How to Deal With a Burst Pipe

When it comes to your home’s plumbing system, even a small burst can result in big damage. Several conditions may lead to a burst pipe, but the most common cause is cold weather. When the temperature drops too low, the water inside your pipes can freeze. This causes the water to expand, putting an immense amount of pressure on the inside of your pipes, eventually leading to a burst.

If a pipe bursts in your home, taking the right steps could be the difference between minor damages and major disaster. Here is what you should do if your pipe bursts, according to the water damage restoration experts at GreenPro Cleaning:

1. Turn off the water supply. The faster you can switch off your main water supply valve, the less damage you will incur.

2. Protect valuable possessions. After you disconnect your water supply, act quickly to protect your possessions. Move sensitive electronics, important paperwork, and other valuables as far away from the water as possible.

3. Drain your plumbing system. Turn on all your cold taps and flush your toilets. This helps drain preexisting water in your plumbing system.

4. Remove water. Use buckets, mops, and towels to remove excess water. The quicker the water is removed, the less damage it will cause.

5. Locate and repair the source of the leak. You may need to contact a professional plumber to ensure the leak is fixed for good.

6. Dry, repair, or replace damaged goods. Damp building materials may need to be replaced in order to prevent mold; which is dangerous for your health and home.

Sometimes, a burst pipe can be too much to handle alone. Luckily for Long Island homeowners, GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration is just a phone call away! For all of your Nassau and Suffolk County water damage restoration needs, just give us a call at (631) 940-8100.

6 Tips to Healthy Indoor Air this Winter

Winter is here, which means most of us will be spending more time indoors. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, it can be dangerous for your health if your home suffers from indoor air pollution. Use these six tips from GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration to keep your home’s air clean and healthy this winter:

1. Leave your shoes at the door. During the winter months, the ground is covered with rock salt and synthetic de-icers. You don’t want to drag these chemicals throughout your home, so enforce a strict no-shoes policy for your family and friends.

2. Keep a healthy humidity level. Many people use humidifiers during this time of the year to combat dry air. While this is all right, you don’t want your humidity level to exceed 50% -- otherwise, you could be promoting dust mites and mold growth.

3. Don’t smoke indoors. You may not want to venture out into the cold to smoke your cigarette, but you shouldn’t smoke in your home. The toxins and harmful chemicals found in cigarette smoke can stick to your walls and furniture, continuing to affect your health long after the cigarette has been put out.

4. Ditch the commercial air fresheners. Most store-bought air fresheners emit harmful particles known as phthalates. Stay safe and keep your home smelling good with one of these homemade air fresheners instead.

5. Stock up on house plants. Houseplants are for more than just looks, certain types can actually act as a natural air filter. According to NASA, the peace lily, English ivy, and chrysanthemum are the best at removing harmful particles from the air.

6. Have your air ducts professionally cleaned. Air ducts are a common hiding spot for dust, pollen, pet dander, mold, and more. Once these allergens are in your air ducts, they can circulate throughout your entire house.

GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration offers professional air duct cleaning services to homes and businesses across Long Island, New York. If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, contact us online for a free estimate, or call (631) 940-8100.

Is Poor Indoor Air Quality in Your Office Affecting Your Work Productivity?

When you think of air pollution, you most likely picture thick smog that tends to hang in the air in heavily industrialized areas. But in reality, indoor air pollution is typically much higher and worse than outdoor pollution.

When buildings circulate air, they often do not replace enough indoor air with clean outdoor air, which can lead to a buildup of harmful contaminants. Many textiles, building materials, and cleaning solutions contain what are known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), which can cause health problems ranging from allergies and headaches to nervous damage and dermatitis.

In addition to health issues, these pollutants can also affect your work productivity. OSHA estimates that companies cost themselves $15 billion in reduced efficiency and sick leave due to poor air quality. Employers are focused on maximizing productivity, so they often encourage their employees to eat right and exercise, but do very little to improve the quality of air in the office.

According to research done by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, employers can improve workforce performance by up to 10% by simply improving air quality. Some ways to do this include:

• Clean up spills ASAP to reduce the chances mold and mildew growth.
• Forgo air fresheners. They release VOCs into the air and mask odors that can indicate a mold problem.
• Maintain your HVAC and other building systems and change the air filters regularly.
• Don’t use pesticides to manage pests.
• If you can, use building materials and textiles that are eco-friendly and contain little-to-no amount of VOCs.

While employee workout classes and healthy eating might help, if you’re really looking to increase office productivity, start by improving your indoor air quality. If you own a business on Long Island, GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration can help. Visit our website to learn about our air duct cleaning services, or give us a call at (631) 940-8100.

Why Mold in Your Home is a Problem

Mold is a toxic fungus that can grow virtually anywhere moisture is present. Experts estimate that there are more than 100,000 different types of mold, but they all have one thing in common: you don’t want to find any of them growing in your home.

Mold is bad for your health.

Mold spreads by reproducing tiny, microscopic spores. When found in high quantities, these spores can have adverse effects on our health, including allergic reactions. Since these spores are so small, they can even be inhaled, leading to upper respiratory infections. A person’s reaction to mold depends on many factors, such as their sensitivity, the amount of mold present, length of exposure, and the type of mold. Common side effects of mold include:

• Sneezing
• Coughing
• Runny nose
• Itchy eyes
• Sore throat
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Nausea
• Asthma attacks
• Respiratory infections (in severe cases)

Mold is bad for your home.

Mold isn’t just bad for your health, it is bad for your home too. Molds digest organic material, eventually destroying it before spreading onto bigger and better surfaces. The organic material that mold feeds on can be found all over your home, including in your ceiling tiles, carpets, drywall, insulation, and wood surfaces. Mold can not only cause permanent, irreversible damage to these surfaces, it can weaken your home and make it dangerous to live in. Mold left to fester in your ceilings, crawl space, or support beams can cause the wood to rot and weaken, thus compromising the structural integrity of your home.

GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration offers professional mold removal services to homes and businesses across Long Island. If you live in Nassau County or Suffolk County, call us for a free quote at (631) 940-8100.

Unknown Dangers in Your Home

Your home is supposed to be a sanctuary; a safe spot for you and your family to eat, sleep, and live. Unfortunately, your home might not be as safe as you think it is – especially with these hidden dangers lurking around...

Mold

Mold is a toxic fungus that can wreak havoc on your home and your health. Mold can grow virtually anywhere moisture is present, which makes it a common resident of damp basements, attics, bathrooms, and appliances. Mold produces spores which can cause sneezing, coughing, headaches, fatigue, nausea, and respiratory infections. It can even compromise the structural integrity of your home by eating away at wood surfaces.

Air Ducts

Air ducts are an afterthought for most homeowners, but they could be harboring all kinds of contaminants such as mold, dust, pollen, and pet dander. Once these particles are in your air ducts, they can circulate throughout your entire home, causing allergic reactions and making your life miserable.

Clothes Dryer

The clothes dryer is a staple in the modern household, however it does pose a significant fire risk. In fact, clothes dryers are responsible for more than 15,000 house fires every year. The most common cause of dryer fires is failure to clean the lint screen and exhaust vent. This leads to an accumulation of lint which can easily catch fire and spread.

Poor Air Quality

Indoor air pollution sounds like a fictitious problem, but the danger is real. The EPA estimates that more than 90% of North American homes suffer from at least one air quality problem. Indoor air pollution has been linked to life-threatening diseases such as lung cancer.

GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration offers speciality cleaning services that can help remove these hidden risks from your home. If you live on Long Island, call us at (631) 940-8100 to learn about our mold removal, air duct cleaning, and dryer vent cleaning services.

Is it Time to Clean Your Dryer Vent?

When was the last time you had your dryer exhaust vent professionally cleaned? A clear exhaust vent can reduce risk of fire, improve your appliance's energy efficiency, and prevent breakdowns. Here are a few signs that you could be overdue for a cleaning...

• Your clothes are taking longer to dry. Are normal loads of laundry suddenly taking two, or even three cycles before they become completely dry? A clogged exhaust vent could be limiting your appliance's ability to perform at full capacity.

• Your dryer is excessively hot. It's normal for your dryer to become a little warm while in use, but excessive heat is cause for concern. “Excessive heat” can be defined as the dryer feeling hot to the touch, or releasing enough heat to warm up your entire laundry room.

• Lint is accumulating around the dryer vent. Take a look at the back of the dryer, where the exhaust vent connects to the appliance. Is it clean, or is there a build up of lint beginning to accumulate? If there is lint collecting outside of the exhaust vent, the inside is likely much, much worse.

• It's been more than a year since your last cleaning. Experts recommend that the average homeowner clean their dryer exhaust vent at least once every year. If you have a large family, or do a lot of laundry, you may need to clean yours as often as every six months.

Is your dryer exhibiting any of these signs? Contact the professionals GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration! We offer dryer vent cleaning services to homes all across Long Island. If you live in Nassau or Suffolk County, call us to schedule an appointment at (631) 940-8100.

3 Crawl Space Moisture Mistakes to Avoid

As a homeowner, the last thing you want in your crawl space is too much moisture. Whether in the form of water or vapor, excess moisture can lead to mold, structural damage, indoor air pollution, pest infestations, and other costly problems.

Here are some common mistakes you should avoid if you want to keep your crawl space clean, dry, and problem-free.

Not installing a water vapor barrier.

The ground is a huge natural source of water, and some of this moisture can evaporate straight into your crawl space. In areas where the water table is only slightly below ground level, as much as 12 gallons of water per day can evaporate. A vapor barrier is a thin sheet of polyethylene installed on the ground in your crawl space. When properly installed, these barriers can keep water in the ground and out of your home.

Venting appliances to the crawl space.

Appliances (such as your clothes dryer or home heating system) should always be vented directly to the outside, but many homeowners make the critical mistake of venting into their crawl space. This is a big problem for two reasons. First, the air that is vented is usually warm and humid, thus bringing more moisture into your crawl space. Second, and more importantly, these appliances may be producing carbon monoxide; a poisonous gas you want as far away from your home as possible.

Gutters and downspouts too close to the house.

Your gutter system isn't just for looks, it is an important component that helps protect your home from water damage. If your gutters are clogged, water could be pouring over the edge of your roof, dumping next to your foundation and seeping into your crawl space. Make sure your gutters are cleaned at least twice per year, and your downspouts are directing water far enough away from your home.

Has too much moisture led to problems in your crawl space? Contact Long Island's crawl space cleaning experts at GreenPro Cleaning & Restoration. If you live in Nassau County or Suffolk County, call us today for a free estimate at (631) 940-8100.