How To Remove Black Stains On Hardwood Floor

Hardwood flooring is a beautiful attribute of any home. Like carpet and any other type of flooring you must clean and maintain wood floors to keep them beautiful.  Tarnishing the floor can be a homeowner’s worst nightmare as it is a difficult task to remove stains once they have set in.  Perhaps a drink spilled and was not properly cleaned up or a cup was left on the ground leaving a ring of condensation. Worse than that, a water damage caused by a leak in the ceiling often times leaves a much bigger stain. Reoccurring stains such as pet urine also prove to be almost impossible to remove without refinishing the surrounding area of the mark. Depending on how deep the stain goes will determine how hard it is to remove.

Asses the Stain

The first question you should be asking yourself is, what does the stain look like? This answer alone will help you determine how you can go about dissolving the stain.  The tarnish will be white or black. White stains mean the stain has not set in past the surface of the wood. A black stain on the other hand is a greater problem and will be more tiring to remove. Black stains indicate that actual wood damage has taken place.

White Stains and Rings:

If the stain is white, you are in luck because that means it is only either in the finish or the waxy surface layer of the floor.  There are a variety of things you can do to remove white stains. You can play the waiting game and wait 2-3 days to see if the stain goes away on its own. If it does not, you may then cover the stain with a dry cloth and rub the cloth with a steamless hot iron pressed against the floor. You may also scrub the area with a lemon oil soaked wool scrub brush. The oil is to prevent scratches on the wood floor. Gently rub the white ring. Following that, simply swipe the spot with denatured alcohol and let set. This may sound simple, but what about when the problem is in fact deeper? How do you remove black stains? Read More 

What to Do When Exterior Wall Leaks

We here at Accutech understand the disaster that water damage can be. Florida’s stormy summers are certainly cause for concern when it comes to your beautiful Sarasota home. Leaks from exterior walls can occur by several means. Holes, cracks, gaps and penetration in the walls can all lead to water leakage. Penetration in the walls includes cable wires or pipes that pierce the walls from the outside. Water will definitely find a way into your home if there are any flaws in the structure. Water damage is a serious issue for home owners and can cause great damage. You must correct the flaw immediately to avoid severe problems.

Testing for Exterior Wall Leaks

Exterior wall leaks are very serious. Aside from all of the rain your Florida home encounters, humidity is another way for moisture to seep through any flaw in your exterior finish. It is beneficial to do routine inspections of your own property to be sure none of the walls are compromising.

After each rainstorm, take a walk around your home inside and out. Inside you will be checking for any sign of unknown water. Outside, you will check for any section of the walls that look worn or that show any sort of blemish.  Doing this regularly can help prevent severe water damage. It is crucial to avoid water damage because once it makes its way into your home it can lead to things like mildew and mold. Mold allergies can quickly result. A scary thing is when you do not realize you have an exterior leak and the moisture continually builds up within your walls. If mold grows and exists without your knowledge you will be putting your and your family’s health at risk.

Another way to test for cracks and gaps in your home is to take a hose and spray at full force around your home from the outside. This resembles the harsh qualities of a hurricane or rainstorm. After simulating a storm, check thoroughly for water that made it inside.

What Causes Exterior Wall Leaks? 

Exterior wall leaks occur when there is a compromise in the structure. This can be from cracks in the stucco, weakened wood (for a wooden home), holes, or cable wires or pipes that have a gap between the fixture and the home. Any slight error in the exterior of your home leaves room for water to sneak in. Since your Sarasota home is located in a beautiful but hurricane-risk state, it is important to inspect your walls from the outside in to make sure they are functioning as they should be.

As a homeowner you should be checking for gaps between exterior faucets and the house, gaps between gas pipes and the house, and gaps between the air conditioning unit and the house. Gaps caused by dryer vents and light fixtures are major reasons for concern. Water can easily enter your home through these avenues.

Exterior cracks can be a source of water leaks as well. Cracks in the surface of the walls could be detrimental depending on how deep they go. The mortar under windows can often be compromised after years of existence. Heavy rains and harsh weather can cause cracks to form here. Wood homes vary from stucco/concrete homes. They are at risk for termites or wood rot. These things greatly weaken a home’s walls and can give way for water leaks which ultimately can lead to a whole host of other issues after water damage occurs. Read More

10 Smoke Damage Cleanup Tips

After any fire, particularly an oil or grease-based fire, even a small one, there is almost always smoke damage to the walls and ceilings of the building. Thankfully, in many cases, when smoke damage is limited, you can often clean up the damage so that there will be little to no sign of the fire. To help you out, we’ve assembled a list of 10 tips so that you know how to clean up smoke damage:

Smoke Damage Restoration 

Tip #1: Make Sure the Building is Safe

It may be tempting to get right to work on the smoke damage clean up right away after a blaze. After all, the longer the smoke damage is left to set into the building, the more difficult it will be to remove. However, it is important to make sure that the fire that caused the smoke damage in the first place is well and truly out.
After a blaze, if the Fire Department was called in, wait for a firefighter to give you the okay to move back into the building. If the blaze was small enough to handle on your own, ensure that the source of the fire is completely extinguished, and that there are no embers that could re-ignite. It does little good to begin cleaning up the smoke damage from one fire if another one starts.

Tip #2: Wear Protection

As with any cleanup process that involves contact with chemicals, it is a good idea to wear appropriate protection. This goes double for dealing with the soot left by a fire. As you clean up the smoke damage, soot particles may be released into the air, where it can irritate your eyes and skin, or even be inhaled, triggering asthmatic attacks. Sometimes, the chemicals used in smoke damage remediation can be just as hazardous to your health as the soot and smoke from the fire itself.
To limit your exposure to toxic substances and prevent potential problems, it is a good idea to wear:

• Comfortable clothing that covers as much skin as possible (long pants, shirt, shoes, etc.).
• Gloves (to protect your hands from chemical exposure).
• A facemask/respirator (to filter out chemicals and soot from the air you breathe).
• Goggles (to keep soot and stray splashes of chemical cleaner out of your eyes).

Wearing the appropriate protective wear will help you avoid injury while you work to remove the smoke stains from the building.

Tip #3: Start as soon as Possible

The more time that soot and smoke damage is allowed to set, the harder it will be to clean out once you start the smoke damage restoration process. If smoke damage is left untreated for long enough, the soot stains may become permanent.
Also, the unpleasant odor emitted by soot is an indication that you are breathing in soot particles, which could be harmful to you and others, triggering asthma-like symptoms. For people who already suffer from respiratory problems, the soot particles can cause a full-blown asthmatic attack. The sooner the leftover soot and smoke damage is cleaned up, the less risk of health complications that you have to face.Read More

Top 5 Causes Of Fire Damage

There are many reasons a home could catch fire and go down in flames. It is important to be aware of these causes so that you may prevent them as much as you can. Many house fires are results of carelessness or irresponsible activity.  Forgetting you put a pan in the oven or leaving your curling iron on next to tissues when you leave the house are two ways house fires could start out of nowhere. There is nothing more devastating than a family arriving to their home only to find ashes and debris where the house once stood. Here you will learn about five of the top causes of fire damage and some fire damage tips on avoiding this catastrophe.

Causes of House Fires:

1. Cooking

Cooking is the number one cause of house fires starting. Unfortunately we are not all world renowned chefs like we may think. Not only is this the number one cause in Sarasota, but in the entire United States.
There are many things you can do to be safer in the kitchen. These are things you must practice every day.

1. Never leave pot holders or towels near a stove or oven that is currently on or that has been on within the past two to three hours. Plastic bags, such as loaves of bread, should also be kept away from the hot machine. The towels can often be flammable and the melting plastic is a sure recipe for a fire to begin. It is so important to keep all papers and other flammable objects away from the stove at all times. Putting the kitchen linens in a specific drawer at a safe distance from the stove is a great routine to get in.
2. Be extra careful when frying foods or cooking in any other way that involves hot oils and greases. Oil and grease pop and crackle when hot. You must be very careful not to burn yourself but also not to let any oil or grease spill on the burner of the stove top.  This can cause an immediate fire. Any surrounding grease will serve as fuel to the fire. If a fire does break out remember to never use water to put it out. Oil fires must be put out with a fire extinguisher as the water will only splash the fire around and spread it on the walls and counters.
3. The last rule of the kitchen is simple: never leave a hot stove or oven unattended. Set a timer when cooking or baking so you do not forget to remove the item(s) and always remember to shut the oven or stovetop off when you are finished. This alone is a big step in prevention of kitchen fires.

Kitchen fires are completely preventable. You must always cook with caution and be as safe and careful as you can be. Another great tip is to store a fire extinguisher in your cabinet so that it is readily available at all times.  Practicing safe cooking will greatly reduce your risk of a house fire that originates in the kitchen. Read More

Property Management: Tips to Prevent Water Damage

No one likes to be the bearer of bad news. No one likes to receive bad news, either. Unfortunately, I have some bad news for property management specialists and companies throughout the Sarasota area: the properties you are supposed to be overseeing are at risk for severe water damage.
When? Why? There are many potential causes, and they can sometimes be hard to spot before they become disasters.

The Good News

But, there is good news, as many of the most common sources of water damage are quite manageable. Even the sources of water damage that you cannot control directly can be prepared for so that you can mitigate the costs of the damage.

Knowing the Threats

So, how can you prevent water damage? First, you need to know the various sources of water damage before you can do anything about them. Here are a few of the most common threats for water

damage in a property:

Plumbing Leaks. One of the most common issues faced by residential and business buildings across America, plumbing leaks can not only rack up the water bill, but contribute to the growth of mold and the deterioration of a building’s infrastructure. Thankfully, there are ways for you to detect a plumbing leak, which we have discussed before. One quick method of determining if there is a plumbing leak involves checking the utility bill to see if there is an excessive amount of water use, then using your water shut-off valve to see if it is an interior or exterior leak. If the water is shut off but the valve is still moving, it is an exterior leak. Otherwise, you have an interior leak.

Leaks in the Roof- Inclement weather or lack of proper maintenance can lead to rends or weakened seals in the structure of the roof. When this happens, water begins to seep into the home, and that can allow mold to develop in the attic or insulating layer between the roof and the ceiling of the home.
Water Seepage- During long periods of frequent rain, water can collect against the side of the home, and be absorbed by the foundation of the building. This can weaken the foundation over time, possibly even shifting the house enough to damage its frame. This can cause walls and doors to crack, as noted by Realtytimes.com.

Floods- When most people think of floods, they think of a river overflowing, or of hurricane-level natural disasters that can turn even slightly depressed terrain into a temporary lake. However, floods in a home can also originate with the plumbing, as a backed up toilet can overflow and spread contaminated water throughout a home.

Preventing as Much Damage as Possible

So, how can you prevent water damage from most of these sources? The prevention of water damage begins with good, old-fashioned maintenance. Preventing leaks from plumbing by regularly inspecting and repairing the pipes in a property goes a long way towards stopping water damage from occurring in the first place.

The Weather Channel has quite a few helpful tips on their website for preventing water damage from non-plumbing problems. Here are a few suggestions for minimizing or preventing water damage:
Inspect the Building’s Flashing- Flashing is the term for a thin metal strip that is used to prevent water intrusion in areas where two different building surfaces connect, such as where a chimney or vent comes through the roof, or where a window is set into a wall. A detailed explanation of what a good piece of flashing should look like can be found on the website of the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors.
Read More http://www.accutechrestoration.com/property-management-tips-to-prevent-water-damage/