SERVPRO of Faifield Move Outs

When a customer’s home or business requires extensive, specialized cleaning, SERVPRO of Fairfield Professionals can conduct an organized, efficient move-out.

By itemizing, recording and relocating your contents to a secure location, the move-out will provide several benefits, including:

• A quicker remodeling process.
• Protecting items from potential damage.
• Provide extensive restoration to contents.
• Protecting contents from further on-site damage.

The move-out process usually consists of six steps:

1. Video the job site.
2. Perform an initial scope & job estimate.
3. Pack, tag, inventory, and additional sorting of clean and claim items.
4. Move to a warehouse, clean and deodorize, and repack.
5. Claim list suggestions from the customer.
6. Move items back to the customer.

When restoration is completed, SERVPRO of Fairfield will work with you to coordinate the move-in according to your needs. The services offered upon move-in may depend on your insurance coverage.

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Making Waterless Work

The 30-plus buildings on the three campuses of the University of South Maine contain about 2 million square feet. In the view of many maintenance and engineering managers, such buildings also contain a large number of cost-saving opportunities - urinals. Increasingly, these building components represent a chance for managers to maximize investments in facility investments while paying attention to the bottom line.

But managers and their organizations must specify products and equipment that also deliver both efficiency and long performance life. 

"We're trying to build 100-year buildings, but we only have so much money," says John Rasmussen, building construction engineer with the university's facilities management department. Over the last four years, the university has specified, installed and maintained a growing number of waterless urinals in its facilities in an effort to address evolving issues related to costs and environmental friendliness.

Faced with similar challenges, institutional and commercial organizations nationwide have explored the benefits and drawbacks of waterless urinals. The university's experiences offer insights into the decision process, as well as assessing the post-installation performance.

 

Challenges and a Solution

 The driving forces behind the university's investigation of waterless urinals mirror those that have prompted interest among other facilities - primarily, concerns over the rising costs of water and sewer utilities, and second, the awareness of all facilities' impact on the environment.

Once restricted largely to the Western United States, concerns over heavier demand on clean water sources now have reached all parts of the country. Manufacturers of plumbing systems have responded by introducing new product options that use less or no water.

Before 1993, the standard flush rate was 3 gallons per flush (gpf). After that date, however, any urinal manufactured for use in the United States must use 1 gallon per flush or less.

Because of this change, any urinals more than 10 years old offer managers the opportunity to generate substantial savings in water, sewer, installation and maintenance costs by replacing them with waterless units.

These units require no water to flush and no flush valves or other control hardware to operate. Instead, they use replaceable cartridges that contain a liquid sealant. The difference in specific gravity between the trap solution and urine create a liquid seal. The lighter specific gravity of the seal enables liquid to float to the top of the urine while sealing the discharge line and preventing sewer odors from backing up into the restroom.  read more

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Protect Your Home and Finances from Spring Storms

By Kimberly Lankford

Find out which damages are covered under your homeowners insurance policy -- and how to fill the gaps.

My area had a lot of big storms last spring, and I’m hoping to be more prepared this year. What should I do to protect my home from storm damage, and are these damages covered under homeowners insurance?

Spring rains and the hurricane season, which officially starts on June 1, increase the chances for expensive home damage from rain, flooding, sewer back-ups and fallen trees. But many of these damages aren’t automatically covered under your homeowners insurance. Here are several steps to take to protect your home and your finances from storm losses.

Buy a rider to cover sewer backup. ”Water backup through sewers and drains from rain is an underappreciated threat,” says Bob Welther, assistant vice-president of loss prevention for ACE Insurance, a global property and casualty insurance company. Heavy rains can overburden the storm water system, causing water or sewage to back up into your house. Not only is the backup unpleasant but it also can be very expensive if it ruins your finished basement or storage space. Most homeowners insurance policies exclude coverage for sewage backup, but you can often add $10,000 to $20,000 in coverage for as little as $50 per year; the coverage pays out if a sewer line backs up or your sump pump stops working. Contact your homeowners insurance company to check on coverage and add a sewage-backup rider. You might also consider getting a battery-powered back-up sump pump, which can provide an extra layer of protection if your electricity goes out or your sump pump ends up with more water than it can handle. See the Insurance Information Institute’s Insure Against the Risk of Sewer Backup fact sheet for more information.

Add flood insurance. Homeowners insurance covers wind-driven rain -- generally rain that comes into your house from the roof, windows, doors or holes in the walls -- but not flooding, which is water that comes into your home from the bottom up. You can buy that coverage through the National Flood Insurance Program (and some mortgage companies require it). The maximum $250,000 of coverage costs $365 per year in a low-risk area ($405 if you have a basement) and can run $2,500 or more per year in a high-risk area. For price quotes and an assessment of flood risk for your address, see the NFIP’s FloodSmart.gov. There’s a 30-day waiting period before the coverage takes effect, so buy the insurance before May 1 to ensure you have coverage in time for the start of hurricane season.

Storm-proof your house, save on premiums. Most homeowners insurance companies offer discounts if you take measures to protect your home from storm damage. Chubb Insurance, for instance, gives a discount of up to 25% off its homeowners insurance coverage if you add storm-proof shutters. Install an automatic back-up generator, which can help power a sump pump, and the company gives a discount of up to 5%. Welther also recommends getting a lightening rod with surge protection to help prevent damage during an electrical storm. That may also get you a discount.

Do home maintenance. Before storm season, clean gutters and ground-level drains, and be sure the ground is graded and the landscaping designed so the water flows away from the foundation, not toward it. Also, trim trees and remove dead branches, which can cause expensive damage during storms. Homeowners insurance usually limits coverage for tree damage to $500 or $1,000 -- far less than the cost of hauling away a tree or a large limb. . For more information, see When Your Tree Falls in Your Neighbor’s Yard. Finally, move electronics, papers and other valuable items so they are off the floor in your basement.

Read more at http://www.kiplinger.com/article/insurance/T028-C001-S001-protect-your-home-and-finances-from-spring-storms.html#Tra34ct0Rc1whcj4.99 

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Tips for Success: How Good Agents Become Great

As an insurance agent, you are responsible for helping individuals, families and businesses find appropriate protection for their health, property—even their lives.

Accordingly, a good insurance agent will have a firm grasp on the financial products consumers are interested in, the technology to stay relevant and the customer service to build a reputable name.

Product Knowledge and Financial Services

Along with the basic insurance products, an increasing number of insurance agents are offering comprehensive financial services—creating a one-stop-shop where clients can satisfy their needs for insurance and financial planning.??

As an agent, you can also continue your education by keeping up with changes in tax and insurance law that may affect your clients, as well as attending conferences and seminars sponsored by insurance organizations.

The bottom line: A good insurance agent is also a good student.

Technological Advancement

The Internet has greatly affected the insurance world, giving agents a new forum in which to compete with opponents and attract new clients.

In recent years, pay-per-click (PPC) advertising—a process that marries ad text with search results—has been particularly effective for insurance agents. With a PPC campaign, you can sponsor search terms such as "affordable insurance" which, for a fee, appear next to the search results whenever that keyword is searched.

Thousands of agents have also turned to InsureMe to receive hot, timely leads sent directly to their email or fax machine—allowing agents to connect with consumers who are serious about finding insurance.

The bottom line: Agents who incorporate new technology into their business practices will remain competitive.

Competitive Customer Service

While more and more consumers are going to the Internet to shop for insurance, the majority of them still prefer to purchase a policy by sitting down with an agent rather than online—reinforcing the importance of superior customer service. The best agents are flexible, enthusiastic, and reliable—inspiring client confidence through effective communication.

To help address the needs of their clients, many insurance agents are hiring customer service representatives to handle client questions, make changes to policies and process claims—allowing the agent to work on finding new clients and preserving relationships with old clients.

The bottom line: Good customer service will build a satisfied clientele and lead to referrals.

Better Your Business Today.

With the rising competition in the insurance industry, it's important to learn how the top insurance agents stay on top. These tips, coupled with InsureMe's state-of-the-art referral service, will help you achieve the success you've always dreamed of!

This information was provided by InsureMe, the leader in online insurance leads for the insurance industry. Since 1993, InsureMe has helped thousands of insurance agents succeed in the insurance business by providing top quality leads that are both detailed and affordable. For more information on InsureMe leads, please visit our agent Web site at agent.insureme.com.

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HOW FACEBOOK'S NEW GRAPH SEARCH WILL CHANGE THE WAY RESIDENTS FIND APARTMENTS

This past Tuesday, Facebook announced Graph Search, its attempt at creating a more robust, natural language social search engine to help all of us "find people, places, and things and explore Facebook in a whole new way."

What does Facebook Graph Search mean for property management companies and all those Facebook pages you've set up for apartment communities? What exactly can people search for?

I, for one, believe Facebook just created a new way future residents will search for apartments.

Here's an example: Let's say that I'm thinking of moving to Boston and I happen to have many Facebook friends who are from there or live there. Rather than start my apartment search on Google or an ILS, I use the Facebook Graph Search, which allows me to use natural language search terminology like the following:

"Apartments in Boston that my friends have liked" or "Apartments in Boston near my friends."

You can't type that in Google and expect good results. Only in Facebook can you do this. So if your Boston-based apartment communities do not have their Facebook pages optimized for the new Graph Search, they may not be included in the search results.

Welcome to the Facebook way of searching for apartments.

To help you make sure that you don't miss out on this wave of social searching, here are five steps you can take today to optimize your apartment community Facebook pages for the new Graph Search. 

go to five steps

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Hiring a Mold Remediation Service for Your Business

It can build up in any area where there is moisture. You may not believe it's a problem, but it can irritate allergies, cause respiratory problems and even cause asthma. Prolonged exposure to it will only make these symptoms even worse. Since you spend so much time in the workplace, having it in your workplace can seriously affect you. It is important to detect it early on to ensure that you can remedy the situation before it gets out of hand.

Mold Testing

There are many instances when you can tell if your business has it just by looking. You have probably seen it in some form on old food or trees. It can be green, blue, gray, black, pink and other colors, but the general look and texture is usually the same. However, it can also be in many places where you can't see it. It can get into your walls, flooring, insulation, attic and more. There is a bigger chance it is growing in hidden places if you've recently suffered flooding or other water damage. Contact a professional to perform a thorough inspection of your business.

Handling It on Your Own

Some instances of it can be handled without hiring a professional to remove it. These instances might include mold resulting from a humidifier, mold on windowsills, mold on shower curtains and more. Mild occurrences of mold can be handled with a vigorous scrubbing with diluted bleach or a commercial mold removal product. However, if your mold problem seems severe or if it keeps returning, you should hire a professional to remove the mold for you.

Hiring a Professional Mold Remediation Service to Remove Mold

Hiring a professional for the mold problems in your business can have many benefits. Professionals can pinpoint every area being affected by the mold. A small patch of mold on the wall could indicate that there is a major mold problem inside of the wall. Your floors could be suffering from it without any outward signs of it. Professionals in the field of it remediation know exactly where to look for mold to ensure that every speck of mold is gone from the house after remediation.

A professional will also know how to take care of the mold problem without the mold returning. Bleach and cleaners may wipe away it and seemingly make that spot clean, but it may not prevent mold from returning. Even a few mold spores can create a new patch of mold in a short amount of time. Professionals know how to take care of mold problems without the mold returning. If a mold problem is very severe, you may need to replace carpeting, flooring, some parts of your walls and more. However, many problems can be remedied with special chemicals and cleaners.

It can be a serious health risk to anyone around it. Even breathing in a few spores can cause negative effects to your health. If you believe your business has a mold problem, contact a professional mold remediation company.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7438216

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Water Damage Requires Fast Action

In the unfortunate event, you find yourself with water damage from a flood or broken pipe in your home, quick action is required to prevent further damage to your home and property. When your home is damaged by water it is important to get clean up and restoration assistance from professionals. The professionals will decrease the possibly of contamination, including any dangerous bacteria, mold, or fungus, that could result in serious health issues or permanent property damage. Mold can form extremely fast and can be difficult and costly to remove. There are several steps you can take just prior to contacting a professional. There are several steps a professional clean up and restoration company will take to assure your home is restored.

First you should evaluate the water damage. You should determine the origin and cause of the water damage. Turn off the water from the main water supply. During a flood you can't turn the water off, however water from a natural flood typically contains clean water.

Next you should turn the electricity off, to prevent further damage or injury.

Then stop the water. Ventilate the house, use fans or open windows. Get the water out of the house. Use a wet vacuum or mop to start the process while you are calling the professionals.

Once the professionals arrive they will evaluate the damage with water sensing equipment. They will use probes and other infrared equipment to determine the extent of the damage, and begin the drying out process.

The drying out process may include several steps in addition to the steps you have already taken. The professionals may use air movers. Air movers are huge industrial fans that circulate the air. They may use dehumidifiers and air scrubbers. Large floor dryers are often used as well. A subfloor drying system may be used to dry the sub flooring, to decrease possibility of mold. Carpet is usually pulled up and completely dried, along with the carpet padding. The vinyl may need to be pulled up to dry underneath, between it and the subfloor. The baseboard may need to be removed, and large holes may be drilled into the sheet rock to aid in drying and eliminate the possibly of mold. Large air circulating fans are used to aid in drying out the sheet rock. It may take several days to dry out the house, usually 2 to 3 days. You may be required to stay in a different location due to the heat, air and noise of machines used to complete the process. Keep in mind that some things can be damaged during this process, for example if you have candles anywhere in your home you should remove them, as they will melt form the heat used to dry out the house.

The professionals will reevaluate the house to determine if it is dry. They will again use probes and other infrared equipment to reevaluate the house. During this process and procedure personal property may need to be moved, restoration companies will charged an hourly rate to accomplish this task. The professional company will also evaluate whether or not items require treatment including sterilization, sanitization, deodorization or salvage work (throwing out).

It is extremely traumatizing to have your home flooded. Using a good clean-up and restoration company can make the event less traumatic. It is very reassuring to know that your home is fully restored, with no possibility of additional damage or health concerns.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7481434

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Great Food, Excellent Show, Valentine's Day Event, Benifitting Others. Awesome Combination

 

Benefiting Solano County Homeless and At-Risk Families

Mission SOLANO

P.O. Box 8

Fairfield, California 94533

 

Click here to Purchase Tickets Online

 

(707) 673-5102

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How to Tell If Residential Mold Remediation Services Are Necessary in Your Home

It's important that homeowners everywhere - and particularly in parts of the country that are humid much of the year - realize that it's not only the mold you can see that can hurt you. In fact, any certified residential mold remediation technician will tell you that it's highly possible that your home contains plenty of mold that you don't even know about.

Mold is a fungus, a living organism, and it replicates as very small spores that humans can't see - until a large amount exists, and by that time, allergic symptoms may have already developed in individuals living around it and who have sensitivities to mold. In many cases, a dangerous mold contamination happens in places homeowners rarely spend much time in or examine such as basements and attics.

If a professional mold inspection is performed and a moderate or severe contamination is discovered, it's much better to hire individuals trained in residential mold remediation that to attempt to handle the situation yourself. Mold on a shower curtain is one thing; sweeping contamination of an attic and central ventilation systems is quite another.

Mold removal involves several steps, all taken with the objective of preserving the safety of the technicians and those living within the home. Therefore, the first step is sealing off the area that will be worked in and clothing the technicians with protective gear, which often include special suits that cover every inch of the body.

Why is this step important? Because mold easily can become airborne and get on the skin or be inhaled, and these types of contacts have been shown to cause in some people a host of upper respiratory symptoms and conditions as well as other, much more serious illnesses.

Most residential mold remediation companies will start the work by filtering the air inside the workspace with air scrubbers containing HEPA-equipped filters. High powered and thorough, some air scrubber models can filter 500 cubic feet worth of air per minute. Technicians will also use HEPA vacuums to pick up the smallest mold spores that are existing and growing on surfaces.

Often foggers are necessary to reach places where mold is known to exist but can't be reached by standard tools. In accessible areas, residential mold remediation workers use wire brushes, sandpaper, electric sanders and various other implements to remove mold from surfaces.

In summary, we've looked here at how a mold inspection performed by professionals can detect mold in a home that those who live there don't know about. When a significant amount of mold is discovered, residential mold remediation can be performed, safeguarding the health of all who live within the home.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7472631

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Why You Need Professional Carpet Cleaning

Whether you are considering residential or commercial carpet cleaning, professional services are always an excellent option. While the do-it-yourself expert will talk about how much money you can save by renting a cleaner and doing it on your own, professionals will do the job right. Indeed, there are many great reasons why you need professional carpet cleaning including access to better equipment and enhanced knowledge of cleaning techniques.

Indeed, professional carpet cleaners must maintain the very best cleaning equipment in order to remain competitive in their field. Not only do they often have state-of-the-art carpet cleaners, but professionals are very careful to ensure that their equipment is in good working order. This means they will often do a much better cleaning job than you can by renting or buying a carpet cleaner of your own. In fact, equipment you see advertised at your local supermarket or hardware store likely cannot compare with the cleaning power of industrial carpet cleaners. As you can see, even just based on equipment alone, professionals will do a much better job.

Another reason you should seek professional carpet cleaning is knowledge of carpets. There are many different carpet types, and each of them may have special cleaning requirements. A professional carpet cleaner will not only know more about your carpet, but s/he will also know the best way to clean it. In addition, their enhanced carpet knowledge will ensure that your floors are not damaged or destroyed during the cleaning process. Professionals will use the right type of cleaner and equipment for your carpet. For optimum cleaning, professional services will consider your type of carpet and the amount of traffic in the area to make sure that your rug or carpet is cleaned thoroughly and all dirt and allergens are removed.

Finally, many do-it-yourself cleaners will not consider the type of cleaning solution they use. In fact, if you've ever cleaned your own carpets, you probably can relate to heading down to the supermarket and buying whichever carpet cleaner they have on the shelf. If there are multiple options, you may not know which one is most suited to your carpet or the cleaning job at hand. Moreover, some commercially available carpet cleaners may not be up to the task, especially if you have stubborn carpet stains. Professional cleaners can actually help improve air quality in your home by ensuring that your carpets are completely cleaned. This means they often utilize special detergents or spot removers that not only remove dirt, mold, and bacteria, but leave your carpet looking like new.

Indeed, hiring professional carpet cleaners can be costly, but it could actually save you a great deal of time and effort. Professionally cleaned carpets need to be cleaned less often as they are cleaned more meticulously using the correct equipment and cleaners.


Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7460195

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