A water heater leak can spread across a garage, closet or utility room in minutes. Shut off the cold water supply to the tank, cut the power or gas, and stop the water from spreading. Everything else can wait until those three things are done. This guide walks through those steps first. Then it … Read more about Water Heater Leak or Burst? What to Do Before You Call
Water Stain on Ceiling in Kennesaw: What to Do Next
A water stain on ceiling drywall means water has reached the material, and the source needs to be found before anything is painted over. Paint hides the color, but it does not stop a leak or dry what is wet above it. If you just spotted a brown or yellow patch at your Kennesaw home, this guide … Read more about Water Stain on Ceiling in Kennesaw: What to Do Next
What to Throw Away After a Burst Pipe: A Checklist
After a burst supply line, what to throw away comes down to one question: did the material soak up water and stay wet? Porous items such as carpet pad, soaked insulation, saturated drywall, mattresses and particleboard are the usual discards. Solid wood, metal, glass and sealed hard surfaces can … Read more about What to Throw Away After a Burst Pipe: A Checklist
Basement Water After Rain: Where Is It Coming From?
Basement water after rain usually tells you its source by where it appears on the floor. Water at the floor-wall joint, along a slab crack, at a window well, around a floor drain or in the sump pit each points to a different cause. Water at a floor drain may be sewage, and that changes your safety … Read more about Basement Water After Rain: Where Is It Coming From?
How to Document Storm Damage Before Cleanup Starts
Before you haul out a single wet rug, document storm damage with photos and video. A clear record helps your insurer understand what happened, and it helps you remember it later. Here is the short version. First, photograph and video everything. Then make only the temporary repairs needed to stop … Read more about How to Document Storm Damage Before Cleanup Starts
Soot Damage Repair: What Can Be Cleaned and What Has to Go
Soot damage repair is often the biggest part of cleaning up after a fire, even a small one. Soot travels far beyond the room that burned. It coats walls, ceilings, cabinets, electronics and clothes, and it keeps causing damage while it sits. Some of it cleans up well. Some of it doesn't. Here is how … Read more about Soot Damage Repair: What Can Be Cleaned and What Has to Go
Contaminated Floodwater in Your House: What to Know
Yes. If water came into your house from outdoor flooding or storm surge, it's contaminated Floodwater, and you should treat it that way from minute one. On the way to your door it picks up soil, street runoff and sometimes sewage. That changes the cleanup. Drying alone won't do it, because the … Read more about Contaminated Floodwater in Your House: What to Know
Smoke Smell After a Small House Fire: Why It Lingers
Getting rid of smoke smell after even a small kitchen or electrical fire takes more than fresh air and a good scrub. The odor is not only in the air. It sits inside the materials in your home, so it keeps coming back until you clean, treat or replace those materials. This guide explains why that … Read more about Smoke Smell After a Small House Fire: Why It Lingers