National Preparedness Month

9/26/2018 (Permalink)

Every year the month of September is recognized for National Preparedness Month. It is a time where we can focus our attention on the importance of preparing our families, homes, businesses, and communities for an unexpected disaster or emergency that may threaten our lives, property, and homeland. This year’s theme is “Disasters Happen. Prepare Now. Learn How”. Take time to look over these helpful tips to better prepare you and your family for an unexpected emergency or disaster.

10 Things You Can Do Right Now To Be Better Prepared:

1. 1. Sign up for local alerts and warnings, download apps, and check your access for emergency alerts
2. 2. Create and practice emergency communication plans
3. Assemble or update emergency supply kit
4. Conduct a drill to practice emergency response actions with family for local hazards
5. Participate in local preparedness training or class
6. Refresh yourself on lifesaving skills, attend a training class (example: CPR)
7. Make digital copies of all important documents
8. Make sure you have appropriate insurance for relevant hazards (example: flood insurance)
9. Make improvements to reduce potential injury and property damage
10. Conduct an exercise to test your emergency plan
11. Plan with your neighbors to help each other (example: create a group chat to stay in contact)

Basic Disaster Supplies Kit:

1. Water: There should be one gallon of water per person per day for at least three days, for drinking and sanitation
2. Food: At least a three day supply of non-perishable foods
3. Battery powered or hand crank radio and a NOAA Weather Radio with tone alerts
4. Flashlight
5. First Aid kit
6. Extra Batteries
7. Whistle to signal for help
8. Dust Mask to help filter out contaminated air, plastic sheeting, and duct tape to shelter in place
9. Moist towelettes, garbage bags, and plastic ties for personal sanitation
10. Wrench or plier to turn off utilities
11. Manual can opener for food
12. Local maps
13. Cell phone with chargers and a backup battery

Thing to Do Before Leaving for Vacation

7/19/2018 (Permalink)

Fun in the Sun

Summer is now in full swing! The flowers have all finally bloomed, kids are constantly screaming, and each day is hotter than the last. But the best part about summer is…yup you know it… VACATIONS!!! A period of time where you can get away from work; if only we could take a vacation every week! If you’re like us, we like travel to far destinations, most likely with a beach. Since all the good vacations spots are a good drive from Ohio that leaves your home sitting unoccupied for a while. When we leave our homes to go on vacation, we hope everything will be fine and nothing happens to it, but that isn’t always the case. Follow these tips to prepare your home so you don’t have a disaster ruin your paradise vacation.

1. Turn Off the Main Water Supply

When you close the valve on the main supply line, it cuts off water to the house but still allows your outside sprinklers to work. If you do happen to have a leak inside, the line will be under some initial pressure, but it won’t continue to spray water. Shutting off the main water supply takes a little time, but it will save you thousands of dollars in potential damage.

2. Check the Sump Pump

Rainwater can be a nightmare.  A lot of rainwater can cause your sump pump to back up and eventually fail altogether. If your sump pump fails when you’re gone and a major storm hits, you will be coming home to flooded basement. It’s important to check your sump pump before leaving. Dump a bucket of water in your sump pump to make sure it is working properly; the sump pump will turn on when the water fills it.

3. Turn Up the Thermostat—Don’t Turn Off the A/C

If you have a programmable thermostat, set and hold the temperature to have the house at 85 degrees while you’re on vacation, and then the day before you get back, have it go back down to 72 degrees. Even if you have a manual thermostat, it’s still worth it to turn the temperature up while you’re away to avoid wasting energy. Make sure you don’t turn off the air conditioner. It keeps the air circulating so it doesn’t have time to condensate. It is important to keep the house from turning into an oven. When you have a tremendous heat buildup, it can have an effect on certain surfaces in your home.

4. Unplug Electronics

If you have any of your televisions, computers, and other electronics plugged directly into the wall rather than into a surge protector, take the plugs out in case a power surge happens while you’re away. You can save money by turning off the surge protector and unplugging electronics. Even if electronics aren’t in use, they are still drawing power to them.

5. Light Rooms with Timers

Put timers on in different parts of your home to make your house appear to be occupied. It will be less appealing for burglars. The timers will turn on and off the lights at different times of the day and night, as if someone in the house were flipping a switch.

Our Highly Trained Restoration Specialists can restore your Westerville Home

6/7/2016 (Permalink)

We are an IICRC Certified Firm

SERVPRO of NE Columbus is an IICRC firm. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) create the standards for the restoration industry and provides training and certification to restoration companies. IICRC Certified Firms have the right to display the IICRC Certified Logo.

IICRC Certified Firms must

• Present accurate information to consumers and conduct business with honesty and integrity.

• Require a technician on all jobs who has been formally trained and passed all required tests.

• Require a continuing education program to keep technicians up-to-date on the latest changes in the industry.

• Maintain liability insurance to protect all parties in the event of an accident.

• Maintain a written complaint policy and agree to Better Business Bureau or similar arbitration to resolve disputes, and accept the conclusions and recommendations of arbitration.

The IICRC Develops The Standards For The Restoration Industry

The IICRC has been the driving force in establishing the main industry standards and reference guides for professional carpet cleaning, water damage restoration and mold remediation. These IICRC standards take years to develop and require the coordination of experts in the field: manufacturers, industry organizations, insurance professionals, training schools, contractors, and public health professionals.

Every five years, the standards are reviewed and updated. The water damage restoration field changes rapidly with advancements in technology and science, and therefore the standards must evolve to keep pace.

About SERVPRO of NE Columbus

SERVPRO of Westerville specializes in the cleanup and restoration of residential and commercial property after a fire, smoke or water damage event. Our staff is highly trained in property damage restoration and we are an IICRC Certified Firm. We believe in continuous training: from initial and ongoing training at SERVPRO’s corporate training facility to regular IICRC-industry certification, rest assured our staff is equipped with the knowledge to restore your property.

Duct Cleaning

9/26/2014 (Permalink)

Did you know that our duct cleaning team here at SERVPRO of Northeast Columbus is NADCA Certified. They are trained to handle any size job. Keep us in mind!