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Now Hiring!

Name: SERVPRO of Chattooga, Dade & West Walker Counties
Address: 25 Hannah Way, Rossville, GA, 30741
Telephone: (706) 866-5646

2/7/2023 (Permalink)

Now Hiring Poster for Production Technicians

We are HIRING! We have open positions for Production Technicians that offers competitive pay, great benefits, paid vacations, and great potential for a career path. Send your resume to office@SERVPROnwcc.com

If you are a team player, are skilled, and are interested in taking ownership of your job responsibilities and future, SERVPRO of Chattooga, Dade, and West Walker Counties may be the right career choice for you. You have unique skills, passions and experiences, and we believe you can bring them all to SERVPRO for a rich, rewarding job opportunity that could surprise you with its potential. Just imagine the excitement and satisfaction of what you can do, who you could serve, and the difference you can make with the resources of SERVPRO behind you. SERVPRO would love to have you join our team!

• Primary Role: Perform services as assigned, following SERVPRO production guidelines. Communicate with the customer to make sure that all needs are met. Support crew chief and other production personnel as needed. Clean and maintain vehicles, equipment, warehouse and office areas as needed.

• Results Expected: Production processes are performed according to guidelines and work orders. Communications to crew chief and customer are timely. Jobs are completed at or beyond customer expectations. Vehicles, equipment, and facilities remain clean, orderly, and working properly.

• We are an Equal Opportunity Employer. This company does not and will not discriminate in employment and personnel practices on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, age, national origin, veteran status or any other characteristic protected by law.

If you would like to apply to any of the open positions, please send your resume to office@SERVPROnwcc.com.

https://www.SERVPROchattoogadadewestwalkercounties.com/careers

FREE vehicle sanitization for first responders in our areas!

12/8/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO technician in a hazmat suit with a fogger on his back, SERVPRO logo over the photo

Did you know that we offer free sanitization services? If you’re a fireman/firewoman or apart of the police department give us a call to get your car, truck or emergency vehicle sanitized.

Our vision is to bring value and to be perceived as the most ethical, consistent, customer focused restoration company in our territory. With that being said especially during this pandemic we’ve been focused on giving back every time we can. Contact us at 706-965-7378 if you’d like to take advantage of this limited offer.

Did you know that Certified: SERVPRO Cleaned is a defensive cleaning program that goes beyond janitorial or carpet cleaning, it’s a higher standard of clean? This is proactive viral pathogen cleaning that helps ensure the cleanliness of the restaurants, businesses and public spaces in the communities we all call home. Our SERVPRO professionals are trained and experienced in biohazard decontamination and chemical spills - always adhering to the cleaning and decontamination standards set by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local authorities. From Rising Fawn to Lyerly, Trenton to Rock Bridge, Ringgold to Lafayette, or anywhere in between, we take pride in serving your neighborhood! We are a locally owned and operated franchise with employees dedicated to providing a quality customer experience!

SERVPRO of CHATTOOGA, DADE, W. WALKER COUNTIES 706-965-7378

Crawlspace Encapsulation- How to Have a Healtheir Home

12/10/2019 (Permalink)

Introduction

Ignoring crawl space conditions and the effects they may have on indoor air quality seems to be a thing of the past. People are more educated about how moisture enters their homes and the negative impact excess moisture can have on living conditions.

Since up to 50% of household air can flow up from your crawl space, it’s important to keep this typically unsightly space as clean and dry as possible. Since water vapor enters the crawl space from the ground (even through cement), many people are encapsulating their crawl space to keep the moisture out. Adding a crawl space vapor barrier and dehumidifier is widely accepted as the best way to improve indoor air quality and make energy improvements inside your home.

In this article, we’ll take a look at these solutions, provide tips for DIY crawl space encapsulation, and explain how to maintain a healthy humidity in your crawl space.

What Is Crawl Space Encapsulation?

Encapsulating, or at least sealing, crawl spaces is becoming a popular solution for avoiding indoor moisture issues. To the average person, encapsulation can be compared to the lining added to swimming pools to avoid leaks. A heavy-duty polyethylene barrier is added to completely cover your crawl space - usually the floors, foundation walls, and sometimes even ceiling.

This water vapor barrier is most effective when it completely covers your crawl space, and sealing tape is used to connect the barrier pieces throughout your area.

Once your space is completely sealed, the final piece of the encapsulation puzzle is conditioning the air to maintain a healthy humidity level. The most common way to do this is by adding a dehumidifier to regulate your crawl space’s moisture level.

This barrier and dehumidifier combination protects the crawl space from excess moisture and all the problems that come along with it.

Who Should Consider Crawl Space Encapsulation

Water vapor and excess moisture can cause a slew of problems in your home. Since water vapor can move through porous cement, moisture from the ground can move through it and into your home. Here are common signs that lead people to sealing their crawl space:

Mold
Mildew/musty smell in basement
Soft or separating floors
High cooling costs
Wet insulation
Sweating windows
Sweating Ductwork
Insect problems

Benefits of Creating a Vapor Barrier

Before we get into the dirty details, consider these benefits:

Improved air quality in your crawl space and home
Creates inhospitable area for pests and wood-destroying insects
More comfortable living conditions
Avoid fungi/mold issues and structural damage
Greater energy efficiency in your home

For a real-world example of how encapsulation helped a family in Tennessee, check out this Santa Fe case study.

Sealing Your Space vs. Full Encapsulation

You may hear the term sealing crawl spaces and encapsulating crawl spaces used interchangeably. While they’re similar, sealing generally means only covering the floor and around 8 inches up the walls.

Encapsulation entails covering all of the floors, walls and even the ceiling. Some professional encapsulations will include adding insulation to the walls and access doors.

Can I Encapsulate A Crawl Space Myself?

There are various companies who can fully-encapsulate your crawl space for you, which is the option most people go with. They’ll survey your area, make sure your crawl space is suitable for encapsulation, and properly address any other foundation or excess moisture issues in the area.

However, some people want to do it themselves in order to cut back on costs. If you plan to do it yourself, you can order the needed products (seal tape, vapor barrier, etc.) from a variety of places online, but we suggest buying them locally since shipping the large, heavy barriers can be very expensive.

While it is possible and more cost effective to do yourself in some cases, professional encapsulation is the best way to ensure everything is completed correctly. Regardless of whether you’re hiring a professional or encapsulating yourself, we encourage you to read our tips below to further educate yourself on the process.

Considerations Before Encapsulating

If your crawl space isn’t encapsulated and sealed correctly, other problems can arise. Bulk water problems are a main concern. All long-term bulk water issues need to be addressed before encapsulating a crawl space (look for sitting water or water stains on foundation walls).

Termite control companies can also place some restrictions on how much of your crawl space can be covered, so be sure to contact your pest control company before jumping into an encapsulation project - especially if you have an active termite bond.

Lastly, if there is any combustion equipment in the crawl space, you need to consider any backdrafting that could occur.

Encapsulating your crawl space essentially means sealing it up completely, and these potential problems are why most people opt for professional barrier installation.

How Encapsulation Works

Each crawl space comes with its own challenges and moisture issues. However, the typical process includes:

Before Encapsulation

Assess the crawl space and add appropriate lighting as needed.
Clean it out. This won’t be the most fun part, but it’s necessary. Everything that can be removed, needs to be removed (besides dirt, appliance parts, etc). While the vapor barrier is thick, you don’t want to risk punctures in it from rocks and other items.
Once your space is clean, it’s a good idea to measure your foundation walls (height and length), floor size, and any other areas you’ll cover with the water vapor barrier.
After you measure your space, cut the barrier material into pieces to cover each corresponding wall. You'll want to cut the pieces slightly larger than you need and overlap them when installing. This will ensure no gaps are present.

TIP: After measuring, cut the vapor barrier in your yard or your home (not in the crawl space).

Installing the Vapor Barrier

Properly installing the vapor barrier is arguably the most important part of the process. It starts by adding double-sided seal tape right under the floor joists. You or the contractor will then attach the plastic vapor barrier along the foundation walls, carefully pressing down against the wall. The goal is to keep the vapor barrier as consistent as possible.

Whoever installs the vapor barrier will have to cut around water tanks (and any other obstacles) and then trim around pipes. You can fill in gaps with extra sealing tape. The main thing to consider is to cover every part of the floor and walls.

TIP: If you’re attempting DIY encapsulation, it’s at least a two-person job. Moving around pipes and other obstacles can become extremely difficult. You’ll need extra hands as you trim the barrier, add tape, and fill in gaps.

Start with the foundation walls, ensure you cover all of the cement. Once the walls are done, you can hit the floor surface. You’ll want overlap over any seams (several inches) to truly encapsulate the entire space.

TIP: Don’t forget to seal any vents or windows that may be present. You’ll also want to make sure any access doors to the crawl space are completely airtight.

Maintaining A Safe Humidity Level

Now you’re crawl space is adequately sealed or encapsulated. The hard part is done! Now what? It’s pretty easy: Add a drying mechanism to make sure your crawl space maintains an appropriate humidity level. Most professionals say the best way to do this is by adding a crawl space dehumidifier.

Many dehumidifiers are specifically designed to maintain healthy humidity levels in rugged areas like crawl spaces.

To keep an eye on your humidity without having to go down to your crawl space, consider getting a remote humidity monitor that relays the information to another location inside your home.

We hope you learned more about sealing your crawl space and the benefits it can create for your indoor air quality. Encapsulation isn’t an easy process, but you’ll avoid serious foundation and health issues once you solve crawl space moisture problems for good.

If you would like to get a free estimate on your home for crawlspace encapsulation, give the experts at SERVPRO a call (706) 866-5646

ENERGY EFFICIENCY

11/7/2018 (Permalink)

There are so many benefits to making your home energy efficient. Most importantly, reducing the negative impact your home can have on the environment benefits everyone on the planet! If everyone makes an effort to change one thing with their home, the positive impact would be incredible. Also, the long-term cost savings benefits your bank account as well!
So what does it mean to be energy-efficient?

It is certainly a “buzz-phrase” but being energy efficient simply means reducing unnecessary energy consumption. This is important because our society increasingly relies on gadgets daily. Cell phones, tablets, computers, smart televisions, streaming media players - they all consume energy! These items are etched into our lives and it will take effort to make changes. So let’s start small with these tips.

Switch to fluorescent light bulbs. Yes, they cost a little more upfront, but their lifespan can reach 12 years and they use so much less energy. It’s an easy quick fix.

Use warm water to clean (instead of hot). The cost of heating the water those few additional degrees far outweighs the cleaning difference. Wash on warm and only with full loads in the dishwasher or washing machine.

Plant trees. This is a more long-term investment, but the benefits are plentiful. Shading your home decreases summer cooling bills immensely. Oh and trees help us breathe. That’s kind of a big deal!

Purchase energy efficient appliances. Also, an easy fix. When you look for your new oven, microwave, washing machine or dryer, check for the energy efficient seal. It means it has been designed to meet the standards of reducing energy consumption!

Lastly, unplug unused devices. Even “standby” uses energy, so when you aren’t using your coffeemaker or toaster or charging your phone - unplug it!

These are just a few of the simple tips we can all use to keep our planet healthy and save a few dollars in the process!

Removing the dog smell from your home

9/25/2018 (Permalink)

Removing That Dog Smell from your Home

The sweltering heat is on its way out and that means you can go outside too!! For many of us living in Northwest Georgia, our dogs are part of the family. Whether Fido is our hunting, walking, or riding buddy, we love that dog with all of our hearts. Sadly there is no amount of pure love that can make up for a bad smell, and having our four legged pal inside for the colder winter or the humid summer months might stir up some smells. Even though the door is open and Fido is out of the house, the smell seems to hang around! With family coming around for the seasonal Shindig, we are here to offer some tips on keeping your house smelling clean!

Clean any surface/furniture the dog touches

A handheld vacuum can work wonders for removing pet hair (and resulting odors) from couches, chairs, and any such like your canine compadre comes into contact with. With a little plug and switch, you can make sure that the family home smells a lot less like the family dog. Be sure to remove cushions and pillows to:

1) Be able to get otherwise forgotten areas under the cushions

2) Vacuum and clean the pillows and cushions individually (for a more thorough clean)

Although this task may seem ineffective in theory, it could just prove to be the difference in whether or not your in-laws approve of your housekeeping.

If your cleaning requires more than you can do, bring your furniture or rugs by your local SERVPRO of Chattooga, Dade, and West Walker Counties! We will help you get your summer started off fresh!

Removing Dog Smell for Summer

7/24/2017 (Permalink)

Looks like this guy wants to get outside!

Removing That Dog Smell from your Home

Summer weather is here and it is finally time to let the dog outside! For many of us living in Northwest Georgia, our dogs are part of the family. Whether Fido is our hunting, walking, or riding buddy, we love that dog with all of our hearts. Sadly there is no amount of pure love that can make up for a bad smell, and having our four legged pal inside for the colder winter months might stir up some smells. Even though the door is open and Fido is out of the house, the smell seems to hang around! With family coming around for the occasional Summer Shindig, we are here to offer some tips on keeping your house smelling clean!