Certification is Key!

1/20/2021 (Permalink)

Here is an example of one of our technicians cleaning after a recent flood.

Flooding of any type will ruin some personal possessions (books, papers, and cloth) within minutes. In just a few hours, carpets and flooring can be destroyed as well as furniture. After only a day, walls can become damaged past repair and will have to be removed and replaced before a homeowner or renter can return to their house.

When it comes to water removal for our Cleveland neighbors, we require our personnel to meet the high standards established by the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). SERVPRO also maintains an extensive inventory of specialized equipment built to extract flood water, regardless of the source and where it might be located in your home.

Each team member is trained on this equipment to quickly remove water. Since that is only the beginning, however, we also require them to become certified in five areas as determined by the IICRC. They are:

Water Damage - This overall course covers the many types of water damage and the effects it has on a home. Concentration is given to problems such as overflowing sewers and mold contamination.

Applied Structural Drying - This teaches each technician to use monitoring equipment, moisture extractors and specialized heaters and fans to dry walls and floors that have been under water.

Carpet Cleaning - Our team members learn to identify fabrics and the proper cleaning techniques required for each one. They also are taught to safely use the different cleaning chemicals available to us and how to use them with our vacuums and extractors.

Upholstery and Fabric Cleaning - Techs learn more fiber and cloth identification. Each person also learns about the specific cleaning issues needed to prevent fabrics from bleeding their colors, shrinking or otherwise becoming distorted from having been soaked.

Odor Control - Personnel learn to identify the source of odors caused by flooding or other water damage and the deodorization techniques available to combat them.

In addition to these areas, each technician is trained and qualified on every piece of equipment they might use on each job. Our inspectors also receive additional, specialized training to identify potential problems before they happen.

This is the ideal time to get ahead of those potential problems and call SERVPRO of Southern Lorain County to schedule an inspection. If you may have or suspect damage from previous flooding, call us today. We're ready to serve you!