A few weeks ago, we got a call from a homeowner in Winchester. There was water leaking into the downstairs bedroom from the kitchen on the floor above. It turned out that the dishwasher was the culprit - and they hadn’t noticed it until it was too late. When our team got to work, we found that the water had seeped under the kitchen floor. It had crept behind the cabinets. And mold had started to grow. That’s a lot of damage - $30-$50K worth in rebuilding costs - from something that started as...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Something I’ve learned after 30+ years in the water damage industry? Sometimes water damage can’t be avoided. But often, it can. So whether you’ve got a mountain of home projects this summer or just a few to-dos you can knock out on a Saturday afternoon, I wanted to tell you about 4 things you should definitely have on your home maintenance list. These 4 tasks are a great way to guard your home against potential water and mold damage in the future. The best part? They’re really easy to check...
3 months ago • 1 min read
A few years ago, I switched the color of Umpire’s t-shirts to improve our communication. Spoiler alert: it worked. Here’s what happened. 👕👕👕 When Umpire was first getting started, our uniform was black t-shirts with our logo on the front. This felt like a good compromise between professional and comfortable, as far as uniforms go. (Wearing khakis and collared shirts to clean up a flooded basement like Those Other Guys just didn’t seem very practical.) The black t-shirt choice seemed like a...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Raise your hand if you’ve ever found mold in the house. ✋👀 Now raise your hand if you successfully got rid of it. . . . ✋👀 . . . . . . . . . . . . now raise your hand if you’re absolutely positive you successfully got rid of it. 👀 🤷🏻♂️😬 When it comes to finding mold in your home - and removing it for good - sometimes the most dangerous part is assuming we have all the information. The truth is, if mold has oxygen, a food source (like dirt or dust), and moisture, that’s everything it needs to...
5 months ago • 1 min read
You smell it before you know what it is: That strong, musky odor that just won’t go away. You’d say it smells like propane gas . . . except you don’t use propane. It’s not until you hear the rustling noises coming from under the deck that you realize: You’ve got a skunk situation. 🦨 Early spring is the prime season for skunks to move into your house - and sneaky spots like under the deck, inside tight crawl spaces, and in the garage (!!) are some of their favorites. To make sure you, your...
6 months ago • 1 min read
My father started a water damage restoration business in 1962: Here's Dad in the mid-1960s - he would've been about 30 years old here. His 8 siblings knew him as Bobby, but everyone else called him Bob. That meant my weekends and summers as a kid were spent helping him on job sites. I didn’t just learn about water damage and restoration; I learned what it meant to truly help people. I’ve never been a corporate salesperson, but working with people is something that’s always made sense to me....
7 months ago • 2 min read
I know what you’re thinking, but don’t worry: This isn’t another New Year’s resolutions email. No; instead we’ll call it a “prepare my home for 2025” email. Or a “keep my family happy and healthy in the new year” email. I recorded a short Happy New Year message for you (<1 minute) to say hello and share a special free resource for keeping your home safe from water, fire, and mold damage in 2025. (In it, you'll also get to see my dog, Alpha - the unofficial mascot of the Umpire team!) Click...
8 months ago • 1 min read
I was all the way across town when it happened. I got the ping on my phone. The app’s familiar icon caught my eye as I checked my lock screen. The app icon you hope you never see. There is a fire brewing at your house. Okay, so that’s not exactly what the notification said. But it may has well have. The app was linked to a device I installed in my house earlier in the year. A device called Ting. (Have you heard of it?) It’s a small sensor that you plug into the wall, and it monitors your...
9 months ago • 2 min read
It’s officially looking like fall in Virginia! 🍂 If you’re like me, you’ve already pulled out your favorite jacket, cleaned up your leaf-covered yard at least once, and maybe added a pumpkin or two to the front-porch decor: I added a few pumpkins to the front porch even before the leaves started falling this year... But in the middle of all the color-changing fun, don’t forget: now’s the perfect time to prepare your home for the colder weather. (And I don’t just mean leaving the faucet...
10 months ago • 1 min read