Continuing Education Classes 2012

ServiceMASTER of Salt Lake is offering CE classes for 2012 to any Insurance Agent or Adjuster.

classes are offered in both Salt Lake  and  Utah Counties.  Classes are held in our office...or if you get your office together we can come to your office.

Classes for February.  

February 7th:  Insurance Fraud  (24336) [Salt  Lake County ]    

February 21st: Subrogation    (24337) [ UT County ]


call us to schedule  801-506-0027 SLC or 801-356-7105 UT county

ServiceMaster Salt Lake

You have found us on our Blog page, now check us out on FaceBook  ServiceMaster of Salt Lake & Utah Counties    or the twitter thing...  ServiceMasterSL


Message us on Twitter, LIKE  us on  Facebook...    ask a PRO (carpet & upholstery cleaning, disaster restoration services )  our certified and Mater technicians are ready to help.

The Four "Knows of Drying"

Four question that Summarize the information that must be obtained , documented and evaluated throughout the restorative drying process.  When left unanswered, these questions are the source of the most common deficiencies in inspection and documentation.  The four key questions, or "knows," of dying are:

1. What's wet?
2.  How wet is it?
3. Is it drying?
4. Is it done? 

Only through insepection, monitoring and documentation will answer these four questions.  A gap in this process will result in improper dryin, addional water damage, and compromised structual cleaniness and intergrity. Proper instruments and tools are a key ingredient to successful completion of the drying process.


( RSA- Restoration Sciences Academy) RD 101

Use Antimicrobials Safely and Properly

At ServiceMASTER  of Salt Lake    our   cleantrust certified technicians are tranied to use all Antimicrobials  used at your home safely and properly. the following steps included.

1. Read the product label
2. Use approopriate PPE  (Personal Protective Equipment)
3. Communicate with occupants
4. Obtain consent
5. Provide MSDS if requested  ( Material Safety Data Sheet )

Antimicrobials & Biocides

Controlling microbial activity at a restoration site may also require the use of chemical agents.  Before deciding to use an antimicrobial or biocide, it is critical to first understand the terminology, technology and chemistry behind the individual product.  The Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ) has defined three levels of biocidal activity:

° Sanitizer:   A cleaning or disinfecting treatment designed to 
                      reduce the number of pathogenic    
                      microorganisms to a safe level.  This is the lowest 
                      level of biocidal activity.

° Disinfectant:   A solution designed to destroy or inhibit the
                           growth of microorganisms, but not 
                           necessarily their spores.

° Sterilizer:   A product designed to destroy all microorganisms 
                       (fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc.) and their 
                        spores.


   
  (RSA [RS101] )                        

Reporting Water Damage..things to note

When reporting a water disaster  a few things to keep in mind that you should report.

1. Origination  (what is the source of water)

2. Water Cleanliness  (water from a dishwasher or ice maker line, over flow from a toilet )

3. The extent of Water Damage  ( how far has it migrated, has it wicked up the walls )

4. Have you done anything to clean up (mitigate) before calling.  What?

Always remember the first concern (after stopping the water at source-if possible) should always be  your health and safety.

Disaster Clean UP

Disaster Clean Up.  What is that you ask.

Fire-    Grease fire in the Kitchen. Embers from the fire place. Smoking in bed. Spontaneous combustion.

Water (flooding) Frozen water line to swamp cooler, water line to ice maker, cracked water line to other   
                          appliances. bathtub over flow. Toilet broken


Smoke damage.  from fire place, neighbors fire. Burned toast


Anything unexpected that you need the experts to clean up. Water extraction and drying. Demo for water or Fire.  Pack out services. Content cleaning.

Tell your insurance provider you prefer ServiceMASTER of Salt Lake

Fire, Smoke, Water Flood Clean up

What do we do, the question is often asked.  What does ServiceMASTER  do?

We Clean carpets and rugs.
We Clean upholstery   (can apply protector)

We Do Disaster Restoration:

This includes all Fire, Water and Smoke Restoration.  Including Pack Outs and Content Cleaning

We are available 24 hours a day for any emergency.

Our office also offers commercial services that include Janitorial, general cleaning, construction cleanup. All done to meet your schedule and demands.

Give us a call.

Where did all the Snow go?

We should have been hit with a big snow storm yesterday and last night. I get up this morning and nothing but rain in the valleys. I'm not objecting to just rain in the valley and snow in the mountains but would really like to see a little white on the lawns.

The resorts got a little (up to 18'') snow but nothing to get excited about. May be more for this weekend and first of next week.


Two months into winter and only 50'' at Alta, nothing in the valley. Makes me think that Spring is going to be wet and cold.

Category 3 water loss

Category 3 water loss is grossly contaminated and can contain pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents. Examples of category 3 water sources can include, but are not limited to: sewage; toilet backflows that originate from beyond the toilet trap regardless of visible content or color; and other contaminated water entering or affecting the indoor environment, such as wind-driven rain from hurricanes, tropical storms, or other weather-related events. Such water sources may carry silt, organic matter, pesticides, heavy metals, regulated materials, or toxic organic substances.


This is the highest level of contamination. Precautions to protect workers and building occupants must be taken.  These may include the use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and/or Air filtration devices (AFD) with HEPA (High Efficiency Particulate Air) filters.

Category 2 water loss

Category 2 water contains significant contamination and has the potential to cause discomfort or sickness if contacted or consumed by humans. Category 2 water can contain potentially unsafe levels of microorganisms or nutrients for microorganisms, as well as other organic or inorganic matter ( chemical or biological)

The standard indicate that the water has some contaminatio9n, but not to the level of a category w loss.  Odors might be indicative that water has been contaminated.  Some factors that influence the water's cleanliness are the current use of the structure ) such as nursing home, hospital, day care, veterinary clinic, etc.), the general condition of the structure, previous water loss and the age and history of the structure. Time and elevated temperature will quickly degrade this to a category 3 loss.

Category 1 water loss

Category 1 water originates from a sanitary source and does not pose sustantial risk from dermal, ingestion, or inhalation exposures. Howerver, once clean water leaves theexit point, it might not remain clean once it contacts other surfaces or materials.

The standard does NOT say that the water must be drinkable to be a category 1 loss. It must come from a sanitary source and not have gathered any significant contamination after leaving the pipe or hose.  Some factors that influence the water's cleanliness are the current use of the structure (such as a privte home), the general condition of the structure, previous water losses, and the age and history of the structure.

Water Loss Categories.

Relates to general range of contamination in the water considering its source and the materials it contacts.

Class 4 Water Loss

Specialty drying situations.

These consist of wet materials with a very low permeance/porosity (e.g., hardwood, plaster, brick, concrete, light weight concrete and stone).  Typically. there are deep pockets of saturation, which require very low specific humidity to remove.

This class of water includes situations where moisture is trapped deep in dense materials like hardwood floors, subflooring, and plaster walls.  This "bound water" is difficult to remove and will require the use of special drying tools and techniques. Additional drying time may be required to maintain a balanced environment so as not to cause damage to other materials in the loss through moisture removal.

class 3 water loss

Greatest amount of water, absorption and evaporation.


Water may have come from overhead. Ceilings, insulation, carpet, cushion and subfloor in virtually the entire area are saturated.


This class includes the largest amount of water remaining after extraction and demolitio9n is completed. This will involve entire room(s) and their materials. Porous and non-porous materials may be included. large volumes of moisture have been adsorbed and need to be evacuated quickly to prevent secondary or long term damages. This evacuation may require the use of heat, large volume dehmidification, air movers and specialty tools and techniques.

Class 2 water loss

Large amount of water, absorption, and evaporation.

Water losses that affect the majority of a room of carpet and cushion (pad).  Water has wicked up walls less than 24 inches.  There is moisture in structural materials.

This class includes more water remaining after extraction than class 1 and includes some moisture wicking up the walls. Since porous materials are affected and absorption happens rapidly, the volume of moisture that will be dealt with must be considered.  These items will also release their moisture rapidly, therefore more dehumidification is required to prevent secondary damages.

Classification of Water. Class 1

The Classification of water- related to the relative degree of saturation. This class is used to calculate the initial amount of equipment needed in the drying process.

Least amount of water, absorption, and evaporation. Water losses that affect only part of a room or area , or larger  areas containing materials that have absorbed minimal moisture. Little or no wet carpet and/or cushion is present. These may also include small losses where the carpet and cushion has been removed and only the sub-floor is being dried.

This class may include more than one room or drying chamber, but is typically asmall amount of water left after extraction and removal of wet materials. A number of rooms with each room having only a slight involvement in the loss may also be labeled as a class 1 loss. 

Classification of Water..in a water loss

What is the class of water  when you have a water loss in your home?

how many gallons of water in a cubic foot?

One of todays questions answers what everyone ofter thinks about but no time to research.  How many gallons of water are there in a cubic foot?


If your answer was  7.48   you are correct

How much does a gallon of water weigh?

drum roll please.........


8.34 Lbs  is the weight of a gallon of water.

How much does air weigh?

1 Lb of dry air - is approx. 14 cubic feet in size

Welcome 2012

After a long weekend....Welcome 2012    New Year


2012