How Gutters Protect Your Home From Water Damage

Gutters are one of those things that we never pay attention to until something goes wrong. Most homeowners know that gutters are important, but few can actually explain why. The reason they are important is because they protect your home from water damage. Here's how.

How gutters work

Gutters are mounted along the border of your roof, and are responsible for collecting rain water and melting snow as it flows over the edge. The gutters are installed at a slight angle so this water doesn't simply pool in them, it is directed to the downspout. The job of the downspout is to deposit this water elsewhere – whether it is in a collection barrel, underground drain, garden, or just a safe distance away from your home.

How clogged gutters lead to water damage

Just about the only thing you need to do to keep your gutters functioning properly is clean them twice per year. Once after fall season, and again at the start of spring should be enough to keep them clear of leaves and debris. When your gutters become too clogged with this junk, water can't flow through them, which can lead to the following problems:

• Water leaking into your roof. When water leaks into your roof, you can experience mold in your attic, damaged insulation, wood rot, and more.
• Water pouring over the sides of your roof. When water pours over the edge of your roof, it can damage your siding and cause your window sills to rot.
• Foundation and crawl space damage. Another problem with water draining too close to your home is the pressure that it puts on your foundation, which could cause it to crack. Other problems that can result include flooding and mold growth.
• Ice dams. Ice dams commonly occur during the winter months. When your gutters are clogged, melting snow on your roof can't drain, so it re-freezes to form a dam on the edge of your roof. This causes even more water to back up, and eventually seep into your ceiling.

If water damage has affected your Long Island home or business, look no further than GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration. We offer specialty cleaning services to Nassau and Suffolk County, including mold removal, attic and crawl space cleaning, and water damage restoration. Visit our website or give us a call at (631) 940-8100 for more information.

3 Reasons Why Your Dryer Isn't Working

The job of your clothes dryer is simple – to dry your clothes. Unfortunately, it's not always able to do that. Here are some of the most common reasons why your dryer isn't working.

You don't clean your lint screen.

Are you cleaning your lint filter before every single load of laundry? You should be. A dirty lint screen not only hurts your dryer's ability to operate properly, it can create a fire hazard as well. To clean it, just remove it from its housing area and wipe it until all visible lint is removed. Slide it back into place and start your cycle.

You are overloading your dryer.

Your dryer has a limit as to how many articles of clothing it can dry in one cycle. It is essential to be cognizant of your dryer's limitations and do your best to not overload it. It's also important to pay attention to how wet your clothes are before you put them in – some washing machine cycles leave your clothes more wet than others, and thus will take longer to dry.

Your exhaust vents are dirty.

The winding aluminum tube that attaches to the back of your dryer is called the exhaust vent, and is responsible for releasing excess heat to the outside. Stray lint particles accumulate in this vent, and after several months or years, they can begin to restrict airflow. This hurts your dryer's energy efficiency, ability to operate, and is a big fire hazard.

Most experts recommend cleaning your dryer exhaust vent every one or two years. This job requires special knowledge and tools, so if you don't know what you are doing, it is best to call a professional. GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration offers dryer vent cleaning services to all of Long Island. If you live in Nassau County or Suffolk County, give us a call at (631) 940-8100 for a free quote.

Best All Natural Cleaners to Use Around the Home

If you take a look under your sink, you'll probably find an assortment of store-bought cleaning products. Cleaners for your kitchen. Cleaners for your toilet. Cleaners for your shower. Cleaners for your windows. The list goes on and on.

What you may not know is that these cleaners contain dozens of toxic chemicals – even those which are labeled as “all natural”. Ditch these products and use the natural cleaning ingredients below instead. Not only are they a healthier alternative, but they are cheaper too.

• Vinegar. Vinegar is mother nature's all purpose cleaner. It can be used to clean and disinfect a nearly any surface in your home, and is a powerful stain remover. WikiHow shows a variety of ways to clean with vinegar here.

• Baking Soda. You may use baking soda to deodorize your refrigerator, but it can be used for so much more. In addition to removing odors from your fridge and laundry, baking soda is a non-abrasive cleaner that can be used on metals, countertops, floors, and more. Combine with vinegar to make your very own all-purpose cleaner.

• Lemon. The strong citrus scent of lemon can be used to overpower even the most foul of odors. Use it to clean your garbage disposal, grout, faucets and handles, and much more. Click here for a list of 24 things you can clean with a lemon.

• Salt. You use salt on your eggs and margaritas, but did you know you can also use it for tough cleaning jobs around the house? Salt is an abrasive cleaning agent, meaning you can use it to scrub away really tough grime like greasy pans or mildew spots. When combined with vinegar or lemon, it acts as a catalyst, boosting cleaning power and forming a strong cleaning paste.

At GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration, we are committed to making your home as safe and healthy as possible. That is why we offer specialty cleaning services such as air duct cleaning, dryer vent cleaning, and mold removal to homes and businesses across Long Island. If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, visit our website or give us a call at (631) 940-8100 to speak with one of our cleaning professionals.

Don't Forget These Places When Spring Cleaning

Break out your brooms and dustpans, because it's time for a little bit of spring cleaning. Before you get started on your checklist, make sure you aren't neglecting these often-forgotten places.

Your Air Conditioner

Dirty air filters and coils can reduce your air conditioner's performance, energy efficiency, and lifespan. Take the time to clean them this spring so that your unit operates at peak capacity all summer long, or schedule a tune up with a local HVAC service and they will do it for you.

Your Gutters

Leaves, twigs, and other debris can accumulate in your gutters over the winter months. If you don't clean them now, the upcoming spring showers can cause roof leaks, basement flooding, mold growth, and more.

Your Crawl Space

When was the last time you cleaned your crawl space? Now is the perfect time to check for signs of pest invasions, mold, and cracks in your foundation. If it's been a while since you've last been down there, it may be too tough of a job to tackle alone. Look for a professional crawl space cleaning service in your area.

Your HVAC Ducts

Did you know that the average three-bedroom house generates more than 40 pounds of dust per year? Much of this dust collects in your air ducts, where it can circulate throughout your entire home. Other contaminates that may be hiding in your air ducts include pet dander, mold, and pollen. Duct cleaning isn't a DIY job – experts recommend hiring a professional service every 3-5 years.

Spring cleaning your Long Island home? Let GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration give you a hand! We offer specialty cleaning services to Nassau and Suffolk counties including air duct cleaning, crawl space and attic cleaning, mold removal, water damage restoration, and more. Visit our website or call us at (631) 940-8100 for more information.

How Indoor Air Pollution Affects Your Health

You may know about the air pollution problem, but what you don't know is that it is happening right inside of your own home. In fact, your home's air may be up to ten times more polluted than even the dirtiest of cities. If you think it's no big deal, think again. Read below to discover how indoor air pollution can affect your health.

Short-Term Health Effects

If you are exposed to indoor air pollutants, you may begin to feel the effects within a very short period of time. The severity of these symptoms can greatly vary based on factors such as age, gender, preexisting medical conditions, and individual sensitivity.

Most of the time, these immediate effects can be confused for allergies. The symptoms basically are the same, and can include sneezing, runny nose, itchy eyes, sore throat, headaches, dizziness, and fatigue. Indoor air pollution can also trigger symptoms from other diseases, such as asthma. In order to determine whether your symptoms are caused by poor indoor air quality or actually being sick, it is important to pay attention to the time and place they occur.

The best way to treat symptoms is by identifying and eliminating your exposure to the source of pollution.

Long-Term Health Effects

It's not just the immediate effects you have to worry about. Years of exposure to bad indoor air quality can lead to some pretty serious health complications down the road. While further research is needed to better understand the specifics, indoor air pollution is being linked to various heart diseases, respiratory diseases, and certain forms of cancer. You can see why it is important to improve the air quality in your home, even if symptoms aren't yet noticeable.

One little-known source of indoor air pollution is your air ducts, which could be harboring dust, mold, pet dander, and other harmful pollutants. Experts recommend having your home's ducts cleaned every 3-5 years in order to remove these contaminants.

GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration offers duct cleaning services to homes and businesses across Long Island. Our methods have been tested and proven to be 100% environmentally-safe. If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, call us today for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.

How Cleaning Your Ducts Can Improve Your Home's Air Quality

Indoor air pollution is nothing to sneeze at – no pun intended.

It sounds like a fictitious problem, but the dangers are very real. The EPA ranks indoor air pollution as a top five risk to public health, and the WHO links it to several diseases such as lung cancer, stroke, heart disease, and COPD.

Indoor air pollution can come from a variety of products, many of which we use every day. We think that these products are completely safe; after all there's no warning label and some of these goods are even labeled as “all natural”. Some potentially harmful products include kitchen and bathroom cleaners, candles, heating equipment, paint, furniture, and ironically – air fresheners.

To combat indoor air pollution, many people invest in HEPA air filters for their homes. While this is an effective way to remove some of the airborne contaminants floating around your home, it is nothing more than a band-aid approach.

To really fix the problem, you have to eliminate the source of what is causing it. Here is an easy comparison to understand this: think about rotten food stinking up your fridge. Which is the more effective way to clear out the odor – placing an open box of baking soda on the top shelf, or throwing the rotten food away? The answer is obviously to remove the source of the problem, and the same logic applies to indoor air quality.

One of the most surprising sources of indoor air pollution stems from your home's air ducts. An afterthought to most people, these ducts can collect all kinds of nasty pollutants such as:

• Dust
• Mold
• Pet Dander
• Pollen
• Pest Droppings

Once these contaminants are in your air ducts, they can use them as a means of transportation to spread throughout your entire home. The only way to prevent this is by having your ducts professionally cleaned.

Duct cleaning is not something to do on your own, as it requires specialized knowledge, industrial-sized rotary brushes, and truck-mounted vacuums to get the job done right. It is recommended to get your air ducts cleaned every 3-5 years, but it should be more often than that if you own pets or smoke in your home.

If you live on Long Island, contact GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration for all of your air duct cleaning needs. We serve all of Nassau County and Suffolk County, so call us today for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.

Common Crawl Space Problems

As Long Island's premier crawl space cleaning service for the past decade, we have seen our fair share of issues. Many crawl spaces are built on dirt floors, and most homeowners tend to neglect them. When this happens several problems can occur, such as these.

Moisture

High humidity tends to be the most common problem in crawl spaces. If you do not have a vapor barrier installed, moisture from the ground can evaporate into your crawl space. Warm air from the outside also enters your crawl during the summer months, which leads to even higher humidity levels. The real problem with excess moisture is that it leads to the other problems listed below.

Pests

Many creepy crawlies are attracted to dark, humid climates. Your crawl space fits this description perfectly. An insect infestation isn't just gross, but some kinds of bugs (such as termites) can actually cause structural damage to your home.

Mold

Mold can grow virtually anywhere moisture is present, and your crawl space is no exception. Mold can compromise the structural integrity of your home and make your family sick. It is believed that more than half of the air you breathe on the first floor comes from your crawl space; you don't want that air to be contaminated with mold spores.

Rotting Wood

Fungal growth eats away at wood, deteriorating it to the point where it may eventually disintegrate. You can see how mold can quickly become a serious problem if it is growing on your home's support beams. If you notice mold growing in your crawl space, call a professional service to remove it immediately.

If you live in Long Island and are experiencing any of these problems, contact the crawl space cleaning professionals at Green Pro Cleaning & Restoration. We serve all of Nassau and Suffolk County, and only use environmentally-friendly products to get the job done. Call us at (631) 940-8100 for a free quote.