Dustless on the Other Side

Picture this scene: Your house has finally been restored so you don't have to spend another night in a hotel. The walls of your house are freshly painted per your color preferences, the new floors have been stained and finished, the last of your furniture has been moved back in from a container and the final cleaning has been completed.

But, while you are moving back in, you notice that although the cleaning crew seemed to have worked diligently for most of the day, there is a thin layer of dust on everything in the restored areas.

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A Proactive Solution to Disaster

There are so many things to think about when you have a disaster.  You've barely had time to process the fact that you've had a loss and now you're being asked to try and remember everything  you own in detail in order to be compensated.  Naturally your stress levels increase and your patience decreases as you long for everything to just be over with.

Fortunately, there is something you can do right now in order to save your sanity later should you have a fire, water or storm loss.  Take a disposable, digital or video camera as well as  a notebook and create a detailed record of your belongings.    Be as specific as possible by jotting down model numbers, serial numbers, sizes, quantities, dates and other descriptive or important details.  When you are finished, place the developed photos, memory card or videotape and the notebook in a fire-proof, air tight container.  Safes usually provide the best protection.

Now, if you become the unfortunate victim of fire, water or storm loss, you have everything you need to fill out the necessary paperwork.  No, it won't make all of your stress levels disappear but it will help you overcome feelings of helplessness and will expedite the restoration process.  With a little time and effort you will have peace of mind.

Chloe L. Hudson - Senior Contents Technician

Champion Construction Hail Damage Customers

We want to thank our customers for their patience and understanding.  Champion has received countless calls regarding hail damage from the recent storms. We thank you for understanding that we have to take care of our customers with the most damage to their homes first. Some have lost their entire roof and as we get them taken care of first, we thank you for your patience and understanding.

We have been serving the South for nearly forty years, in good times and bad. We are here to help and we promise that your patience will pay off.  You will receive the best restoration service experience possible. So when we call and say we can't come out for a couple of weeks, please know it is because WE DO CARE and we want to accomodate everyone's needs.

Icela Reets, Emergency Response Program Director

13 Inches of Standing Water - What a Mess!

Recently in Jonesboro, we dried a house that had flooded resulting in 13 inches of standing water in the crawl space. It took 3 days to pump all of the water out of the crawl space. The dirt had turned into mud and the structure was completly saturated.

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Champion Rug Cleaning: How We Do It

Hey!  I'm Zach Reets and I am one of the rug cleaning technicians here at Champion.  I'm going to briefly explain how we clean area rugs. 

Step 1:  Remove as much of the dry soil as possible (i.e. pet hair, dirt, dust, pollen etc).  We do this by thoroughly vaccuming the front and back of the rug.

Step 2:  Completely submerge the rug in water and then scrub it with an orbital buffer while applying rug shampoo. 

Step 3:  Give it proper dwell time.  The more heavily soiled the rug the longer it will take. 

Step 4:  Rinse the rug through with the wand.  Repeat steps 2 and 3 until water rinses clear.

Step 5:  Extract the remaining water from the rug and hang to dry.



Zach Reets - Carpet Cleaning Technician

www.championcleaningsystems.com

I've never had a claim...how does my insurance claim get paid?

The whole insurance claim process can be confusing.  Its true that your insurance company approves the scope of the repairs and provides the claim funds.  But your contractor (not the insurance company) is responsible for performing satisfactory repairs, and you the homeowner (not the insurance company) are ultimately responsible to make sure that your contractor gets paid.

A common question people have is 'what do I do with my deductible?'  Your insurance company will 'deduct' your insurance deductible from the total claim funds that they pay.  If you have a total claim of $10,000.00 and your deductible is $1,000.00, your insurance company will pay $9,000.00 and your $1,000.00 deductible is to be paid by you directly to your contractor. 

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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

A Good Time Was Had by All...

Today we hosted a continuing education course for insurance agents and adjusters about wood floor drying.  We enjoyed having those ladies and gentlemen with us (as always) and it seemed that they had a good time, too.  Lunch from Cafe Pig was a real treat.  We're already looking forward to the next one, March 17, about Ethics. 

Today was an especially exciting day for us because the speaker was one of our very own, Jeremy Reets.  He shared a lot of valuable information about how the innovative Thermal Energy System (TES) he developed himself can be used (among other things) to save hardwood floors that would previously have been unsalvageable.  This saves time and money, is environmentally friendly, and spares homeowners a lot of stress and grief. 

Speaking isn't a new thing to Jeremy:  Every six weeks or so restorers from all over the US and beyond come to our facility for TES training.  We have a very unique "flood house" on site-- an actual house that gets flooded and dried over and over again.  One of the highlights of today's course was that the agents and adjusters got to flood the house and then see how TES is used to begin the restoration process.  Jeremy developed TES as part of his never-ending quest to find a better way to do things.  It's something I like to tease him about (I am his wife, after all) but I have to admit it's a pretty remarkable system!

Starri Reets - Event Coordinator

http://www.tesdryingsystem.com/

Fire Safety Season--Play it Safe!

 As we've been through a cold snap some may feel that they've got this auxiliary heating thing down pat. Well let's just take minute to cover some EXCELLENT reminders:

1.) Keep space heaters at least 3' from anything combustible.

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Prepare your home and family for the BIG FREEZE 2009!

• Prepare for possible isolation in your home by having sufficient heating fuel; regular fuel sources may be cut off. For example, store a good supply of dry, seasoned wood for your fireplace or wood-burning stove. 


• Winterize your home to extend the life of your fuel supply by insulating walls and attics, caulking and weather-stripping doors and windows, and installing storm windows or covering windows with plastic.



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