When there is water in the ceiling it can be a costly and difficult problem to solve effectively. In order to ensure no further loss occurs to either the ceiling or surrounding structure, it is important to treat it quickly and efficiently. All Aces Services has the knowledge and experience it takes to achieve great results and lessen the costs and damage to your expensive home.

Before building professionals can repair the ceiling the cavity must be dried thoroughly to remove all traces of water damage. As time is often an issue immediate attention is required, as the longer water remains within the ceiling cavity the bigger the risk of dangerous mould forming, which can be particularly hazardous to the home owner and occupants. Reducing the inconvenience to the home owner is also of importance, while satisfying the requirements of the insurance company.

Drying of the Water Damaged Ceiling

All Aces will install large, powerful fans to get adequate air flow directly into the affected area of the ceiling that suffered water damage. Drying may take several days and regular monitoring by our technicians for moisture ensures the drying progresses well. Drying equipment will be rearranged as necessary each time the technician visits the property, to ensure every inch of the ceiling that became wet gets air flow around and through it. This is vital to ensure that there is no opportunity for mould to form once the ceiling has been repaired. It is important that the home owner does not move or uninstall the equipment during the drying process.

All Aces Services has a commitment to effectively treating a water damaged ceiling in as quick and efficient a manner as is appropriate, with the least inconvenience to the home owner and occupants as possible. Our most important consideration is that the ceiling cavity and surrounding area is dried thoroughly (to the S500 standard), so that repair to the ceiling can be undertaken at the earliest opportunity, and the home restored to its pre-damaged state.

All Aces Services has the knowledge and equipment to handle any water damage situation quickly and effectively, and are a complete water damage restoration service. Our equipment includes fans, dehumidifiers, extraction equipment and more.

Water Damaged Ceiling

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Our client was located in Cashmere, Brisbane and not only 1, but 2 qualified technicians went out to try and save our client’s home. As you will see in the photos it was very lucky that our vans were kitted out ready for the job, as we needed a lot of drying equipment to complete the water damage restoration job successfully.

Water Damage Restoration Equipment

In the first two photos, where the water damage first occurred, we have a DIRECT-IT IN that is attached to an air mover. This is one of the best restoration equipment systems for drying under cabinets. Injectidry’s DIRECT-IT IN Universal Airmover Adapter is specifically developed to target areas that need high air exchange rates. As you can see in the second and third photos the drying continues throughout the whole kitchen and is even ducted under the cabinets to ensure the cabinets and skirting boards are all dried correctly. It even continues into the pantry as shown in the last photo.

Knowledge and expertise to be able to use equipment like this is only achieved through many years of experience in the industry. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more common that people are trying to do the job themselves, or getting unqualified companies to dry structures for them. Many months later they find that mould and rotting starts to appear because a qualified professional had not fixed the water damage for them. So if you have water damage in your premises save yourself a lot of money and grief by hiring a qualified professional only. Call your insurance company or All Aces Services and make sure the water damage restoration job is done correctly the first time.

Water Damage in a high-set home

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We recently had a call out to an apartment at Biggera Waters where the above unit left the kitchen tap running and the sink overflowed and caused water to run down the adjoining walls causing damage to the below apartment. When our technician attended the property, he commenced with a full inspection where he was able to identify what the best method would be for restoring this property.

To enable our technician to extract the water off the premises as promptly as possible, Dehumidifiers were placed where the water had travelled. These machines are able to extract over 52 litres of water per day from a water damaged property.

The technician placed Force 9 Fans on the property. These fans, with Dry Air Technology are cleverly designed for maximum air flow. It has greatly reduced noise level and produces the largest drying area. These fans are used for the drying of cement, carpet, vinyl, wood etc. These fans helped with the final drying of the premises.

The fans were left on the premises until the walls and floors were dry. If our technician was to take the fans with him when he left the property, the premises would have needed to have been sprayed with Antimicrobial. This chemical helps to break down and disperse mould which is usually formed when a surface has been wet. Mould needs moisture to grow and therefore a wet surface is the best place for it to form.

So if you ever have any water damage to your property, let All Aces Services rectify the problem. Therefore you will be able to have your property back to normal in no time.

As it had been four days since the water had affected the floor we decided to send our experienced technicians, Garry and Ashley, along with one of our wood floor specialist to assess the floor. On inspection it became clear that due to the amount of time the water had been sitting in the floor the damage was extensive. Garry knew he could save the floor but the floor would also need more work once the floor had dried.

Garry installed our specialised Heat Drying Equipment which has many components and one of those is the Injectidry System with VAC-IT Panels. These panels remove moisture that is trapped in and under the hardwood floor. This process took 1week and many, many inspections.

After the Blackbutt hardwood floor had completely been dried we then need to sand the hardwood floor and apply three coats of polyurethane coating to re-seal the floor and bring it back to its pre-damaged condition.

Not only were the customers thrilled with the work, but the assessor was amazed with the work as well as both the time and the tens of thousands of dollars we saved them. If the floor had not been able to be saved the owners would have had to move out whilst the floor was replaced. The cupboards and island bench was built on top of the Blackbutt wooden floor so they would have had to have been removed as well. All Aces Services can save you the time and the money in your flood restoration job with our state of the art equipment and globally recognised and accredited knowledge.

Flood Restoration after Leaking Refrigerator

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Once the assessor had inspected the property they soon realised that the task to restore the property was just too big for the company and then allocated the job to us. All Aces Services has technicians that have spent many years travelling all over Australia and overseas to learn state of the art drying techniques and hold many seminars to pass that knowledge on.

All Aces Heat Drying Process

We sent Ashley one of our most experienced technicians to the premises. On inspection Ashley noted that carpet had already been removed. Particle board, kitchens, skirting boards and ceilings were all affected. Ashley put our Heat Drying equipment to use, which consists of the two Boost boxes and two Drymatic Heat Dryers. This allowed Ashley to target specific areas within the room, along with our booster box which allows our technician to increase the performance of the other drying equipment we installed.

All Aces Services left the equipment in the property for two weeks. However, the job was not over, due to the extensive moisture left in the property, from the previous restoration company, there was microbial growth underneath the kitchen and behind the skirtings. We then completed what we call a fogging treatment, this allows us to treat microbial growth in hard to get places.

The job was successful as we had removed all moisture and the builders could complete their work safely.

For any disasters in property from water damage to fire damage call All Aces Services in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast on 1800 00 10 10, we offer a 24 hr emergency service and are the masters of disasters.

Once water has invaded a home, the damage can be much more than what lies on the surface. Not only can furniture, carpets, and flooring be destroyed, but mould can set up in a home which is not properly cleaned and dried, thus causing health dangers for the family living inside. Unfortunately, this mould can sometimes go unnoticed for quite some time until it finally creeps out of the walls where it is living. This is why it is very important to seek professionals to clean and restore flooded and water damaged homes.

As we surveyed the damage at the client’s home, All Aces realised that the water had already adversely affected two rugs, a leather lounge which seated five people, two cane style chairs, and three foam mattresses. All of these items were damaged and would require restoration. We bean the process immediately by setting up drying equipment and looking to Ray, one of our professionals on water damage restoration, odour removal, carpet cleaning, rug cleaning, and upholstery cleaning.

In order to restore the above mentioned items in the water damaged home, we had to use some of All Aces’ professional equipment, including seven Force 9 dehumidifiers. With Ray’s expert help, and our state of the art equipment, All Aces was successful in restoring the items to pre-loss condition. Not only were the rugs and lounge able to be restored, but a computer as well. The client was extremely happy with the results, and stated that they would gladly recommend Ray and the All Aces Services staff to his friends and family.

The water had flooded the property through the upstairs of the house in the Kitchen which was a treated particle board floor sealed with a polyurethane sealer, Dining, Kitchen Hall, Lounge and Parquetry floor in the entrance of the house and had then seeped through the floor to downstairs and caved in the ceiling into a downstairs bedroom. At that point it flooded the bedroom and the cork floor in the walk in robe as well.

From all accounts it sounded like considerable damage. There were new tenants waiting to move into the property that morning. I arranged for our technician who was qualified in Structural Drying through the American Drying Institute to attend the house assess the situation and at that point the electrician had already disconnected the power.

When the technician arrived he found that the water had seeped 60cm up the plaster on the wall which means that there was a considerable amount of water and in most situations the floor would not be saved. With the technology that All Aces has and the fact that we were able to attend the site quickly and set up a Dry Matic heat drying machine and 2x Phoenix chamber barrier system (2x false wall 2x Zip wall) and save the particle board floor, we were able to avoid a very costly bill to the insurance company for repairs to the floor, walls and ceiling.

The concrete sub floor also was very wet under the carpet and we needed to set up fans to dry the floor. The process for drying is to heat the area over 50 degrees C to expand the timber and exhaust the wet air out the window. This method of Heat drying is the most effective way to resolve problems that require Speciality Drying/ Structural Drying.

When we touched base with our client in Toowong, Brisbane they were quite distressed and upset thinking that their floor would need to be replaced. We sent one of our most experienced technicians to attend and complete and thorough inspection.

On arrival Ashley found that water had also affected the light fittings on the ceiling, as it was a high-set home. Ashley’s next point of call was to get our electrician out to remove the light fittings and make the home safe.

Structural Drying in Tricky Places

Our director, Garry, has invested a lot of time and money importing restoration equipment to allow structural drying to areas that cannot be dried by normal stand-alone equipment. As you can see from the first photo we had two holes in the ceiling where the lights had been removed. We ducted some of our restoration equipment into the cavity to dry the ceiling.

As you can see from the second and third photos we used a couple of dehumidifiers, which is one of the most effective and versatile drying devices made. We also used our Drymatic heat dryer along with heat mats. The Drymatic heat dryer is a state of the art equipment and allows our technicians to set limits on the Drymatic. It will monitor and adjust the room’s environment, constantly optimising and exchanging the moist air with warm, dry air in a controlled manner to remove odours and ensure a faster, fresher and more efficient structural drying environment.

As you can see All Aces Services are proud of their work and always trying to develop and find new and improved ways of structural drying.

Structural Drying in Toowong

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Builders were first on site to remove some of the damaged ceiling and the affected carpet. As the carpet had been affected with contaminants the carpet could not be saved.

Concrete is porous so it was vital that All Aces Services dried the concrete sub floor so new carpet could be laid on the Sub Floor.

As you can see from the photos we installed a boost and Drymatic Heat Drying Mats increasing the surface temperature of the concrete, which dramatically increases the rate of evaporation.

The beauty of our Drymatic Heat Drying Mats is that they are a patented system that dramatically improves drying rates compared with conventional methods. Precisely distributed arrays of air vents ensure that the maximum drying effect is evenly distributed over the wet surface.

Our Drymatic Heat Drying Mats half the drying time because the mats concentrate hot air where it is needed. Our equipment was left within the property for 3 days before we returned. All Aces Services completed a couple of inspections throughout the course of the drying. This was to ensure that the concrete sub floor was drying correctly and our clients always had an understanding of the process.

At the end of the day All Aces Services dried the subfloor with minimal downtime, the couple were over the moon and had new carpet laid within no time at all.

Heat Drying on Concrete Floors

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Our client was located in New Farm, Brisbane and was more than happy when she found out we would be attending within the hour to do our very best to save her timber floor. We sent Jai one of our water damage experts to complete a full inspection of the property.

As you can see from the first photo we had to install specialised floor panelling designed to dry all sorts of wet materials such as hardwood floors, headers, and plaster walls.

In the second photo we have set up two Force 9 axial fans, cleverly designed machines to produce maximum air flow. The grey box in the same photo is a silencer and is made from ABS plastic and quiets the drying system by about 28%.

As you can see in the last two photos we have another example of completing ducting of air in hard to reach places. This extremely specialized drying equipment allows our technicians to dry difficult structures without the need to rip out and replace areas while also avoiding mould and rotting.

Our technicians are continously being trained with the most up to date and specialized equipment. Our goal at All Aces Services is to dry our clients’ homes in the most effective way with minimal disruption to our clients’ lives. Yes, sometimes the equipment will be loud, but what we can reassure you is that our technicians are the most highly qualified in Queensland and they will do their very best to restore your water damaged home to pre-damaged condition so you can get back to your normal everyday living.

Water Damage Restoration Equipment in New Farm

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Heat Drying Technology

In order to fix these issues, we set up a Drymatic heat drying system, a Drymatic heat boost box with an air mover and D.A.D.S. Drying mats. By installing this equipment, we were able to take advantage of the new technology, which can greatly reduce drying times for accidents such as these. In using these advanced methods, we can show how heat makes the process work much better and faster. As most people know, evaporation is simply liquid changing into gas form, and we use this process to expedite the drying of such spills. Adding heat speeds the process even more, which exponentially speeds up how quickly the spill will dry. High-speed evaporation is created using controlled heat and airflow.

We also used a Phoenix drying chamber with a zipper and plastics to reduce the size of the area. This will help to waste energy on cleaning up the water. With all of the aforementioned equipment, it took only four days to dry up the water, which had leaked into so much of the home. With only a light sanding and new coat of sealer, the wood floors were as good as new.

One worry when dealing with such a spill or leak is the forming of mould inside the walls. When this occurs, the gyprock walls will have to be removed by construction crews, and an air scrubber will come in and clean the air. The air scrubber will also remove any mould or bacteria that has formed within the damaged walls. Before new walls can be rebuilt, the timber of the old walls will need to be cleaned and tested for mould. If these procedures are followed, the home will once again be both beautiful, and safe, thanks to heat drying.

Water Damage Restoration with Heat Drying

Of course, we swiftly headed to the property, but sadly some damage had already been done. We went ahead and set up our Dry Matic heat boost box and Dry Matic Drying mats the very first day. On the second day, we went back to the property and discovered that the parquetry flooring had already popped off of the sub floor due to the water damage. We had Les from Cork Interiors, who is our wood floor specialist, come to the property as well. He suggested that we should roll up a few rows of the parquetry flooring in the dining area, which would allow the floor to relax. We also had our qualified structural drying technicians install additional drying equipment. They set up the Dry Matic heat drying machine 2x false walls, 1x zip wall, 1x Phoenix chamber barrier system.

What this new technology does is to drastically reduce drying times by using heat which makes the process much better and faster. By using evaporation the liquid is turned into a gas which dissipates. Adding the heat will accelerate this process, using controlled heat and airflow to induce high speed evaporation.

We checked the flooring daily, and discovered that the moisture was dissipating more rapidly than any other method which we had previously used. We were thrilled to realize that the flooring soon dried completely, and the wood flooring was able to be saved and restored. It took one week for the floor to dry, and with the help of Cork Interiors, one hundred percent restoration was accomplished. This is just one example of why All Aces Services are becoming leaders in wood floor drying and water damage restoration in South East Queensland.

Commercial Water Damage Restoration Indooroopilly

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Luckily, All Aces Services was called to the property quickly to do a wood floor restoration inspection and assess whether or not we would be able to dry it out and restore it.

It is always best to call a restoration expert, such as All Aces Services, when you have storm damage, flood damage or general water damage. Our All Aces Services Technicians are fully trained through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification so that they are able to inspect damage and suggest the best wood floor restoration method.

The first thing an All Aces Services Technician will do is take moisture readings of the area on their trusty “Delmhorst Total Check three-in-one meter” to establish how much moisture is in the area. This allows our technician to select the best mix of equipment to dry the area in the minimum amount of time.

When our All Aces Services Technician tested the wood floors at this property, they noted that there was a still a great deal of moisture in the floors as the wood had absorbed a lot of the water from the storm damage. If the floor was not dried quickly the wood would start cupping and warping and the customer would need to have the floor replaced.

VAC-IT Panels allow air to be pushed into the floor to dry the area.

The fastest way to dry a wood floor is using Heat Drying Machines and an Injecti-Dry system using VAC-IT panels, an Interceptor and a Silencer. At present there are approximately seven Injecti-Dry systems in Brisbane and All Aces Services owns three of these systems. The Injecti-Dry technology is so rare that there may only be twelve systems in the whole of Queensland, which means All Aces Services has one quarter of the Injecti-Dry systems in the whole of Queensland.

Injecti-Dry was formed to develop specialised drying equipment that make it possible to dry out structures more quickly and with less invasive tactics. The aim is to limit the amount of replacement when drying out wet structures when ever possible, while at the same time, keep our environment healthy. The first solution came with the adaptation of a device from the packaging industry, (also used by aquariums to deliver air to fish), called a “regenerative blower”. From a pure physics standpoint, it had all the solutions, as it had the ability to deliver consistent air movement with the pressure needed. The accompanying delivery system did not exist and has been developed as the family of Injecti-Dry Systems, i.e. a system of hoses, connectors, injectors, etc. that are needed to move the air from the compressor to the interior of the structure.

We installed all three of our All Aces Services Injecti-Dry Systems into this property and also two Heat Drying Systems. Normally a job this large may require the owners of the property to relocate while the work is being undertaken due to noise and inconvenience of having the drying equipment onsite. However, in this case the customer was able to remain living in the property because All Aces Services have Interceptors and Silencers which they were able to install in the property during the wood floor restoration.

The Interceptor contains a HEPA filter which can be set up to process air going into or coming out of the wood floors. It is important to know that HEPA filters do not make a HEPA system. Only by processing all air negatively, can a HEPA system be achieved. All air is processed before going through the blower in either negative or positive drying modes, thus never contaminating the Injecti-Dry System. Whilst the Interceptor was cleaning the air in the system and making sure it was free of contaminants, the silencer was reducing the noise of the system to a liveable level so that the customer could remain living in their property. The Silencer is made of ABS plastic and quiets the drying system by about 28%. It takes some of the impeller noise out in addition to attenuating the air rush sound.

Thanks to the specialist knowledge of our All Aces Services Technicians and our state of the art equipment, we were able to dry the wood floor on the batons and the concrete subfloor underneath at the same time. The two Heat Drying machines were able to maintain a temperature of 40 degrees celcius in the air that we directed into the wood floor and concrete subfloor. After only two weeks, All Aces Services had successfully dried the concrete to 75% Relative Humidity and the wood floor to below 12% Wood Moisture Equivalent.

What this means in real terms is:

1. We saved the wood floor that was precious to the customer as he had laid it himself.
2. We saved the insurance company approximately $20,000 as the wood floor did not have to be replaced.
3. We saved the customer the inconvenience of having to vacate their property. Our equipment ensured they were able to continue living in their house.

At All Aces Services we always try to restore items rather than go through the costly and time consuming ordeal of replacement.
This customer was so thankful to us for saving their floor. Another successesful wood floor restoration for All Aces Services, the Masters of Disaster!

Wood Floor Drying - Wynnum October 2011

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Once we had extracted as much of the waste as possible using the Flood Pumper, we installed two of our Air Scrubbers with HEPA filters to clean the air and ensure it was breathable and sanitary to allow our All Aces Services technicians to continue working safely in the area.

Next we sent in our All Aces Services cleaning technicians to thoroughly clean and hot wash the area using mops, sponges, cloths and professional cleaning products including anti-microbial solution to eliminate and decontaminate the area. Our All Aces Services cleaning technicians provide a range of cleaning services from domestic cleaning to bond cleans, builders cleans, fire damage rectification and other general cleaning work.

In situations where there is a lot of damaged contents items we can either arrange to pick up damaged contents such as carpet, underlay and smooth edge or we can arrange to have a skip at the property. Removing damaged items is important to speed up the drying process after sewage spills. In this case we organised a skip on site so that damaged carpet, underlay and smooth edge could be easily disposed of.

Once our All Aces Services technicians had removed all the damaged contents and thoroughly cleaned the area, the drying process started. We continued to leave the Air Scrubbers running to ensure the air was safe and we set up Force 9 Axial Fans to dry the area. We also installed the Hydroxyl Machine to thoroughly cleanse the air in the area removing any dust and mould particles that might be present in the air. The Hydroxyl Machine is state of the art and all our customers who have had it on site at their premises comment on how fresh the air is left and how it removes any odours and irritants from the air.

Due to the size of the affected area and the fact that the subfloor was concrete, sewage spills like these take 11 days to dry. Drying concrete takes longer than drying wood due to the density of the concrete and the way it traps moisture. However it is important that the subfloor was dried out properly prior to new the carpet, underlay and smooth edge being laid. If a subfloor is wet when carpet, underlay and smooth edge are replaced it increases the chance of mould growing in the area and once mould is present in carpet it has to be removed as it is un-restorable.

At the end of this job we had another happy customer because we removed the sewage spills and waste water quickly and reduced the odour significantly initially and completely removed the odour by the time the area was dry.

If you ever have a problem with Sewage Spills or waste water overflowing, please call All Aces Services immediately on our 24 hour/7 day hotline – 1800 00 10 10.

Sewage and Waste in Office : Sewage and Waste Water

Water Damage to Carpet

Recently we received a call from a real estate agent where one of their properties had been broken into between tenants living at the property. To add to the disaster there was also rain that afternoon which caused water damage to the property. As no one was living in the property at the time it was a while before the real estate agents were alerted to the damage and could call All Aces Services.

Once we received the call we sent two All Aces Services technicians to the property to rectify the water damage. We noticed damage to one carpeted room and the hallway which had wooden floors. Because we arrived at the scene relatively quickly we were able to save both the hardwood floor in the hallway and the carpet in the affected room by extracting the standing water with our Flood Pumper. Having two technicians on site allowed us to work quickly. While one technician was extracting water with our Flood Pumper, the other was setting up a Phoenix Quick Dry Chamber to prepare the area for drying and dehumidification.

Arriving on site and working quickly is the key to restoring wood floors, the sooner we can get our technicians to a property, remove standing water and install drying equipment – the greater chance we have of successful wood floor drying.

After removing standing water and setting up the drying chamber, our technicians installed a R200 dehumidifier to remove the moisture from the air in the area we were attempting to restore. The use of the Phoenix Quick Dry chamber ensures the R200 dehumidifier is able to perform at optimal levels as it minimises the area from which the moisture in the air needs to be removed.

Our All Aces Services technicians also installed Force 9 Axial fans and High Speed Air Movers in the Phoenix Quick Dry Chamber along with the R200 dehumidifier. This ensures that air circulates in the drying chamber and dries the carpet and wood floor affected in the minimum amount of time.

After only 4 days of our equipment being on site we had successfully dried the carpet and wood floor. In order to complete our full service of restoring the affected area to pre-damage condition, we performed a Deluxe Carpet Clean on the affected carpet.

Our Deluxe Carpet Cleaning System is our premium service that involves our specialised 10 Step Process to give our customers the optimum result from the carpet clean.

Not many of our water damage customers realise that a Deluxe Carpet Clean is part of our service when we restore water damaged areas. Often our customers are simply overjoyed that we have been able to restore their carpets and floors. Providing a Deluxe Carpet Clean is our way of ensuring our customers are left feeling completely satisfied with our service.

100% Customer Satisfaction is our goal at All Aces Services.

If you have any problems with damage from Break-Ins or water damage, please call All Aces Services on 1800 00 1010.

Recently we had a business call us because a burst pipe in the kitchen sink of one of their offices caused damage to three office buildings that were next to one another. We sent one of our All Aces Services technicians out to rectify the damage as quickly as we were able and this ensured the extent of the damage was minimised.

Water Damaged Floors are Difficult to Restore

After extracting the water our technician assessed the extent of the water damage to the various types of flooring in the affected areas. All Aces Services Technicians are all fully qualified through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration which means they are able to identify different flooring types and understand the correct restoration procedures required. In this case our technician recognised some of the bamboo flooring in one of the office buildings was unable to be restored and hence we arranged for it to be removed so that we could effectively dry the subfloor and structure in the area. Drying the subfloor and structure is just as important as drying the flooring and covering as it makes certain that new flooring is able to be laid without the risk of bacterial and mould growth in the affected area. The bamboo floor was the only area where we were unable to restore the flooring – the other areas affected were carpet and concrete.

Our All Aces Service Technician installed Force 9 Axial Fans and High Speed Air Movers in the two office buildings that had only minimal damage from the burst kitchen sink pipe. The affected areas in these two buildings took 4 days to dry using our high quality drying equipment. When drying commercial premises we are able to set up our drying equipment in such a way as to minimise interruption to business activity. Many of our commercial customers are delighted to know that they can continue operations with minimal disturbance whilst we restore their affected areas.

Damage to carpet from a burst sink pipe in the office building next door.

The office where the burst pipe was located had the worst water damage. Once our All Aces Services Technician had removed the bamboo floors in this office, he set up the following drying equipment:

- R200 dehumidifiers were used to remove moisture from the air in the affected area to speed up the drying process

- Force 9 Axial Fans were used to circulate air in the area and dry the affected subfloor and structure.

- Phoenix Drying Chambers were set up to ensure we minimised the area of the airflow and hence maximise the effectiveness of our Force 9 Axial Fans and R200 Dehumidifiers.

- Air Scrubbers with HEPA filters were installed to ensure the air in the affected area was clean and safe to allow the office workers to continue working in the area while we rectified the damage.

- Safety is a priority at All Aces Services, so our technician installed Flashing Signs and additional Power Boards where required to ensure that power points were not overloaded and staff in the area were aware of trip hazards.

Water Damage to Concrete Floor from Burst Pipe in Office Next Door. One Small Burst Pipe Caused So Much Damage

Using all of the above equipment we were able to dry the affected area in four days, with minimal interruption to the office workers in the area. The water damage customer was so happy with our service that they wrote us a testimonial expressing their satisfaction and in turn we rewarded them with some free products. At All Aces Services we love rewarding our happy customers.

How do you dry insulation inside a wall without removing the gyprock? The answer is really very simple. With an All Aces Technician, an Air Mover Fan, a Dehumidifier and his trusty Direct-It-In!

The process is really very simple and involves minimal to no damage to the wall. We simply remove the skirting boards of the water affected areas and we feed in the Direct-It-In tubes which are attached to one of our state of the art Air Mover fans. On top of that we use a Dehumidifier to extract the moisture from the air which creates what we here at All Aces Services like to call the “Arizona Effect”, that is, we create hot dry air and feed it through our Air Mover fan through the Direct-It-In tubes and into the wall. Good bye, flood damage! Hello, dry insulation!

The next step in this job was to dry the floor upstairs where the flood damage had initially occurred. Wherever possible we choose to restore and repair existing flooring so first of all we tried using an Injecti-Dry to suck water from the floor. The beauty of an Injecti-Dry is that it can be use to blow air or suck water – whichever is required. The flooring was wood and we had to suck the water out of it in order to stop it cupping or buckling. After we had removed all the water, we focused on drying out the floor from the bottom up. Our All Aces Technician used a Dehumidifier, an Air Mover Fan and a Direct-It-In, this time we fed the Direct-It-In into the ceiling downstairs and dried the upstairs floor from the bottom up. Our highly trained technicians are all about creative solutions.

When it came to drying out the interiors and exteriors of the walls upstairs we got creative with Zip Walls. Our technicians love zip walls, they bring out the “interior designer” in each of them. Zip walls are an effective way of creating smaller rooms and spaces to allow more efficient drying. We can put a zip wall up almost anywhere and in very little time. At this property we used zip walls to separate upstairs from downstairs and to create smaller drying areas so our fans were more efficient for the flood damage.

So what was the result? We restored the flood damage affected area and made yet another customer happy, which is what we take the most pride in here at All Aces. If you have any problems with water damage, please contact All Aces Services 24 hours/7 days on 1800 00 1010.

Upon arrival, our technicians discovered that the tiles in the bathroom were affected by water – more water than a regular shower would produce, obviously. Actually, a pipe had burst behind the toilet and it was very difficult to detect as the toilet had an enclosed “S-Bend”.

The tiles were wet and they appeared lighter and had a milky appearance. This was due to the water getting into the porous tiles. Sadly the tiles could not be saved as they were damaged beyond repair, so we focussed on heat drying the concrete subfloor in the bathroom. Drying concrete is quite a time consuming process, however we have the technology to the speed that process up. We quickly set up a zip wall, which is a plastic wall use to reduce the size of a room so that we can dry the area faster. We then used a Heat Dryer suck fresh air in via a vent, heat it up and blow it into the area affected. The heat drying done by the Drymatic Heat Dryer is such a sophisticated machine that it can take readings as well as create hot air. It is a favourite toy of our All Aces Technicians.

In no time we were able to dry the concrete subfloor which allowed the owner to lay new tiles safe in the knowledge that there was no moisture in the floor and hence no risk of mould or further damage.

Another happy restoration customer!

If you have any problems with burst pipes or overflowing water, don’t delay – contact us at All Aces Services 24 hours/7 days on 1800 00 1010. We can help you restore your property back to the way it was before using new heat drying technology.

All Aces Services prides itself on providing quality service, so by networking with different insurance companies and assessors, building companies and other restoration firms, we are working with them. By educating with a training course that is informative and useful within their field, it will benefit them and their role, allowing them, in turn, to provide a quality service to their customers for their company.

Our aim is to restore to pre-damaged condition in the most timely and cost effective manner. By showing and educating others on the latest and greatest machinery that is available on the market today, such as the Injecti dry system for wood floor drying, or hydroxyl machine for odour removal within a property, we are increasing the standard and broadening their knowledge on how to restore different items using a vast array of specialised equipment.

Two of our staff members also attended the training session, one from the office and one of our technicians. They networked with various representatives of the insurance companies. They found this extremely beneficial, by getting an insight as to the expectations that is required of us. By understanding what each party requires of each other, this is assisting with us both reaching our goals of proving a better service to our consumers.

If you are a building company or perhaps an insurance assessor and might be interested in attending a future restoration training session, please contact All Aces Services to find out what sessions we will be running in the near future.

The mud army did a fabulous job of cleaning up the bulk mess, but it is imperative you get qualified people to do the detailed cleaning work. This entails jet pressure cleaning of the inside and the frame work of your house once the plasterers have removed the sheeting, then applying an anti-microbial treatment which sanitises the area and prevents mould growth and finally putting in commercial drying fans to make sure the areas are at the legal dried level of 15%. As professionals we do a thorough job and inspect regularly to make sure the moisture levels are where they should be. No job is left unfinished.

I know many people who had flood damage have been leaving the wood to dry naturally, if you have done this, please make sure you are getting the wood moisture levels checked before the plasterers do the re-sheeting, the dry level you’re looking for is around the 15%.

If you don’t have insurance and have to pay for this out of your own pocket, I can’t stress enough how imperative it is that you still get this done professionally as this will save you money later on down the track. You could be looking at thousands of dollars in 6 to 12 months time if your property wasn’t cleaned by professionals as it will only be a matter of time before the mould starts to grow and the wood rots due to lack of detailed cleaning, which means all the builders will have to be called back as well. You’ll be kicking yourself that you didn’t pay the smaller professional cleaning costs up front.

This is all ‘food for thought’, if you had flood damage to your property and are in this situation please contact us on 1800 00 1010 for advice. We are here to help and provide the best possible service to accommodate your needs. For more information please check out our website here.

• Starter Spore Colony
• Nutrient Source
• Moisture
• Humidity greater than 45%
• Temperature of 20 – 30 degrees Celsius
• Bad Light
• Time

We recently did an inspection at Newstead where a two storey house with four bedrooms has been majorly affected by mould. The owners of the Newstead house have had to vacate their premises due to the high health risk for the family. Mould was present on 100 square metres of the carpet and this was not restorable. It was removed by one of our professional staff members immediately.

Mould was present on the walls, ceiling and also on personal items. A builder has also attended the property to remove all the walls as we need to check if mould is present on the frame work. The cause of mould is building related – the lack of maintenance on the property. Leaking pipes in the frame work, blocked gutters causing water to seep through structure and a general lack of air flow throughout the property.

If you find you have any mould growing throughout your property the first question you need to ask yourself is, “What is the source of the mould?” Also, “What is feeding the mould?” We can easily come and clean the mould but what is the point when the source of the problem hasn’t been found and rectified.

When trying to work out what the source is, look at your surroundings. Do you have a lot of vegetation surrounding your property and thus very minimal sunlight? How much air flow do you have through the house? How often do you leave windows and doors open? Do you have whirly birds? Do you have a lot of condensation build up on the windows? (This causes mould to grow on your curtains) When was the last time you checked your roof for leaks?

Surface growth on hard surfaces can normally be restored with cleaning, however swab tests must be taken prior to work commencing. All items need to be HEPA vacuumed, hot washed, sprayed with an anti-microbial solution and then swab tested on completion to ensure no spores remain.

UV light is very useful in naturally killing certain contaminants within the air, therefore the removal of some trees around the perimeter around the home would allow further sunlight into the home. As fungal organisms require a food source and moisture to live, it is essential there is air exchange in the home to assist with preventing such growth as evident above.

If you have any questions regarding mould please visit our website www.allaces.com.au or call us on 1800 001 010.

When a rug becomes wet, depending on the fibre and style of the rug we could end up causing more damage than if we left it to the professionals.

It is best to leave the rug laying flat. Don’t fold it or hang it over the washing line or back porch. Due to the weight in the rug from the water, this can stretch and distort your rug, which in some cases is irreversible. If some rugs have lazy dyes and the colour begins to run, hanging them up can cause the dye to run all down the rug. Woven rugs can curl at the sides as well. This can be fixed by tacking the sides in order to restretch your rug – ask the professionals about this.

With tufted rugs, the latex backing can begin to delaminate if they have been water damage. The primary backing comes away from the secondary backing causing a rippling effect. Again, leave the rug laying flat until you are able to take it to a professional.

The key is getting the rug dry as quickly as possible. At All Aces Services, we have professional rug cleaning facility with a specialised drying room. This facility allows us to speed dry the rugs, either using fans or heat drying equipment.

Give All Aces Services a call on 1800 00 1010 if you encounter a situation where your rug has been damaged – we will be more than willing to help you out!

We headed straight out there and took moisture readings throughout the property. The loungeroom had a very high moisture content. We lifted the carpet to realise that a dog had been using the lounge room carpet as a toilet!

See pictures:

There was a strong odour present and we realised that just a carpet clean was not going to remove the urine. Urine is Uric Acid which leaves your body at a pH level of 5-6. When urine dries it turns into a crystalline salt. Sometimes the colour will change as the urine reacts with the carpet. The reason why there is often a strong odour is because the urine goes through a chemical change which sets off a gas.

Where a lot of people make the mistake is that as soon as they notice the stain or smell, they apply water or they call some cheap carpet cleaner in to clean and deodorise the carpets. Big Mistake!!

Urine becomes worse when moisture is added or there is high humidity. The crystalline salts absorb water and moisture and put out an ammonia gas. This leaves your carpets smelling worse than before you cleaned them.

What we had to do to rectify the problem from the urine was to start by cutting out the affected underlay. We treated the subfloor, relaid new underlay and treated both sides of the carpet. We then cleaned the area with our 10 step deluxe carpet cleaning system.

You can see the end results:

The stains were completely gone and 100% of the odour was removed. If you have any questions about water damage or urine odour removal please see our website or call our friendly trained staff on 1800 00 1010. We have solutions for your problems that are guaranteed 100%.

We have been assisting with pressure cleaning the structures once the walls and ceilings have been removed. Pressure cleaning is required to remove any remaining bacteria that may be on the framework. Anti-microbial solutions have been applied also. It is important during flood cleanup to ensure the correct procedures are followed so that mould doesn’t become a larger problem than the initial flooding. Structures will need to be dried down properly before any walls and ceilings can be replaced. Mould will grow where there is a food source, in optimum temperatures. Queensland’s subtropical summer climate is ideal for mould to start growing.

Thousands of volunteers have come together to re-build communities within the state. Ensuring your health and safety during the clean up should be the number one priority.

Nasty bacteria is found in flood waters due to burst sewer pipes, gardens and stagnant water. Ensuring you wear gloves, face masks and full protective clothing is essential. Some harmful diseases that can arise from flood waters include Hepatitis A, Tetanus and Dengue fever. Another problem with all of the water around is the potential for a mosquito outbreak and thus all of the mosquito borne diseases. Be sure to tip out and remove any stagnant water that may be lying around eg. in pot plants and other containers.

If you are unsure of the correct procedures to undertake during the cleanup, don’t hesitate to give our office a call on 1800 00 10 10 to receive some assistance from our trained and qualified staff and technicians, through the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration. We are here to help you.

Heat is coming to Australia, allowing greater success to dry down those hard to reach areas. There will also be new ducting systems to assist in the drying program. New odour control measures are soon coming to help to fight the battle against odours.

We will also be getting new machinery to help to remove those hard to remove odours including smoke smells, bacteria smells, urine etc. In the past, ozone machines where the greatest aid to try to combat these odours. Ozone is a poisonous o3 molecule produced to attach itself to the odour molecule then after 20mins would destroy itself and return to o2 (oxygen). The only problem is that whilst in the o3 form, ozone is dangerous to humans, animals and rubber. Also while in an o3 form, it has the ability to bleach any acid dyed material if wet. Hydroxyl technology is the answer. Hydroxyls naturally produced from the sun have no harmful side effects. A hydrogen atom bound with an oxygen atom forms the hydroxyl.

We gained further information from scientists and other industry professionals at the RIA. Further education gained from classes put on by the RIA committee help realign and set new standards for every restorator, big or small. Scientists from labs are testing new chemicals and practises to help further the industry and allow the opportunity for salvage and loss prevention to save on demolitions, replacements etc.

Courses included : Cleaning for health – Appling the concepts, Ethical people + Ethical Dealings = Ethical Operations, Legal Developments in Heath and Safety, Green and Sustainable Cleaning, Cleaning high-value oriental rugs after sewage, Rugs and carpets you’re sure to get into trouble when cleaning, The unknown hazards – Are you protected? and The science and business of sanitizing.

The RIA allows different professionals from all over the world to come together to share ideas and discuss new and exciting formulations and stories to help move this great industry forward with no boundaries on whether that person runs a one man van or a multi national company.

The client was very happy with our work. We provided our business card in case he would like any services in the future. Appreciation was also provided to the building company for acting so promptly also.

Last week I received a phone call from a customer asking for us to attend to his water damage emergency. He had not used our services before and as I took the details down I recognized the street name and suburb and commented to the customer that we had only been in that same street attending to a water damage emergency a couple of weeks ago. The customer said yes, it was his next door neighbour that we had looked after and he had recommended us to this new customer. He had all his insurance details ready, we contacted the insurer to advise that we were attending and were there within 2 hours. The job is still in progress as it is much larger. The customer is very happy with the service so far and that there is constant communication between All Aces Services, the customer and the insurer.

Step 1 – DO NOT PANIC! Yes we are aware this will be a shock to you, but the situation can be resolved.

Step 2 – Call your insurance company and lodge a claim, have all your details handy for the restorer (All Aces Services)

Step 3 – Try to contain the area. If only a bedroom is affected, close the door so no mould spores will spread, and it is also VERY IMPORTANT that no items are removed from the room. They must stay in there as they will be affected also.

Step 4 – Call All Aces Services. We will attend to inspect the situation. We will provide a full written report, with photos, to your insurance company stating what was found and how the damage was caused including temperature, moisture and humidity readings. Then full rectification will be performed to restore your home to a safe, comfortable environment.

Step 5 – Your insurance company will allocate the appropriate trades required to resolve the matter. All Aces Services can clean and dry the affected areas including bedding, linen, clothing items, walls, ceilings, carpets etc. However in most cases when mould gets into plaster (which is a porous material) on your walls and ceilings, these need to be replaced. Therefore a builder, plasterer and painter will be required. Also the timber framing behind the ceiling and walls require inspecting to ensure the mould has not affected the timber.

Remember… Do Not Panic. But do act quickly on the situation. You may not be aware, but mould can start to grow rapidly within 48 hours. Some moulds are known to be allergenic, pathogenic or toxigenic. Some types of mould can cause Cancer, Immune System Deficiencies, Organ Damage, Bronchial Constriction, Internal Bleeding, Skin Disease, Gastrointestinal Illness.

A.
1. Turn water off at main
2. Contact plumber
3. Contact Insurer / real estate / owner
4. Contact Water restoration Company
5. Pick up and items out of the wet areas
6. Move as much furniture out the way as possible
7. The use of toweling to try and prevent the spread of the water
8. Mop up any hard floor areas
9. Wait for help

Q. Are all water damage claims the same?

A. No. Water can change from clean water to black water within 7 days. It depends on the level of bacteria in the water. The size of the area can vary and where the source of the water can vary.

Q. Should I get help straight away or is the next day ok?

A. That really depends on the type of water, the size of the area affected, the subfloor, carpet type, backing type, underlay, wooden floor, which level is affected etc. Best to call a professional and ask advice.

Q. How long does it take to dry the carpet?

A. The carpet alone should only take 1 to 2 days if extracted properly. But the carpet is not the only area we require to dry. Knowing that wet moves to dry, the underlay and the subfloor will require drying as well. Touching that is the walls. Dehumidification may be required to dry out the structure.

Q. Is the process noisy?

A. The air movers required to circulate the area do have an unpleasant sound. The dehumidifiers are not so noisy. The quicker we can dry the areas, the quicker we can remove the equipment. Remember, concrete takes up to 4 weeks to dry an inch in a house.

Q. Is my carpet able to be salvaged or should I get it replaced?

A. Carpet is very resilient. Most carpets in good condition can be wet up to several days before any delaminating will occur. As restorators we are to restore back to predamaged condition, NOT NEW.

Q. Will all the stains come out?

A. The stains are called Browning marks. This is caused by the cellulosic backing to the carpet. It is a matter of balancing the chemical reaction to remove the marks. Wood grains stains from where furniture may have been sitting is a little harder. This will have to be assessed by a qualified technician and reported back to the insurer.

Q. How much does it cost?

A. This is a very hard question to answer. Carpet and underlay don’t take all that long to dry, but the subfloor can take from 1 day to 4 weeks to dry. It all depends on how easily the subfloor releases the moisture.

Q. Do I need to get my carpets cleaned after the job?

A. As part of the restoration, carpets should be professionally steamed cleaned. The soil in the carpet has bacteria, your carpets need to be resanitized. Also the carpets should be as dry as possible after the cleaning process as your carpets where dry before the water damage occurred.

Q. Can I tell if all or any of the areas are dry?

A. It is very difficult to tell which areas are dry with out the aid of a moisture detection unit. Moisture detection readers enable to find out the exact amount of moisture in an area. These readings are required to be the same in the area affected as in areas unaffected.

This particular job was a burst water pipe connected to the fridge the client were away starting to enjoy their Christmas Holidays – when they were told there seems to be water leaking from your unit on 6th floor!!
We loaded our ERV – with some extra equipment and off we set. We arrived on site to find that the burst pipe had leaked through the ceiling into a bedroom below and was leaking out onto the ledge – this is how the other tenants knew there was something wrong.

We thoroughly inspected the whole property to find out what was wet and what we needed to set up to dry the Structure and the contents.
We were dealing with wet wall, skirting’s, tiles, ceiling, carpet, underlay, a king size Mattress and bed.

We collect the extraction equipment to remove the excess water from the Carpet and Underlay and Mattress in the bedroom – the king size bed was to heavy and too big to move so we had to complete the dry down as a partial Top Down Drying system as well as lifting a section of the carpet.
The most important step in the Restoration plan is always EXTRACTION – get as much water as you can from the affected area.
What an great piece of equipment a Water claw is – especially for us girls who are out there completing restoration. You still need to wand the carpet but it is such a relief to be able to have that excess water removed simply by standing on a the Water claw.

We set up 7 Air Movers and a Dri-Eas 2000 to complete the dry down in the bedroom.
The rest of the Water Damage Areas we set up to dry too

The clients were truly greatful that we could attend and rectify the situation – and very appreciative that we attended o Christmas Eve.

Diasters Don’t happen between 9-5 Monday Friday and they certainly don’t know when it is a public holiday or particular time of the year.

Over the past 12 months I have been dealing with customers who have come across water damage situations whether it has been from a storm, burst pipe or forgetting to turn the tap off in the bath and I realise just how important it will be to have cover. Whether you own or rent it is very important to have insurance cover as you never know what disasters may occur be it accidental or a natural disaster. Also ensuring you have the right cover is vital as water damage and many other disasters can affect both building and contents and if you only have one type of cover this can affect repairing damages for the cover you do have. For example: Carpet & underlay is classed as contents. If you only have building cover then the only areas that can be dried down are sub-floor, skirting, walls, ceilings, cupboards. In this situation the carpet cannot be dried under the policy and would need to be replaced at the insured’s expense as mould and odour will form.

I have also had the experience in the last 12 months of flooding my large 3 bedroom top floor apartment due to the washing machine hose coming out of the laundry tub at the back of the apartment and as I was at the time in the lounge room at the front of the apartment I had no idea until the carpet in the lounge room started getting darker out of the corner of my eye! So I can understand and relate with our customers and the panic, shock and distress that overwhelms you at the time. You will be reassured by our fully trained, certified and experienced technicians on site and in the office. All Aces Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning Services guarantees you peace of mind.

I have also experienced hands on Water Damage and have assisted our team to rectify a Water Damage disaster in a high rise apartment building in the city where level 34 down to level 9 was flooded. We worked from 8pm that evening (after a full day in the office) through to 5am the next morning to minimise further damages and to ensure residents were not inconvenienced as soon as possible. This was a big eye opener to how quickly water can affect a property and how much work and effort is involved by our technicians to make your home a more comfortable environment.

We have a prompt response to Water Damage rectification and have a very large range of equipment in the factory and in our ERV (Emergency Response Vehicle). More information on Water Damage and our ERV can be found on the website

Water damage information
Signing Off
- Sar