More Vinegar Uses?

One of my most vivid memories of childhood involves being at my grandmother’s house during the summer. My cousins and I would play outside as long as we could until we either got called inside or someone got hurt. The day of play finally arrived when I would be the one that ended play time due to my unfortunate run in with a gang of yellow jackets. After being attacked, I ran inside screaming for my mom like I had lost a limb. My grandma used the wisdom that had come from being the mother of 10 children and told my mom to get the salt shaker. She shook salt into her hand, added water to it and applied the mixture to my sting. The effect was immediate. My pain was relieved and it wasn’t long before I was able to go outside again and play.

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999 Uses For Vinegar

Several summers ago we had a sudden infestation of gnats (also called fruit flies or drunkards) here at the office. It seemed like no matter what we did, we could not get rid of them. They practically drove me and my co-workers to the point of insanity for three months. When we finally called in our exterminator, he made a shocking discovery. Well, it wasn’t quite as shocking for him but it made me quite nauseous and I have a solid constitution. Apparently, many months prior, an employee left his lunch cooler in an inconspicuous area of the shop. Since he had departed from the company, the cooler was never retrieved and became the nucleus of a gnat breeding nightmare. When the exterminator opened the top, it revealed tens of thousands of gnats swarming around in various stages of life, including innumerable gnat larvae.

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Extreme Makeover Home Edition is in Savannah, Georgia...and Champion's Helping!

That's right! Extreme Makeover is in Georgia and we are on the scene.

On Friday, November 12, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition surprised Jim and Carmen Simpson of  Savannah with the news that they had been chosen as the recipients of a full home makeover! Carmen and Jim give back to their Savannah community as they raise three children,  Zoe, Katelyn and Isaac.  Zoe, the youngest, is their “miracle baby,” having beaten the odds after being born with a life-threatening disease.

Champion sent 5 volunteers to Savannah to help with the drying and clean-up. Brett Bishop and Jeremy Reets went down Sunday night and worked from Monday at 11 am until 5 am Tuesday. They set air-movers and Tes units to help speed the drying of the paint and drywall. They were worn out when it was all done but they had a great time and got to meet Paul DiMeo, Ed Sanders and Tracy Hutson! On Tuesday evening, Chloe Hudson, Icela Reets and Zach Reets headed to Savannah to assist in the cleanup of the home so that furniture and decorating could go in. They had the privilege of meeting Paula Deen and her husband. They are still cleaning right now so hopefully they can get it all done because...the big reveal is today!

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We've got lots of photos to share with you but we have to get them approved by ABC first so as soon as we do we will be excited to share them!

A 1001 Vinegar Uses

When a client observes my crew and me performing our post-construction clean-up, I am often asked about the best way to clean a variety of things. Since most of our work involves the reconstruction of hardwood floors, the number one inquiry is "How should I clean my wood floors?"

Depending on whom you ask, you are bound to receive an assortment of answers. However, after trial and error (with an emphasis on the error part!) I have discovered that the best and most natural way to make your floors look terrific is a solution of vinegar and water applied slightly damp with a flat mop. The results are always stunningly beautiful. It works just a well for laminate flooring.

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Earthquakes in Georgia: a Significant History

The recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile were shocking events that gained the attention of the entire world. Most people sympathized with the plight of those inhabitants and many were certainly generous with time, money and materials but the reality is that we still hold a measure of aloofness because neither happened close to us. But have you ever thought of the possibility of something happening right here in Georgia?

We had a small taste of natural disasters when parts of Georgia and Alabama were flooded around September 2009 but what about earthquakes? It may surprise you to know that the state of Georgia has a fault line running through it!

The Brevard Fault Line runs southwest-northeast across Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina with reportable earthquakes since the 1800’s.

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My Personal Storm Damage Experience

The night was cold and stormy. I slept through all of it in blissful serenity and awoke the next morning to begin my daily ritual of getting ready for work.

I headed straight to the bathroom, neglecting to illuminate the path I knew by heart. As I busied myself with necessary matters of hygiene, I suddenly noticed the normal hum of the refrigerator was joined by a soft plopping noise that I could not identify. It seemed random at first but upon further observance, the plopping was rhythmic and methodical.

I listened for a moment and the source suddenly dawned on me. I hurried out of bathroom and turned on the lights to investigate and confirmed my suspicions based on a large puddle of water on the laminate flooring. I looked up at the ceiling and saw large water stains and the drywall seams were getting longer by the second.

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A Lesson Learned About Storing Wedding Dresses

Another year has gone by which has yielded new experiences, interesting facts and challenging situations. I thought I would share with you at least one interesting lesson I learned this year.

If you are storing your wedding dress, whether you're keeping it for the memories or are planning on passing it down to a future generation, be aware that there is the possibility of mysterious stains appearing on the fabric after it has been cleaned a couple of times and sometimes decades later. What is the cause? The oxidation of sugar could be the culprit.

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Pack-Out? Huh?

When a customer is told that their house is going to be packed out, sometimes what they envision is not an accurate depiction of what actually takes place. So, just to offer a bit of clarity, here is a general explanation of what to expect:

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Spotlight on Chloe

It’s Chloe Hudson's turn to be interviewed for Champion’s Spotlight.

Chloe has been with Champion since 2001.  She is on the contents crew, so if you ever experiece a fire damage, more than likely Chloe will be coming to pack out your house.  Now, let’s get to know Chloe:

What is your favorite snack? Popcorn.

 

What is your favorite piece of clothing?

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One Thousand Firsts

The anniversary of my 8th year with Champion is fast approaching. There are many stories to relate in this bittersweet industry. Cries of devastation from homeowners at the beginning of a loss turn into sighs of relief and reflective appreciation at the job’s completion. I’d like to think I’ve seen it all yet every so often I am surprised. But when you see me at your home ready to do my part to put your life back together, this one fact remains constant: whether it is my 100th or 1000th job, I am ever-conscious that it is your first loss. So, in essence, it also becomes mine again. I treat every job as if it is the first because every person is different and every situation is unique. I care about what has happened to you and how it is affecting you. So go ahead and cry if you need to. You’ve been devastated and no person, even if they have been through something similar, can possibly understand exactly how you feel. I’ll hand you a tissue and give you a moment. When you’re ready we’ll walk through your house and anything that is important to you is important to me and when I tell you to call me if you have questions or forgot to tell me something, I mean it. We’re all in this together and all want the best possible outcome. One day it will all be a distant memory but when you think of it I hope the process leaves you with a warm feeling.

Chloe L. Hudson - Senior Contents Technician