Restoration FAQs

Water Damage 

• What Is Wrong With My Water Heater and What Should I Do Now?
• What Is an Ice Dam?
• What Should I Do If My Apartment Floods?
• What Should I Expect From a Basement Leak?
• What Do Water-Damaged Ceiling Tiles Mean for My Home?
• What Should I Do If My Home Fills With Water?
• Where Is the Water Shut-off Valve in a House?
• How Can I Save My Home From Water Damage?
• How Can Protect My Home From Water Damage?
• What Are the Worst Effects of Water Damage?
• What Is a Sump Pump and How Will a Sump Pump Help After a Flood?
• How Can I Prevent a Soggy Basement?
• What Are the Common Signs of Bathroom Water Damage?
• How Should I Prepare My Business for a Flood?
• How Can I Fix My Leaky Toilet?
• How Can I Fix My Leaky Faucet?
• How Much Can a Leak Add to Your Monthly Water Bill?
• Can I Shut Off Water Flow in My Home in Case of an Emergency?
• How Can I Spot a Water Leak?
• What Should I Do to Prevent a Water Heater Flood?
• Should I Get a New Water Heater Before My Old One Breaks?
• What Are the Categories of Water Damage?
• What Appliances Are Most Likely to Cause Water Damage?
• How Can a Small Leak Flood a Whole Home?
• What Should I Do to Prepare for a Flood?
• How Should I Prevent and Handle a Flooded Basement?
• How Should I Store Sensitive Materials to Keep Them Safe From Floods?
• What Should I Do to Prevent a Dishwasher Flood?
• What Should I Do to Prevent a Bathroom Flood?
• How Can I Protect My Property From Flash Flood Damage?
• Where Do Leaks Come From?
• Why Do I Need to Clean My Gutters?
• What Do I Need to Know About Leaky Roofs?
• How Can I Leak-Proof My Home?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial water damage restoration.

 

Fire Damage

• What Should I Do After Fire Damage?
• What Is Fire and How Does it Spread?
• What Should I Do If My House Is Damaged by a Wildfire?
• What Do I Need to Know About Grease Fires?
• When Are Electrical Fires Most Likely to Occur?
• Where Should Smoke Alarms and Fire Extinguishers Go?
• Why Do I Need a Professional to Handle Fire Restoration?
• How Hot Do Property Fires Get?
• How Can I Prevent Spontaneous Combustion Fires in My Building?
• How Do I Put Out a Small Fire?
• What Are the Top Causes of Electrical Fires?
• What Things Should I Throw Away After a Fire, No Questions Asked?
• What Action Steps Should I Take After a Fire?
• What Is Good Apartment Complex Protocol During and After a Fire?
• How Can I Prevent Brush Fires and Minimize Brush Fire Damage to My Home?
• What Is Proper Campfire Safety?
• How Do I Check My Hearth & Home for Fire Dangers?
• What Items Are Common Household Fire Starters?
• What Should I Do If I Believe I’ve Discovered a Fire?
• How Can I Prevent Electrical Fires?
• How Should I Make a Fire Escape Plan for Work or Home?
• How Can I Increase the Efficiency of My Fireplace?
• Why Is Fire Protection Equipment So Important?
• Are You Missing These Hidden Sources of Fire?
• How Can a Flickering Candle Transform into a Flaming Fire in Seconds?
• How Should I Prepare a Fire Emergency Kit?
• How Do I Use a Fire Extinguisher?
• Is Food Safe to Use After a Fire?
• What Do I Need to Consider When Planning My Fire Escape Route?
• Why Should You Prepare and Practice a Fire Escape Plan?
• What Items Should I Avoid to Prevent a Fire?
• How Can I Put Out a Grease Fire With Kitchen Ingredients?
• How Do I Use a Fire Extinguisher Safely?
• Can Electrical Wiring Cause a Fire?
• Can Gas Lines Cause Fires?
• What Are the Top Household Firestarters?
• How Do I Choose the Right Fire Extinguisher?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial fire damage restoration.

 

Smoke Damage

• How Does Smoke Damage Affect Electronics?
• How Does Smoke Damage Affect Your Home's Contents?
• How Should I Clean My Smoke-Damaged House?
• Can I Remove Smoke Damage From Brick?
• How Can I Remove Soot From Walls?
• What Is the Impact of Smoke Damage?
• What Are the Hidden Health Hazards of Smoke and Soot?
• Are Carcinogens Lurking in Your Home?
• Why Is Smoke So Bad for My Lungs?
• Why Does Every Home Need Properly Working Smoke Alarms?
• How Does a Smoke Alarm Save Lives?
• Is It Possible to Clean Smoke-Damaged Electronics?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial smoke damage restoration.

 

Mold Removal and Remediation

• What Kind of Damage Can Mold Really Do?
• What Should I Do When Mold Shows Up After a Disaster?
• How Can I Prevent Mold?
• Can You Live in a House During Mold Remediation?
• Can You Paint Over Mold?
• Is Your Air Conditioning System Bringing Mold into Your House?
• How Dangerous Is the Mold in My Shower?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial mold removal and remediation.

 

Insurance

• What Does Homeowners Insurance Cover in the Event of a Fire?
• Do I Need Flood Insurance for My Rental Property?
• How Do You Know If You Should Have Flood Insurance?
• Can Hoarding Affect Your Homeowners Insurance?
• What Should I Ask My Agent About Storm Insurance?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial insurance.

 

Air Duct Cleaning & Air Quality

• Why Is There Water in My Air Ducts?
• How Air Duct Cleaning Improves Air Quality
• How Clean Is the Air You Breathe?
• How Often Should I Clean My Air Ducts?
• How Should I Clean My Ductless HVAC System?
• Does Air Duct Cleaning Improve Efficiency?
• Does Air Duct Cleaning Save Money?
• How Can Poor Air Quality Impact Your Health?
• When Is a Good Time to Clean My Air Vents?
• Why Is Changing My Air Filter Important?
• What Household Pollutants Are Harmful to My Health?
• How Should I Use and Care for My Humidifier?
• What Is a Humidifier?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial air duct cleaning.

 

Carpet Cleaning & Care

• How Clean Is My Carpet?
• What Is Normal Wear and Tear on Carpet?
• What’s Hiding in Your Carpet?
• Why Should You Have Your Carpet Cleaned?
• How Often Should You Clean Carpet in Your Business?
• Is It Possible to Sanitize Carpet?
• Are Dust Mites in Carpet Making Me Sick?
• What Can I Do to Protect My Carpet Against Stains and Spills?
• Is Your Carpet Making You Sick?
• Carpet vs. Other Hard Surface: What Is Best for My Home?
• How Can I Revive Old Flooring?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial carpet cleaning.

 

Odor Removal

• What’s That Smell?
• How Can I Remove Fish Smells From My House?
• Can I Get Rid of Smoke Smells in My Car?
• What Should I Do to Get Rid of Food Odors in My Home?
• Can I Remove Smoke Damage From my Clothes?
• How Can I Clean Cigarette Smoke Odors From My Home?
• Can I Get Rid of Mothball Odors?
• How Can I Get Rid of Stubborn Pet Odors?
• What Should I do About Lingering Odors?
• Can You Get Rid of Skunk Odor?
• What Natural Air Fresheners Should I Try?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial odor removal.

 

Upholstery Cleaning

• How Should I Clean My Couch?
• What Do Cleaning Codes on Furniture and Upholstery Mean?
• My Drapes Look Drab – How Should I Clean Them?
• Can I Clean My Furniture After a Fire?
• Can I Clean My Outdoor Furniture Cushions?
• What Should I Do About Stubborn Stains on My Upholstery?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial upholstery cleaning.

 

Tile, Grout and Hard Surface Cleaning

• What Are the Best Natural Ways to Clean My Tile?
• Why Does My Grout Need to Be Cleaned and Sealed?
• What Is the Best Way to Clean Floor Grout?
• How Can I Keep My Tile Grout Clean?
• What Is the Best Tile Cleaner?
• Are You Cleaning or Ruining Your Hardwood Floors?
• How Can I Remove Stubborn Stains on Hard Surfaces?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial hard surface cleaning.

 

Board-Up & Tarp-Over Services

• What Is Tarp-Over Services?
• What Are Board-Up Services?
• Do I Need Tarp-Over and Board-Up Services?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial board-up and tarp-over services.

 

Content Pack-Out

• How Can I Save My Possessions When My Home is Damaged by Fire, Smoke or Flooding?
• How Does Rainbow Restoration Clean and Store Home and Business Contents?

 

Learn more about residential and commercial content pack-out services.

 

Guides and Checklists

• The Rainbow Restoration Guide to Humidifiers
• The Definitive Guide to Your Water Shut-Off Valve
• A Guide to the Dirtiest Spots in Your Office
• Checklist to Help You Deal With a Flooded Home
• Complete This Checklist to Be Ready for Smoke Damage
• Here’s Your Tornado Shelter Supplies Checklist
• Home Fire Safety Checklist
• A Moving Checklist That Is Stress-Free
• Dos and Don’ts of Extension Cords
• The Ultimate Carpet Stain Guide
• Rainbow Restoration's Carpet Stain Removal Guide

 

Check out our “What to Do” Emergency Checklists page to learn more about how you can prepare and recover from any disaster.

 

Weather

• Tornadoes

  • What Is the Fujita Scale?
  • Where Should I Take Cover When a Tornado Strikes?
  • Why So Many Tornadoes in Tornado Alley?
  • What Is the Responsible Way to Deal with Tornado Damage Trash?
  • What Are the Warning Signs of a Tornado?
  • What Should I Know About Tornado Warning Systems?
  • How Do I Recover after a Tornado Strike?
  • What Is the Most Common Type of Tornado Damage?

• Lightening

  • When Are Lightning Strikes More Likely?
  • How Can Lightning Strikes Be Dangerous?

• Rain

  • What Are Rain Gutters and Why Are They Important?
  • How and Why Should I Direct Runoff Away From my Home?

• Cold Weather

  • How Can I Keep My Pipes From Freezing?
  • How Should I Thaw Frozen Pipes?

• Hurricane

  • How Should I Prepare for Hurricane Season?
  • What Should I Do to Prepare My Home for Hurricane Season?

• Wildfires

  • What Should I Do If My Home Is Damaged by a Wildfire?

• Preparation

  • What Are the Top 5 Summer Weather Disasters?
  • What Should I Do to Ready My Home Against Severe Weather?
  • What About the Hidden Damage of Severe Weather?
  • What Is a Tsunami?

Hoarding

• What Does Hoarding Mean for My Home?
• What Are the Health Risks Associated With Hoarding?
• What Kind of Damage Can Hoarding Cause to a Property?
• What Are the Signs of Hoarding?
• What Is Animal Hoarding?

Energy Savings

• How Can I Conserve Water in My Bathroom?
• How Can I Conserve Water in My Kitchen?
• How Can I Conserve Water in My Yard?
• What Are the Best Ways to Cut My Home Heating Costs?
• What Are the Best Ways to Conserve Energy This Summer?
• How Can I Save Energy This Winter?
• What Steps Should I Take to Lower My Cooling Bill?
• What Light Bulb Is Right for My Home?

Pets

• How Can I Control the Pet Hair in My Home?
• How Can I Stop My Cat From Marking?

Home Inventory

• What Is a Home Inventory?
• How Can I Create My Home Inventory?
• What Is the Best Way to Prepare a Home Inventory?
• What Should Be Listed on My Home Inventory?
• What App or Program Should I Use to Create My Home Inventory?

Cleaning

• What Solutions Should I Try for All-Natural Floor Cleaning?
• How Long Should Cleaning Supplies Last?
• Spring Cleaning: What Is the Best Way to Clean My Bathroom?
• Spring Cleaning: What Is the Best Way to Clean Living Room?
• The Dirty Dozen: What Areas Should Be on My Spring-Cleaning List?
• Step One: How Should I Clean My New House?
• What Is the Best Way to Clean Up Engine Oil Spills at Home?
• What Is the Best Way to Clean Leaking Batteries?
• How Should I Clean my BBQ Grill?
• How Often Should I Clean My Chimney?
• To Bleach or Not to Bleach?
• How Can I Remove Stains on Walls and Ceilings?

Home Safety

• How Can I Keep My Home Secure During a Long Trip?
• What Steps Should I Take to Build a Home Inventory?
• How Can I Keep My Family Safe From Carbon Monoxide?