CPR Nashville Blog

After the Flooding

Was your home recently flooded? We offer extensive cleaning and restoration services to help you make your home as good as new.

If your home has suffered water damage from a flood, whether it’s a typical flood caused by heavy rain or something else like burst pipes or an overflowing dishwasher or washing machine, the cleanup process can be extensive. The Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) sets standards for restoration companies such as Choice Property Restoration to follow as well as provides helpful tips to homeowners who have suffered this tragedy.

We at Choice Property Restoration would like to share these tips as well as tell you some of the flood cleanup and restoration services we provide:

● use caution when entering your home

The most important thing to do if you have standing water in your home is to turn off all electrical power.

● protect yourself

Wear a vapor respirator, rubber gloves, eye protection, and protective clothing. Open windows in the affected areas for ventilation; you can even place a fan in a window to help ventilation. Work towards the fan while you are cleaning to keep from cross contamination.

● know what to throw away

Anything porous that absorbs any of the flood-contaminated water should be thrown away. What should be thrown away includes drywall, carpets and pads, mattresses, pillows, box springs, and particle board. This prevents mold growth. Wet clothing and many household fabrics may be salvageable, as long as you soak them in a washing machine for 10 minutes in detergent and hot water.

● open pockets of saturation

Part of the drying out process Choice Property Restoration can assist you with, the water line should be located and measured 15-20 inches above, and everything below that should be discarded. Base molding should be removed, along with portions of damaged walls and wet insulation. All flooring should be removed to get to the pockets of saturation underneath to clean, sanitize, and dry.

● clean aggressively

Another step we at Choice Property Restoration can do for you as a pressure washer is needed to thoroughly clean all salvageable materials in the house. After everything is cleaned, a strong disinfectant is liberally applied. With these sorts of chemicals being used, we recommend strongly you call a professional like the technicians at Choice Property Restoration.

● prevent mold growth

Mold only takes a few days to appear, so this step is very important. Mold grows quickly in a damp environment with temperatures between 68 and 86 degrees. Keep air flowing, and try to maintain moderate temperatures.

● dry out before rebuilding

You must wait until all moisture content falls below 16 percent before rebuilding, and this is where Choice Property Restoration comes in to use the latest technology and equipment to properly dry out your home, no matter the size of the area of the water damage. We use everything from dehumidifiers to fans to desiccants to wall injection systems to completely dry out areas that have been flooded by water.

If you have suffered a flood or any sort of appliance malfunction that has caused standing water in your home, do not hesitate to contact Choice Property Restoration as soon as possible to have our technicians come out to fix the problem quickly.

Help, My House Stinks!

Can’t breathe in your own home? If your home stinks (literally), find out what’s causing it and address the problem ASAP.

Ideally, our homes are a source of comfort — our place to escape from the world. But it’s hard to feel comforted when a persistent, foul odor is wafting through your hallways.

The worst part about bad odors in your home — as if the stink itself wasn’t bad enough — is that a foul odor generally isn’t the problem itself, but a symptom of your actual problem. Odors might be an indication of a leak, or of subsequent mold growth, and those need attention before you can do anything to remove bad smells.

If mold is part of the problem, it can also be dangerous to fail to treat the problem properly — mold spores have been shown to contribute to a variety of health problems, particularly with people who suffer from respiratory illnesses like asthma.

Choice Property Restoration specializes in treating home odors and the problems that cause those smelly symptoms — so if you’re dealing with a smelly home, we can help.

If you smell a musty, old basement-like odor

A dank and musty odor — what we all imagine when we think of an old cellar — is generally alerting us to water damage, and potentially mold.

First, we need to find the source of any moisture intrusion — and that isn’t always obvious. At Choice Property Restoration, we use a variety of high-tech leak detection tools, like moisture meters and thermal imaging cameras, that allow us to locate even the best-hidden leaks.

Once we locate moisture problems, we can stop leaks, and clean, dry and restore materials, from carpets to walls. If mold has developed, our technicians are trained to properly mitigate mold problems safely and thoroughly.

If you’re struggling with animal odors

From misbehaving pets to invading raccoons and possums, animals can unfortunately leave some truly frustrating odors in our homes. With our specialized equipment, we can find the specific areas that are damaged and clean and deodorize materials that need attention, getting your air clear again.

Was there a smoker in your home?

Cigarette smoke can feel impossible to get rid of. Even after relatively short amounts of exposure to tobacco, smoke residue will keep that smoky odor lingering, and candles and fresheners do little to cover it up. We’re equipped with the tools and training to get rid of lingering smoke odors after a house fire — so as tenacious as tobacco smoke is, we can tackle it. If you’re getting ready to sell your home, or just bought a new home that still bears the habits of the previous owners, we can help get rid of that frustrating (and home buyer-deterring) smell.

If you’re holding your nose when you walk through the door, don’t worry — Choice Property Restoration can help remove almost any odor problem. Give us a call!