All about your sump pump

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

Many people are not aware of the problems that will arise if their sump pump is not working properly. There are also many people that do not know how to test their sump pump. Here is some information regarding sump pump maintenance.

Sump pumps are more active during heavy rains or storms. Depending on where you live, your sump pump will run more or less. Sump pumps should be checked at least once a year and probably more if you live in Eastern Iowa because of the chance for many periods of heavy rain and thunderstorms.

Here are some steps to check your sump pump:

1. Slowly fill the pit where the sump pump is with water. Watch for the float to rise, which would cause the pump to activate. Once the pump activates, make sure the water is drained from the pit.

2. If you have a backup pump, you can test it the same way. Make sure the first pump is unplugged first. 

A normal pump will cost you between $150 and $300 to replace if need be. It is better to spend this money than to deal with the mess left behind if the pump fails.  The average cost of a water damage due to sump pump failure will be between $2,500 and $15,000. 

Test your sump pump regularly. It is similar to changing the filters on your furnace or changing the batteries in your smoke detectors.

What makes hail?

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

When rain drops get carried high into the atmosphere where it is very cold they freeze and then come hurling down as hail. According to NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) hail causes around one billion dollars a year in damage whether it is crops, buildings, or cars. NOAA also has state by state information on damages due to hazardous weather. In Iowa in 2017 there was 14.31 million dollars’ worth of property damage and a whopping 37.20 dollars’ worth of crop damage. If you get caught in a hail storm seek shelter immediately. If you are in a car pull over to the side of the road, try to find a safe place under a bridge to protect yourself and your car. If you are inside stay away from windows.

Lightning!

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

Lightning is a very cool thing to watch. When you watch it, it should be indoors though. National Geographic says that the average American has a 1 in 5,000 chance of being hit by lightning, but 9/10 people survive a lightning strike. Cars and homes/buildings are the safest spots to be when lightning storms are in the area. They have conductors, such as tires and/or metal rods, that can safely transfer the lightning to the ground.  The most common type of lightning is cloud-to-ground lightning. This lightning  strikes the ground around 100 times a second. Each bolt contains up to one billion bolts of electricity. Remember, when lightning is in the area you need to stay inside a building or a car to stay safe.

24/7 we are here

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

If your company property has an accident and needs us, we will be there. SERVPRO®  has a national call center that is open 24/7 so that you can always get a hold of us. The national call center will call our local franchise so that we can take care of your property as soon as possible. We also have the Priority Response Program. This is SERVPRO local staff that is willing to come at any time to help mitigate and stabilize commercial losses. We can call on other franchises around the area to help if the commercial loss is big enough so that we can get more done in a shorter amount of time. This helps to mitigate the overall loss and you will see the real-time loss visibility.

Fireworks Fire Safety

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

Your friends at SERVPRO®  want you and your children to be careful this Independence Day. According to the NFPA, in 2014, children ages 5-9 were 2.4 times as likely as the general population to be injured by fireworks. Youth ages 10-19 had a risk 1.8 times the overall risk. That is a scary statistic considering the hospital saw a whopping 10,500 people for firework related injuries. 54% of these injuries were burns and 31% of the injuries were from sparklers. Sparklers are actually considered about equal to a blowtorch in terms of heat and danger. Make sure you’re safe when using sparklers, and instead of using consumer firecrackers just go to the public displays that your city puts on for you to safely enjoy. Happy holiday!

Safety rules for summer camping

7/2/2024 (Permalink)

If you plan on going camping this summer, you should be aware of some basic campfire rules. When you find the perfect dirt spot for your campfire, clear the twigs, leaves, firewood, and grass away from around it. Then you will dig a foot deep hole and surround the hole with rocks. As you build your fire, make sure it doesn’t get too large or out of control. It is important to keep a bucket of water nearby incase the fire spreads outside of the pit. Keep your firewood, kindling, and tinder pile upwind from the fire so floating embers can’t reach it. Always keep an eye on little ones and pets around campfires; no one wants to take a trip to the ER. Try to burn all of the wood down to ashes. Once you’re finished, pour a lot of water on to the fire until there is no longer embers burning and there is no hissing noise. If you don’t have access to water, throw dirt on the fire and stir it with a shovel, continue doing this until all of the embers have cooled. As Smokey the Bear would say, “Only you can prevent wildfires.”

"Like it never even happened" ®

7/1/2024 (Permalink)

SERVPRO ®  employees are more than just technicians, we are compassionate and sympathetic. We get that it’s hard to deal with water and fire damage and that mold can be scary. Regardless of if you’re talking to the office staff on the phone or the technicians in person, we strive to make this unfortunate situation a little less unfortunate. Whether it is your home or your company, these are places that mean a lot to you and we want to help you get your home or company back, “Like it never even happened,” as fast as we can while still giving you the quality finished product that you deserve.  Even though SERVPRO ®  sees a lot of different losses we treat each one like it is our own property and our own family that we are helping out. 

Fourth of July

7/1/2024 (Permalink)

Your friends at SERVPRO want you and your children to be careful this Independence Day. According to the NFPA, in 2014, children ages 5-9 were 2.4 times as likely as the general population to be injured by fireworks. Youth ages 10-19 had a risk 1.8 times the overall risk. That is a scary statistic considering the hospital saw a whopping 10,500 people for firework related injuries. 54% of these injuries were burns and 31% of the injuries were from sparklers. Sparklers are actually considered about equal to a blowtorch in terms of heat and danger. Make sure you’re safe when using sparklers, and instead of using consumer firecrackers just go to the public displays that your city puts on for you to safely enjoy. 

Hail Damage

7/1/2024 (Permalink)

Do you know how hail happens? When rain drops get carried high into the atmosphere where it is very cold they freeze and then come hurling down as hail. According to NOAA (National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration) hail causes around one billion dollars a year in damage whether it is crops, buildings, or cars. NOAA also has state by state information on damages due to hazardous weather.  If you get caught in a hail storm seek shelter immediately. If you are in a car pull over to the side of the road, try to find a safe place under a bridge to protect yourself and your car. If you are inside stay away from windows.  If you are unfortunate enough to of had hail damage call SERVPRO of Cedar Rapids to get you back to "Like it never even happened."

Tornado Season

7/1/2024 (Permalink)

Tornadoes are extremely dangerous, and should not be taken lightly.  To reduce your chance of being injured, here are some helpful tips. The first thing you need to do is be alert and aware of the weather. If its thunder storming and very windy out, you should take shelter indoors and turn on the news for weather alerts. The news is a good source to find out if there is a tornado watch or warning. When there is a tornado watch, you should be looking out for tornadoes in your area. When there is a tornado warning, you should immediately go to your safe room, a basement, or room with no windows. If you are unable to take shelter, go to a low point outside like a ditch. For more information on tornadoes click here