Disaster Recovery

It has been documented and the statistics are scary, that any business sustaining an interrupting event or "disaster" has got the deck stacked against them for survival moving forward. It is something that none of us really want to think about but, how many of us share a building with another business or with tenants that we are counting on being "smart" or careful all of the time. Something as simple as an unattended candle or a mechanical failure such as a toilet line leak could incapacitate your business and put you in jeopardy if you are not prepared.

Who will be the first person you call in such an instance? Your Insurance Agent, more than likely. What is their phone number? What if this happens during "non-business" hours? How will your event be handled and by whom? Who is your representative there? Are you covered? Furthermore, how will you run your business? What backup plan do you have should your facility be partially or totally affected and deemed inoperable? Who can you count on to get you back up and running either partially or entirely? It would be ideal to have a business partner that can understand what is important to you PRIOR to the event.

Servpro of Hampshire County and Shrewsbury/Grafton understands that being incapacitated for any amount of time can affect your money making ability and can work with you to get you back up and running as quickly as possible. Whether it's providing a temporary facility and moving you to it or getting an area of the existing space safe, secured and operable, Servpro can get the job done. We have provided emergency services to many large businesses over our 15 years of business in Western Massachusetts, paying special attention to working with decision makers to make it "Like it never even happened" as quickly as possible. From area schools, day cares and medical facilities to, just recently, a large national retail store. Fires, broken pipes, backed up sewer drains and blocked grease traps are among the causes of disaster for some of our larger losses.

Please take a moment to think these questions over. How prepared are you should something of this nature happen to you? Are you going to search the phone book or sign up with someone waiting at the curb to "sell" you their service and make promises. How much do THEY know about your business?

Contact me at kevin@servprohcsg.com or at our office for a complimentary consultation and discussion on Disaster Recovery. We can become familiar with you and your facility and business as well as provide you with a "Playbook" for a quick recovery. With Winter coming soon, there are more mechanical and natural opportunities that can cause a disaster to occur in your life. Take time NOW to plan for something that you will hopefully never have to deal with. The time invested now could save your business in the future.

Fire Safety Month - Are You Prepared?

As stated in a previous post, disasters can range in size and in importance. A spilled glass of wine on a carpet on the day you are hosting a dinner party will be a "disaster". Is it as large as the house getting flooded or having a fire? Probably not, but to you AT THAT MOMENT, it may very well be. How will you handle that? How will you respond? Who can fix that for you in a timely manner?

It is important to have a plan of action in the event of a "disaster". What is your plan of action to recover as quickly as possible and have that "dinner party" go off without a hitch or "like it never even happened"?

For more information on Disasters and Recovery Profiles, email me at kevin@servprohcsg.com or call our office at (800) 947-0975 to schedule a consultation.

I will post more information as time goes on here as well, so stay tuned.

One final note: Can you exit your house from your bedroom with you eyes closed while holding your breath? Have a predetermined exit strategy for evacuating your house during a fire. Quickest way out with a meeting place for you and your family members. In a fire you will not be able to see or breathe. A little scary food for thought. Practice makes perfect.

Here We Go Again!

OK, so it's been a while! I am sorry for not paying better attention to my postings and getting all of you something you can sink your teeth into in a little more timely fashion. It has been a busy year, and it is winding up quicker than I am sure most of us would like it to. If you look back to my very first post on here, you will find a bunch of "stuff" that I could once again post as we roll forward.

We had a pretty tame Summer and Autumn for all intents and purposes. Yes, it rained weekend after weekend after weekend, but it was really never anything too major, that would cause any big problems for the home or business owner. Ida just wreaked havoc on the Carolina's and Virginia but didn't pack much of a wallop when it got to us. Nuisance stuff in general, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be thinking that it couldn't happen to us.

Disasters can happen at anytime, and vary in type. Man-made, mechanical and natural disasters can (and will) put an unexpected crimp in your life at anytime. You have to plan ahead while the waters are calm so that when they become turbulent, you can wade your way through as painlessly as you can. Whether it's spilled juice on a carpet, a broken pipe or the remnants of a tropical storm, you will be ready if you PLAN AHEAD.

SERVPRO of Hampshire County can provide you with assistance in Disaster Recovery Planning (DRP), all YOU have to do is ASK!!! We can provide a detailed worksheet for home and business owners that simply requires filling in the blanks and storing your plan off site so that you have a "play-book" when the time comes.

Call our office today and ask for Kelly, Ed or Me, and we will be more than happy to supply you with the proper worksheet(s). Our number is on the CONTACT US page of this website. In the meantime, feel free to go back now, read what was posted a year ago, and begin to plan for a safe and relaxing Holiday Season.

I will catch up to all of you again very soon. I promise!

Indoor Air Quality - Spring's Fresh Air

Hello again everyone, it's been a while since I blogged and quite frankly, there hasn't been much to write about. We have finally had some consistently warm outside, not much rain, life has been good on that front.

I hope that everyone has opened the windows and doors in their buildings and PURGED the stale old air out and let new fresh air in. There are a few things that you should be looking to have done at this time as well though and that is where we come into play. Duct cleaning removes the "junk" from your duct work before you switch from HEAT to A/C for the summer. This gets rid of the majority of pollutants before you button up for the summer cooling season.

Secondly, a good thorough carpet cleaning will remove pollutants from your carpets and leave you with a cleaner "air filter" than you had before. As the air moves through your building, impurities get caught up in the fibers of the carpet and linger there until removed. Basic cleaning will take care of this buildup and again, help cut down on indoor pollution levels.

It's really all about comfort and health when it comes to IAQ, the less "crud" in the environment, the better you will feel in the long run AND the better things will look as well.

We are looking for any of you out there that want to make sure that your summer IAQ is at it's best possible.

Call us today to schedule a carpet or duct cleaning. Mention this blog and receive a santizer application to your duct work or carpet protectant application to your carpet cleaning at no additional charge. How can you beat that?

I will catch up to you all again real soon!

What next?

So, here we are, on the brink of Spring, warmer weather, practically no more snow shoveling or snow blowing, what a life! We have all persevered! So the question is posed.....WHAT NEXT?



All winter long I have been going on and going on about ice dams, frozen pipes, furnace malfunctions and fire hazards, now that things seem to be on the upturn what could possibly be next? Well, there is plenty when it comes to your homes. The recent economic downturn and tightening of the wallets certainly doesn't spell good news in general, but as I see it, more people will be spending more time at home or around the home. Home improvements versus selling and upgrading are still big. However, if you are thinking of selling, STAGING YOUR HOME FOR SALE is very important. You need to get every dollar you can for your house when selling. Having PRE-SALE inspections for problems like mold growth, moisture intrusion, pest issues and structural problems will be very important BEFORE listing your house. "An ounce of prevention" is the line that comes to mind.



Calling SERVPRO of HAMPSHIRE COUNTY for moisture and visual microbial growth inspections. Our contact info is on our webpage.



Secondly, pest inspections are the other major recommendation. Calling BUDGET PEST SOLUTIONS will get you an honest and thorough inspection at a reasonable price. Should there be any issues, JOHN BOUDREAU has the ability to not only treat the problem, but fix the damage done by those pests. Call John at (413) 385-0065 for a preventative inspection, Real Estate Inspection, or solutions to what's "buggin" you.



Finally, if you are thinking of selling, and don't have a realtor yet, you need to contact JOHN PEDRO, PEDRO REAL ESTATE, for a home analysis and to list your property. JOHN has been a realtor for over 20 years I believe (or MORE), and knows his stuff. He is a straight shooter and will get your property moved for the right price. John can be reached at (413)547-8781.

Either of the two JOHN's can help you should the spring thing be to sell or buy or just plain old tune up the home, oh yeah, along with SERVPRO OF HAMPSHIRE COUNTY, YOUR cleaning solution.

Until next time, this is Kevin signing off.

Relief and Hope

Ahhhhhhhhhh. 56 degrees yesterday and it felt WONDERFUL. I hope that everyone had the opportunity to open a door or window and allow that stale, stagnant air that has been bottled up inside out, and allow some crisp, fresh air in. Turning over the air in your house or office is a great way to improve the health of the people that have been bottled up inside since waaaaaaaaay back before the holidays. The freshness gives a renewed sense that Spring may be not be too far behind and the piles of snow and ice and salt will soon be a distant memory.

Of course with all of the positives of the warmth, the higher sun and the diminishing piles of winter "crud" comes yet another opportunity for water intrusion. The snow should have all but melted off of the roof tops, ice dams shrunken or gone away as well, but where did all that "melt" go? Hopefully it ran off or evaporated, but did you check your basement to ensure that none of that water has penetrated that area? With the snow pack around the house, the water that has run off the roof may have gotten absorbed or trapped against the foundation, allowing it to seep into the house that way. I don't mean to keep harping upon water intrusion, but it is the season, and we do still need to keep our eyes open in our attic and basement areas. Ignoring moisture in these areas will only cause further issues that you may not be aware of until it's too late. Read some of my other posts to learn more about extended high levels of moisture in your home or work place and take a few minutes to inspect particularly CORNERS in the basement or attic to make sure you haven't been intruded upon.

As usual, my final word about this topic is; while the weather is nice, take a few moments to clear some of the snow away from your house and double check the gutters and downspouts to make sure that the water coming off of your roof is draining AWAY from your building. Keeping your interior dry is vital for the health of it and the people occupying it.

Pitchers and Catchers.......they are reporting!!! Snow will melt, trees will bud, grass will reappear, only a matter of days away, stay positive!

Frozen Pipes - Avoiding a nightmare

Water Intrusion into your home or business can be a nightmare no matter how it gets in there. By practicing the following safety tips, you can avoid water intrusion and the resulting water removal and drying process as a result of frozen pipes:



1) Keep your cabinet doors open during cold spells. This allows warm air to circulate around pipes that are in them.



2) Keep a slow trickle of water flowing through faucets, especially if the pipes for those faucets run through unheated or uninsulated (under-heated or under-insulated) portions of your home or business.



3) Consider shutting off outdoor faucets (written about in a previous blog). Find the shut-off in the basement or crawlspace where the pipe feeding the faucet leads outside and turn it "off". Once you do that, open the outdoor faucet and to ensure that it drains completely and the inner valve is shut off.



Much of this is common sense, but every once in a while it's nice to have a reminder of what you can do to AVOID issues with water intrusion due to frozen pipes.



Keep your chin up, there is only a few more days until Pitchers and Catchers report to Spring Training. The thaw is so near!!!