Environmental Risk Services LLC

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The recent cold spell in our area burst a pipe in my basement leading to some significant water accumulation in my newly finished “man-cave” and game room. I had some standing water and the carpeting and drywall base were totally saturated. On the recommendation of a former student I called ERS, locally-owned and operated here in Bloomington, IN. Part of my motivation in writing this testimonial is that over the past 27 years of living in Bloomington I have had a decidedly negative experience with “restoration” firms. In fact, I have had two prior instances of water damage and both of those experiences were miserable with the firms we used. I am delighted to report that ERS was magnificent in their response and service. They responded early on a weekend morning and brought a veritable battalion of equipment to dry me out. And in the medical spirit of “no treatment without diagnosis” they did not just throw guys and equipment at the problem. Rather, they first used these cool moisture readers to determine the full scope and nature of the problem. Moreover, even a full day later when my casual walk-around and hand test indicated that I was fully dry their moisture readers said otherwise. They thus kept the dryers there 2 days longer to be sure the moisture embedded in the walls (and ultimately the genesis of mold) was fully removed. So count me as a raving fan of ERS. Professional, respectful of your property, and uniquely experienced and equipped to get beyond the superficial and really dry you out. I give them my highest recommendation. I would further note that I also used ERS a year ago to get the smoke smell out of my kitchen after I left a pan of gravy on for over 4 hours. They brought in an ozone machine and after a day of operation it was amazing how that removed the smell. I am a Professor at Indiana University and I happen to know that IU has used these guys and I see why – they are the best !

Overall, I had an excellent experience with ERS. We came home one evening to discover that our finished, 2400 square foot basement of burber and plush carpeting and stained concrete had flooded. All of the carpets and oriental rugs were soaked, and there was standing water on the concrete. I immediately headed to the store to buy a few fans and dehumidifiyers, and called ERS on my way home. Within a few moments, probably around 10:30 or 11:00 at night, Dale called me back to ask for more information, and to tell me that they would be out to take a look first thing the following morning. I did what I could on my own that night....which I quickly realized wasn't much...and Dale and several other ERS guys were at my house bright and early the next morning. They looked around a bit and said that they could help me, and that as long as they got everything dried out quickly, there would verly likely have no lasting impact. I was told that it would likely cost $5,000 - $6,000 at the least...possibly more depending on what, if any, repairs would need to be made. I looked around at my beautiful but now soggy basement, took a deep breath, and told them to go ahead. During the course of next week or so my basement was filled with a massive number of fans, blowers, dehumidifyers and ERS guys moving furniture, making notes, checking humidity and moisture levels and making adjustments. Dale called or sent me a txt almost daily to let me know what the plan was for the day and when his people would be out at my house. The basement went from wet, to wet and smelly, to dry and smelly....to, finally, dry. After it was dry, they cleaned and treated the carpets and the flooring. Within a few days, a bit of a swampy smell returned, and I also noticed some staining on one of my carpets. I let Dale know, and a crew came back out to re-treat and re-clean all of the floors and the carpets again. My oriental rugs were taken to be cleaned, and returned. Some damaged drywall in a storage closet was removed and replaced. (Incidentally, Dale let me know that this would need to be done, and asked if I had a contractor that I would like to use. If not, he said they had several that they work with. I told him that one of his contractors would be just fine.) I had my own contractor come out while the ERS team was here to replace the sump-pump that had broken. The ERS guys worked with him that afternoon as well to try and determine whether or not the french drain beneath my house was working properly. ERS billed my insurance company directly. They mailed me a check. I cashed the check, and wrote one to Dale about a month after all was said and done. At the end of it all, the only evidence that my basement was ever flooded is a small bit of discoloration on the smallest of my oriental rugs. I could have turned it in to the Insurance company and bought a new one, but it really just looks a bit more antique now, so I decided to keep it. I couldn't be happier with both the responsiveness of the company, as well as the end result. Given the amount of time and manpower they put in to it, I obviously couldn't have salvaged my basement on my own.

The pipe burst between 12 midnight to 6 AM. ERS was at my house by 1:30 on Christmas day. Excellent personal service, professional and reasonably priced.

Overall, went very well. They worked to find best location for running vent pipes etc. The before/after numbers were quite good in terms of lowering radon measurement to well below picoCuries per liter.

I contracted Dale on the 24 of July. They didn't start the work until after the Brickyard 400 which was not a good sign, since there was a sense of urgency on the insurance companies part. All they knew what to do was to use dehumidifiers and odor eliminators which didn't work at all. They didn't itemize anything that was removed from the house. They just threw things away. They didn't remove anything from the basement which was full of charred items from the previous renter. I paid someone else to come and help ME remove the items. I told them up front that I had people I wanted them to use, but they told me they had their own sub contractors. The charges were outrageous. I got two reports from the city inspector. One says that the work was shotty. They replace part of the roof and reused wood from the fire. They did the same with the floors in the one of the rooms and the bath room. From the fire there were holes in the wall which they cut out but they never replaced the drywall. I don't think they ever knew what they were doing. There was an issue with the temporary electrical service. He was supposed to follow up but didn't, he went to the Brickyard 400. They also overfilled the dumpster and left what wouldn't fit in the driveway. I still filled another dumpster with what was on the driveway and in things left in the basement. I was told by the person certified in fire damage and mold restoration that if at anytime I wanted to use my own sub contractors I could but I was never given that option once the work started.