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With the threat of heavy rain and thunderstorms in southeast Michigan and across the country the time is rife for a discussion with your children about thunder and storms.

Fear of storms are common for children, and the best way to handle those fears is to communicate openly and simply with your kids. The best time to talk to your kids is ideally before a severe storm occurs so you can help to prepare them for what they will experience.

When your community’s sirens sound and your family prepare to take shelter in the basement or other safe place, you can prevent panic and fear while waiting for the storm to pass by bringing books, games, flashlights, and even snacks to help distract them. Many experts suggest buying an age appropriate book that takes the mystery and fear out of storms, such as Nature’s Fireworks: A Book About Lightningby Josepha Sherman.

Children may get scared, emotional or withdrawn depending on how they cope with the fear and uncertainty that surrounds a storm, flood, or power outage. They may want to watch the storm or talk incessantly about what is happening outside. As parents, we can help our kids weather the storm by exhibiting calm behavior for them to mimic—children oftentimes learn by your example. Limit media with graphic images about storms, these images can be scary to kids and accelerate their fears. Refocusing your children’s thoughts away from what’s happening outside will result in fewer meltdowns.

Use the current storm as an opportunity to teach your child how to stay safe when they are outside in a storm with common sense advice about going inside when lightning strikes, not to stand under a tree to protect themselves from a fallen branch or large object during high winds that can sometimes accompany storms, and to stay out of the water

It is important to offer kids as much reassurance as possible and remind them that they are in the family’s “safe” place. Calmly redirect children when their words or thoughts turn back to fear about the storm. Remember, your kids learn by watching you, so remain calm and they will learn to do the same.

Refocusing their attention by playing games, reading a book, or having an age appropriate teaching moment will help your kids weather thru the storm.  Although scary, storms can also provide a good excuse for a warm cookie, a cup of hot cocoa, and bonding time with family.

Because of their low-lying positions, basements and crawlspaces are prone to leaks, moisture, mold, and water damage.  Unfortunately water damage to home structures is common due to invasive indoor and outdoor water sources.

One of the most prominent causes of water damage is your landscaping. The grade of your property must be designed to slope away from your foundation as water always runs downhill. Flowerbeds, although beautiful, can also pose a danger if planted too close to your foundation.

The good news is there are preventative steps you can take to ensure that your landscaping doesn’t contribute to basement or crawl space damage.

• Check the grade of your landscape. Your landscape should slope away from your structure so that water flows away from, not toward your foundation.
• Be sure to use fill dirt rather than topsoil in the areas surrounding the structure. Topsoil is absorbent and will take in lots of water and become over saturated eventually seeping into the ground and potentially making its way into cracks in your foundation.
• Keep flowerbed plantings away from the foundation to keep water from traveling along your foundation’s wall.
• Use a heavier ground cover as opposed to wood chips, which can wash away during a heavy storm clogging drainage ditches and causing them to overflow. Rocks or heavier mulch will be more likely to stay in place and the good news is you will be raking less of it off your lawn.
• Shrubs and trees should be kept trimmed back away from the structure. Plantings that are too close to the home can cause water to run down the side of the structure making their way into cracks and crevices eventually causing moisture damage or serious leaks.
• Keep gutters clean and free of leaves and debris that can cause water to dam up and overflow.

If you find yourself with a wet basement due to flooding or leaks caused by landscaping, hard rains, or water overflow there is hope. Contact a water damage specialist who is knowledgeable about water extraction, structural drying, dehumidification, and mold damage.

Tips for Protecting Family Photos, Memorabilia and Important Documents

There are many ways you can protect family photos and other important documents from fire damage or water damage, insects and rodents, and according to the National Archives you can reduce the risk of damage with just a few simple preventative measures. Although no one wants to invite a natural disaster, accidents or fires can destroy your property and everything in it therefore; planning for the worst can give you peace of mind. Especially when it comes to cherished family photos and memorabilia. 

The Right Conditions for Safekeeping Family Photos and Documents

It’s important to first utilize the appropriate materials for archiving documents and photos as well as maintaining them in conditions that are conducive to a long shelf life.

• Use materials that have passed the PAT if storing photographs. Including papers, adhesives, photo album materials and the like.
• Large flexible sheets can be stored rolled. Roll onto a sturdy tube so it is less likely to be crushed.
• If originals are brittle, torn, or heavily used, place each sheet in a polyester L-sleeve. These sleeves reduce the risk of tears and other damage due to handling.
• Use sleeves that are larger than the original. Any part of the original extending outside of the sleeve is likely to be damaged.
• The lower the temperature the longer your items will last, because cooler temperatures slow the rate of chemical decay and reduce insect activity. Keep the temperature below 75 degrees Fahrenheit (F) and relative humidity (rH) below 65% to prevent mold growth and reduce insect activity.
• Consider cold storage for acetate negatives, color negatives, prints, and slides. Acetate negatives and color negatives, slides, and prints are vulnerable to fading and deterioration within decades, if stored at room temperature. Cold storage can slow this deterioration, but it requires special packaging and steps. Learn how to prepare items for cold storage at National Park Service Cold Storage website.

Protecting Family Photos and Documents Doesn’t Have to be Costly

 If you want to keep your photographs and important papers safe and out of harms way it doesn’t cost much to buy a lockable file cabinet. Spend a bit more to buy a large fire-resistant file box, file cabinet, or safe and you’ll give yourself more protection from rodents, insects, and fire. Any item that purports to be fire-resistant should include a rating from Underwriters Laboratories indicating how long the item’s interior remains protected during a fire.

Of course, if you live in a flood-prone area, invest in something that’s waterproof as well as fire-resistant. However, a fire-resistant item isn’t the best bet for collections of paper items, such as stamps or comic books, which could acquire fire damage or water damage from the fire fighters’ hose. Instead, store these collections in a safe deposit box.

If you will be keeping items in your home:

• Store items out of damp or wet basements, garages, and hot attics and keep items away from sources of leaks and floods, such as pipes, windows, or known roof leaks.
• Place items on an upper shelf so they don’t get wet from ground water and away from food and water which are attractive to insects and rodents.
• Use containers that are big enough for the originals to lay flat or upright without folding or bending. Containers should be made of board or folder stock that is lignin-free and acid-free or buffered.

Restoring Damaged Documents and Photos

If you’ve suffered a disaster at your home or place of business and have important documents or photos that need recovering Advance Restoration can help repair and restore wet documents and photos that have fire damage or water damage caused by putting out the fire or from basement flooding or other flood disaster.

We provide full content restoration including electronic restoration and our climate controlled storage facility is available for storage until your property is fully recovered and you’re ready to receive them.

Hoarding is a condition that can pose serious hazards including unsanitary conditions and risk of injury as well as the risk of fire. Extreme clutter can increase the risk of fire, but also exacerbates the fires ability to spread quickly which could lead to devastating damage, injury, and even fatality.

Most don’t associate hoarding with a fire hazard or mold damage. However, the clutter resulting from piles of clothing, electronics, flammable cleaning products and the like can increase the risk of fire in multiple ways such as:

• Flammables near heat sources such as ovens, stoves, and heating units can catch fire easily.
• Buildup of items that can harbor pests and rodents that chew on electrical wiring causing fire.
• Candles burning in an environment that is littered with clothing and other flammable items can ignite.
• The clutter can cause a hazard during fire emergencies by blocking important exits for escape.
• Mounds of household items can restrict mobility throughout the home which can impede authorities access during a fire or other emergency.

Tips for Fire Safety

• Install fire detectors and test previously installed detector’s.
• Prepare a fire escape plan, or visit National Fire Protection Agency for tips on how to make one.

Hoarding can be a dangerous behavior. The risk of fire is bar none one of the most prevalent dangers of hoarding because of how quickly a fire can spread in a home with lots of debris.  Hire a professional to provide debris removal services and discuss fire safety tips to lower the risk of fire and injury.  Fire damage restoration experts can help to restore the damage caused by fire and will aid in cleaning up and restoring any contents that have been damaged.

Falling snow and even a snow storm can be beautiful and, at times, conjure up fond memories of snow angles, sledding and snow days from school. However, extreme temperatures (both hot and cold) can be hazardous to property structures causing water damage and potential flooding. They can also wreak havoc on your roof, pipes, and foundations. Thawing and freezing are one way we can be taken off guard, and cold air leaks in our structure is another. Here are a few ways that you can avoid extreme weather storm damage:

Clear Ice Dams

Melting snow that freezes into ice at the edge of your roof causes what is known as an ice dam. Without proper removal of the snow, the ice can grow, preventing the melting snow from draining off the roof and backing up beneath the roof shingles, eventually making its way into your home. Monitoring your roof for signs of ice dams will go a long way in avoiding roof damage repair later on.

If you spot an ice dam formation on your roof, you should act quickly to remove the dam before it can cause water damage. You can remove ice dams by melting the snow with calcium chloride, which can be found at your local hardware store.

Prevent Burst or Frozen Pipes

Extreme changes in temperature can cause pipes to crack, burst, and leak. Insulate pipes that are exposed to the cold. Caulk air leaks on exterior walls to prevent cold air from coming in and reaching pipes. If you will be away from home for any length of time be sure to leave your faucet on—a pencil-thin stream during extremely cold snaps will keep water flowing and prevent freezing. Keep cabinet doors open to expose plumbing to warm air from the house.

Patrol Your Foundation

When temperatures fluctuate vastly from warm to cold, there is the potential for water damage. We all love a warm day in the middle of winter, but the freeze-thaw cycle can create conditions that lead to potentially drastic water damage. Check outside your home for melt-off and pooling of water close to the foundation. Remove mounds of snow, ice, and debris that can keep water from flowing away from the structure. Water takes the path of least resistance, so unless its path is blocked, it will make its way into your home and cause water damage.

While it’s important to keep up with home maintenance to help prevent damage from water, it’s also a wise to check with your insurance provider to find out what is and is not covered by your homeowners policy. Be sure to ask if there is additional coverage. No type of flood damage, no matter the source of the water, is covered by standard homeowners policies. You can, however, purchase flood insurance through an insurance provider or request an agent referral through the National Flood Insurance Program.

Advance Restoration is a disaster restoration company providing services for water damage, fire damage, storm damage, and mold remediation.

Stay Warm with Our Melting Snowman Recipe

Grab your kids or the kid inside you and create this fun and easy recipe for a melting snowman. This recipe turns your hot cocoa into a sweet and creamy delicious delight! It is certain to calm those frozen pipes.

You will need:

• Marshmallows
• Pretzel sticks
• Candy corn
• Mini chocolate chips
• Extra long toothpicks (4 inches)

Use the toothpick to poke holes for the arms, legs, and nose, and then push pretzels and a candy corn in the snowman.

Poke small holes for the buttons with the same toothpick and push mini chocolate chips into the holes.

Place some mini chocolate chips in a sandwich baggie and melt in your microwave (30 seconds at a time until melted). Snip off a tiny corner of the baggie and “pipe” the chocolate out to draw eyes and a mouth on the snowman.

Make sure to let small kids know that there is a toothpick inside the snowman before they start eating it. The toothpick could become a choking hazard and we wouldn’t want that!

Stay warm and have fun making marshmallow snowmen for your cocoa! Go outdoors and build an actual snowman then come inside for this toasty drink.  If you enjoyed this recipe, please share it and best wishes for the season from Advance Restoration.

Many factors contribute to the destruction of water leakage in your home or business. Water can literally destroy hardwood flooring, drywall and important documents and electronics. Three of the most common water damage causes are outlined below along with and some helpful tips for staying dry.

Rusted plumbing and Water Damage

Copper and steel pipes used in older home construction put your pipes at a higher level of risk. Rust accumulates and can block the flow of water in pipes allowing rust to take hold and weaken the structure of pipes causing erosion and consequently leaks.

Tip: Have a professional plumber give your pipes a tune up every 2-3 years to make sure the connections are secure and pipes are in good condition.

Extreme temperatures

Changes in temperature that are extreme can cause pipes to crack, burst and leak. While we know this is common in consistently cold climates, burst pipes can happen with any type of temperature change that is extreme enough even in warmer climate zones.

Tip: Hot water temperatures can weaken your pipes over time so stay away from higher heat settings for this reason and protect your pipes by insulating them from the elements.

Natural Settling of Foundation

The natural settling of your home or property can cause cracks in the wall of your foundation causing water to seep through causing flooded basements or crawl spaces. Pipes can be displaced during times when settling is taking place causing them to weaken, crack, or even break leading to damage or flooding.

Tip: Checking the walls of your foundation once a year can help to ward off any issues. If you find cracks upon inspection, contact an expert to determine how widespread the issue is and repair damage a timely manner to ward off unwanted water disasters.

Looking for help with water damage? Contact the experts at Advance Restoration.