How to Keep Your Home Safe When Going on Vacation

8/14/2023 (Permalink)

Now's the time for vacation! If you're going away for longer than a weekend, it's important that you know how to leave your home so you're not coming home to a disaster. There are a few things you can do to avoid mold growth, water damage, fire damage, and even storm damage. In this blog, we'll cover some tips on what you can do so you're able to look forward to coming home without stress.

Humidity Levels

Many people, when they leave for vacation, turn their air conditioning off. We understand that you're saving money by not running the air while you're not home. We get it, why run something that costs money if you're not there to use it? Well, you're actually doing your home and health a favor by running it. Sure, it'll cost money, but it'll also cost you even more money to get mold growth remediated when it grows due to the humidity levels. Even higher-than-normal indoor humidity can support mold to grow, so it's best to keep indoor humidity below 45%.

To understand mold a bit more:

• Mold is present almost everywhere, indoors and outdoors.
• Mold spores are microscopic, float along in the air, and may enter your home through windows, doors, AC/heating systems, and could even hitch a ride on your clothing or pets.
• Mold spores thrive on moisture. They can quickly grow into colonies when exposed to water. These colonies may produce allergens and irritants.
• Before mold remediation can begin, any sources of water or moisture must be addressed. Otherwise, the mold may return.
• Mold often produces a strong, musty odor, and that odor can lead you to possible mold problem areas.

If you do, in fact, return to mold or suspect it, you need a mold remediation team to help. DIY mold cleanup and restoration is never a good idea. It can be dangerous to you and your family. Give us call!

Water Damage

It's hard to always know if the area is getting hit with a lot of rain while you're away. We suggest that you keep in contact with a neighbor and check in to ensure your home is ok. If your home gets hit with a flood while you're away, you can come home to water damage.

Ensure that your windows and doors are properly sealed, and if you live in a flood zone, it's important to prepare your home in the event that a storm could hit. If your home ends up with water damage and you need a water damage restoration team, give us a call. Our water damage restoration process is thorough, ensuring your home is back to the way it was - like it never even happened.

Fire Damage

Fire damage is one of the most devastating events that can take place in your home. We've seen so much devastation over the years and helped so many people restore their homes back to preloss condition. Although it's tough to totally avoid fire damage, due to a faulty wire in your home or something happening outside near your home, this is where it comes in handy to stay in contact with a neighbor. Be sure to let them know that you'll be away and ask them to keep an eye on your home.

In the unfortunate case that this does happen to your home, we're the fire damage restoration team that'll be on your side from beginning to end. The fire damage restoration process is difficult to attack on your own and it may be difficult to find a reputable company that can come out ASAP, especially when it comes down to smoke damage, smoke odors, and the house fire cleanup in general. SERVPRO is your answer.

Storm Damage

Storm damage is one of the scariest things that can happen to your home and property. Storms are very unpredictable. Sure, the weather reports can call for a severe storm, but sometimes it's worse than they think. If you're going away, just make sure that your trees have been looked at to ensure that they won't easily fall on your home, make sure that your home is secure and sealed, and if there is a storm in the forecast, use sandbags around the structure of your home as a precaution.

Storm damage restoration is no easy task, especially when it comes to debris removal, broken windows, and the need for a thorough cleaning.

SERVPRO is Here for You

SERVPRO is the restoration company that will always be by your side. If you need fire damage restoration services, water damage restoration services, mold remediation, or anything having to do with restoring your property back to preloss conditions, we're your best bet.

About SERVPRO Team Harvey

SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan is proudly owned by Lance and Jennifer Harvey - a husband and wife duo that owns three other SERVPRO locations, including SERVPRO of Aberdeen/Holmdel, SERVPRO of West Somerset County, and SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City.

We understand the stress and worry that comes with a fire or water damage and the disruption it causes your home or business. Our goal is to help minimize the interruption to your life and quickly make it “like it never even happened.”

Use SERVPRO this Holiday Season!

12/11/2017 (Permalink)

Happy holidays!

The holidays are in full effect! Which means love, laughter, and spreading cheer. Except, some holidays bring unforeseen disasters like a water heater bursting or a frozen pipe. You really just never know what's going to happen, but that's why SERVPRO is a nationwide franchise. We run by expecting the unexpected. We also take pride in knowing that we are faster to any size disaster. The holidays are the worst time to add any more stress other than decorating and figuring what presents to get who. If you've used our services in the past, we want to thank you! You're part of the reason we can keep doing this day in and day out. We want to make your life easier, especially around the holidays. SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union city is here for YOU !

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

3/17/2017 (Permalink)

Photo provided by SERVPRO corporate.

Here at SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan we love the colors green and orange. After all they are the SERVPRO colors! In honor of Saint Patrick's day our employees wore their green SERVPRO shirts. For lunch our crew enjoyed corned beef sandwiches from a restaurant in Bayonne, New Jersey called Alex and Terry's. We love celebrating holidays with our crew members. It helps make everyone feel more at home than working in an office. Attached here is a picture of SERVPRO workers courtesy of SERVPRO corporate. You can see from the picture everyone has on green hats and the truck in the background is also green. It's only fitting that we'd all be in green this Saint Patrick's day! 

NJAA Toys for Tots

3/10/2017 (Permalink)

During the month of December, we had the pleasure of sponsoring the annual NJAA Toys for Tots. The drop location was at the Meadowlands Exposition Center at Secaucus. Toys for Tots is a wonderful program by the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve. Their mission is to obtain new toys during the winter months to give away to less fortunate children in your local neighborhoods. This is a great mission that allows our struggling children to be able to have new gifts during Christmas. For this special event we allowed children to come up by groups of two’s and pick out toys of their liking. Once the toys were picked we personally handed it out to them. Seeing the smiles on their faces was an unforgettable memory and we here at SERVPRO were grateful to be a part of this lovely mission

Real SERVPRO Hero Spotlight

3/7/2017 (Permalink)

SERVPRO® of Hoboken/Union City (NJ) Recently, my elderly mother and I experienced a vertical flood stemming from a broken water main pipe in the third floor condo above us. Hours went by as plumbers inside and the town water department outside tried to stop the flow of water. Needless to say, gravity brought that water straight down into our first floor condo! We cannot praise enough the SERVPRO® team who came to our rescue and stayed with us each difficult step of our month-long odyssey! Production Manager Damon Tosada came that fateful night along with Raheem Coleman. Raheem stayed hours assessing damage, performing triage in the most apparent affected areas, setting up equipment, etc. The next day dawned early with Team Leader Steve Roberts and Raheem at our door with big smiles and assurances that we were not to worry they would take care of us...and they did. Bryan Wartel joined them as the remediation days continued. Packing us out of our home and then back in four weeks later was done with the utmost care. My mother is almost 89 and team leader Steve, Raheem, and Bryan treated her as they would their own grandmothers! Damon worked hard on the management end keeping us updated while coordinating between the condo association, insurance companies, remodeling team, etc. I believe God answered my prayer for the right people to help us. They were knowledgeable, strong, compassionate and respectful both of us and our property. Please let Damon Tosada, Steve Roberts, Raheem Coleman, and Bryan Wartel know just how much they were and are appreciated. As the SERVPRO® Franchise Owner and the GM, I thought you’d like to hear what strong assets these men are to your company. They are the role models for how it should be done. I’ve attached pictures so you can see your A-TEAM in action! With much appreciation we offer our heartfelt thanks.

Follow us on Social Media!

3/7/2017 (Permalink)

Instagram logo

We finally took a leap into the socially hip world of Instagram and Twitter! 

So, what should you expect from us? You'll definitely get some great tips concerning everyday life or tips about what to do in emergency situations. You may also get some random happenings at our office or at the job sites - maybe a couple of before and after photos. There may be photos of important special events that we attend. Sometimes there might be a funny meme post for laughs or maybe a new restaurant in our area that we will recommend you to try. With social media constantly advancing we decided to join the world of Instagram and Twitter so you can see our daily adventures, share laughs, and receive wonderful daily life tips.

Check us out on Instagram @SERVPROHoLoNYC and Twitter @SERVPROofNYNJ

Our Team

3/7/2017 (Permalink)

Photo of our team

This is a photo of our team here at SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan. Without each and every one of these individuals we would not be where we are today. Each person on our teams serves a vital role in our business. Think of it this way, to build a house you need a strong foundation that you know is going to last you a long time. That's how we view our team. They make up the foundation that holds our SERVPRO together. 

We just want to extend a sincere thank you to ALL of our employees. Whether you're in the office or on the field, you are an important asset to our team. Not all of our employees were able to make this photo, but this thank you is extended to everyone pictured and not pictured. 

Elephant Falls Asleep After Soothing Lullaby From Caretaker

6/1/2016 (Permalink)

Baby elephant fast asleep by his mother

Here at SERVPRO of Hoboken/Union City and SERVPRO of Lower Manhattan we though this article by Olivia Cathcart was too sweet not to share! Take a look:

At her home in Thailand’s Elephant Nature Park, this sweet pachyderm loves nothing more than her caretaker, Sangduen "Lek", Chailert’s voice. You can tell she and Faamai have a special bondwhen Lek starts singing the elephant’s favorite lullaby. After just a few seconds of singing, the elephant pulls her friend in closer with her trunk. A few more bars, and she is on the ground, slowly dozing off for the ultimate cat nap. Faamai was born in the ENP in 2009 and known to be curious and gentle.

May 29, 2016 By Olivia Cathcart

http://www.wimp.com/elephant-falls-asleep-after-soothing-lullaby-from-caretaker/?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=rss/