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Please click on the
quarterly issue you would like to read below |
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February 2007
- Carpet Maintance, Creating a comfortable Guest Room, Caring for your ceramic
tile, and more |
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January
2005- Hurricane Ivan in Florida CLEAN UP and ASSISTANCE |
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Let me preface this article by first saying that during my travels to
different industry events through out the country, I have established
relationships with other restorers to assist each other with our customers needs
in the event we should suffer an "unthinkable" like Ivan. |
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The day after Ivan left his path of destruction across Florida, I received a
call from John Williams asking me to come to their aid. I then contacted two
local friends who are also professional restorers, and asked them if they wanted
to help. By late Sunday afternoon the three of us had five trucks headed to
Florida. Even after seeing pictures on TV and in the newspaper, we had no idea
what we were in for. |
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When we arrived in Florida it was like a war zone. Most of the city was without
power. Gas was not available and the drinking water was contaminated. There were
roofs missing or heavily damaged on just about every building and home we saw.
Trees and power poles were snapped in half like tooth picks, along with
other debris blocking the roadways. There were National Guardsmen, State
Police and Local Police everywhere trying to stop looting and keep order. They
also were trying to direct traffic due to the debris and lack of power to
operate traffic lights.
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Monday morning John sent us to Gulf Breeze. We set up a in Tiger Point on
a street called Greenview Lane. We immediately had more water damaged houses
than we knew what to do with. The home we worked in were located about a mile
from the Gulf and had 3 to 6 feet of seawater in them. They also suffered major
roof damage. Most of the residents had all their belongings on the front lawn
trying to salvage what they could. Unfortunately, most of their belongings were
so heavily contaminated with bio contaminants that they needed to be disposed
of. |
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The work consisted of removing all of the floor coverings, drywall,
insulation, doors and frames, cabinets, counter tops, bathtubs, built-ins, and
all porous materials. After all items had been removed, we bio-washed the
contaminants from the remaining structure and treated them with powerful
antimicrobials. Finally, we had to bring all of the remaining wood to within 2%
of the normal moisture content with dehumidifiers and air movers. |
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During our 6 week stay in Florida we were able to restore 6 homes on the
same street. We restored them to the point that a contractor could go in and
reconstruct the homes. Since returning home we've heard from most of these
families thanking for doing a great job. |
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One last thing...... if a category three ( or larger) hurricane ever heads for
New Orleans, please leave ! My family and I certainly will. I promise you don't
want to be here when it hits !!!
Leave early to avoid getting
caught in traffic and know your evacuation routes, use the link on the left to
find out more information from the national hurricane center. |
Giving
back to the community...
Dear Mr. Keith Orth,
On behalf of the resident of the K-Bar-B
Youth Ranch, I would like to thank you for all the hard work you put
into helping to clean the carpets at our facility. We are incredibly
grateful for your willingness to donate your time and services,
especially sacrificing a Saturday ! The
gift of your time makes a difference in the lives of these children, who
have come from some of the most abusive and neglectful environment.
Despite our many challenges and of an aging facility, we want to make
this place feel like home to them. Thank you again for helping us
towards that goal. WE look forward to your continued support and
prayers.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Fabacher
Executive Director |
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Does Carpet Contribute to
Good Health? |
center. In
July 2004, I attended the Connections Convention held in Clearwater, Florida,
and had the opportunity to hear Dr. Mike Berry discuss the Summary of a
Science-Based assessment of carpet. Dr. Berry is a research professor with the
Carolina Environmental Program at the University of North Carolina in Chapel
Hill, and he also previously headed the EPA. Dr. Berry explained that a panel of
ten academic and industrial researchers and technical specialist met at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in July 2003. They critically
examined peer-reviewed or otherwise credible science with regards tot he
positive or negative attributes of carpet in the modern indoor environment.
Hundreds of studies were examined in the course of review. Following are a few
of their findings:
- Carpet is a
significant positive contributor to the quality of life indoors.
- Effective maintenance
and cleaning employed in a built environment can prevent or solve most
problems related in IEQ issues.
- When carpet is
reasonably maintained, it creates no adverse exposures or health risks.
- Carpet does not emit
concentrations of VOC's that present a risk.
- Carpet does tend to
entrap particulates and remove them from indoor air.
- In the past 10 years
there has been a trend in Sweden to remove carpet from homes and public
places. Since then there has been an 80% decrease in carpet sales, and a 3
fold increase in asthma and allergies.
- People who suffer from
asthma and allergies do better in carpeted environments as long as
reasonable care is maintained.
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The
Ultimate Service Experience 
