Do you have a Priority Response Service Agreement for your Commercial Business?

6/28/2024 (Permalink)

A PSRA will enable our team to be Faster to any size disaster™.

What is a PRSA?  

SERVPRO® offers a unique opportunity for commercial businesses to have priority response services status in a disaster. In the fast-paced world of business, rapid response is essential. The longer a business's doors are closed, the more money that is lost. A Priority Response Service Agreement is a non-binding agreement to the client unless and until the client requests and is provided Emergency or Restoration Services by SERVPRO. Having this agreement in place helps outline general wishes and information needed when responding to an emergency such as a Storm/Freeze Event, Fire, Water Damage Cleanup, Biohazard/ Hazmat Cleanup, or Mold Remediation.  

How Can Your Commercial Business Benefit from Having a PRSA?  

A service agreement can help eliminate the chaos, minimizing the complexity and severity of interruptions to business. In a world of emergencies, a Priority Response Service Agreement isn't just a contract – it's a promise - to provide rapid response, leverage strong relationships, and transform potential chaos into smoothly managed solutions. It's the assurance that when a crisis arises, our team of professionals are ready to be your total solutions provider for whatever happens. 

Interested in Having a PRSA For Your Commercial Business? Give SERVPRO of Augusta a call today at 706-750-0200 to schedule with our team! 

AC Leak Got you Down? Give SERVPRO of Augusta a Shout!

6/26/2024 (Permalink)

Picture of a desiccant drying out a commercial building after an AC leak.

Common Causes of AC Leaks  

AC Leaks can be frustrating and a costly issue for homeowners to remediate. A leaky AC can lead to higher energy bills and potential water damage to parts of your home. SERVPRO of Augusta is Here to Help® by providing insight into the most common causes of AC leaks, how to prevent them and the best repair solutions. There are multiple reasons why your air conditioner may be leaking, including: 

• Dirty Air Filter: A dirty air filter can restrict airflow which causes the evaporator coil to freeze and eventually leak weak water when it melts.  

• Low Refrigerant Levels: Low refrigerant levels can cause the evaporator coil to freeze and then leak water when it melts, this can also lead to reduced cooling efficiency and increased energy bills.  

• Drain Line Issues: A clogged or disconnected drain line can cause water to back up and overflow from your AC unit.  

• Improper Installation: If your air conditioner was not installed correctly, it may not be leveled properly which can lead to water pooling and leaking from the unit.  

• Broken Condensate Pump: If your AC unit is installed in a basement it may rely on a condensate pump to remove any excess water. A broken pump can cause water to accumulate and leak from the unit.  

Preventing AC Leaks 

Preventing air conditioner leaks is essential to maintaining an efficient and functional air conditioning system. Here are some tried and true tips to help you avoid leaks: 

• Check & Replace Air Filters: Inspect your air filters regularly and replace them as needed to prevent restricted airflow and evaporator coil freezing.  

• Monitor Refrigerant Levels: If you suspect that your AC unit is low on refrigerant, contact a professional plumber to inspect and refill it as needed.  

• Regular Maintenance: Schedule regular maintenance with a professional heating and air technician.  

Whatever AC related water disaster you face, SERVPRO of Augusta is here to make it “Like it never even happened”. Give us a call today at 706-750-0200 to schedule a consultation.  

Avoid Fire Hazards During Fourth of July Celebrations

6/21/2024 (Permalink)

Enjoy your fireworks show safely this 2024 July Fourth celebration!

The History of July Fourth  

The Fourth of July, also known as Independence Day, has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941. However, the tradition of Independence Day celebrations dates to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence in the U.S. and two days later delegates from the thirteen colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence. From 1776 to present day, July fourth has been celebrated nationwide as the birth of the American independence. Festivities for July fourth include fireworks, parades, concerts, family gatherings, barbeques and food. In other words, Independence Day celebrations are a big deal!

Ensure Safe Celebrations This July Fourth  

Grilling is a favorite during the summer season and especially on holiday celebrations with family and friends. It is important to practice safe cooking and be prepared in case a grill accident occurs. Each year there are over 10,600 home fires that are started by grills. This year, make sure you follow the following grill safety tips to avoid disaster:  

-Do not leave a lit grill unattended and make sure that you actively supervise your grill when it is in use.  

-Never let children operate or play around the grill.  

-Make sure your grill is placed away from any structures, branches or trees that could easily catch on fire and spread. 

-Keep a fire extinguisher near the grill in case something happens so you can act quickly. 

Fireworks can also be dangerous and cause fires with improper or negligent use. Each year in the U.S., fireworks are responsible for an average of 19,500 fires. To ensure that your family has a happy and safe Fourth of July, be sure to follow the following safety tips: 

• Never point fireworks at cars, buildings or other individuals. 

• Be sure to follow all provided instructions on how to use fireworks.  

• Children should never be the ones to ignite fireworks and should always be under adult supervision when operating sparklers.  

• Keep a fire extinguisher nearby to quickly extinguish any accidental fires.  

In the case of a fire, SERVPRO of Augusta is here to make it "Like it never even happened"®. Give us a call at 706-750-0200 in the state of a fire emergency today! 

How to Keep Your Business Safe During Emergencies

6/30/2023 (Permalink)

As a business owner, it is important to be prepared for anything that can happen. Occurrences like pipes freezing in the winter, flooding unexpectedly during the rainy seasons; the reality is that there are too many things outside of your control. That is why you need to protect your business. SERVPRO® wants to help keep your company safe and productive even during a disaster. Here are some of our helpful tips to ensure that you are prepared.

Preparation and Prevention

The first step is to review the current insurance coverage with your provider to make sur you can financially handle potential disasters like floods or fires. It is good to keep a compiled list of your equipment and inventory, along with where they are located, to know what could potentially be lost or damaged ahead of time.

Prevention is key when owning any type of property, but especially for a business. You will need to have properly functioning extinguishers, smoke/carbon alarms, and a sprinkler system. It would also be good to have your HVAC system regularly maintained to avoid potential additional damage. If you need some assistance creating and implementing a plan, SERVPRO® can help you.

SERVPRO® of Augusta North is ready, equipped, and available 24/7. In the event of any disaster, there is no one faster. If your business needs emergency services, call our office at 706-750-0200, we are “Here to help.®”

Icemaker Leak in Your Augusta Home? SERVPRO Can Help!

6/28/2023 (Permalink)

Everyone has a refrigerator, and today most of them are equipped with ice makers. We have grown accustomed to the conveniences of the clean and fresh ice cubes that are available on command. There are times, however, these modern machines can cause extensive water damage to a home. Icemakers can develop leaks that both reduces its efficiency and causes damage to areas around the fridge. Additionally, if the water damage is left unmitigated, it could cause secondary damage to the home, such as potential microbial growth. Before that happens, here are some identifiers to look for when trying you are trying to determine if your ice maker is leaking.

What to Look For

If you are suspicious that your ice maker is leaking, the first step you should check for pooling water around the base of the refrigerator or for dampness in a nearby rug, this could indicate a leaky water line. A small amount of water would mean that it is a recent loss and the leak recently occurred. The longer the leak has been present, the more damage to the surrounding area would be. For example, there would be damage along the baseboards, cracked paint, mold, mildew, or swelling of floorboards.

How SERVPRO® Can Help

When a suspected ice maker leak call comes in, our first step is to determine how long the loss has been occurring. A lot of the time, these losses are what we call, “slow leaks” which means that it may have been happening for a longer period. SERVPRO® will then preform moisture check to confirm that the area does need to be mitigated. Drying equipment will be placed to stabilize the environment and if demo is needed, our trained technicians will take the utmost care when removing damaged materials.

Icemaker leaks can be a headache to deal with but SERVPRO® of North Augusta is “Here to help. ®” Give us a call at 706-750-0200 for more information and to schedule a moisture inspection today. We can help get your home back into working order.

Facts About Fires in Georgia

6/22/2023 (Permalink)

Fire is among the most important element humanity has harnessed. It has changed the course of human technology and is a tool that has helped us with numerous aspects of our daily lives. In that same token, fire can also be extremely dangerous and has caused an astonishing amount of damage all across the world.

According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System (NFIRS), in May of 2021 Georgia has reported an estimate of 368,500 residential building fires and $8.1 billion in property damage. Furthermore, 51% of residential fires indicated that the primary cause of the loss was due to cooking. There also appears to be an uptick of fire losses in the cooler months, peaking in January during the hours of 5 to 8pm.

Identifying the Right Fire Restoration Company for You

There are multiple, detailed steps to mitigating and restoring a fire-damaged home, SERVPRO® of Augusta North can assist with the following:

• Board up
• Dry out
• Deodorization and emergency pre-cleaning
• Content pack out & inventory
• Dry cleaning and garment restoration
• Contents cleaning and restoration
• Structure cleaning

Doing the cleanup and deodorization may seem doable, but it can quickly become physically and emotionally overwhelming. It is vital that an experienced fire mitigation and restoration company that you can rely on, like SERVPRO® is hired.

SERVPRO of Augusta North has trained technicians that work on fires regularly and utilize specialized deodorizing techniques. If you need fire or smoke restoration, give us a call at 706-750-0200, we are available 24/7/365 to help!

3AM Water Emergency Averted in Broad Street Home

12/13/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Augusta is Here to Help ® – Day and Night

Water emergencies happen when we least expect them, and typically when we are most inconvenienced by them. That was the case for a local family living in an old, restored home on Broad Street in downtown Augusta, GA. In the middle of the night their water heater burst, sending gallons of water spewing into their home rapidly and without warning. It brought them great relief to be able to have their local SERVPRO’s experienced mitigation team come on site quickly and begin helping them to avert their catastrophe.

What Is SERVPRO’s Process of Handling a Late-Night Water Crisis?

SERVPRO of Augusta teams are available and on-call 24/7/365. Our afterhours customer care team answer the call and gather as much information as possible, to educate the crew chiefs on the situation so they are prepared when they arrive on-site.  SERVPRO has a 1-4-8 policy, meaning that we are guaranteed to be at your property with the clean-up process begun within an eight-hour window. Once the clean-up process is completed, our restoration crew will come out to the property and gather the scope of work that needs to be completed. This entails restoring flooring, drywall and any other affected materials.

SERVPRO is a One Stop Shop! We can provide the help that you need from the beginning of a disaster all the way to the end.

Got A Water Damage Emergency? Give SERVPRO of Augusta a call today at 706-750-0200 to schedule a consultation with our team!

Is Your AC Leaking into Your Augusta Business? SERVPRO® Can Help!

6/30/2022 (Permalink)

Welcome to Summer!

This time of year, the heat is almost impossible to beat, especially once noon hits. As the temperature climbs outside, people on the inside turn the thermostat down. For a while, the AC circulates throughout the building, keeping everyone at a comfortable temperature. That is, until you start noticing that the AC isn’t working as well and there is water or moisture leaking down from the ceiling. If your commercial business has a unit on the inside, it runs the risk of damaging the flooring and furnishings in its wake.  As soon as you notice the water coming from your AC unit, call your HVAC company for repairs. SERVPRO® of Augusta North can take care of the water loss!

How SERVPRO® Will Help

The first step we will take would be assessing the damage. Based on our inspection, after we dry up the water, we will ensure that the area is dry by performing necessary demolition and placing our professional grade equipment. The equipment we will likely use would be air movers and dehumidifiers. However, if the area is particularly saturated, we may utilize specialty equipment such as injecta-drys. Our main goal, with any type of water loss, is to prevent further and more extensive damage from occurring, such as mold growth. Additionally, we want you and your employees to be able to resume business as usual as soon as possible.

If you are currently experiencing water damage, SERVPRO® of Augusta North can help! Contact our office team at 706-750-0200 to schedule our professional technicians to come out and fix the water damage, we are “Here to help. ®”

New vs. Old Water Damage

6/27/2022 (Permalink)

The Many Sources of Water Damage

The most frequent form of property damage is caused by water, and there are numerous ways it can occur. Nature, for one, can be the culprit through sudden storms and flooding. A pipe burst is another common offender, especially those sneaky slow leaks. The worst and most unmistakable type of water loss would be the sewage backups. If you are not sure when the water loss occurred, here are some tips to determine whether it’s new or old.

Firm vs. Soft Materials

If one day you discover some extra water in an area it shouldn’t be, or suspect a leaking pipe, the first thing you can do to determine the age of the loss is to feel the affected area – but only if it is safe. When you touch the potentially affected area and the impacted material is firm, the would be considered a more recent loss. However, if the affected material has more soft, mushy spots it is an indication that the water has been present for a longer period.

Staining

Drywall is often affected in water loss, and rings that may develop as a side effect to the water damage. Darker rings can signify that the damage is more recent while older, periodic water damage will have multiple different colored rings around it, like rings on a tree trunk. The different shades of the rings show that the area has been soaked, dried, and repeated multiple times. These can also be called “mit lines” in our line of work.

Mildew and Microbial Growth

Water, especially stagnant water, attracts and produces perfect conditions for mold spores to grow and form colonies. If there is a moisture, microbial growth is never far behind, usually occurring 24 to 48 hours after the initial water loss. Therefore, you spot what you think could be some growth, the loss may be older and would need immediate attention.

If you discover water damage in your home, regardless of if it’s old or new, SERVPRO® of North Augusta can help with our professionally trained technicians. Give our office team a call to schedule services right away at 706-750-0200.

A Song of (Dry) Ice and Fire

6/23/2022 (Permalink)

Did you know that one of the best ways to restore properties that have been affected by fire damage is dry ice blasting? It is ideal for the restoration of wood, concrete, brick, and building materials because it dries instantly, is fast, and leave little to no residue behind. Additionally, dry ice is effective in removing smoke and even mildew smells from fire damage without causing further deterioration of surface material.

Why Dry Ice Blasting?

Dry ice blasting is precise in tight spaces with the added benefit of not damaging to the affected services. It takes three to five times longer for traditional fire restoration methods to clean an area than the dry ice blasting technique. Dry ice blasting utilizes CO2, which converts to high pressured gas and is then blasted against surfaces, simultaneously eliminating odors as well.

Additional Benefits of Dry Ice Blasting

• Cleans and deodorizes concrete, wood, brick, and more.
• Avoids the typical abrasive blasting and cleans area without erosion and etching.
• There will not be water damage.
• It is more environmentally safe—no need for using caustics and acids when cleaning.
• It is safe for electrical components.
• Dry ice blasting is faster than other methods of restoration.

Have you experienced fire or smoke damage? Contact SERVPRO® of North Augusta at 706-750-0200 to schedule an inspection with our trained technicians.