Water damage in home

How to Prevent Water Damage in Your Home

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Water damage is an absolute horror for any homeowner. This can happen to the inside of your home in numerous different ways. Whether a pipe burst or simply rained heavily in your area, the effects of water damage can be devastating. When ignored, it can become very expensive to fix and get rid of. Luckily, we are here to share some important tips to prevent water damage from destroying your home.

What is Water Damage?

Water damage happens inside your home when water intrudes into your home when it is not supposed to be there. There are multiple ways water is able to get through your home; a bad storm, leaky appliances, clogged drains, and even foundation cracks. This can lead to thousands of dollars worth of damages. The water damage can potentially ruin your floors, furniture, appliances, electronics, and can lead to mold growing inside of your home.

Proper Gutter and Downspout Care

Debris that is stuck in your gutters, specifically your downspouts, will lead to water build-up. The water built up in your downspouts can lead to overflow that could potentially harm your home’s foundation. Make sure to clean out your gutters at least twice a year and always look to see that your downspouts are facing away from your home.

Look for Leaks

Keep an eye on each and every pipe in your home. Look for scratches, leaks, and any excess water around appliances and pipes. If you notice any moisture that is not usually there, that is a solid detection of a water leak. There are even devices called water sensors you are able to purchase that will notify you if it detects low levels, leaks, or moisture that should not be there.

Keep an Eye on Your Water Bill

If there are no signs that you can physically see of water damage inside your home, you will be able to see it on your water bill. If you notice that suddenly your bill has sky-rocketed, it is a tell-tale sign there is probably a water leak in your home.

Contact Elite Services

If you are experiencing any degree of water damage in your home, it is important to get it out immediately. If you wait, the damage will only get worse. Contact us today to learn more about our water damage removal and demolition services at (978) 317-5388.

 

 

 

Tips on How to Clean Out Your Garage

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If you own a house, you have to clean it regularly, and your garage is no exception. It’s as important a place in your home like your bedroom or kitchen. Sometimes, people can act as though it does not exist or is not a place to which they should pay attention.

If you have ignored the cleaning of your garage long enough, you might not know where to start. That’s where we come in. Here, we are sharing some tips on how to clean out your garage.

Start with a Survey

Take some time to have a close look around your garage to identify what you should do with the items inside and the garage itself. Some of the stuff you might just have to throw away. Some if it is useful and usable, but it’s lying there in the form of a clutter (sounds like work).

Remove and Sort All Items

Pull out everything from the garage into the driveway or your yard, else stack it out in the open. This will give you a clear idea as to how to replace things in a better way to get a clean garage with more storage space.

Now, you have to sort out what will go back in and what will stay. Broken or rusty items should go out immediately.

Re-arrange Storage Area

Your garage may have large, odd-sized items like a chainsaw, grass trimmer, sports equipment, or smaller items like nails, screws, bit, etc. All of this stuff is reducing the storage space.

Think of smart storage options. Look for wire or plank-shelves where you can place your large and oddly shaped equipment and tools. For smaller items like screws, nails, etc. you can have small boxes or jars and place them on the shelves or inside the boxes.

Seal Cracks and Repair

Now, you have to survey the areas that might need painting, repairing, and sealing. Seal the cracks with sealants, spray anti-rust foam on steel fixtures, etc.

Check out the wiring around the garage and replace the wires if they look brittle or moist or have rat teeth marks. You may call a professional hand for electric circuits or wiring.

Clean and Paint

In an empty garage, you may look at layers of dust, mouse droppings, oil spill marks, bugs, chemicals, or grease marks. Thoroughly clean all the corners and skirting, wash the walls and floor, and use chemicals to wipe and clear oil and grease marks.

If you can put some epoxy floor coating, count it as an investment, as it will help you keep your garage clean for a long.

Labeling the Items

Your garage is now beautiful, clean, and ready. You can put a tag on the racks and boxes for tools, sports goods, car repair items, yard supplies, etc.

Contact Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition

Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition offers our services for cleaning out your garage in a manner and method you will consider a worthwhile call. Our team of professionals makes it subtle and sublime. We do it without interrupting your activities, leaving no trace of dirt behind. It’s a money-saving value addition service. Give us a call today to get things started.

Your Complete Home Clean Out Guide

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Have you ever wondered at what point in time you accumulated so much stuff, so much so that your home is a cluttered mess? Clutter has a way of sneaking up on you, but that’s a problem that you can solve. You can clean out your home, make it sparkling again, and restore some organization so you can easily find your belongings that matter. A complete home cleaning is often an arduous task, but with a little bit of planning and the ideal guide to help you declutter, you can get it done. Here’s a complete home cleanout guide that you could find helpful in decluttering your home.

Establish Clear Cleanout Goals Initially

Before you jump head-on into cleaning, come up with a clear idea of what you’d like to accomplish and plan it out. The reason for establishing goals, in the beginning, is to limit the chance of frustrations and prevent unwanted problems that could arise. You also want to keep a check on the things you’d like to cover, whether it’s polishing the basement floors or throwing out old Christmas decorations in the attic. Identify each room’s  ‘clutter hotspots’ that is a must for you to tackle. Set a cleanup date for each room that is convenient for you. Each phase of the cleanout should have a specific time allotted. This will help you keep things on track.

Organize Your Stuff

At the end of the day, you do not want to still be hanging onto stuff that you do not need. As you move from room to room and space to space in your home, sort all the items in a manner that creates some level of organization. This will allow you to know what to discard and what you want to keep around. The “Three-Box Method” is a popular sorting choice, but you can establish your method of organization. It involves having three storage boxes or bins for recycling, donating, packing things up for a garage sale. Be sure to label the boxes or bins so you can easily locate your items when you need to retrieve them.

Discard the Clutter Using Different Methods

How you dispose of your clutter is up to you, but there are a couple of options that you could find helpful in the process. You can get rid of unwanted items in these ways:

  •     Recycle: It’s best to get rid of recyclable items by recycling them. Items that can be placed in the recycling bin include plastic, paper, and recyclable glass and electronics. It may be that you have a curbside pickup or you’ll have to take your recyclables to your local recycling drop-off location.

 

  •     Donate: If you have some items that are still in good condition and would prefer not to simply throw them away, but have someone else enjoy them, donating them is a good option. Whether its clothes or furniture, Good Will or some other charity organization can be good homes for your unwanted items. Check with your local charities’ donation guidelines ahead of any drop-offs. It’s also possible to post freebies on certain websites, encouraging takers to come and take away items that you want to part with.

 

  •     Make Some Money With a Garage Sale: You are not looking to be a millionaire here. Instead, you want your clutter gone while you make some pocket money in the process. Many people love a good garage sale. Set a date for your garage sale or check to see if your neighborhood or homeowner’s association has a set garage sale date.

 

  •     Dumpster Haul Rental: If you’d like some help with hauling your clutter, renting a dumpster, especially to get rid of large household items is a good option. It’s a stress-free option where you can relax and let others do the big haul. Your job will be to fill up the dumpster with all your clutter when it is delivered to your home and the junk removal company would haul it away. No hassle.

Sanitize the Home

One of the biggest parts of the home cleanout process is sanitizing surfaces after the clutter has been cleared out. You don’t necessarily need to bleach the home from corner to corner. Sanitize areas such as bathrooms, tables (kitchen, coffee, play-area, and night tables), counters, and other frequently touched areas. Now more than ever, you should have a keen focus on sanitizing your home, especially during a home cleanout to limit the spread of germs.

 Contact Us

You might be due for a home cleanout, but you don’t have to worry about where to start. Plan your cleanout, get organized, and work with a junk removal company for your next home cleanout. You’ll make the process run smoothly with little or no hiccups. Contact Elite Services Junk Removal and Demolition today at (978) 317-5388.

5 Common Residential Demolition Projects

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Many residential demolition & home improvement projects can be completed by homeowners themselves, but most require a professional in order to be completed safely. In addition to safety, hiring a professional ensures that the job will be done right and quickly. When you hire Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition, you are hiring a two-in-one team who will be happy to complete the demolition and remove all signs of debris from your property. Here is a list of some of our most common projects.

Garage Removal

If your garage structure has moved past the point of being a convenient storage space and become more of a hassle to maintain, it might be time for a demolition project. It is crucial to hire a demolition professional for garage projects to ensure safety, as there is the possibility of electrical wiring to work around. A demolition professional will also be able to remove the debris that would take you an additional dumpster rental.

Pool Demolition

Nothing detracts from curb appeal more than a run down and out of use pool. If you have this on your property, it’s time for demolition. Whether your pool is above ground or below, this is not a project to attempt yourself as there are heavy materials, hazardous conditions, and pounds upon pounds of debris to remove.

Shed Demolition

Sheds can be a huge asset to a home if they are in good shape. If they aren’t however, they often have issues with mold, rot, structural damage, and more that can actually detract value from your property as well as be an eyesore! If you choose to take down the old shed yourself, you should be prepared for the takedown process as well as finding a way to dispose of the debris.  A demolition professional & junk removal service like Elite Services Demolition & Junk Removal can do both in less time than it would take you to do it yourself!

Chimney Removal

If your chimney is out of use & aging, it is probably leaking water into your home or affecting your insulation. It’s time for the chimney to go! With a demolition professional, you can either choose to have the entire chimney removed down to the floor, or you can leave the fireplace & hearth. This will be done without injury to the room, and with a proper patch placed on the roof to seal the spot.

Sun Room & Enclosed Porch Removal

Having a sunroom or enclosed porch addition can be lovely in the nicer weather, but can make for another eyesore if they are not kept up and left to rot. It is important to remove these structures before the rot spreads to your home’s foundation. A demolition professional can remove the sunroom, working around wires and ensuring that the connecting portion of your home remains intact.

To hire a licensed demolition professional for your next residential or commercial project that will work efficiently & remove all debris, please contact Elite Services Demolition & Junk Removal at 978-317-5388.

6 Tips for Cleaning & Organizing Your Kitchen

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clean kitchenThe kitchen tends to be the most used area of a home, sees a lot of foot traffic, and tends to be a dumping ground for various items that don’t belong in the kitchen. In combination with cooking and eating in the space, surfaces get dirty and junk piles up very quickly. In order to keep junk to a minimum, deep cleaning your kitchen will help keep it clean even on the busiest of days. Ever 3-4 months, go through and organize your space with these tips:

Sort Through Everything

Start your kitchen cleaning process by organizing and cleaning out all of the items in your cabinets, in drawers, and on top of your counters. As you go thruogh each area, put each item into two piles: “to keep” and “toss”. Ask youself when the last time you used it and if it’s not a seasonal item, get rid of it if you haven’t used it within the last year. This will give you more space to store the items you do use on a regular basis. For the items you use regularly, keep them in easy-to-reach areas such as top drawers and cabinets close by to your main cooking area.

Wipe Down Surfaces

Starting with the wood molding, wipe down and dust the surfaces in your kitchen from top to bottom including cabinet fronts, knobs and pulls, appliances, and even your backsplash. You’ll be amazed at the amount of grime that has built up on these surfaces over time and once theyr’e wiped down, they’ll look brand new. For the hard to reach areas, use a long-handled duster to make sure they aren’t neglected.

Clean the Microwave

Over time, food splatters and and over flows, causing grime to build up in your microwave over time. Combined with the heat, the splatters become caked on and hard to clean. To eliminate harsh scrubbing, place a microwave-safe bowl with one cup of water and several several tablespoons of vinegar in the microwave for 5 minutes (or until the window is steamy). Let the microwave sit for few minutes to cool down before wiping the grime away.

Empty the Refridgerator

Since you’re already deep cleaning your kitchen, you mine as well clean out the refriderator! Take everything out of the fridge, wipe down all of the surfaces, and throw away any of the items you no longer use or are expired. Take all of the remaining items that you do use and organize them as you place them back in the fridge. Before you know it, you’ll havea clean and organized refridgerator and plenty of space to store the items you pick up on your next trip to the grocery store.

Empty & Clean the Trash

Once you’re done throwing away any item you no longer use, bring the trash bag to the garabage bin and clean out the inside of the trash can. Using an antibacterial soap, clean the bin out with soap and water in your kitchen sink, or outside with the hose, to prevent mold and bacteria fom growing inside the can. Once dry, replace the trash bag for a clean, fresh start.

Sweep & Mop the Floor

Now that you’ve wiped down all of the surfaces in your kitchen, it’s time to clean the floor! Once you’ve swept the floor clean, pull out all of your appliances to sweep and mop behind them before mopping the rest of the floor. This will ensure that any of the debris from the rest of your kitchen don’t make their way back there once pushing the appliances back in.

Once you’ve cleaned your kitchen, give Elite Services Junk Removal a call at (978) 317-5388 to schedule your junk removal appointment.

hoarding home

How to Help a Hoarder Clean Out

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You might think of hoarding simply as an inability to throw things away, but it is currently recognized as a mental disorder that makes it extremely difficult for sufferers to part with possessions. These people often experience distress when faced with the prospect of getting rid of things, but cleaning out a hoarder’s home is a big step on their road to recovery. If someone you love suffers from hoarding disorder, here are a few tips for helping them clean out their home and help them become healthy.

Make a Plan

When your loved one is ready to address their hoarding issues, the first thing you should do is decide how you will both tackle the junk at hand. This plan should address the desired timeline: when you want to be finished with the cleaning, and how much cleaning you will do each day or week for that to be achieved. Don’t forget that sometimes these things could take longer than expected, especially if the hoarder is experiencing emotional resistance while cleaning and organizing.

Pile it Up

As you work through the house, it can often help to organize items into piles or sections as you go, and then deal with the piles one by one. For example, when cleaning out a bedroom, sort things into piles for trash, clothing, shoes, sentimental items, items for donation, items to keep, etc. Grouping items into piles might take a bit of time, but it will help with the dejunking process and make it easier to tell what’s what.

Hire Help

Because hoarders tend to hang onto items that are otherwise junk, it is a good idea to hire some professional help in the form of a junk removal company. Hoarders are notorious for the sheer mass of stuff they keep, so an expert junk removal service will be able to assist with the removal of bulky items as well as recycling. This will limit the number of trips you need to take to the dump yourself.

Be Understanding

Perhaps one key element of helping a hoarder clean out their home is making sure that they are being heard and understood. Often, hoarders will hang onto items that hold some type of emotional attachment or that they fear losing. Cleaning out a home is a great first step to helping a hoarder, but don’t forget that they may also benefit from therapy or other mental health resources. Be gentle, don’t push, and try to be as empathetic and understanding as possible.

Professional Junk Removal in Swampscott, MA

If you know a hoarder who is ready to make a change and you’re ready to help, get in touch with a local junk removal service that specializes in hoarding for the best professional service. Elite Services Junk Removal in Swampscott, MA has the a team of experts prepared to deal with any mess  you might be faced with. For professional junk removal from a trusted team, get in touch with us today! Please fill out our online form, or call or text us at 978-317-5388!

How to Properly Dispose of Batteries

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Although we would like to think getting rid of our trash is as simple as bagging it up and putting it out on the curb, many materials require a different outlet in order to be properly disposed of. Properly disposing of hazardous waste products including paint, metal, and batteries is important in making sure these items don’t end up in our local landfills or water supplies. Here’s a quick guide for how you can go about disposing of batteries. For more information on this and other materials, call or text Elite Services Junk Removal at 978-317-5388.

Single-Use Batteries

Everyday batteries are sometimes conveniently disposable with your regular waste. The batteries you use for your TV’s remote control, your computer mouse, or your string lights can typically be tossed in your trash. With this said, every town is different and some have specific collection days for certain materials. To make sure your town doesn’t have any special policies regarding battery disposal, give them a call before you toss these items!

Rechargeable Batteries

You might have a rechargeable battery for your laptop that you have recently replaced. Rechargeable batteries are also used in many professional photography cameras and security systems. When one of these batteries needs replacing, should you do with the old one? Unlike many single-use batteries, rechargeable batteries typically cannot be disposed of with normal waste items. To properly dispose of these, call your local waste removal company and schedule a pickup or drop off!

Car Batteries

Car batteries can also be removed by a junk removal service or by a local scrap metal yard. If you have the entire junk car to get rid of, many scrap metal or auto salvage yards will not only remove the vehicle from your location but will also give you cash for it! Vehicle batteries can be reused if they are still in usable shape, or the materials can be repurposed to create new parts.

Junk Removal in Swampscott, MA & Beyond

Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition takes everything, from batteries to furniture and all things in between! Whether you are looking to get rid of some batteries or conducting a full demolition and need a cleanup crew, we’ve got your back. Give us a call or just text us today for more information at 978-317-5388.

4 Questions to Ask When Looking for a Waste Collection Provider

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Trash TruckDo you live in an area that does provide trash removal services? Are you a business owner having trouble finding a trash removal provider? Having waste is a normal part of life and it shouldn’t be something to worry about. Here at Elite Junk Removal, we provide reliable trash removal services and we believe that finding a waste collection provider should be easy. We’ve compiled the questions you should be asking when shopping around for trash removal services.

How often is trash removed?

Many trash removal services collect waste once a week, some come less frequent and some come more frequently. By gauging home much trash you will have each week, you will be able to figure out how often you need your trash removal company to come. Be sure to hire a company that can keep up with the amount of waste you have so you can avoid trash falling out of the dumpster.

Where does the trash collection truck drop the trash off after it is collected?

Towns and cities have procedures set in place so that trash and waste is disposed of properly. Typically a local dump, a reputable company should be able to inform you where they dispose of any and all waste they collect.

Does the company provide recycling services?

Many waste removal companies also provide recycling services to reduce the amount of trash that goes into landfills and to help our environment. Ask your potential trash collector if they offer recycling services, if they are an extra cost and how much they are, as well as what types of items they recycle.

What items are included in waste pick up?

All waste removal companies have a set list of items they will pick up, as well as items they won’t pick up. These can differ depending on the company and any local ordinances, as well as the dump they drop the waste off at. One of the first questions to ask is what items are included in the waste removal services to be sure that the items you might be throwing away over time will be collected or not.

Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition provides both trash removal services and recycling services to residential homeowners and business owners. Contact us at (978) 317-5388 today to schedule your services!

Carpet Removal Tips

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After years of heavy traffic, carpet can get very worn down and will eventually need to be replaced. To save a little bit of money, a lot of homeowners opt to remove the old carpet themselves, which is a great DIY project but a lot of people do not know how to remove carpet properly. With these tips, you’ll have yours removed without damaging the underlying floor or the walls in your home!

Tools You Will Need to Remove Your Carpet

The first step to doing any project properly is to make sure you are prepared with the proper tools to do it. There are only a few essential tools you will need to pull up your own carpet. Before you begin tearing up your carpet, make sure you have the following on hand:

  • Protective gloves
  • Protective eyewear
  • Pliers
  • Crowbar
  • Utility knife
  • Floor scraper

Tips for Removing Your Carpet

The key to removing a carpet is to work efficiently and use your tools properly. Follow our tips to have your carpet removed in no time!

  • Wear all protective eyewear and gloves as soon as you begin the project to avoid dust or allergen irritation.
  • Make sure all furniture is cleared from the room to make the removal process easier and faster.
  • Remove and baseboards/moldings/heater covers that might be covering the edges of your carpet.
  • Start with the pulling up the edge of the carpet using your pliers.
  • Use your crowbar to pull up the tack strips that are holding down your carpet.
  • As you pull up the carpet, use your utility knife to cut it into small pieces to make it easier to carry out of the room.
  • If the carpet padding is held down with staples, use your pliers to pull them out; if it’s glued down, use a floor scraper to pull it up.

Disposing of Your Old Carpet

Once you’ve removed your carpet, the next step is to dispose of it. There is likely a lot of debris leftover, and more than your town or private trash route will take. Hiring a professional junk removal service gets the old carpet out of your home so that you can move onto installing your new floors. To ensure it is disposed of through the proper channels and to avoid frustration, call our team at Elite Services Junk Removal & Demolition today at 978-317-5388.

old electronics

A Guide to Recycling Common Household Items

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household recyclablesThe average individual produces an average of 5 pounds of waste a day and most of that waste is in fact recyclable. If every person across the United States was more conscious of the proper ways to dispose of these items, garbage wouldn’t be as big as a problem as it currently is. Recycling not only saves space in our landfills but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Another positive of recycling – less resources are used recycling an item into something usable compared to the resources used to dispose of trash at a landfill.

Here are several common household items that can be recycled and how to go about recycling them correctly:

1. Batteries

The materials that batteries are made up of contribute to pollution when they aren’t disposed of through the proper channels, especially when they break down in landfills. Most libraries, battery or electronics stores, and even your local grocery store will take your household batteries and ensure they will be recycled properly.

2. Books

Stop throwing your books away! If you no longer want a stack of books in your house, bring them to your local library, donate them in a book drop box, or take them apart and recycle them through your towns recycling center.

3. Ink Cartridges

Like batteries, many ink cartridges are made up of toxic materials that shouldn’t be sitting at landfills. Most business supply stores (Staples, Office Depot, Best Buy) will have bins inside of their store to drop your old ink cartridges for recycling and oftentimes, they’ll give you a discount on your ink purchase when you recycle your old cartridges!

4. CFL Lightbulbs

As many homeowners are switching their compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs out for more efficient options, such as LED light bulbs, many CFL bulbs are not being disposed of correctly. CFL’s actually contain a small amount of mercury which means they can’t be thrown out in your trash or in your curbside recycling. Instead, they need to be recycled through a hazardous waste facility. Not sure where one is? You can drop your CFL bulbs off at Lowe’s or Home Depot and they’ll dispose of them for you!

5. Glasses & Eyewear

Have you recently updated your eyeglasses to a new pair? Instead of throwing yours away, donate them! There are so many individuals that cannot afford a pair of eyeglasses so they depend on people like you! Drop them off at a local eye doctor or glasses place – if they don’t take them, they’ll be able to point you in the right direction. If your glasses are broken to the point of no repair, treat them as you would any other plastic item and recycle them just like you would a plastic bottle.

6. Kitchen Appliances

Replacing your broken or outdated appliances with new ones? Recycling your old ones can be a drag, but it’s worth it. There are three ways you can go about this – sell them, donate them, or recycle them.

Don’t want to deal with the recycling process? Give Elite Junk Removal & Demolition a call today at 978-317-5388. We won’t just ensure your items are recycled through the proper channels, but will also remove any other junk you need gone!