Blog
PHC has you covered with news and helpful tips.
Water Damage Fact
Growing up, how many times were you told to make sure the lights were off and items such as the iron, curling/flat irons and stove were turned off before leaving the house or going to bed? It is pretty easy to understand why you would be reminded–to save electricity and to keep things from getting too hot and causing a fire.
Mold Inspection
Mold is a topic that causes great concern to homeowners. When we see or suspect mold growing in our home, we worry about if it will make us sick and then try to either "clean" the mold ourselves or expect the worst and want to find out what kind of mold it is and how...
Home Fires
We often tend to worry about snow, ice and freezing temperatures this time a year as the biggest threats to damage our homes, and rightfully so. Snow and ice can lead to ice damming causing damage to our roofs, the weight of snow and ice can cause tree limbs to fall...
Frozen Water Pipes
Winter storm Helena didn't bring as much snow as most of us expected over the weekend, but it did leave behind some very cold temperatures. Whenever we see temperatures fall into the teens or below, we run risk of having water pipes freeze in our homes. If you are...
Our Year in Review
As we enter the last week of 2016, it is a good time to share our year in review. Weather played a memorable part of 2016. We started the year with an ice storm which brought down tree limbs and power lines. Many of us were without power which caused some frozen...
Contents Restoration–Furniture
One morning last week, I found Josh conducting a furniture restoration demonstration with the contents team in the warehouse. We had several clients' tables and chairs that sustained water damage after the flooding from Hurricane Matthew. As you can see from the...
Winter energy saving tips for your home
If you've lived in North Carolina for any period of time, you know that winters can be unpredictable. One day it can be sunny and short sleeved weather and two days later there could be ice or snow blanketing the area. Because the outside temperature can vary, you...
Winterize Your Crawl space
As the temperature continues to drop in the coming weeks, now is a good time to start winterizing your home to help you stay warm and prevent frozen pipes. Your crawl space is a key component to winterizing under your home against cold winter air. It is not...
Hot Water Heaters
We get several water damage calls a month that resulted from hot water heaters. Whether it be a slow leak or a complete rupture, the amount of water damage can be catastrophic. So, why do water heaters fail and is there anything the we can do to prevent failure?...
Contents Restoration
PHC works with many homeowners each year who have suffered severe fire, water or storm damage to their homes. These homeowners and their families are often displaced for months and often lose most of their personal property as a result of the damage. Our goal is to work closely with the homeowner and the insurance company to get families back in their homes as quickly as possible while taking great pride in making sure each home looks just as good if not better than it did before the loss occurred. This philosophy holds true not only for the structure of the home but also its contents.
Fall Maintenance
It is that time of year again…time to enjoy the cooler temperatures, cozy sweaters, leaves changing and the start of college basketball. It is also time to perform some routine Fall Maintenance on your home to help protect your home from water damage and the colder...
Which Restoration Company is Right for You?
Do you know who to call to restore your home after it has suffered damage resulting from fire, water or storm winds? Not everyone knows a restoration company to call right away. Most people rely on referrals from friends or family members. Some people ask their...
Dangers after Flooding
Mold is one of the leading dangers after flooding to your home and other structures. Mold needs moisture and food to grow and spreads easily. If your home was flooded from Hurricane Matthew, you are at risk for mold damage if you don't act fast. FEMA.gov released...
Fire Prevention Week 2016
How often do you need to replace the smoke alarms in your home? We all know that we should change the batteries when we change our clocks, but how many of us know that we need to replace our smoke detectors every 10 years? Smoke alarms tend to be one of the things...
Hurricane Preparedness
Hurricane Matthew is topping the headlines this week as it moves across the Caribbean and heads towards the East Coast of the US. Will the high pressure system steer it towards the coast or will the cold front push to the south in time to keep it offshore? A good...
Fire Damage Cleanup
We've spent the last week cleaning a commercial building after a cooker malfunction in the kitchen sent soot and smoke odor to numerous rooms throughout the building. In total, the fire damage cleanup took hundreds of combined man hours to clean and over 5 days to...
Dangers mold can cause
Mold. A word no one likes to hear and an object we definitely do not want to find in our home. Unfortunately, we received a call recently from a homeowner who found just that, mold growing in her attic. We've posted several different blogs on Mold and ways to...
National Preparedness Month
FEMA recognizes September as National Preparedness Month (#NatlPrep) and since there are numerous tropical storms and hurricanes stirring in the tropics this week, I thought I would share some basic preparedness tips. First, it is important that every family member...
Mold Prevention Tips
Whether you are experiencing a mild summer or record setting heat, there's no escaping summer humidity in the South. While humidity makes it feel warmer than it really is and gives us that sticky feeling, it can also cause problems in your home. The added moisture...
Evaluate roof damage to your home
We've seen our fair share of wind and hail damage over the last few months. If you are concerned that your roof may have sustained some damage, State Farm has an informative video detailing how to evaluate roof damage with signs to look for. It is important when...
Battery Fires
How many of us have a junk drawer that we toss our extra batteries in? How many of us leave our laptops or chargers for our camera batteries plugged in all day when it is fully charged? Chances are most of us do throw extra batteries in a drawer, toss old batteries...
Case Study: Health Department Water Loss
This month marks the 4 year anniversary of the the Harnett County Health Department moving back into their building following the water loss they experienced in April 2012. We all remember the water loss like it just happened, but in case you missed out on the...
Grilling Safety Tips
Summer is officially among us. Time to enjoy family vacations, weekends at the beach, afternoon swims in the pool, summer camps and outdoor barbeques! In preparation for 4th of July cookouts this weekend, I thought it would be a good time to share some grilling safety...
Home Based Business
Do you have a home based business? Are you a consultant for companies such as Mary Kay, Norwex or Pampered Chef and keep inventory or your sales kits at your home? Do you know if your basic homeowners policy will cover your inventory or liability if someone slips...
Water Damage to Hardwood Floors
One of the last claims I adjusted as an insurance adjuster was a newly constructed home that sustained water damage to hardwood floors when the dishwasher was incorrectly installed. That was over 15 years ago and I still remember it vividly. The dishwasher was...
Master Water Restorer
Join us in congratulating Jeremy Jones on receiving his Master Water Restorer designation from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning & Restoration (IICRC). Jeremy started with PHC Restoration in 2012 and has steadily been earning his technician certifications. ...
Black Water
If you experience a toilet backflow and do not see any sewage, do you need to call an expert to clean up the water or can you do it yourself? The answer is YES. Most people do not hesitate when sewage wastes are present, but most do not realize that it is equally...
Prepare your home for Vacation
A lot of time and energy goes into planning the perfect vacation. We often get overwhelmed with the details (where do we want to go, where are we going to stay, what activities are available for the kids to do), the organizing (packing the luggage, snacks for the...
After the Disaster
With the start of Hurricane Season just a couple of weeks away, I thought it would be a good time to list some important things homeowners should do After the Disaster hits. The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) has compiled this list of 12 questions frequently...
Leaky Roofs
Have you ever noticed a water spot on your ceiling and not know where it came from, so you start your own investigation into the source? I know some of us might feel the spot and notice it isn't wet and shrug it off and move on to more pressing matters. Some of us...
Where's your water heater located?
When you bought your home, did you pay much attention to where your hot water heater was located or better yet, have you ever questioned why your water heater is located where it is? Water heaters tend to be tucked away in the garage, basement, crawlspace or attic...
Hail Damage to Your Roof
We are heading into that time of year again where the phrase "a chance of afternoon and evening thunderstorms" will be used frequently in the daily forecasts. While most of these storms are widely scattered and pass through relatively quickly producing only a brisk...
Home Inventory
Would you be able to list all of your personal possessions if your house was broken into or destroyed by fire? Although most of us may never face any of these occurrences, it never hurts to be prepared just in case. So, where do you start when trying to create home...
Clean Green
Do you ever worry about the cleaners and disinfectants that you use in your home? Sure, they are good at killing germs, but are they safe to inhale, use around food surfaces or safe to use around children or pets? While there are a lot of household disinfectants...
Prevent dryer fire in your home
Farmers Insurance does a good job in this video bringing humor to a very serious threat to everyone who uses a clothes dryer in their home. There are over 15,000 reported clothes dryer fires reported every year. While this doesn't appear to be a large number, most...
Preventing water damage to your home
When's the last time you've really looked in the cabinets under your kitchen or bathroom sink? If you are like me, you often reach for something, grab it, and then return it to its place but rarely do you notice the pipes running from the sink or the supply line...
Spring Maintenance Tips for Homeowners
Spring is in the air! Flowers are blooming, birds are chirping, and spring cleaning to do and honey do lists are being organized. As you prepare your spring cleaning checklist, don't forget about the outside of your home. Here are a few places to check and spring...
How long will it take to dry my home?
One of the most common questions homeowners ask after they've experienced water damage is how long will it take to dry my home? We wish this were a simple question to answer not only to help with the inconvenience factor for the homeowner, but a standard answer would...
Common Causes of Water Damage
Did you know that water can be 10 times more likely to damage your home than fire? According to the Insurance Industry Institute, water is responsible for about 25% of all property insurance claims and results in billions of dollars in losses each year and can be...
Sump Pumps
Have you noticed standing water in your basement after a heavy rainfall? Is this a rare occurrence or does it happen after every heavy rainstorm? Most homeowner policies do not cover water damage to your home caused by ground water, so it is important that you...
