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PDR Inland Empire Mentioned in Restoration & Remediation Magazine

Hurricane Sandy drowned the New York coastline.

Hurricane Sandy drowned the New York coastline.

The American spirit of community becomes very evident when a local disaster becomes a national relief effort. The circle of damage may be relatively small like a flooded street, or a Hurricane Sandy that ravaged almost the entire east coast. The response of help from businesses and individuals draws from all communities from east to west north to south. Caution is quickly thrown aside by the empathy of helping fellow countrymen in trouble. Continue Reading →

Is Your Washing Machine a Potential Water Hazard?

Don't be held captive by your washing machine's potential for destruction.

Don’t be held captive by your washing machine’s potential for destruction.

Of all the hazards that can damage property, water is the most insidious. Water is for the most part silent, travels in all directions from the source, and often doesn’t surface immediately. It just lies quietly in the dark doing its damage. Sometimes it goes undetected for weeks and even months.

There are many preventative steps any homeowner can take themselves to detect a water leak. Checking the water bill every month is a simple check, as an unidentifiable spike may lead to detecting a leak. Be alert to water stains or standing water. Usually you can track down the leak and correct the cause. Continue Reading →

Water Damage Hits With a One-Two Punch

Did a pipe burst and flood your home? You’ve got more to worry about than ruined carpet.

If you have a fire in your home, you call the fire department. Once the fire is extinguished, you have time to take care of insurance assessment and renovation. But water damage—that’s a different story. If you incur water damage of any sort or source, you should be aware of several precautions recommended by restoration professionals and insurance companies. Here’s PDR’s top five tips if you experience a water-damage emergency in your home or business: Continue Reading →

Extreme Weather, Natural Disasters Can Hinder Medical Assistance

Scenes from Boston in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

When storms hit a populated area, like Hurricane Sandy did in late 2012, we usually think of devastation like what’s pictured above. We can imagine that it’s hard for emergency vehicles to get through, and that there’s chaos at hospitals across the affected areas.

But did you ever stop to think about how flooding and/or fire can affect the actual tools of the medical industry? Think of how many sterilized products go into just a simple, routine blood test, or even a throat swab. Now think about how you would perform these procedures when you’re entire storage facility has been flooded with rank stormwater, causing all of your hypodermic needles, gauze and other implements to be completely useless. Continue Reading →

Preventing Flooding in Your Home This Winter: 4 Tips from PDR

It was difficult for us in Southern California to understand the devastation left behind on the East Coast by Hurricane Sandy, especially as the Inland Empire’s residents were enjoying record temperatures in October and November. We actually went out to New Jersey to help, and it was no joke—the Eastern Seaboard got hit hard.

But just think back to two Decembers ago, when downtown Laguna Beach was under four feet of water right before the Christmas holiday. Although not as bad as a hurricane by any means, that storm devastated south Orange County, and had people being rescued from their roofs, homes were destroyed and old-growth trees uprooted. Then there were the windstorms last year at this time that were sweeping the Southland, causing millions in damages to homes, businesses and cities. Continue Reading →

Beware Inland Empire Scam Artists After Disaster Strikes

We might think that just because we’re in beautiful Southern California, where usually not much happens in the way of disasters, we’re safe from people who prey on the misfortunes of others. Sadly, you’ll be wrong.  Although we don’t have hurricanes, flooding rivers, tornadoes or blizzards, we have wildfires, mudslides and earthquakes, and criminals that are ready to make money off the back of someone losing their home or business.

Whenever a disaster happens, whether its as devastating as losing your entire company to a fire or less dire like a leak in your home’s roof, it is a troubling time for a homeowner or business owner. There are so many details to worry about, on top of the event itself—and this is exactly the time when unscrupulous fly-by-night contractors and other scam artists will move in to capitalize on their misfortune. Continue Reading →

It’s All Sunshine Now, But Winter Is Coming

If you see this on your roof, you will have some unwanted water in your home when it rains.

And even though our winter won’t be as bad as the fictional winter we referenced from Game of Thrones in the title, we should be bracing for an El Niño. Last year we had an La Niña winter, which means it was dry and fairly warm, so you can guess what an El Niño is. That’s right, it’s the exact opposite.

Even though there are varying degrees of El Niño weather, and we’re not absolutely sure what to expect this year, we’re advocating some preparation to head off any potential disasters. Even though flooding and water damage is our business, we’d like to help the Inland Empire stay dry and safe.

We’re more than happy to come out and check your roof—you do remember that we are fully licensed and bonded contractors, don’t you? But there are ways for you to check your roof yourself. Just please be careful—we don’t want any accidents on ladders! (For our commercial customers, we highly recommend that you use a professional to check your roof.) Continue Reading →

How to Prepare For a Hurricane

Hurricane Isaac makes landfall.

This is not something that we have to worry about usually here in Southern California, but we are very concerned for our fellow Americans over on the Gulf Coast. This will be the first time the the new levees and flood gates in Louisiana have been tested since Katrina.

The amount of damage that a hurricane causes is dependent on several keys factors besides the wind or hurricane rating. Just like earthquakes, the direction or angle the storm comes into land is very significant to the amount of potential damage or loss, as well as the speed the storms comes in. You may think that if it hits shore quicker it would cause more damage, but in fact if the storm slows down before landfall it has a significantly higher probability of being more destructive. Hurricane Isaac did slow down before hitting the Louisiana coast, and the people of Plaquemines Parish are in trouble. Continue Reading →

Pros and Cons of Tankless Water Heaters

Wondering how a tankless water heater works?

Many properties in other countries already use tankless, or “on-demand”, water heaters in most new-build properties, because let’s face it—in a cold English winter, you want hot water, and you want it NOW.

But here in sunny So Cal, we rarely suffer from cold weather—and before you start complaining about how cold you get in December, tell that to someone from New York or the midwest. But we still like our hot showers, as I’m sure those coming in from a morning surf or jog will tell you, and perhaps that means that a tankless water heater is for you. Continue Reading →

Foreclosed Homes Hiding Huge Mold Problems

This mold was uncovered in an Atlanta, Georgia by a Channel 2 News team.

It’s not just here in California that mold problems lurk behind walls, under roofs and under floors. Our winter and spring weather, a mold-happy combination of wet weather followed by hot sunshine, has triggered mold growth for tens of thousands of potential homeowners. And they probably won’t know until it’s too late. Continue Reading →