For the Birds

2/1/2023 (Permalink)

For the birds.

During our latest Portland freeze, pipes broke though-out a bird sanctuary. Frozen pipes broke in multiple locations, causing widespread damage in the offices and in the areas where the injured birds were housed. SERVPRO arrived ASAP to start the clean up removal of the ceiling and floors that were damaged as well as any insulation that was wet. 

The facility lost power. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland brought in a propane generator to provide power to the building and to power our equipment to progress the dryout of the building once the wet materials had been removed. 

We did the pack out of all of the equipment in the hospital area to assure that it was safetly out of harms way while construction was in progress. 

Weight Room

2/1/2023 (Permalink)

SERVPRO to the rescue during the Christmas Holidays.

Water pipes broke during the recent freeze, during the winter holiday. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland had teams working Christmas Eve and Christmas Day to place equipment. 

A local school had major damage in its weight and locker rooms. 

SERVPRO removed all the standing water and moved the weight room and exercise equipment to areas that had not been affected. 

We then removed any wet material from the ceilings. The base trim around the walls allowing us to get air into the walls by drilling holes to allow us to place wall drying systems. This saved the customer money by not damaging the walls above the trim that can be replaced after drying. 

We set air movers and dehu's enough to manage the drying of the areas. 

Winter Storm Damage

2/1/2023 (Permalink)

Holiday mishap

Today we arrived on site to visit a customer who reported water damage during the winter storm event. We met on site and was greeted by the customers. Upon arrival we had visible damage from the COL (cause of loss). We found heavy water marks on ceiling tile and drywall from top to bottom in most areas. Some standing water remained but not enough to justify extraction. According to the customer they extracted and clean up from the water loss. The carpet mats on the main level and large carpets for Living, Bedrooms and 1 closet were still saturated. The customers said the water was on leaking up to 4-5 days. We found the information received to be accurate based on the severe porous materials and wood structure. We found suspicious staining on certain areas, window in Bedroom B is broken and needs to be boarded up to maintain temperature control. Due to lack of HVAC systems we will need heaters to achieve drying for wood structures. CAT 3 job status due to time and conditions. We initial paperwork and collected insurance information. This job will require extensive coordination due to complications, Large amount of contents needing to be maneuvered, Packed and protected during mitigation services. Customer was given up to 48 hours to locate asbestos and lead testing before we will make the request in order to complete job accordingly. 

Huge water loss at local home

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

The cause of damage was removed in order to start the drying process.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland received an emergency call in the middle regarding a water loss in a local home in the Portland area that is causing the drywall to bubble. The customer informed us that before calling us they called out a plumber to meet us on-site to help determine the cause of the loss. Our crews arrived on the scene within 20 minutes of the phone call ends. Upon arrival, we were met by the plumber who let us know that the cause of loss was the master bedrooms defective toilet O ring and that it could potentially leak Category 3 water into the walls cavities, and flooring. The plumber was able to fix the toilet mount and the O ring and inform us that once mitigation and remediation services were completed they would re-set all toilets.

After the initial inspection, it was time to put together a drying plan to restore this home to preloss condition as soon as possible. In the bathroom, we detached the door, built containment, poly barrier, and ram board to protect the shower and tub,  and we set air filtration devices under negative pressure. In addition, we placed floor protection and removed all affected drywall and insulation. In the recreation room, we built containment, placed floor protection, and removed the drywall ceiling and wall with suspicious staining. In the recreation washroom, we built containment, placed air filtration devices under the negative press, place ram board to protect countertops, and detached upper cabinets.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland was able to get the customer's home restored to preloss conditions in only 4 days. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739

There is no water loss to big for SERVPRO

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

Bedroom closet was affected in order to increase drying carpet had to be lifted.

SERVPRO of  Southwest Portland received an emergency call regarding a water loss in a local home in the Portland area. The customer informed us that her daughter found standing water coming into the finished basement through a defective window from a heavy rain storm. Within 20 minutes of the phone call ending, our well-trained crews arrived on site to meet the customers and immediately start work. We began to extract the water, perform minor content manipulation, detach doors, lift to dry area rugs, and place stabilizing and drying equipment. 

Once we were able to start work our amazing crew chief came up with a drying plan in order to restore the customer's home back to preloss condition as soon as possible. In the bedroom we had to detach the door, reim, baseboards, crown molding, content manipulation, extract, lift large area rugs to dry, and cavity holes on exterior walls to dry within the walls. In the bedroom closet, we did the same and in the hallway outside of the room, we also had to lift the rug to dry, put cavity holes to dry the wall from within, removed engineered wood flooring, detach baseboards, crown molding, and detach trim.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland was able to get the customer's home restored to preloss conditions in only 4 days. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739

What to do when the unexpected happens? Give SERVPRO a call.

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

The Dishwasher loss caused damage to the crawlspace.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland received an emergency call in the early hours of the morning. The customer informed us that they had a water loss caused to a defective dishwasher. Within 30 minutes of the phone call ending our crew of well-trained professionals met the customer on-site along with their adjuster. During the initial walk-through, we discussed with the customer and the adjuster methods and ways in order to save the cabinetry and hardwood floors that were just recently installed. We began work immediately,  starting with the crawlspace mitigation we dropped insulation from the subfloor in order to prevent microorganisms we found that the sub for the ceiling was highly saturated.

Once work was started the drying plan was created the drying plan would be in the affected areas, the kitchen, the entryway, and the crawl space. In the kitchen, we built containment, detached baseboards, toe kicks, detached cabinet doors, drilled cavity holes for the injection system with the cab walls, and exposed drywall within the outside walls. In addition, we had to remove all drywall and insulation had to be removed since they were exposed due to the place the dishwasher was placed we then removed the glued hardwood flooring and exposed the subfloor to help with drying. In the Entryway, we had to build containment to isolate affected areas, tear out baseboards, do minor content manipulation, lift the carpet in order for it to dry in place, and remove the affected carpet pad and tack strip. Our crew then cut a 2ft flood cut to remove affected drywall and to expose the back of cabinets to dry within the wall adjacent to the kitchen.

Finally the crawlspace, we had to drop and remove wet insulation, built containment, remove and replace Visqueen, place equipment in the center of the affected area and sprayed antimicrobial onto the ceiling surface. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland was able to get the customer's home restored to preloss conditions in only 4 days. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739

SERVPRO wants to make sure the city of Portland is prepared!

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO wants you to be the best prepared when wildfires happen.

With the winter season approaching SERVPRO of Southwest Portland wanted to make sure the city of Portland is prepared for the unexpected. The unexpected event was referring to is a wildfire. Wildfires are always unforeseen and can strike almost anywhere a wildfire can cause more than just the damage you can see. If a fire damages your property, it can throw your life into chaos here at SERVPRO we are dedicated to restoring your damaged property and returning it back to its preloss condition.

Even if the wildfire is close to your home and you don't suffer any damage, there may be soot particles and residues that are left to be cleaned up. If it isn't cleaned properly, the odoer and effect will linger long after the fire has been put out. From the structure itself to the contents of the home, SERVPRO of Southwest Portland uses the latest technology and training to leave your property smelling fresh and clean.

Even if your windows and doors are shut and your vents are closed, smoke and soot particles can enter your property, Your HVAC units and air ducts can hold large quantities of soot and disperse it all over your belongings. A wildfire will burn mostly natural materials, but there are times when wildfires burn manmade materials, which can leave soot particles that are very difficult to move.

 SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739

Huge water loss at local software company

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

The HVAC above the software company was the cause of the loss.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland received a call in the fall from a local software company regarding a water loss. The customer informed us that he noticed his drywall cracking and was not aware of where the water was coming from or what caused the loss. Upon the call ending, we arrived on site within 30 minutes with our crew of well-trained professionals to meet with the customer, During the initial inspection, it was apparent where the drywall was bubbling and cracking on the surface. The customer informed us that he was worried that the water was coming from the level above his business. It turned out that the ceiling had suspicious staining on the back of the drywall ceiling. The cause of the loss was the HVAC system we found signs of old water damage on the plywood near the HVAC system and notified the customer of our findings.

  We then proceeded to build a containment to isolate the affected areas and set equipment in those areas. The next step was to make a drying plan to help get the customer's business back to preloss conditions as soon as possible. Demolition was going to be needed in order to help to dry process the crew removed the ceiling drywall material due to suspicious stains in addition to the cracking and water bubbles. With the equipment and demolition needed, SERVPRO of Southwest Portland was able to get the customer's home restored to preloss conditions in only 4 days. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739

Local business in need, no worry SERVPRO is here!

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO brings in an air scrubber to help with drying.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland received an emergency call from a local commercial business that reported an event where the elevator malfunctioned causing a severe amount of smoke damage to the business. During the initial inspection, we noticed the distinctive heavy electrical smoke odor walking into the building. The closer we got to the elevator and mechanical room, the smell got worse and worse. The mechanical room was unbearable to be in without the proper PPE, we found that the HVAC system was also polluted and contaminated by the smoke damage. 

Once we saw the extent of the damage the drying plan was created, we brought in the specialty drying equipment to assist with removing hazardous smoke air pollutants from affected areas and contents. We brought in six air filtration devices four of them went on the main level and the other two went into the mechanical room, ozone machines were set up in all affected areas excluding the elevator due to access restrictions. Our crew brought in our own SERVPRO fogger lemon fresh deodorizer smoke odor counteractant along with, window cleaner, chem sponges, mops, and buckets to clean floors after the fogging took place. We then placed a plastic covering over the contents prior to cleaning to prevent further damage or cross-contamination.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland was able to get the customer business back up and running in only 5 days. SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739

Local business has mold loss

11/15/2022 (Permalink)

If you have any mold that is also something we can help with here at SERVPRO.

SERVPRO of Southwest Portland received an early morning call from a local food company disruptor, regarding a mold loss. The customer informed us that they found 3 areas of mold in the cafeteria that needed remediation as soon as possible. They also told us that the loss was caused to a pipe under the sink, and a drink dispenser leak causing mold growth in the drywall and behind the cabinet.  Within 20 minutes of the call ending our crew of well-trained professionals was on site ready to start work.

As soon as we got there we started work, our crews set up containment in the cafeteria using poles to keep it upright, set up an air scrubber, and covered the vent with plastic. Then they removed all affected drywall in the corner and behind the cabinet, performed a mold scrub as needed, extracted standing water in the wall cavity track, HEPA vacuumed the entire contained area, and spray with anti-microbial. In addition, set the dehumidifiers inside the containment and run the hose into P-trap.

 SERVPRO of Southwest Portland professionals can give you peace of mind by helping make it “Like it never even happened." Whenever there is a call out SERVPRO of Southwest Portland is ready to meet the need. No matter the time or place you can count on SERVPRO to be there for you. If you have any questions please call us at 503.777.9739