Toilet: A porcelain throne, a Dormant Nightmare

10/14/2016 (Permalink)

Call SERVPRO of Perry Hall White Marsh if you experience a sewage back-up or flood!

The Toilet- A Porcelain Throne, A Dormant Nightmare

Sometimes, a toilet won’t achieve a royal flush, but a royal disaster.

Flooding and sewage backups are among the many disasters that SERVPRO of Perry Hall White Marsh can assist you with, but what are the causes of such problems?

Sewage backups can be caused by blockages, which are the results of soil settlement, misaligned joints, root infiltration, pipe collapses, grease buildup, or by items that have been flushed down a drain (so keep an eye on your small children to prevent any catastrophic flushing).

Flooding often occurs during intense storms, when the volume of runoff is greater than a drainage system’s capacity. When the system overflows, the water can enter a property via door, window, or even cracks within the building’s foundation. In cities, it’s more to common to occur when heavy rain elevates water within the sewer system and therefore rises through the sewer pipeline and into a home or business.

Another cause of flooding is a leaky toilet! It can be easy to figure out if your toilet is leaking, as it is often accompanied by the sound of running water or faint hissing or trickling. However, water can also flow silently through the tank, which can make your toilet’s ailment unknown until it’s too late.

How Sewage can Back up into your Parkville Carney Basement.

8/4/2016 (Permalink)

How Sewage can back up into your Parkville MD Basement

A Sewage back up is when waste water or ‘black water’ reverses back into your home, exiting through pipes, toilets, bathtubs and sinks.  ‘Black water’, contains untreated sewage, chemicals, microbes, viruses and bacteria.

Sewage back-ups are very common in the Parkville, Carney, Overlea area and are a complete (and dangerous) nightmare.  Sewage back-ups are grossly hazardous, can damage your home and put your family at risk for multiple symptoms, from serious illness to death.

If this is happening to you now, please call SERVPRO of Perry Hall White Marsh 410-529-1664 and we will assist you in finding a plumber and getting clean up started right away. Keep pets and children away from the affected area and stop the flow of black water if you are able to. Once you have the situation under control and services are on the way, we can continue on with how sewage may have gotten there in the first place.

How can sewage enter your Parkville Carney home? There a few common causes:

Toilet Clogging

Use your toilet for its designated purpose. Foreign objects such as diapers, needles, sanitary pads and paper towels can clog the line and cause a sewage back up.

Improper use of Garbage Disposal

Be careful with using your garbage disposal and avoid dumping large quantities of anything- It can get lodged within your sewer line and cause a sewage back-up.

Improper disposal of Grease down a Drain

Pouring grease down the drain can also cause clogging, as grease and fat can harden within your plumbing and cause a sewage back up over time.

Tree Roots

Tree roots can grow into pipes causing holes, blockages, or even wrap around and crush the pipes that take the waste water away from your house, and will cause the water to flow back in as black water.

Broken or Collapsed Sewer Lines

Older homes with cast iron and clay piping are more prone to back-ups than newer homes, where plastic piping has become typical. The older piping can wear down over time and even break.

Storm Water Overwhelming ‘Sanitary’ (More Commonly Known as Sewer) Lines

Heavy rain fall overwhelm sewers and cause recirculation also known as “back flow” which can cause dramatic damage. If this happens to be the cause, stay out of the area until SERVPRO arrives as the sewage will be overwhelming and likely will be continuous until storm stops.

Remember, if you discover a sewer back-up within your home, identify the source of the back-up and call your local clean-up services immediately.

ABOUT SERVPRO of PERRY HALL WHITE MARSH

SERVPRO of Perry Hall/White Marsh is a fire & water damage restoration company, we clean commercial and residential properties who have experienced fire, water, mold and sewage damage. We have an A+ Rating by the Better Business Bureau. We are located in Rosedale, just minutes away from white marsh and Perry Hall, we service Perry Hall, White Marsh, Parkville, Rosedale, Nottingham, Carney, Overlea, Fullerton, Kingsville and anywhere we are called within 20 miles.

Continue:

Our Certifications: IICRC Standard

What to do until Help Arrives: Water damage

What to do until Help Arrives: Sewage Back-up

SERVPRO 24/7 Emergency Service for Parkville : Contact us now

What to do When there is Sewage in your Nottingham Basement

7/15/2016 (Permalink)

What to do when there is sewage in your basement

A sewer backing up, or contaminated water backing out of your tub, sink or toilet can be an absolute nightmare for Nottingham homeowners. The truth is you can’t (and shouldn’t) do very much; sewage contaminated water is dangerous to your health and should be avoided at all costs. If you have water backing up out of toilet, sink or bathtub in your Nottingham home, then follow these steps and call SERVPRO of Perry Hall/White Marsh.

Your Game Plan

-Stay out of the area/avoid cross contamination

-Determine the source

-Arrange repair and cleanup services

-Call your Insurance Company

Keep Children and Pets away from sewer-water affected areas

Keep children and pets away the moment the sewer water is discovered, until the clean-up crew and sanitation is complete. Sewage is considered Category 3 water, more commonly known as black water. Category 3 water or Black water is defined by the IICRC as “the worst classification and is grossly unsanitary. It could cause severe illness or death if ingested. It used to be called black water, and sources include sewer backup, flooding from rivers or streams, toilet overflow with feces, and stagnant liquid that has begun to support bacterial growth.” Keep children and pets away at all times and if you yourself must go in the area, wash your hands thoroughly and avoid touching cuts, eyes, mouth or ears with your hands or any item that came in contact with the black water.

Risks of Sewage back up debris

Category 3 water/Raw sewage contains Diseases such as Hepatitis, Salmonella, E.Coli and Parasites just to name a few, would you risk cleaning this yourself without proper training or the tools and chemicals to do it correctly? These disease survive weeks even months if not properly killed. Doing it yourself, or hiring the wrong professional puts you, your family, pets and house guests at a great risk. Call SERVPRO of Perry Hall/White Marsh to schedule emergency Service to have the job taken care of "Like it never even happened."

Determine whether the waste is local (as in, from your own home) or from the sewer system also known as “backflow”

Determine the source of the sewage backup – if entering the area seems like it would be dangerous to your health (no proper protective equipment) then just skip on down to arrange services. IF you are able to do some inspecting, then determine the source by the amount and the flow rate. A Local waste product would be from a blockage, tree roots affecting plumbing lines or broken or collapsed lines on your property, this waste would be from your own home but is still considered a category 3. Backflow is when the sewer system in your neighborhood or municipality is overwhelmed, and it reverses in your pipes, causing it to erupt from toilets, sinks and tubs. This waste product is waste from all your neighbors and nearby buildings pouring into your home. This can happen from heavy rainflow overwhelming your municipality’s sewer system, causing it to backflow into your home. Regardless of the way it came in, the sewage needs to be immediately removed and sanitation needs to begin as soon as possible to reduce cost of clean up and more importantly minimize health risks.

Arrange Services with SERVPRO of Perry Hall/White Marsh

Call an Emergency Restoration company such as SERVPRO of Perry Hall White Marsh as we are IICRC Certified and specialize in cleaning up hazardous waste. Most contractors and plumbers do not have the capability to clean up the site after the repairs have been made, or at the very least inadequate equipment – and may not be approved by your insurance company if you choose to claim the loss.

SERVPRO also has a 1-4-8 policy, which means within 1 hour from notice of loss (When you call), a SERVPRO professional will contact you to arrange services. Within 4 hours of notice of loss, a SERVPRO professional will be onside to start mitigating services. Within 8 business hours, a verbal briefing of the scope will be communicated to your adjuster by a SERVPRO Professional. If any SERVPRO believes they are incapable of responding within this time frame, they will refer you to a SERVPRO who can so you are not left waiting!

Call your insurance company

Ask your agent if this is a covered loss, and what your deductible will be.  This can be done before or after calling SERVPRO of Perry Hall/White Marsh as we accept all insurance plans and you can also pay yourself – whether you are covered or not, this will not affect your ability to receive service.

What to do while the Crew is at work

Once the services have been arranged, and the SERVPRO crew is at work, do your best to keep all equipment running, still keep children out of the area as well as pets and do not be afraid to ask questions. While your plumber is there ask if there are ways to prevent a Sewage back up or back flow from happening again and ask him about installing a Backflow valve.

When the work is done

First off, pat yourself on the back for making it through this turbulent time! When the services are complete, SERVPRO will arrange to have your walls and flooring replaced and then it will be "Like it never even happened."

Throw Back Thursday to a Happy Customer in Perry Hall Nottingham

3/25/2016 (Permalink)

Handwritten note from our happy customer, March 3rd 2013, Nottingham MD.

We love sharing handwritten notes from happy customers. Here is one we recieved from a customer who had a sewage back up in her Nottingham basement, this day 3 years ago. It's something we keep on our front desk to remind us of the importance of customer service and what a different a quality team can make. The customer asked her name be removed from the note, so will call her Jane.

"John, I just want to thank you again for all of your help last week when I had the sewage back up in my basement. You and your entire staff (Brandon and Tim, who did the work in my house, and Rhonda and Debbie who I talked with on the phone and you who took the time to come to the house) were all considerate, professional and efficient. I've already reccommended your Perry Hall Location to several people for their future reference, Thanks again!"

Thank you Jane, we are glad we were able to get your home back to the way it was, "like it never even happened".

For more reviews look at our testimonails:

http://www.SERVPROperryhallwhitemarsh.com/testimonials