

Are you covered? Yes, you’re covered for water damage from burst pipes, but most policies won’t cover you if you’ve left the house unoccupied and without heat. If that’s the case, your claim could be denied because you’ve failed to perform the necessary upkeep that would prevent the accident.

Scenario No. 2: Water leaks from your backyard pool, ruining your manicured lawn and flooding your basement

Are you covered? The damage to your basement and your personal property are covered, but not the damage to your lawn. According to a sample policy, “We do not cover land, including land on which the dwelling is located.” However, your lawn is covered if it’s damaged by certain “named perils.” These include fire, explosion, riot, aircraft, vehicles not owned by you and vandalism. The amount of coverage for lawns and plants is small — usually only up to $500. Swimming-pool leaks are not a named peril. But if your leak was caused by a tree falling on the pool, it would be covered.

Scenario No. 3: Your washing machine overflows, flooding the basement.

Are you covered? Yes. But it depends on your home insurance company view of the problem: Did you fail to maintain the washer properly or did sudden, accidental damage cause the flood?

“Most of the time, if an appliance breaks and water goes all over, insurance covers it. In the case of a washing machine, you might need to purchase replacement parts out of your own pocket because they were not maintained correctly, but the damage to your basement is covered,” says Griffin.

Scenario No. 4: A sewer backs up, flooding your basement.

Are you covered? No. Standard home insurance policies don’t cover sewer backups, and many specifically exclude damage from sewer back-ups. Special endorsements are available, at added cost, for sewers and drains.
Tip
Don’t shoot yourself in the foot by reporting damage to your home insurance company that’s not covered by your policy. Your damage report may still go on your insurance record and look like a claim when you shop for new insurance in the future. Read how one five-minute call to your insurance company can dog you for seven years.

Scenario No. 5: Water seeps from the ground into your basement, damaging your foundation and interior.

Are you covered? No. Seepage is considered a maintenance problem, not “sudden and accidental” damage, and is excluded from home insurance coverage.

Scenario No. 6: During a heavy rainstorm, water leaks through your roof. The roof is damaged, as is furniture.

Are you covered? Somewhat. You’re unlikely to be reimbursed for roof repairs because that’s a house-maintenance issue. But the water damage to your home is covered. Damage to your furniture is also likely covered if you have a standard H0-3 home insurance policy, but not if you have a generic HO-1 policy (which many insurers don’t even sell anymore).

If your neighbor’s tree falls on your roof, the damage to your roof, home and belongings is covered. Your policy also reimburses you up to a certain amount, usually around $500, for the cost of removing the tree.

Scenario No. 7: A nearby lake or river overflows its banks, causing a flash flood in your living room.

Are you covered? No. Flood damage is not covered by home insurance. You must purchase flood insurance for that. You can purchase flood insurance as long as your community participates in the National Flood Insurance Program.

Property Damage Restoration, Water Damage Mitigation and Mold Remediation businesses are around potential pollution, fungi or bacterial hazards on a daily basis and virtually every single general liability policy issued today in the United States has pollution, fungi or bacterial exclusions.  This could present a serious predicament for your agency/company in the event “your favored referral” is one such improperly insured contractor, or, if one of your insured contractors are sued for a pollution, fungi or bacterial event on a job even though they did not cause the event.  Frankly speaking, this should be a BIG CONCERN for any business (i.e. #RealEstate, #Property #HOA #Manager, #GeneralContractor, etc.) that refers presumably properly covered vendors or uses sub-contractors with improper Risk Coverage, as “GL coverage only” is no longer enough!!!

Please be wary of this to avoid becoming a “named defendant” in any such case, or when your insured reports the claim to you and he finds out he is bare and unknowingly “self-insured”…  In the case of your referral, you may yourself need to carefully check out your own GL coverage… In the case of one of your clients, you are now defensible in an errors and omissions case unless you can prove you offered the coverage and they declined.

A proven Risk Manager colleague, Mr. David J. Dybdahl, CPCU, ARM, MBA who has significant knowledge gained on water and mold losses, who is also a member of the consensus drafting committees of both the IICRC S500 and S520 professional standards and guidelines for water and mold remediation, and a trusted “expert witness” in related legal proceedings with a masters degree in insurance and 30+ years of experience insuring contractors, states that there is a huge coverage gap in the General Liability (GL) policy for any claim involving a speck of mold or Category 3 Water!

Mr. Dybdahl further points out that to this day, 80% of “Restoration Firms” still purchase traditional GL insurance policies because they believe it saves them money “short-term”, or, because they have been incorrectly (or the courts may call it “negligently’) sold the wrong kind of coverage in light of today’s overly litigious world… Some restoration firms do not even purchase Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) which seems downright crazy in light of what they do for a living…

Does this make you just a little NERVOUS about the credibility of “who you refer”, or, “who you insure”?

A New Jersey Court of appeals case settled in October 2011 confirms Mr. Dybdahl’s concerns that:

1. The GL policy is not adequate liability insurance on jobs involving Mold or Category 3 Water (any water left improperly mitigated for 6-7 days), and,
2. Specially modified Contractors Pollution Liability (CPL) insurance is needed for any firm that may run into water, asbestos, or lead on a job or who may use a chemical treatment of any kind on a project, and,
3. The purchase of separate GL and CPL policies should be avoided if at all possible. It is far better from a cost and claims standpoint to have the GL and CPL insurance on the same policy form.

Mr. Dybdahl found this specific case in Lexis, a data base used by legal researchers. This is the first case this proven Risk Manager has ever seen…

The takeaways from this case are: This was a $500,000 problem for the Restoration Firm; the case was actually brought by the CPL insurer of the Restoration Firm to try to recover from the GL insurance policy which was issued by another insurance company not related to the company that issued the CPL policy. Because the loss involved mold and a fungicide the GL carrier successfully denied the original claim in court and through the appeals process. If the contractor was on their own fighting their General Liability insurance company for coverage in court, the firm would have needed enough cash to pay the $500,000 plus attorney fees for five years. This case took five years to work through the courts, and the carrier denying the loss on the GL won!!!

Ooops…

Do you have a favored vendor(s), that owns/owned a company that did (or now wished he had enough business to be doing) construction, renovations or even carpet cleaning, that is now in the Water Damage Restoration business?? Does this sound like anyone you know, a friend from HS or College, perhaps any struggling “old buddy” business friend that you may “regularly refer” or “currently insure” and whom you always feel compelled to always “refer ” purely in the interest of “giving back reciprocal business”? Anyone… Anyone… Bueller?

As a Professional Risk Manager or Business Owner, do YOU take the TIME to truly consider the PERILS you daily take on YOURSELF?

The IICRC S500 /S520 chart below shows that water (and by inference “water on a floor” or “any water loss”) migrates from “clean water” (Cat 1) to “the bacterial/fungal equivalent of sewage” (Cat 3) in just 6-7 days.

Were you aware that within just a 25 mile radius of Raleigh, NC that there are more than 40 companies (and growing) that today claim their business is “Water Damage” clean up (a.k.a. mitigation)? This is Water that can turn the materials that ALL homes and businesses are made of into a “MOLD loving paradise” in just 24-48 hours, and then further migrate into the bacterial/fungal equivalent of “SEWAGE” in only 6-7 days? Yet, the before referenced “80% of Restoration Firms” states that only about “8” of these Raleigh, NC area companies that are statistically likely to be properly insured to be operating this kind of truly specialty business…

We are proud, honored and clearly business savvy enough to be “one of the elite eight”! How about your current favored vendor? Do you just hope so, or do you really know for sure?

Kevin C. Oakley

The Kevin Oakley PuroClean Property Rescuers NC firm (my family owned and operated business) is correctly insured for ALL KNOWN RISKS associated with Emergency Water Damage Mitigation, Microbial Growth Remediation and Property Damage Restoration and is definitely one of the properly insured minority in this area… Please take a moment to review our current Certificate of Insurance coverage below:

If you, or your customers have yet to experience the quality customer service, certified and trained expertise, college educated professionalism, all of which has been proven to maximize customer retention and lower your aggregate claim losses, you should feel completely comfortable referring our firm to your customers with CREDIBLE “ALL RISKS COVERED” CONFIDENCE. In return, as true believers in the “Giver’s Gain” philosophy, WE WILL DELIVER the gift of true customer satisfaction that will allow you to open more commission checks!

Give Us a Shot & We’ll Show You How: (919)762-3100

You will be very glad that you did… Please let me know if you have any further questions at your convenience. My personal cell phone is: (919) 621-8646.

View Our One Minute Video Overview Right Now!

 Thank you your careful consideration of this information.

Very truly yours,

Kevin C. Oakley, CRMR
Certified Residential Microbial Remediator
Owner/General Manager
PuroClean Property Rescuers NC
Serving: Wake, Johnston, Harnett, Lee, Wayne,
Chatham, Orange, Durham & Surrounding
Toll Free: (866) 970- PURO (7876)
Office Direct: (919) 762-3100
Personal Cell: (919) 621-8646
kevin.oakley@puroclean-wake-nc.com
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Water damage is one of the most common reasons people make claims on their home insurance.  Did you know that 22 out of 1000 homes suffer a water damage related loss each year?  Water heaters malfunction, pipes rupture, drains back-up, various appliances leak and both crawlspaces and basements flood regularly.  All of these water damage events and more drive people to discover the facts of their home insurance policies in detail.

“Water damage and homeowners policies can be a volatile issue in many ways,” says Don Griffin of the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, a trade group. “Generally, the damage caused by water will be covered, but whatever causes the damage — say, a leaking dishwasher hose — may not be.”

Although your insurer might pay to replace a carpet damaged by your refrigerator leak, you probably have to replace or repair the ice maker supply line at your own cost.  If an unexpected sudden problem such as a frozen pipe leads to water damage, your home insurance covers repairs to both the broken pipe and your home and furnishings.

The following is the first of several articles related common water-damage scenarios and their insurance consequences.

Updated Washing Machine Hoses…   Really Cheap Insurance…

Your washing machine overflows, flooding everything on that level of your home (and all lower levels as well).

Are you covered? Yes…  Depending on your home insurer’s view of the problem: Did you fail to maintain the washer properly or did sudden, accidental damage cause the flood?

“Most of the time, if an appliance breaks and water goes all over, insurance covers it. In the case of a washing machine (which is the #1 water damage claim source) you might need to purchase replacement parts out of your own pocket because they were not maintained correctly, but the damage to your home, which could be significant,  is covered,” says Griffin.

Consider replacing hoses to major appliances such as your washer and dishwasher every two to five years.   Updating to stainless steel, so-called “burst-free” hoses (for ONLY$10-$20, BTW) has been proven to have a proving a much longer lifespan than other hose types. When you go on vacation or even a short business trip, turn off the water to your washer while you’re out of town. Many homeowners have returned from even a short trip to find their washer hoses have burst, flooding their homes.  A  pressurized hose that has burst spurting water at a typical rate of 5-7 gallons per minute = approximately 10,000 gallons of  water in 24 hours.  If you are away for few days, expect to find your second floor laundry room now inconveniently relocated to your first floor…

An excellent DIY video on how to avoid this #1 water damage peril can be viewed below:

If we can ever answer any questions for you on this or any related subject matter from our website, please call call (919)762-3100.

About the blogger, Kevin Oakley is the Owner of PuroClean Property Rescuers NC (PPR-NC) which is located in the Stephens ACE Hardware Store building (Suite 151) at 405 Broad St., in the Varina District of Fuquay Varina, NC.  Kevin’s business specializes as a “subject matter expert” Insurance Claim Contractor,  focusing on the 24/7 emergency structural drying, clean-up/mitigation and restoration of residential and commercial property damage caused by Water, Sewage, Mold, Fire, Smoke and Bio-hazards servicing all of the Piedmont and Eastern NC.  The company is Certified by the Institute of Inspection Clean and Restoration (IICRC) Firm and they are also American Council Accredited Certified Residential Microbial Remediators (CRMR).  PPR-NC does not perform Indoor Air Quality or Surface Sampling for credibility reasons but works with only Certified Environmental Scientists that are accredited with American Industrial Hygiene Association (AIHA) and/or are both Certified Mold Inspectors and Certified Indoor Environmental Professionals.  Please contact directly for details, please visit his website at: https://nc-property-damage.com or http://ppr-nc.puroclean.com, call (919)762-3100 or email: kevin.oakley@puroclean-wake-nc.com.