Premier Emergency Water Removal

When the un-thinkable happens, we at Premier Emergency Water Removal are there for our clients. We are dedicated to the recovery of all accident, crime, trauma and bio-hazardous scenes, and your physical and mental health is our primary concern! Our unique approach to service relieves owners, managers, coworkers, families or friends from the severe emotional trauma and physical hazards of cleaning the location of a bio-hazardous incident. Our highly trained technicians are a 24-hour resource to rapidly recover a scene and return a property to safe use.

Trauma often leaves behind visual and microscopic traces that can be harmful to those whom come in contact with them. The removal of blood, bodily fluids, and tissue requires a very detailed and timely method of cleaning, which in no way should be compromised! 

Very few people are trained or equipped to handle this type of cleaning and decontamination, but our technicians are fully trained and equipped to help you through the process.

This method involves detecting and disinfecting, as well as the complete removal of hazardous materials such as: blood, bodily fluids, tissue and bone matter, contaminated clothing and various household goods, hypodermic needles, razor blades and other items or objects that may pose a risk of injury. Mattresses, bedding, clothing, carpets, linoleum, grout, beneath toilets and tubs, couches and chairs, walls and other objects become contaminated during the decomposition process and should ONLY be handled by highly trained technicians to assure the risk of injury or infection is completely eliminated. 

Water damage mitigation is something that must be dealt with quickly and effectively. Preventing the presence of mold is one of many concerns for those who have suffered from a water damage event, but it should not be the only or primary concern. In fact, people have so many misconceptions about water damage and the potential for mold growth. With steps you can take immediately following a water damage event to help minimize secondary damages as well as precautions that should be taken during water damage mitigation to protect your health and safety. Water damage mitigation is a specialized field that requires special protective measures, specialized equipment and testing capabilities as well as certain engineering controls to protect you and your property.

DOs that can help minimize your loss. Please remember that your safety is our primary concern, and if any of the following could create risk to you or your property, PLEASE WAIT FOR A PROFESSIONAL!

1. DO shut off source of flooding as soon and if possible
2. DO remove as much water as possible by mopping and blotting the saturated area(s)
3. DO wipe furniture to remove excess water
4. DO place aluminum foil between furniture legs and wet carpet
5. DO remove wet area rugs
6. DO move valuable objects and personal items to a safe and dry area
7. DO remove any wet fabrics and dry immediately

DO NOTs

1. DO NOT use your household vacuum to remove any access water
2. DO NOT use electrical appliances while standing on wet flooring or carpets
3. DO NOT go into any room with standing water if the electricity is on
4. DO NOT lift tacked down carpet without professional help as this could cause damage and shrinkage
5. DO NOT go into any room where the ceiling is sagging
6. DO NOT wait to call for professional help. The longer you wait the more damage will occur

Being prepared for a sudden water loss before it occurs is essential in returning your life back to normal as quickly as possible after water damage has occured. Take pictures of each room to document its contents and save receipts for expensive purchases such as computers, televisions, and stereo equipment. Store these your documentation in a safe and secure location where it will be dry and remain unaffected regardless of any disasters your home might face. There are many companies that offer fire and water-proof portable safes that can provide the safety and security for your documents. It’s also very important that you know where the shut-off valves are for your water and gas lines to your home. If a disaster occurs, valuable time may be lost searching for them after. 

A categorization of the level of contamination of water in a damaged structure is required to perform loss assessment and evaluation. The category of water contamination must be considered so that procedures can be established for processing water-damaged structures and materials safely. The category is not determined by the color of the water but instead by the source, contents, history and characteristics of the water. Water damage is divided into three categories:

Clean Water Sources –
Originate from a source that does not pose substantial harm to humans. (Examples: broken water supply lines, tub or sink overflow, melting ice or snow)

Grey Water Sources –
Unsanitary water that contains some degree of contamination that would cause sickness if consumed by humans. (Examples: dishwater overflow, aquariums, waterbeds, toilet backup with no feces present)

Black Water Sources –
Grossly unsanitary water containing pathogenic agents. (Examples: sewage back-up, ground surface water or rising water from streams or rivers that carry silt & organic matters)

Water damage to a home or building can occur in many ways. Whether it is damage by a violent force of nature, a water pipe may burst or a sump pump may malfunction. No matter what the cause, water can do serious damage to your home and possessions. There is no way to predict how or when a water-related emergency may occur but it is a possibility and a fact of life for homeowner and building owners. That’s why it’s best to have an emergency water removal company’s contact information handy. The less damage and the quicker you get it taken care of the easier it will be to put your life back together. Not to mention being less expensive, time consuming and disruptive to your lives.

Unwelcome moisture is the enemy: The moment unwelcome moisture enters your house through the wrong doorway, so to speak, and isn’t promptly escorted off the premises; you may have a serious enemy in your midst. Within minutes of water intrusion damage can begin. This is why prompt professional action is so important.

Special techniques are used by professional restoration companies to dry and remove trapped water and water vapor from surfaces, flooring, interior cavities and contents. Untreated water damage may cause flooring to buckle, wall damage, content damage, and the ability for mold and bacteria to grow. The most important part in water damage recovery is an immediate response. A delay of even 48 hours can result in significant damage versus an immediate timely response. This is why our personnel are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and 365 days a year.

As just MINUTES tick away on the clock, water contamination spreads in all directions. Paper goods, food in cupboards, floors, etc. are all ruined as they absorb moisture. Stains and dyes released from furniture stain carpets.

As HOURS tick away on the clock: Furniture in direct contact with water soaks up water, swells, cracks, delaminates and splits. Fabric and carpets are stained. Plywood swells and comes apart. Bacteria-caused odors develop and infest all materials in the environment. Both the cost and complexity of resolving the damage rise as hours tick away.

If DAYS go by without an expert, comprehensive assault on the damage: door and window casings swell, bow, and de-laminate. Moisture penetrates into floors and walls, pianos, and electronic devices. Metal begins to rust. Musty and sour odors become permanently integrated with fabric fibers. Mold and mildew begin growing, causing serious health risks.

Why is professional drying and fast response so important?

Most indoor carpet, furniture, building materials such as plywood and drywall, etc are designed for tolerance of “normal indoor humidity” - 40%- 60% relative humidity. A flooded site , however may have 90% relative humidity for days. Only through use of proper drying procedures deployed by knowledgeable professionals can this humidity be rapidly and safely reduced, substantially reducing damage and the need for costly reconstruction or replacements.

When a home is flooded, primary damage is the direct result of contact with water. Secondary damage is typically the result of moisture traveling to areas previously unaffected.

If restoration work is delayed or performed by inadequately trained people, the risk of costly secondary water damage is quite high! Secondary water damage can be hidden to the eye for weeks or months, but can continue to destroy the walls, floors or structural integrity of a building, foster microorganism growth unhealthy for humans and attractive to insects and other pests, and cause many other long-term problems.

The right tools for the job are vital to discovering hidden secondary damage and stopping it in its tracks.

All Water Damage Restoration Companies are NOT the same.

Premier Emergency Water Removal specializes in commercial & residential flood and water damage restoration.

·  Certified by IICRC, the industry’s training and education organization.

·  Respond to emergency calls immediately.

·  Instantly act to stop the spread of water damage.

·  Act quickly to eliminate safety and health hazards.

·  Extract water, damaged materials, and debris safely, economically and efficiently.

·  Dry out the entire environment.

·  Restoration, combining comprehensive cleaning, stain and odor removal, fungus eradication, re-construction and replacement, as needed.

Snow can be a wonderful and amazing thing for people of all ages, but most don’t know just how much it can damage your home, costing you thousands of dollars and a significant amount of stress! Snow can impact your home’s safety in many ways, so we’ll cover just a few in this brief article.

As snow falls, it accumulates on any surface that is or becomes cold enough to keep it from melting immediately, such as a roof or street. When snow accumulates on a roof, the heat from within the building typically melts the bottom portion, while cold from the outdoors and the snow above causes it to re-freeze. The water beneath seeps into the cracks and crevices of the roof filling them with water, which expands when it freezes again, spreading the materials the roof is made from and creating gaps in the seal of the roof that keeps the building dry. When those gaps become large enough, the roof will begin to leak, causing large amounts of water damage within the buildings structural interior which will require extensive repairs. If the damage is not addressed immediately, it can spread, causing a lot of damage to the structural integrity of the building.

Even if the snow doesn’t melt and re-freeze, if enough accumulates on the roof, it can cause damage to your roof by the immense amount it weighs when the snow deepens. The weight of the snow can cause the roof to sag, or even to collapse if enough snow piles up without being removed, which could result in your home flooding!

Although the roof is a significant concern, you should also make sure that the rest of your home is safe and secure from winter snow. Make certain to clear any large accumulation away from your foundation, and anywhere it might be against the structure of your home. Again, as the warmth escapes your home, the snow will melt which allows water to fill any permeable material and expand as temperatures drop and it freezes again.

Another way that snow can damage your home is when it melts quickly, causing flooding either in your home, or around it. The ground can become over-saturated, leaking through into your basement or crawl space. Snow melt can cause rivers, creeks and lakes to over-flow their boundaries, sending large amounts of water into your home. Excess moisture in your home can be indiscernible to the naked eye, but can lead to mold and other bacterial growth if not addressed quickly.

Every winter season, homeowners are at risk of the damage and expense caused by frozen pipes. Throughout the winter months, your home will be experiencing these pipe-busting temperatures and we want you to take measures to avoid having to call a flood mitigation company to come in and dry your home to prevent further damage, or even the growth of mold! If the outside temperature drops below 20 degrees Fahrenheit, water pipes in homes with little or no insulation can easily freeze and break.  In fact, a one-eighth inch crack in a pipe can spray out more than 250 gallons of water a day, quickly destroying anything nearby, including your walls, floors, furniture, appliances and even compromising the structural integrity of your home! However, just a few precautions can greatly reduce your risk!

DISCONNECT AND DRAIN ALL OUTDOOR HOSES - Disconnect garden hoses and, if practical, use an indoor valve to shut off and drain water from pipes leading to outside faucets.  This reduces the chances that the outside faucets and pipes leading to them will freeze.

INSULATE PIPES OR FAUCETS IN UNHEATED AREAS - Insulate pipes in your home’s crawl space or attic.  The more insulation you use, the better protected your pipes will be.  An insulating pipe sleeve, heat tape or thermostatically controlled heat cables are typically sufficient to protect your pipes from breaking.  Be sure to use products  only as intended by the manufacturer!

SEAL OFF ACCESS DOORS, AIR VENTS AND CRACKS - Winter winds whistling through overlooked openings can quickly freeze exposed pipes. Make certain you do not plug air vents your furnace or water heater need for proper ventilation, and look for air leaks around electrical wiring, dryer vents and pipes.  Use caulk or insulation to keep the cold out and the heat in.  In severe wind chill, even a tiny opening can let in enough cold air to cause a pipe to freeze.

FIND THE MASTER SHUTOFF - In case of a leak, everyone in the family needs to know where it is and what it does. It’s usually where the water line comes into your house from the street.

KEEP YOUR INDOOR PLUMBING WARM - Open your kitchen and bathroom cabinet doors to allow heat to get to pipes under sinks and vanities near exterior walls, and keep a small trickle of water running at vulnerable cold and hot faucets.

WINTERIZE A VACANT HOME - Before vacating your home for the winter, be sure to shut off water using the master shutoff or customer shut off valve. Then open and thoroughly drain ALL household and outdoor water lines. Any trapped water can freeze causing pipes to expand and break. Once all the lines have been drained it is important to close all household and irrigation lines again before leaving your home.

You should set the thermostat no lower than 55 degrees, however, maintaining low heat in your home does not necessarily ensure that your pipes will not freeze. Taking the precautions mentioned above before the cold weather hits could save you a lot of trouble and expense from frozen or broken pipes this winter.

Water and sewage damage is a serious issue because it can cause structural damages and health problems especially in coastal areas. In some areas the probability of water/sewage damage increases after heavy rains. Being a universal solvent, water can corrode steel and dissolve granite and wood. But more than that, stagnant water can soon become a breeding ground for bacteria and mold, which can pose serious health risks.Water/sewage damage is one of the most common hazards in the United States. Flood effects can be local, impacting a neighborhood or community, or very large, affecting entire river basins and multiple states.

However, not all floods are alike. While some floods develop slowly, sometimes over a period of days, flash floods develop quickly, sometimes in just a few minutes and without any visible signs of rain.
Flooded and don’t know what to do? Getting started is as easy as 1-2-3!

1. Minimize damage!

If you are able to stop the water or sewage from continuing to flow –causing even more damage – do so AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! If you are unable to stop the flow, proceed to Step 2.

2. Contact your water/sewage damage specialist!

The more quickly you contact us, the less damage from flooding will occur! We work with your insurance provider to handle your claim and relieve as much stress from you as we possibly are able.

3. Contact your insurance claims center to inform them of your flood loss!

Open your damage claim. Make certain to let your insurance provider know that you have someone who will mitigate the amount of damage caused to your property. This saves them the time and trouble of contacting a local company to extract your water or sewage.