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Your basement is flooded. You’ve had a grease fire in your kitchen. Whenever you face disaster, the most important thing is getting back to your normal lifestyle. And choosing the right Colorado restoration expert will help you get there quicker.

A restoration expert is someone that not only knows remodeling for repairing your home, but is also equally trained in restoration methods for recovering from the damage that has occurred. Different problems have different needs:

Water damage cannot only penetrate and destroy the things you can see: carpeting, wall board, furniture, drapes, and other personal items; it can also impact things you can’t see, such as mold growth in hard to reach places. A restoration expert knows to look beyond what you can see, and find potentially threatening areas that also need repair.

Fire damage starts out by destroying the immediate items around the fire. It can also penetrate into other parts of your home with both fire and soot, and with odor damage. Smoke has a pungent odor that needs to be completely removed in order to bring your living space back to normal.

When finding a restoration expert, start by asking three questions.

1. What is your experience and knowledge on restoration? What types of clients have you helped in the past?

2. Are you fully licensed and insured?

3. Can I depend on you throughout the project, and have a guarantee on the work that you do?

A reputable Colorado Restoration Expert will answer all your questions before they require money or a contract from you. Be comfortable with your decision before you begin.

[Paul Davis has been helping Coloradoans with restoration services for over 18 years. They can help you restore your home to original condition quickly – give them a call today for your free estimate.]

Colorado is known for its quick and powerful storms. After weeks of dryness, waking up to two feet of snow is always a possibility.

After the storm comes the recovery. Because a wet snow can easily melt in a short period of time, a homeowner can find a wide variety of damage, both inside and out.

Water restoration helps you recover from the damage caused by the storm. Water restoration services can help you with:

• Flooding from water seeping through the foundation into your basement or crawl space.
• Water damage to your living space and personal items.
• Mold caused by sitting water.
• Structural damage from large amounts of water.

If you experience flooding or water damage, the important thing is to take action immediately.

Start by removing any personal items that are easy to move.

Turn off power to electrical outlets in the affected area.

Begin contacting water restoration services for estimates and quotes. Work with your insurance company to make sure you are covered.

Begin cleanup as soon as possible. The quicker you begin restoration, the more you are likely to save some of your items.

Carbon Monoxide causes over 15,000 emergency visits, and kills over 500 in America every year. In order to help you understand more about carbon monoxide and its affects, here are 10 safety tips you should always keep in mind.

1. Never enclose heating equipment or hot water heaters in a small room without seeking the advice from a qualified technician. Proper venting should be in place to avoid a build up of carbon monoxide.

2. Check all fuel burning appliances each year, and check venting systems. Vents can easily be blocked by snow, ice or leaves with the changing seasons.

3. Do not warm up or leave cars running in the garage. Move them out and into a well ventilated area.

4. Never use propane or charcoal grills and barbeques inside your home, or in your garage.

5. Install carbon monoxide detectors on every level of the home, making sure they are outside of every sleeping area. If possible, connect all carbon monoxide detectors throughout the home. When one sounds the alarm on one level, they will all sound.

6. Perform routine checks around your homes foundation. Especially in the fall with piling leaves, and after a large snowstorm, vents can easily be blocked, allowing carbon monoxide to build.

7. Never ignore an alarm from your carbon monoxide. Even if you think you know the problem, its better to check it out with your local fire department than to face an emergency trip to the hospital due to carbon monoxide poisoning.

8. If the detector is electric, make sure the electrical socket is live all the time, and cannot be turned off with a light switch.

9. Replace batteries in your detector on a yearly basis. Create a set schedule, similar to your smoke detectors, replacing around the New Year, or when changing to daylight saving time.

10. Replace your carbon monoxide detector frequently. Read the manufacturers guidelines for expected replacement times, or replace them on a set schedule along with your smoke detectors.

A smoke detector, or smoke alarm, is a small device that detects smoke within your home, and issues an audible or visual alarm upon detection.

Most smoke detectors work in one of two ways.

Optical detection
An optical smoke detector uses light to detect smoke. A beam of light passes in front of the detector in a straight line into a photoelectric sensor. When smoke enters the optical chamber within the light beam, light is scattered by the smoke, triggering the sensor to sound the alarm. An optical smoke detector is less sensitive to false alarms from steam or cooking fumes within bathrooms and kitchens.

Ionization detection
An ionization smoke detector is more prone to false alarms, but is cheaper and more widely used than its optical counterpart. It can detect particles of smoke that are invisible to the human eye. An ionization smoke detector has an air filled chamber with two electrodes running a constant current between the two. If any smoke enters the chamber and interrupts this current, the alarm will sound.

Most residential smoke detectors run on a 9 volt battery. When the battery runs low, most alarm systems have a low battery alarm that will sound in warning. Even with this safety feature as a backup, it is a good idea to change the batteries on a regular basis. Schedule battery changing around yearly events, such as daylight saving time, or the New Year.

It’s also important to replace your smoke detector regularly as well. The National Fire Protection Association recommends changing out smoke detectors every 10 years as they become less reliable with time, due to aging of their electronic components.

[Paul Davis Restoration – serving the Denver community for more than 18 years. We’re here to help you recover from fire, smoke, and water damage associated with a fire in your home.]

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Home fire restoration can involve a small section of a room, or an entire home. It can be as simple as recovering from a small grease fire on the stove, to a complete loss from a wildfire.

The first step in home fire restoration is assessing the damage. With a complete loss, starting over is the only alternative. But with a smaller fire, make sure you assess all of the damage. Smoke and soot can travel and penetrate not only the area affected by the fire, but also surrounding rooms. Be sure to assess everything including walls, paint, carpet, upholstery, drapery, clothing and family belongings.

Home fires are classified in different ways. Some are the result of ordinary combustible materials, such as paper, wood and plastics. Combustible liquids such as gasoline or oil cause others. Still others are caused by electrical equipment, including wiring, circuit breakers and outlets. Depending on the type of damage determines your next steps.

In all cases, start by contacting your insurance company, and a reputable fire restoration company. Both can help you recover from your loss quickly, and offer you advice on the best way to proceed. For you, fire damage is an isolated experience. For both an insurance company and a fire restoration company, they deal with these types of losses frequently.

From there, concentrate on your personal assets. Remove as many items as possible to save and restore. Start making lists of items that have been destroyed. If you have video, photographs, or journals listing your assets, pull them out for the insurance company. The more proof you have of what was lost in the fire, the easier replacement will be.

Always rely on experts to get you back on your feet again. This is an emotional time for you, and you could miss important steps along the way. Having an expert along side of you to help pick up the pieces can not only save you time and money, but can also help you recover and restore areas you aren’t even aware of.

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While no one plans to have a home fire, the reality is there are more than 500,000 home fires reported every year. By following just a few fire safety tips within your home, you can reduce the chance of your family becoming one of the statistics.

Fires safety begins with knowledge. Don’t assume your family knows how to stay safe; teach them, especially younger children. Have a family safety night. Go over the rules, and make sure your children understand what to do in the event of a fire. Start with these tips:

When using the stove, stay in the kitchen as pots and pans are in use. Keep flammable objects such as potholders and towels away from the burners. Roll up sleeves and tie back loose clothing, which can easily catch fire if they touch a hot burner.
Keep grills at least ten feet away from flammable objects, including the house, deck or fencing, shrubs and bushes. Always stay by the grill when cooking. Keep pets and children away from a grill even after it’s turned off, as it can stay warm for quite awhile.

Keep matches and lighters in a well-protected area, away from children. While it is important for children to know safety standards with matches and lighters, it’s more important to keep them away from them and out of danger. Out of sight, out of mind.

As the cold air moves in, space heaters, furnaces, fireplaces and wood stoves come into use. Keep space heaters at least three feet away from walls, furniture and draperies, or stacks of books and magazines – anything that can catch fire. Turn off space heaters before going to bed. Check and clean furnaces, wood stoves and fireplaces at least once a year. Keep the area free of stacks of papers and other flammable items. Don’t leave a burning fire in a fireplace or wood stove unattended.

Gasoline is a very dangerous item to keep in your home; gas vapors can explode even with the tiniest of sparks. If you do store gasoline for use in things like lawn mowers, do so sparingly. Keep gas in a special safety container, and keep it in an outside shed away from the house if possible.

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October is National Fire Prevention Month, sponsored by the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA). This year’s theme is “Stay Fire Smart! Don’t Get Burned”, dedicated to helping educate homeowners about the leading causes of fire, and prevention members that will help keep a home safe.

According to the NFPA, the most common causes of home fires are:

• Cooking
• Heating
• Electrical
• Smoking

With just a few simple steps in place within your home, you can ensure the safety of your family and your property.

Step 1: Family Plan. Make sure you have a plan in place and everyone understands the plan. Provide escape routes for every room, using portable ladders where necessary.

Step 2: Home Fire Drill. Remember the drills when you were in school? They were used to help everyone stay calm in the event of a real emergency. Don’t wait for the emergency in your own home – have a fire drill today to make sure everyone understands the plan.

Step 3: Smoke Alarms. Make sure every smoke detector is in good working condition. Replace old smoke detectors, and change out batteries at least once per year.

Step 4: Fire Extinguishers. Place fire extinguishers in the kitchen, laundry room and garage, and make sure they are capable of putting out all three types of fires.

Step 5: Clean Up Day. It’s easy to accumulate household clutter as we move through our busy lives. Schedule an occasional clean up day to ensure papers, magazines, mail, and other items stay clear of stoves, furnaces, radiators, boilers, clothes dryers, and heaters. Also remove lint regularly from filters and dryer vent hoses.

Step 5: Maintaining Chimneys. Every year clean out your fireplace and chimney to remove soot and debris before you start a fire for the first time.

Step 6: Guidelines for Candles. Use caution when burning candles. Never leave untended, even for a moment. Have flashlights and lanterns available in case of power outage.

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Do you have fire extinguishers in you home? Are they working and in the proper place?

In order to ensure fire safety throughout the home, its important to know the facts before you need them.

Fire extinguishers are divided into four different categories based on the type of fire they are meant to extinguish.

• Class A extinguishers are for ordinary combustible materials that exist in the home, such as paper, wood, and most plastics.
• Class B extinguishers are for flammable or combustible liquids such as gasoline and oil.
• Class C extinguishers are for electrical equipment, including appliances, wiring, circuit breakers and outlets.
• Class D extinguishers are commonly found in chemical laboratories that involve combustible metals such as magnesium, titanium or potassium.

In order to protect your home from fire damage, its important to have the right fire extinguisher in each room, depending on the most common type of fire for that room.

First, know the different types of extinguishers available. Fire extinguishers will involve a combination of these classifications, and using the wrong one on a fire could cause more damage.

• Water extinguishers are for Class A fires only. Never use a water extinguisher on a grease or electrical fire as it will cause the flames to spread quicker.
• Dry chemical extinguishers come in a variety of types and are suitable for Class A, B and C fires. A dry chemical extinguisher is filled with foam or powder, and pressurized with nitrogen.
• Carbon Dioxide extinguishers are suitable for Class B and C files, and have an advantage over dry chemical extinguishers since they don’t leave a harmful residue – perfect for electrical fires that involve home electronics such as stereo equipment or computers.

Then choose the right extinguisher for each room. Make sure everyone in the household knows where they are, and how they work.

Without a doubt, one of the biggest safety concerns for homeowners is the silent killer, carbon monoxide. A test for carbon monoxide poisoning within the home is available; however installing a carbon monoxide detector and fixing any potential problem areas before they become serious threats should be your first line of action.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, poisonous gas that is produced by any product that burns fossil fuels. This includes gas furnaces, stoves, ranges, water heaters, or blocked chimney or flues.

Carbon monoxide buildup is generally caused by one of two things: either a problem develops in the appliance or fixture itself, or a blockage or fault occurs in the ventilation system.

Because carbon monoxide is odorless, tasteless, and non-irritating, prevention is the best line of defense.

Start by installing carbon monoxide detectors throughout your home. Place one on every level, making sure one is kept near the sleeping areas to alert you to danger while you are sleeping. Carbon monoxide is about the same weight as air, but because it will most likely be mixed with warm air from the faulty appliance, its best to place the detector near the ceiling as warm air rises. Do not place the detector near the appliance itself, as even an efficient appliance may release traces of carbon monoxide and provide faulty readings.

Next, have your gas appliances and chimneys and flues checked regularly, especially at the start of each season. Have it checked by a professional who is experienced working with gas, and understands proper ventilation for carbon monoxide.

Finally, think prevention first. Proper ventilation and updating equipment on a regular basis will help keep your family safe from this deadly killer.

[Paul Davis can help you with carbon monoxide testing and mitigation to ensure the health and safety of your family.]

The first freeze of the season is upon us, reminding us that the warm summer days are gone for another year. If you are looking for a home winterization service to help you get your home or second home ready for the cold winter months, here are some tips to keep in mind.

Home winterization is the process of getting a home ready for the cold winter months. In general, the term home winterization typically refers to sealing, draining, wrapping, and adding anti-freeze chemicals to prevent freezing of water, which ultimately causes breakage of pipes.

While some home winterization services are necessary for your home, additional services are needed to protect investment property like rentals and vacation homes, and foreclosures.

Winterization can include:

• Draining water lines
• Draining water heaters
• Turning off water heaters
• Shutting off water supplies
• Insulating pipes and fixtures
• Covering outside faucets and pipes
• Closing fireplace dampers
• Adding anti-freeze

Prevention at the beginning of the season is well worth it to avoid devastation due to a broken pipe.

If proper winterization isn’t performed, water damage can quickly run into the thousands of dollars to repair and correct. Water will continue to flow from a broken pipe indefinitely until the water is turned off at the source, which could be days or weeks on a vacation home or a rental with no one in the home.

[Whether you are looking for a home winterization service, or clean up from a broken pipe, Paul Davis has been helping Coloradoans with restoration services for over 18 years.]

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