My House Is Flooded! What Should I Do Until Help Arrives?

Imagine this: You pull into your driveway after a weekend out of town and your heart sinks as you notice the water trickling out from under your garage door. You're in a panic. You're thinking of all the possible damage that waits for you inside the house. It's definitely not a pleasant scenario, but it isn't a hopeless one either. You know you have to take action quickly, but what do you do first?

The top priority is always safety, so if there's standing water in your home, stay away from it. It could hold an electrical current from power outlets, cords or devices that might be plugged in and under the water. If you can't shut off the power to your house without walking through the water, call us before doing anything.

Bad, bad idea. (image courtesy of Telegraph UK)

After you've verified that it's safe to enter the house, try to quickly determine the origin of the leak. This is very important since you need to find out whether or not the water is a biological hazard (sewage water, or water from beyond the toilet trap). Check the most likely culprits first: Toilets and toilet water supply lines, washing machine water supply hoses, water heaters, and ice maker water supply lines. If you can't determine the origin of the water, put on some rubber gloves before coming into contact with anything wet.  Be sure to call a licensed plumber to repair any leaks that are more complicated than a busted water supply hose.
 
Once you determine the source of the leak, shut off the main water supply to the house. If you don't have an interior main water shut off valve, shut it off at your water meter, most likely located at the front edge of your lawn. You'll need a meter key or a large wrench for that.

Next, relocate any belongings that you're able to move to a dry area. That goes especially for furniture since the finish on wood furniture can permanently stain your carpet when it's wet. If you can't move  the furniture, try elevating it off of the carpet with blocks if you have them.
Don't forget your area rugs, too. You might want to move them outdoors and lay them flat since they will likely be saturated with water. Don't remove books from shelves. Instead, pack them tightly together to prevent them from warping due to the possibly high moisture levels in the air.

Now, by this time you've probably already called ServiceMaster by Cornerstone. If not, go ahead and call us. We're available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for emergencies like this one. Also, call your insurance agent if the damage appears significant. In the meantime, if you have a wet vac and you can use it without any electrical safety hazards, go ahead and start removing water until we arrive. Doing this might prevent water from spreading to unaffected areas of your home, and it'll speed up the drying process once we arrive.

By remembering these tips when a water disaster occurs, you won't have to feel helpless. Act quickly and you'll be glad you did.
 

Labor Day Weekend Safety Tips

The end of summer has finally come and we are going to all be celebrating the Labor Day weekend with different festivities. If you're planning on your last vacation of the summer this weekend or if you are staying home and cooking with family and friends, there's one thing that should never be looked over and that's safety.

If you're traveling this weekend, here are a few different tips from the Red Cross:

-The Red Cross urges travelers to carry an emergency supply kit in the trunk with theses minimum supplies; a gallon of water per person, per day; nonperishable and easy-to-prepare food; a flashlight, radio and extra batteries; and a first aid kit.

-The Red Cross also advises that people should bring along a seven-day supply of medications for those traveling, a multi-purpose tool, sanitation and personal hygiene items, copies of personal documents; family and emergency contact information; a cell phone with charger; an emergency blanket; map, and extra cash.

If you're staying around the house this weekend, here are some helpful tips:

-When grilling, you should make sure that you are staying away from all of the dwellings on your property. Also, you should make sure you are not grilling underneath any trees or any areas on your property that have a danger of catching fire.

-Make sure that all pets and children are staying away from the grill.

-Keep a fire proof pan under the grill to catch all grease.

-Keep the chef safe by providing long-handled tools to prevent burns.

We at ServiceMASTER by Cornerstone hope that everyone has an eventful but safe weekend. If any disaster were to strike 24/7, please make sure that you call us at 901-624-9200!

Grit and Grime In Your Tile and Grout

If you're like most people, managing your tile flooring can be a burden and a nuisance. Surprisingly though, cleaning tile and grout is one of the easier chores around the house when you follow these simple steps (between our trips to your home for the DEEP cleanings).

1) Make sure you are sweeping and mopping every other day in high traffic areas.

(It is very important to wash the mop head thoroughly to get the grimy mess out and prolong the life of the mop head)

2) When you have spills, clean them off the floors promptly.

3) When you were mopping, you may not have seen it, but you left some nastiness in the corners of the room. Use a rag that's wet and soapy to wipe down the corners of the floors. Oh, and don't forget to wipe the baseboards down because you pushed grit and grime onto them too.

*Remember to avoid using any soaps that are with oil or wax based. These will be absorbed by the porous materials in the grout and will eventually attract dirt from being walked on.

4) For those extremely nasty grout lines, start the scrubbing by using white vinegar and an old toothbrush. The vinegar will pull all the dirt and stains out of your grout lines.

As previously stated, these are tips to make sure that your floors look clean in between our DEEP cleanings by our trained technician. If you have further questions, please contact our offices at 901-624-9200 so we can put the "Cornerstone Clean" back into your tile and grout.

Maintaining Your Washing Machine Hoses

Burst washing machine hoses have to be one of the most common causes of catastrophic water damage in homes. When is the last time you checked yours? A good rule of thumb for replacing your washer machine hose is every 5 years. If you have trouble remembering that, make it a habit every leap year.


Leaks on the floor around your washer are generally due to one thing – a leaking hose. On the back of your washer are three hoses: two supply hoses, both hot and cold, near the top and a drain hose that attaches near the bottom. Check the connections, where the hoses attach to the back of the washer as well as to the supply lines emerging from the wall and to the sewer drainpipe. If the hoses fit snugly and securely, look for holes in the lines themselves. It’s always possible the hole will be too small to find without water flowing through it, but even a pinhole can lead to a rotting floor or mold. Replace visibly old, cracked, suspect-looking hoses. The hoses and clamps are self-explanatory to remove and replace and are very affordable. Turn the water off at the wall before performing the work, and test the results before putting the washer back in place.

Through this summer, majority of the jobs that we have responded to have been from customers having a faulty hose on the back of the washer. We pray that you'll never have to worry about these kind of disasters, but if you happen to have one, ServiceMASTER by Cornerstone is privileged to serve you.