The Types of Floods You Might Encounter | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

4/9/2022 (Permalink)

Regardless of the cause of the flooding, SERVPRO of West Milwaukee has the team to help you recover from any disastrous event.

In the United States, flooding is the most common natural disaster, claiming more lives each year than hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning combined. Individual homes with excess water can be affected, as can entire communities or even entire cities.

Flooding affects all 50 states and every U.S territory, but there are similarities in types and causality among all them. There are three common types of flooding, and they happen for four typical reasons.

<h4types-of-natural-flooding">3 Types of Natural Flooding

Flash floods are common, and they happen when heavy rain passes or sits over an area and overwhelms the ability of the ground to contain the moisture. Excess water runs off and takes garbage cans, cars and more with it.

River floods are exactly what they sound like. When there’s too much water for a river’s banks to hold, the water spills over the sides and causes destruction.

Coastal floods happen in areas next to large bodies of water, when storm surges or cyclonic activity causes ocean or gulf levels to rise to flood levels.

<h44-most-common-causes-of-natural-flooding">The 4 Most Common Causes of Natural Flooding

Heavy rainfall. Storms with excessive rainfall, or storms that sit and rest over an area for an extended period can cause flash floods or river flooding. Urban areas are more at risk for rain floods, because the higher percentage of concrete and asphalt means there’s a lack of soil to soak up all that water. In August of 2021, the Milwaukee area saw flooding like it hadn’t seen since 2008. In just two days, some areas saw as much as seven inches of rainfall, which lead to significant flash floods across the city. The total rainfall at Mitchell Airport on Sunday, August 2 was 4.79 inches, which broke the previous record of 2.79 inches significantly.

Oceanic activity. Storm surges, hurricanes and rising tides can cause water levels to rise in waves, which can invade coastal communities and wreak havoc.

Dams and levees failing. The most notable example of this in recent history would be the disastrous levee breaks during 2005’s Hurricane Katrina. Levees and dams fail when cracks occur or excess pressure overtakes the dam’s ability to contain the surge of water behind it.

Snowmelts and ice dams. In areas of the country where heavy snow and prolonged freezing temperatures are common, snow and ice can build up over a winter’s time, and when they start to melt, they cause rivers of water to flow through area communities. Ice dams or ice jams happen when rivers become blocked by built-up ice being carried downstream, causing the banks to overflow.

Regardless of the cause of the flooding, SERVPRO has the tools and teams to help your home or business recover from its disastrous effects. Contact us anytime when flooding or water damage makes a mess in your life.

Why We’re Your Next Business Partner | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

3/19/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of West Milwaukee are your local commercial restoration experts. Contact us today should you experience any damage.

Organizations need every bit of help possible in order to stay afloat. As a company owner or manager, you are well aware that maintaining a seamless operation requires the assistance of every available hand. Significant delays or losses may force you to permanently close your doors.

However, your retail space, manufacturing facility or rental property already has a hidden partner that can assist with all of your cleaning and recovery needs, and it’s just outside your door. SERVPRO of West Milwaukee is capable of satisfying a wide range of company demands; it’s as if you have a new business partner handling an entire component of your organization’s success strategy.

Large Loss Recovery. Fires, storms and flooding are the most common causes of financial loss for organizations in the United States, and they may result in much more damage if urgent action is not taken. When you contact SERVPRO, you can be certain that you are calling a highly experienced team that is available 24 hours a day to deliver proven emergency services, reducing business interruptions and accelerating the recovery process.

Emergency Ready Plan. Recovery begins even before the disaster occurs—that is, if your firm has been well prepared. We can assist you in determining the ideal strategy for when the time is right. During a crisis, you may need an emergency chain of command, alternative meeting or work locations, and temporary suppliers, and we’ll have you configured for a simple button press to initiate all of this.

Cleaning of All Kinds. We provide solutions for a wide variety of cleaning situations, ranging from specialized requirements such as trauma site cleanup and safe biohazard removal to more routine requirements such as carpet cleaning and upholstery restoration. We’ve been in this business for a long period of time and have seen and cleaned almost everything.

Restoration Services. Flash floods can ensue from a storm. The interns could ignite a fire in the kitchen. A water main can burst. All of these unfortunate events require cleanup and restoration. You can rely on us to restore the sparkle to your business after a property damage disaster, from water removal through restoration.

Industry Specialization. There is no industry that we are unable to help, and we have spent decades mastering the intricacies of them all. We can assist you with any unique or specialized cleaning or restoration requirements your business may have. In many circumstances, we can even enclose the work area to avoid interfering with adjacent regions’ normal activities.

Whatever your recovery need may be, and whatever your commercial property may require, trust SERVPRO to get the job done. Contact us today to get started on an Emergency Ready Plan or find out how we can serve your business.

SERVPRO Helps Businesses Prepare | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

3/12/2022 (Permalink)

If the day comes where your business is hit with disaster or emergency, you can rest assured SERVPRO of West Milwaukee will be there to help.

Managing a business is like walking a tightrope. There are many factors to consider when deciding how many employees to hire, how much to pay them and how to stay up with an ever-changing business climate. It’s a full-time job, for sure, but really more like an overtime time if we’re being honest!

You’ve put in countless time and effort to get to this point. If disaster hits, though, will you be ready?

A company can often be brought down for good by only a single disaster. Around 40% of small businesses fail to reopen following damage from natural disasters, according to FEMA. And 25% of those that do reopen fail within a year.

A disaster plan is more important than ever for small businesses as the economic horizon, especially in the shadow of recent pandemic shutdowns, is undoubtedly uncertain. As many as 75% of small businesses do not have an emergency plan in place, and this must change.

An Emergency Ready Plan is a detailed post-disaster plan that SERVPRO of West Milwaukee is eager to help businesses in the region with. Whatever your location or industry, we can help you figure out what to do after a crisis.

You’ll know the whole process from start to finish. When a crisis hits, your strategy is ready to get to work immediately to minimize the impact on your business. In the event of an emergency, you and your team will know who to contact and exactly what to do and when.

Plan ahead of time to avoid making your business path even tougher than it already is. SERVPRO experts can assist you in developing an Emergency Ready Plan to help you recover from a disaster. It could be the key to survival.

When your business is ready to prioritize planning and safety to prevent extended downtime, contact SERVPRO to get the Emergency Ready Plan underway from the folks who know all there is to know about disaster and recovery.

Examining U.S. Spring Weather Threats | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

3/12/2022 (Permalink)

Extreme temperature changes can lead to the possibility of severe weather. SERVPRO of West Milwaukee is a click away if you experience any damage.

As one of the world’s largest countries, the United States experiences a variety of seasonal weather patterns, resulting in a wide variety of seasonal weather threats.

We will examine the many weather patterns that might develop as spring approaches and warm and cold air masses mix throughout the country, as well as what we can anticipate in Missouri.

The Pacific Northwest is prone to severe rain in the spring, which may result in flooding and water damage. At higher elevations, snow will continue to accumulate, and its melting and runoff will create their own set of issues.

Winters in the Upper Midwest and Northeast, including Wisconsin, are exceptionally severe compared to the rest of the country, with freezing temperatures persisting throughout the season. Residents from Maine to the Dakotas should expect very cold weather even into the spring season, as well as the possibility of snow and freezing conditions.

Severe thunderstorms are a threat to the state, particularly during the spring and summer months. Strong derechos can blast at upwards of 120 mph, resulting in power outages and tens of millions of dollars in damages. Tornadoes are not as common in Wisconsin as in other midwestern states, but they do occasionally occur.

The Southwest will need to be watchful for severe heat waves that pose a danger to life and property. The South Pacific region, which includes Hawaii, will be on the lookout for tsunamis triggered by tectonic activity.

Windstorms, derechos and the potential of wildfires, which spread quickly in high winds and dry seasons, will be an issue for the central United States, which stretches from Iowa to Texas. Tornado Alley is an area within this region that is prone to strong storms and tornadoes.

The Southeast may see a variety of severe weather events, ranging from tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in landlocked areas to hazardous rip currents and hurricanes later in the season.

All 50 states face a substantial danger from extreme weather. Regardless of the difference in danger between you and a relative in another state, being prepared is always a good idea.

If extreme weather leaves you with damage from water, fire or other elements, help is a click away. Contact SERVPRO for fast, expert recovery.

The Full Spectrum of SERVPRO Services | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

2/5/2022 (Permalink)

When you need cleanup and recovery of any kind, you can trust SERVPRO of West Milwaukee to get the job done.

When you pass a house with big green trucks parked out front, you probably have a vague idea what’s going on. There’s cleaning of some kind happening, maybe some hoses or vacuums are getting involved, that kind of thing.

Everybody knows SERVPRO does *something*—but most people have no idea the breadth of service we provide, so let’s look today at the full range of things with which SERVPRO of West Milwaukee can help you.

Water damage recovery. You may know this one by now—no matter the source of water damage, we can get your home or business back in the dry again.

Fire damage recovery. A fire happens every 23 seconds in the U.S., and that’s actually down from previous statistics. When something ignites and starts a fire in your home, we can repair the damage, right down to the smell.

Mold removal. Water damage can allow mold to creep in quickly, and it can threaten the structure of your home, given enough time to work. It can be hazardous to clean up, too—so let us remove it safely.

Storm recovery. Large-scale disasters are unfortunate, but they happen from time to time. When they do, we can handle every aspect of your recovery.

Commercial needs. Anything we do for homeowners, we can do for business owners, too, plus some—including specialized sanitation to make your customers and employee teams feel safe.

General cleaning. Sometimes you simply need some help at home. Carpets get dirty, upholstery needs a facelift or general cleaning needs a professional touch. We’ve got you covered so you don’t have to halt your schedule.

Specialty cleaning. If you can imagine the scenario, we can clean it up—from biohazard cleanup to crime scenes. If it’s scrubbable or restorable, we can handle it.

Construction. Sometimes area homes take a big hit. When something large and unfortunate occurs, count on SERVPRO to see you through the process of rebuilding, from the first nail to the last coat of paint.

Add 24-hour service and an easy insurance process to all this, and the picture becomes clear—when you need cleanup and recovery of any kind, you can trust SERVPRO to get the job done.

Every Fire Has These 4 Things in Common | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

1/30/2022 (Permalink)

If your home or business has any damage, SERVPRO of West Milwaukee is ready around the clock to help you recover.

All kinds of scenarios result in fires, and of course, all kinds of materials catch fire—homes, forests, even the occasional tire factory. And while all these fires may start under varying circumstances, they all have the same origins.

It’s a little confusing, but that’s where the fire tetrahedron comes in.

See, the study of fire by the scientific community led to the realization that all fires have the same four elements present, and without all four of these happening simultaneously, no fire can start or survive. Ready to learn? Great.

<h34-things-a-fire-needs-to-live">The 4 Things a Fire Needs to Live

Fuel. This is the thing a fire devours. It may start out as one thing—a leaf, a napkin, etc.—but the fuel source can change as a fire spreads and finds new things to destroy.

Heat. Whatever burns has to first combust, and anything that combusts has to reach a certain temperature. That temperature varies from object to object and material to material, but anything that catches fire has a flash point.

Oxygen. Fires not only consume fuel, they consume oxygen—or more accurately, they convert it to carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide.

Chemical Chain Reaction. The chain reaction among the other three elements is a crucial component of the fire tetrahedron, because in order for a fire to live, these things don’t only have to *happen*—they have to happen repeatedly.

The 4 Ways to Stop a Fire

Cool it. Fires can be stopped using the inverse principles of their building blocks—so, for example, cooling off a fire’s fuel source brings thermal balance, which causes the fuel to fall below its combustion threshold. This is why dumping water on fires is so effective.

Smother it. The oxygen a fire consumes is crucial to the combustion cycle, so covering a fire with something that keeps it from gaining access to more oxygen keeps a fire from growing and kills it quickly.

Starve it. In order for fire to continue, it has to either spread from its original fuel source or be able to dig deeper into its fuel source, to consume more of it. For this reason, if a fire runs out of fuel for any reason, it dies.

Interrupt the chain reaction. Class C fires—ones which involve electricity—need a different kind of solution than water. That’s where halon gases and other chemicals can come into play, because they can chemically trip up the continual reaction that has to occur for fires to live. These gases can stop any fire, but they’re particularly useful where electricity is involved.

If the fire tetrahedron makes a wreck of your home or business, we’re ready around the clock to help you recover. Contact SERVPRO anytime for fast, thorough cleanup and recovery after a fire.

SERVPRO Is Your A-to-Z Water Damage Restoration Team | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

1/22/2022 (Permalink)

When water damage strikes, make the call to SERVPRO of West Milwaukee for A-to-Z cleanup and restoration.

Thousands of times a day—14,000, to be precise, a homeowner’s domain is infiltrated by an invasion of unwanted water, whether through appliance failure, flooding or some other malfunction.

You probably know by now that SERVPRO can handle the cleanup and recovery after some such mess, but do you know how? Today’s the day to learn.

Emergency Contact. Our first conversation will consist mostly of us asking you some questions that will helpfully guide us through the incident and help us formulate a customized plan for the necessary cleanup and restoration. Then we’ll head over to your place.

Inspection and Water Damage Assessment. Once the SERVPRO team arrives on site, we’ll look over the property and get a feel for the damage to complete our plan. Then we’ll inform you of anything we see that we estimate to be beyond restoration, and we’ll make sure you’re aware of any on-site hazards resulting from the aquatic intrusion.

Water Removal. That water doesn’t stand a chance. Our powerful pumps will gulp down gallons and gallons of the stuff before it even knows what hit it. Depending on your scenario, there could be multiplied hundreds of gallons that need removal, and we’ll do it more efficiently than you could imagine.

Damaged Material Removal. Once water removal is done, we can remove the items and materials that are going to be replaced. You don’t want them sitting around soaking the place anyway.

Cleaning, Sanitizing and Deodorization. When water comes in, it brings stains and smells that you don’t want sticking around. We’ll use a combination of specially formulated products, high-tech equipment and time-tested methods to see to it that this important aspect of restoration is handled thoroughly.

Drying. The water is gone, but excess moisture in the air and on surfaces can cause Mold if your home isn’t properly dried. We’ll use high-powered HEPA vacuums and other equipment to restore the proper moisture level of your home.

Monitoring. You’ll get regular contact from our specialists during the drying process, so we can be sure everything is drying well and that our equipment is performing at optimal levels.

Repairs and Construction. Finally, we’ll be hard at work restoring damaged areas of your home, going so far as to fully reconstruct areas which have been hit hard. From the moment you call us to the moment we leave, we’ll treat your home with utmost care and leave the smallest possible footprint. You may never even remember we were here.

When water damage strikes, make the call to SERVPRO for A-to-Z cleanup and restoration. We’ll make your damaged property look "Like it never even happened."

A Quarter of All Fires Start *Where?* | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

1/9/2022 (Permalink)

Fire is a nightmare (sometimes literally). The threat of losing one’s home to the mouth of an angry flame should be enough to cause any homeowner to take every conceivable precaution to stop it from happening—or so it would seem.

But the facts show us that a quarter of all reported fires still happen at home, and a large portion of them are highly preventable.

So let’s dig in and look at the most common causes of home fires, to reveal just what we’re letting slip. Getting a grip on these safety needs could save you a regrettable, fiery mishap.

Cooking. Cooking stands head and shoulders above all other causes of home fires, and the top cause of cooking fires is actually unattended cooking. You read that correctly—the top cause of all 350,000 annual home fires in the United States could be prevented by paying more attention in the kitchen.

Heating equipment. Heaters are an inherent fire risk, because what they do is built on combustion. This creates problems, of course, especially when objects are left close to heat sources. And portable space heaters are notorious for starting fires as they tip over or overload circuits.

Electrical fires. This category has the most appearances of non-preventable occurrences, but still a great deal of electrical fires are within your power (pardon the pun) to prevent. Overusing extension cords, overloading circuits, neglecting needed maintenance and upgrades and even putting high-wattage bulbs into lower-wattage light sockets all contribute to these sparky fires.

Intentional fires. It’s almost inconceivable, but the U.S. sees 28,000 intentional home fires every year. These aren’t, for example, fires originally set on purpose in order to cook something—these are intentional uses of combustibles to set some piece of property on fire.

Smoking materials. While it ranks lowest on the list for number of occurrences, fire caused by cigarettes and smoking materials actually causes more civilian casualties than any other type of home fire. If you smoke, do it safely, and never do it while you’re drowsy.

Regardless of the cause, SERVPRO is here for you if your home is affected by fire. Contact your local team today to see how we can help.

Winter Storms Are Coming—Are You Ready? | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

1/9/2022 (Permalink)

If winter weather should bring damage to your home or business, contact SERVPRO of West Milwaukee for fast, restorative solutions.

Lake Michigan winters are a different level of winter, and they require preparation. A wait-and-see attitude toward winter in Milwaukee will have you up to your neck in snow with no power and no heat.

Winter’s risks should never be minimized or overlooked, so whether you’re a Milwaukee lifer or new to the area, it’s a good idea to go over some of the necessary preparations as we head into the bitter cold of the cold season.

You’ll Be Shocked by These Water Damage Numbers | SERVPRO® of West Milwaukee

12/22/2021 (Permalink)

If water damage catches you off-guard and leaves you all wet, you’ve got help on your side. Contact SERVPRO of West Milwaukee.

Like a team of heroes trying to hold a supervillain at bay, your pipes and drainage systems are the daily workhorses of your home, and they have the dual tasks of both transporting the water you need every day and keeping it from spewing, leaking or rushing all over your home.

Water damage can happen all too quickly, which is why keeping your plumbing and drainage systems well-equipped and maintained is an important part of preventing damage in your home.

We’ve put a few numbers together to give you an idea of the scope of water damage in the United States.

24. That’s the percentage of all U.S. home insurance claims that are water-related. That’s a quarter of all home insurance claims—almost 3,000,000 homes every year are damaged by water.

48. When water invades, the clock is ticking. You’ve got 48 hours to get rid of it and get your place dried out before mold starts growing.

98. Out of 100 homes with basements, this is the number of them that will experience water damage of some kind in said basement. This one’s simply hard to avoid—blame gravity and underground moisture.

10,234. When the water heater bursts or a flood brings water rising inside, this is the expected cost associated with the insurance claim. You may get away with less, but this is the average.

14,000. In the next minute, by average, there will be six water damage incidents across the country. That’s one every six seconds, for an average of an astonishing 14,000 per day.

13,000,000,000. All those zeroes are insurance companies crying—that’s how much money they’re shelling out every year to repair the damage done by water in homes across the U.S.

Shocking, right? But you don’t have to be part of these numbers. Everything you do to maintain, upgrade or otherwise strengthen your water system or protect your home from water damage is one more weight to tip the scale in your favor. Be vigilant, and we’ll hope with you that you can stay on the outside of these statistics.

If water damage catches you off guard and leaves you all wet, you’ve got help on your side. Contact SERVPRO to see how we can quickly and fully restore water damage to your home or business.