Recent Why SERVPRO Posts

3 Damage Mitigation Tips for Commercial Roof Leaks

7/23/2022 (Permalink)

Man inside a box truck with storm drying equipment Leave storm response to the professionals.

Storm Restoration Process

When you experience a flood, overflowing sinks, or leaky plumbing, your business needs storm and flood damage services — and it needs them fast. Here is what you should do in the aftermath of an emergency situation:

1. Keep an Emergency Plan on File
You should have an emergency plan in place for your business that contains your insurance coverage, emergency contacts and other important documents. That way if you find yourself in an emergency situation, you won't have to scramble to find your preferred storm restoration provider and begin the restoration process

2. Call a Professional
While there are some things you can do on your own, it's best to leave storm response to the professionals. A SERVPRO Franchise Professional in Aventura, FL, can quickly assess the damage and get your business up and running in no time.

The restoration process typically includes:

  • An initial assessment
  • Water removal
  • Drying and dehumidifying
  • Cleaning and sanitizing

3. Safely Do What You Can Before a Professional Arrives

Your top priority after an emergency is safety. Electrical hazards should be one of your main concerns. If it is safe to do so, you can perform a few storm restoration tasks, such as:

  • Removing antiques, books, art and other valuables from the area
  • Mopping up excess water
  • Moving furniture from wet carpeting
  • Blotting wood furniture

4. Know Your Limits
Exercise common sense as you do what you can to begin the cleanup. Remember that wet materials are heavy, for example. Most household vacuums are not equipped to handle water, so don't attempt to remove water that way.

You can turn on air conditioning in the summer months to aid drying, but don't turn on ceiling fans or light fixtures if the ceiling is wet. Generally speaking, if the area feels unsafe, it's best to leave it to the professionals.

One of the most important aspects of an emergency situation is your quick response. Having a provider that's there for you at any time will help speed up the storm restoration process.

Mold Coverage and Commercial Property Insurance

5/9/2020 (Permalink)

Drywall covered with mold Does your insurance company cover mold damage?

Mold Coverage and Commercial Property Insurance

As a business owner in Golden Beach, FL, you most likely purchased commercial insurance, hoping it would help you out in dire times. Like much in life, sometimes things go your way and other times it's a bit more difficult. When filing for fungus cleanup, this might be one of those times for a snag. Not all policies extend coverage to this situation. You'll have to ask yourself the following three questions to find out if you qualify.

1. What Conditions Are Accepted?
When you notice mold damage, you should immediately reach out to your insurance agent, requesting a claim, and discussing your coverage. Under your policy, you may be able to seek help for the mold growth remediation. However, it will depend on the written language of your agreement. Anything specifically listed as a cause is acceptable. For example, if you included flood coverage and your contamination occurred from that, then you likely can't file. In addition, you may ask about Limited Fungus Coverage. Often, this clause allows for water damage inclusion, one of the more prominent reasons fungus develops.

2. Have You Maintained the Structure?
Part of the approval for commercial insurance coverage is proving that you maintained the premises. In fact, delaying or allowing the trouble to grow worse would be negligence and grounds for refusal. Therefore, ensure that your plumbing is regularly inspected and repaired, saving receipts. It wouldn't hurt to annually take pictures of the grounds as well.

3. What Services Are Covered?
Your mold insurance often offers compensation for having a mold restoration company remove the impacted material and test for infestation. This includes tearing out anything ruined such as flooring and drywall. Be aware that the sky isn't the limit. The insurer will pay up to a certain amount, specified within your paperwork. Make sure to read through it carefully, understanding any noted limits.
Commercial insurance may help you out with your fungal issues. It's not always cut and dry though. Remain cognizant of your plan, and demonstrate the care you take to maintain the land.

4 Strategies To Keep Claims Costs Down

1/22/2020 (Permalink)

Water filtering from the ceiling, a man holding a bucket under the water filtering Calling SERVPRO right away helps lower the cost of the claim

No two disasters are alike. A flood might involve black water that poses a safety risk to humans. A fire could be relatively minor or result in a catastrophic loss. Certain aspects of disaster relief, though, benefit from standardized actions. A fast response is crucial, as a disaster relief team should arrive on the premises within four hours of being called. Technicians should be trained and should have access to the best equipment for the recovery process. A variety of methods, such as pretesting, should be used to minimize expenses.

Measures for Cost Containment

An insurance agent appreciates keeping costs down when practicable. This is one reason a SERVPRO franchise is preferred over other remediation teams. In many cases, items such as flooring, walls, carpeting and equipment can be restored instead of replaced. Pretesting of items furthers this concept of cost containment in the following ways:

  • Testing of every item
  • Analysis of suitability for restoration
  • A philosophy of "restore when possible, replace when necessary"
  • Testing to find hidden damages such as mold growth

With advanced technology, testing is an effective way to assess the level of damage of many items. Without this approach, a perfectly good material could be tossed out at an unnecessary expense. Furthermore, testing can find and treat hidden areas of water damage and soot odors, eliminating the need for additional restoration visits in Golden Beach, FL.

Steps for the Claims Process

Work on an insurance claim begins as soon as the recovery company is called. The initial inspection and damage assessment begins an orderly record of damages incurred. Digital photos are taken to record damages. Pretesting happens in the pertinent circumstances. Eventually, a detailed estimate is sent to adjusters, which is then communicated to the business owner. Information can be delivered via hard copy or electronic file. With all of these resources in hand, the insurance agent can better deal with clients.

Be Prepared For Disaster In Hollywood Lakes

7/5/2019 (Permalink)

Fire damage, water damage, storm damage, and mold damage can wreak havoc on your family.

When disaster strikes…

For many, your home in Hollywood Lakes represents a lifetime of hard work and a place where roots are important. It is where family gathers, and where your most endearing and important memories are made. When a disaster strikes; whether it be fire, storm, mold, or other water damage/flooding, it will likely be one of the most traumatic experiences of your life. When these things happen and stress is high call us. Our professionalism and rapid response time, as well as our non-intrusive clean up and exit should do much to ease the burden you are bearing. We really do want to help you carry the load.

…we’ll be there to ease your burden.

Sharing a load to us means our work makes your situation more bearable. Twenty-four hours a day/seven days a week we are on call with equipment that is up-to-date, and people who are professional and efficient. Our goal is to keep you moving forward with as little worry as possible. Please contact us online or at 954-921-8992.

Together, We Restore Your Business Or Home

7/5/2019 (Permalink)

Always be prepared.

Together we get it done.

Life is full of mishaps and otherwise unwanted stress creators such as storms. Did you know that wind can reach speeds of up to 60 mph in severe cases?  This kind of wind in your Golden Beach home or business can cause several different kinds of damage, as well as leave areas of the structure vulnerable to rain and other water crisis such as broken pipes. We can work together to lower chances for incurring injury and/or cost due to storm damage.

Your part.

Preparedness is a necessary tool in your efforts to protect your property in Golden Beach.

It’s your business or house; so not only do you have a vested interest in lowering risks to your company and family; but that same preparedness creates a more stress free environment. 

Be prepared for the worst when times are the best. Don’t wait until the wind is moving at speeds of forty mph outside before you start making calls and buying batteries. Do these things early on when there are no clouds in the sky.

Our part.

SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura promises to answer when you call. We promise that the person fielding your call will understand not only the proper responses to your cleanup and restoration questions; but they will understand your vulnerable and stressful position as the owner/insurance adjuster.  We will use that understanding to make you as comfortable with what’s happening as possible. We will send the correct people, and the proper equipment to meet whatever needs have been created by the unfortunate event(s).

Why You Should Use SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura

7/3/2019 (Permalink)

Our history answers the question "Why SERVPRO?".

SERVPRO opened in 1967 in Sacramento, California. Ted Isaacson, the owner, sold his first Franchise in 1969.  SERVPRO headquarters moved to Gallatin, Tennessee in 1988. Now it has over 1700 Franchises in the United States and Canada.

What does SERVPRO do?

SERVPRO provides:

  • residential & commercial cleanup of:
    • water/ flood damage
    • fire damage
    • storm damage
  • mold remediation
  • restoration

SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura performs these specialties, including:

  • Air Ducts & HVAC
  • Biohazard
  • Carpet & Upholstery
  • Ceilings, Floors, and Walls
  • Drapes & Blinds
  • Odor Removal
  • Sewage
  • Trauma & Crime Scene
  • Vandalism & Graffiti
  • Commercial Cleaning

SERVPRO works directly with most insurance companies, and is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Why SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura?  Each franchise is an individually owned and operated company. People who work for SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura live in the area.  Additionally, it has advanced expertise in water restoration along with specialized equipment in water removal and in advanced drying equipment. 

Technicians at SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura have extra training and certification in water restoration. The technicians document every step. You will know exactly what SERVPRO did, and how the process worked. 

Links:

https://www.SERVPRO.com/161018

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SERVPRO

Putting Our Customers First

11/17/2018 (Permalink)

If you are looking for a trustworthy, professional restoration company who always puts their customers first, give us a call today!

Our locally owned and operated company is founded on a customer-first policy. In order to restore a residential or commercial property thoroughly and make it “Like it never even happened.” we must always keep our customers’ needs and wants in the forefront of our minds. At SERVPRO of Hollywood/Hallandale/Aventura, our highly trained team goes through both initial and ongoing training in order to ensure that we have adequate and up-to-date knowledge about restoration techniques and best practices.

Our staff’s training and certification makes them well-equipped to handle restoration jobs both large and small. No matter how big the damage may be, our highly trained specialists work with one real job in mind: satisfy our customers by doing great work! We specialize in both residential and commercial restoration from:

  • Water Damage
  • Fire Damage
  • Mold Remediation
  • Storm Damage

In addition to providing unmatched restoration services, our SERVPRO team offers these emergency services 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, even including all holidays. If you are looking for a trustworthy, professional restoration company who always puts their customers first, give us a call today!

Faster To Any Size Disaster

10/30/2018 (Permalink)

If your home has experienced water damage of any kind, you can count on the professionals at SERVPRO to take care of you and your home.

When a disaster strikes, Florida homeowners often find themselves wondering what to do next. Whether your property suffers from storm damage, water damage, or fire damage, addressing the problem promptly is imperative to reducing the overall damage and getting to the issue right away. That’s where SERVPRO comes in!

We are truly faster to any size disaster. It is our primary goal to provide 24 hour emergency services to our community. In doing so, we are able to deploy our cleaning and restoration processes immediately, minimizing the damage done and putting our customers’ minds at ease. Our highly trained damage restoration technicians are equipped to handle disasters both large and small.

Timing is extremely critical in emergency situations, especially in cases involving water damage. For instance, if left untreated for even 24 hours things like tarnished metal surfaces, swelling and breaking drywall, musty odors, and more begin to appear. The longer that a homeowner waits to address flooding, storm, or water emergencies of any kind, the more damage the property will suffer.

If your home has experienced water damage of any kind, you can count on the professionals at SERVPRO to take care of you and your home quickly, effectively, and honestly. We are truly faster to any size disaster and we are here to restore your home’s damage. Call today to learn more about your restoration options!