Month: February 2022

When you find water damage in your home, you need the right people to help restore your home to pre-loss conditions. There are a lot of water restoration companies out there, so how do you know which is the right one for you? When you hire a restoration company, you’re inviting strangers into your home. You want to make sure they’re the best people for the job. Feeling safe and knowing that the company you hired will do the job properly is the most important aspect of any restoration job.

Trust Yourself

You know what’s right for you, your family, and your home. Nearly every good restoration company will come out to do an inspection of the damages and provide you with a quote. This is an excellent time to get to know the company and the technicians working on your home. Most of the time, the technician who will be performing the job will be the one doing the inspection. If not, you can ask the inspector to provide you with the contact information for the technician so you can meet them.

During the inspection or first meeting, trust yourself to know whether or not this is a good fit. Not only are you keeping an eye out for how the company and technician work professionally, but how they are personally, too. You’re welcoming a stranger into your home, so make sure you feel comfortable with them being there. If you like a company, but don’t feel comfortable with the technician you met, ask their offices if there is another technician you can work with instead.

Check Reviews

Other people’s experiences can often provide a great source of intel on a company. Before hiring a company, check their online reviews, such as their Google reviews or social media pages. Many reviewers of water restoration companies provide their own before and after photos so you can get a good look at the kind of work being done. They’ll also likely provide details on how their overall experience was with certain technicians.

Ask for Recommendations

Word of mouth is still a powerful marketing tool. Whenever someone finds a company they like, they’re usually more than happy to share the information with friends and family. After all, we want our loved ones to experience the same quality work we do. If you’re looking for a company to hire, start by asking your friends, family, and neighbors if there’s anyone they would – or wouldn’t – recommend.

Looking through all the water restoration companies available can feel overwhelming at times. And the longer it takes to pick one, the more damage the water can cause to your home. If you need a quality water restoration company that you can trust and feel comfortable with, call Insight Restoration at (208) 427-2534. Our phone lines are open 24/7, and we never leave a message unanswered. Let our certified water damage restoration specialists take care of your home.

Water damage is a serious issue that most homes will face at least once. Whether a flood, a leaky faucet, or simple human error causes it, water damage has the capacity to cause severe damage and even health issues. However, not all water damage is the same. The type of water damage your home sustained can reveal a lot about the source of the water, the concerns it causes, and how a restoration company will handle the water cleanup. Here are the three main types of water damage and what to expect from each kind.

Whitewater Damage

Whitewater damage is the best-case scenario. Although any kind of water damage is not good, whitewater damage carries the least amount of threat and is typically the easiest to clean up. Whitewater damage is usually clear and clean, and you can generally handle it without needing any special equipment. Whitewater damage is often caused by a leak, a burst pipe, or a faucet that was left running. Although it doesn’t carry the same hazards as other kinds of water damage, whitewater can still damage your home’s structural integrity, cause electrical issues, and create an environment for mold to grow.

Graywater Damage

Graywater damage can either be as harmless as whitewater damage or as hazardous as blackwater damage. This water damage is caused by leaks, bursts, or breaks in toilets and sewage systems. Even if the water is clear, it’s still graywater damage. You should exercise caution when cleaning up the area. If there is visible waste, specialty equipment and training may be required to safely remedy the problem. Graywater can cause the same kinds of damage as whitewater, with the added hazards of health problems caused by waste.

Blackwater Damage

Blackwater damage is the most serious type of damage. We strongly caution homeowners against trying to clean it up on their own. This kind of water damage is often caused by heavy storms and floods that bring more than just water into your home. Most often found in basements, blackwater is murky and visually contaminated. It carries a host of germs and bacteria from the outside world. If not handled safely, blackwater can cause severe health concerns and even further damage to the home’s structural integrity. Always call a professional water cleanup team if you discover blackwater in your home.

If you discover water damage in your home, call Insight Restoration to clean it up for you. Our phone lines are open 24/7 at (208) 427-2534, and we never leave a voicemail unanswered. Our team of trained and certified water cleanup experts is standing by, ready to respond to any emergency water damage your home may have. We can handle all the different types of water damage safely and effectively. We will get your home back to pre-loss conditions as soon as possible.

When things don’t work properly in your home, it’s easy to feel frustrated and stressed. Leaky pipes are a common household concern that are often discovered. At the same time, leaky pipes can go undiscovered long enough for them to cause serious damage. When you do discover a leaky pipe in your home, you’ll likely need a pipe restoration company to help get your home back to perfect condition. If left untreated, or treated poorly, the damages sustained from a leaky pipe could be severe.

How to Detect a Leaky Pipe

Piping in your house runs everywhere, not just in places that are easily visible. For exposed pipes, such as those under sinks, you’ll easily be able to notice a leak by seeing the water dripping. However, if the leak is in a pipe that’s hidden behind a wall, it can be harder to notice right away.

Telltale signs of a leaky pipe behind a wall include:

–  Visible discoloration on walls

–  Bubbling of wallpaper

–  Noticeable dripping sound

–  Increased water bill without an increased use in water

If you notice any of these or see a leak in a visible pipe, you’ll need to act fast to get it repaired.

Dangers of a Leaky Pipe

Without quick action, a leaky pipe could lead to hazardous dangers in your home. Water can seriously damage your house’s structural integrity, especially if you have wooden supports near the source of the leak. Not only will the water naturally weaken the wood, but it can also attract a host of pests and insects that will eat away at the wood, further weakening the structure.

Pests and insects aren’t the only things that a watery environment can attract. Mold thrives in a moist environment and can easily grow and spread past the leaky pipe. Mold poses serious health threats to your family, even if it’s not visible. Mold spores can travel in the air and cause allergic reactions and infections.

Water can also pose a threat to your home’s electrical wiring. Pipes and wires both run behind your walls. If your pipe is leaky, the water could easily drip down onto the wires. If this happens, you run the risk of electrical shock or damage any time you use an electrical appliance. Acting fast when you discover a leaky pipe is the only way to ensure that your family and home are safe and structurally sound.

Discovering a leaky pipe in your home is never easy, but acting fast can be the difference between a quick fix with minimal damages and a larger restoration project. With a qualified pipe restoration company, you can restore your home and protect your family’s health. Insight Restoration has a team of trained and certified pipe restoration specialists that can fix your leaky pipe and any damages it may have caused. Our phone lines are open 24/7 at (208) 427-2825.

Having a clean home is vital to your family’s health. However, a house that looks clean isn’t always totally clean. The truth is, cleaning your carpets with a vacuum or even a home steam cleaner doesn’t give it the deep clean it needs. Even if your carpets look clean to you, they could be hiding hazardous germs and allergens that are putting your family’s health at risk. To really get your carpets clean, you need a professional carpet cleaning. 

Spots and Stains

When you spill food or drinks on your carpet, you’re creating more of a problem than what’s simply visible. Cleaning up a spot still leaves behind a deep-seated stain, even if everything seems to be cleaned up quickly. When a spill occurs, the mess soaks into the carpet, staining several layers at once and even possibly reaching the flooring beneath your carpets. When you vacuum or spot clean your carpet, you’re only cleaning the first few layers. Only a professional carpet cleaning can remove the deep stains and leave your carpet truly clean and healthy. 

Mold

When spills and stains occur, it’s likely that moisture has made its way down to the flooring beneath your carpets. The hardwood or wooden supports underneath then become a hotbed for mold activity. Mold thrives in moist places and can survive in any kind of temperature. So even though you’ve cleaned the spill from the top layer, if it had the time to reach the bottom layer of your carpet, it can attract and spread mold. 

Once mold starts to develop under your carpet, it’s a hassle to get rid of it. Often the removal process includes removing portions of the carpet and then installing new. In some cases, the carpet may need to be fully replaced. The faster you have a professional carpet cleaning in your home, the less time and money you’ll have to spend in the future on repairs and restoration.

Other Hazards

Other things can become trapped in your carpet without you knowing. Dust and allergens can become stuck in carpet fibers, especially if you have thicker fiber carpets. When particles become trapped in your carpet, a vacuum alone can’t remove them. Only the heat and power of a professional steam cleaning can loosen the dirt and remove the hazards from your home.

Your carpets can look clean but hide hazards under the surface. Home cleanings only clean the first few layers of a carpet. It takes a professional carpet cleaning to reach all layers of the carpet and truly clean them. Insight Restoration can provide the peace of mind your family needs of having a clean and healthy home. You can call us 24/7 at (208) 427-2962 to schedule your carpet cleaning consultation today. No matter the day of the week or time of the day, we’re standing by to help clean your home.