As many of you know, we're centered in Cranford, New Jersey, which suffered severe damage from Hurricane Irene, 40 houses are condemned in our town and over 1000 people affected. In the weeks following the storm, we alone have received 1000 plus phone calls from the surrounding area.

Like every other local restoration company, we were overwhelmed. Luckily, we could call in backup. PuroClean’s Residential Storm Division drove in from across the country, and they were able to help us in our time of need.  Teams arrived from Tennessee, Ohio, Michigan, and Texas, to name a few. We alone passed on three hundred and fifty clients.

Retracing Irene's path, the stories are the same. Eight-six PuroClean franchises on the East Coast all had a similar surge event -- that's over 1000 phone calls each! The damage has been unprecedented.

Almost every home-owner we've met has cried over the loss of their personal possessions. It has been an emotional time for young and old alike.  A local school was even flooded out, so not only do the students not have a home, but have been displaced at their school. Yet people are all working together. The Red Cross is here, accepting and distributing donations to affected individuals. Local charities and businesses are sponsoring events to help.  Neighbors are getting to know each other, and the community is pulling together. Even though we're competition, we've been able to befriend other restoration companies that serve in the local and national networks.

A lot of people have been asking us, “What can we do to help?”  Ask neighbors if they need help moving wet furniture outside, bake a meal, offer to take care of the kids for a few hours.  Random acts of kindness go a long way.   

Even so, after certain home-restorations, we've been getting calls about new mitigation that sprung up after flood waters have been pumped away.

People who didn't do the restoration correctly are now seeing a lot of mold. Some people came in and they cleared the wet contents -- sheet rock, installation, or first floors -- and applied some sort of solution to the mess. But since they didn't put in air movers (big giant fans) and dehumidifiers, the areas didn't dry correctly and it became the perfect environment for mold.

We've had several posts on mold in the past, and they're even more applicable now:

Learn where mold grows and how to kill the environment it needs to flourish:

Learn how to kill mold after it has grown:

And remember, trained mitigation specialists have the equipment and training to cope with damages too large for even the most capable homeowners to handle on their own.

We are working 24/7 to help out as many people we can; more than anything, we want people to feel safe in their own homes.

Robin Hoy