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With the rain and the coming heat, Chicago area homeowners should worry about mold in their homes during the summer months.  Mold can grow almost anywhere there is moisture and it grows on almost anything: paper, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, fabric, insulation, even dust.  It can cause serious damage to a family’s home and health if the homeowner doesn’t take steps to control and deal with it quickly and effectively.

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the key to both preventing and remediating mold in the home is controlling moisture.  Mold cannot grow without moisture, so a homeowner needs to identify and control moisture sources in the home to prevent the spread of mold.

During the warm summer months, we advise homeowners to keep an eye on these seasonal sources of moisture and take steps to control or eliminate them:

• Air conditioner drain pans
• Condensation caused by high indoor humidity or overly cold indoor surfaces
• Outdoor sprinklers set to allow the spray to hit the walls of the home
• Unvented kitchen and bathroom moisture
• Clothes dryers that vent indoors or wet towels and clothing left to dry indoors
• Overwatering house plants
• Moisture from human sources (sweat, wet hair, breath)

These less-obvious moisture sources can be as dangerous as the typical leaks, spills and flooding that most homeowners recognize as potential breeding grounds for mold.  Mold causes a hazard wherever it grows indoors, so homeowners need to be vigilant about controlling indoor moisture. 

Homeowners need to understand how prevalent mold is and how easy it is for mold to find a foothold in the home. You also need to stay on the alert to identify and correct everyday sources of moisture before mold has a chance to grow.

For more information about PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists serving the Chicago area or for additional advice on protecting a home from mold, please contact Scott Majeski at 312-453-1500 or smajeski@puroclean.com.

Wall Street Journal – May 26, 2011

By CHAD TERHUNE And ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS

Already plagued by stubbornly low home prices, homeowners soon may be facinganother blow: rising insurance premiums.

After five years of relatively stable premiums, some of the country’s biggestinsurers have raised rates—or say they plan to. Premiums vary by state, but lastyear, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. says it increased homeownersrates 7.3% on average and, this year, has raised them in 18 states, including afew by more than 7%. By contrast, it cut rates in just two states.

In Florida, upscale insurer PURE Risk Management raised premiums 11% this year. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Allianz SE, saysit has started to raise premiums in some areas. For some Pennsylvaniahomeowners, premiums shot up 33% last year.

For homeowners, the increases may seem counter-intuitive. Why are they payingmore to protect a house that may have lost significant value? Insurers saypremiums are partly based on rebuilding costs, not on a home’s appraised marketvalue. When energy and building-material costs rise, insurers sometimes raisepremiums, said Mike LaRocco, chief executive of Fireman’s Fund Insurance. Evenwith the recent decline in commodities prices, gasoline is up 37% in the pastyear, copper is up about 20% and plywood is up around 8%.

There may be more premium increases on the way, experts say, given the risingtoll of natural disasters, including recent tornadoes and extreme weather in theU.S. and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.

New risk models also are causing insurers to reassess rates, said PUREPresident and CEO Ross Buchmueller. A new hurricane model used widely across theindustry forecasts a higher “wind risk,” even for homes far from the coasts,driving premiums higher.

Federal flood-insurance prices may rise as Congress looks to erase theremaining $18 billion deficit from Hurricane Katrina. One congressional proposalwould raise the limit on annual premium increases to 20% from 10% and make itharder for the most flood-prone properties to get coverage. The average floodpremium is about $600 annually; rates go to nearly $6,000 for the highest-riskcoastal properties, the National Flood Insurance Program says.

All this may be a shock to homeowners, who have gotten used to premiums keptstable by the absence of big storms and costly disasters since Hurricane Katrinacaused insured losses of more than $45 billion in 2005. The recession anddecline in home construction also sapped demand for insurance, according toindustry researcher Insurance Information Institute. The average annual premiumfor homeowners’ insurance fell 3.8% to $791 in 2008 from 2007, Institute figuresshow. It estimates the average premium rose to $807 last year.

There may be little home owners can do, beyond the usual shopping around.Jack Powers, an independent agent at Gulfshore Insurance in Naples, Fla., sayssome of his customers face rate increases of 20% or more. Still, he advises manyof them to swallow the increases. The alternatives, he says, are smaller,unrated insurers that may not withstand a storm financially.

Angie’s List has been an invaluable tool for me to grow my business. I’m proud of the positive feedback I’ve received and want to share with you a recent review I received from a customer.

ANGIE’S LIST WORK REPORT Member: Nancy D. WAUKEGAN, IL 60085 (Full client name can be provided upon request)

Category: Mold Testing & Remediation

Work Done: Yes

Work Completed Date: April 29, 2011

Hire Again: Yes

Approximate Cost: $3,600.00

Home Build Year: 1950

Description Of Work:

Prepared, cleaned and contained mold areas in attic. They followed the recommendations from the mold tester, addressed some areas that looked suspect and noted rotted board in roof that needed replacing (suggested to hire roofer).

Member Comments:

I requested estimates from several companies (from Angie’s List and referrals). I saw the great reviews on Angie’s List for Puroclean in Chicago, so I called to inquire if they provided service in Northern Lake County. Scott Majeski said it was further than usual, but I requested the Puroclean Chicago vs. Milwaukee (due to ratings on this site). He was not free on the Friday I hoped for an estimate, so he came on a Sunday (his suggestion to me). I was not available/present for the walk through of the three attic spaces that had been identified by a separate company as having mold, but a friend met with him here.

I understand that Scott spent about an hour looking at the area, discussing the process, measuring and clarifying the timing needed by the team. He sent an estimate promptly, which was higher than other estimates, but I felt was fair (and included the discount for Angie’s List members without my requesting it). Others that provided estimates spent about 15 minutes measuring the space and not discussing process with me. His thorough-ness, communication and professionalism were worth the additional dollars (especially for the distance).

On the service date, they called to let me know they were caught in traffic and would be late – courteous. The team of three then did a walk through, explained the process to me (since I was not here the first time), answered all my questions and got to work. They took about a 20 minute break for lunch and put in a very full day (till about 530)! He had noted on the first walk through a rotted board on the roof to be repaired and pointed it out to me again after their thorough clean-up.

Overall               A

Price                  B

Quality              A

Responsiveness A

Punctuality        A

Professionalism A

Additional Questions Answered when completing this report.

How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? right on

How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got exactly what I paid for

How far in advance did you schedule the work? 1-2 weeks

Did you find the company through Angie’s List? yes

If yes, which source(s)? website

Why did you choose this contractor? reputation

Have you used this company before? this is the first time I’ve used this company

What did you like most about this contractor? professional

What did you like least about this contractor? nothing

What surprises came up during the course of the work? color of the containment paint – thought would be clear, but used the white as noted in mold report suggestion (I didn’t clarify with him prior)

What words of advice would you give other members considering this contractor? good option

What words of advice would you give this contractor? keep up with the communication with customers – very respected

Problems with roofers plague consumers across the country. One in three Angie’s List members who took an online poll and had roofing work done say they had a problem with their contractor or developed an issue down the line. Of those who detailed their problems, 68 percent mentioned shoddy work as a problem. Others cited trouble with roofing contractors who overcharged them, lacked a license, or took their money and ran.

News reports and attorneys general also warn consumers to be wary of roofing fraud and scam artists. In Jefferson Parish outside New Orleans, for example, a father and son were recently jailed on more than 50 fraud and theft charges for an alleged roofing scam targeting senior citizens.

When property damage occurs,  it is reassuring to know you have the best available help on your side. PuroClean is a leader in property damage restoration and has earned the trust of property owners, insurance professionals and home service providers throughout North America.

PuroClean minimizes restoration costs. Through our responsiveness, skill in the science of drying and mitigation, and our availability to tackle a problem at any hour, further property damage can be prevented.PuroClean’s Property Manager Partnership Program minimizes costs and improve tenant/property owner satisfaction. As the restoration provider of choice for Property Managers throughout the country, PuroClean knows first-hand the challenges you face when property damage occurs.Tenants are back on track quickly, minimizing off-site housing costs and additional inconveniences that arise with property damage.

At the end of any job, we conduct third-party customer evaluations to ensure the highest level of satisfaction. We build lasting relationships with our clients. PuroClean also provides a one-year guarantee on our workmanship and materials.

PuroClean recently opened a new state-of-the-science training facility for PuroClean Franchisees as well as insurance professionals, the opportunity to receive IICRC certification in Water Damage Restoration, Fire and Smoke Restoration, Odor Control, Carpet Cleaning, and Carpet Color Repair, in addition to other courses in business and financial management, sales and marketing.

Our new ASD Demonstration Facility offers real world property damage scenarios complete with areas to look through and see inside the walls and attic as well as underneath the property’s structure. Puroclean’s new training ASD Demonstration Facility, also known as our PuroClean Flood House, has a smoke and soot simulator and this training structure looks like, and is similar to, a typical home in North America.

Our new flood house comes complete with property contents such as dishes, furniture, carpeting and other property that allows new agents to get a real feel for restoring a home’s contents after property damage has occurred. Watch PuroClean’s latest YouTube video here about our new training facility here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKn0GOsCnlQ

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