Water from to a pipe leak on the 3rd floor of this Oshkosh hotel caused damage through the floors and ceilings, all the way down to the first floor.  Water losses this big can require quite a bit of drying equipment to properly dry in a timely manner.  SERVPRO of Appleton placed numerous dehumidifiers and air movers in this public hallway to expedite drying, ceiling replacement, and a speedy return to a hallway which looked “Like it never even happened.”

If you’ve just experienced a disaster, the last thing you need is more damage being done to your property and we know that better than anyone.  Therefore, we will take steps to protect your property whenever appropriate before we begin our work, especially if demolition is necessary.  That includes but is not limited to putting floor protection down to protect your floors from nicks and scratches that can occur during the remediation and demolition stages. 

High winds caused damage to this home's roof.  The damage caused a leak so bad that the drywall on the ceiling became completely saturated and began to bow.  Drywall this wet and damaged can not be dried in place.  It must be removed and replaced.  Heavy duty vinyl was placed to contain the water and falling debris until the demolition work could begin.  This remediation and rebuild work included drywall, insulation, painting, asbestos removal, and general cleaning.

We are proud to count the best hospitals and medical clinics in the area amongst our loyal customers, especially during this global pandemic.  It's more important than ever that hospitals and clinics recover quickly from a disaster so that they can continue to serve the community that desperately needs them.

This medical clinic in Kaukauna had a water pipe leak that caused quite a bit of damage.  SERVPRO of Appleton was on the job quickly to dry them out and get them back up and running within just 24 hours.  

This kitchen fire happened in the upper unit of a duplex.  While water damage in a basement rarely effects habitability of a property, it is not uncommon to not be able to live in a property that has experienced fire damage.  Smoke and sometimes toxic fumes can creep into every part of the property.  On top of that, firefighting efforts often leave significant water damage.  If the property is a rental property, that can mean lost revenue for the owner while the property is being restored.  Time is of the essence. Call SERVPRO for fast service.  

Emergencies don't wait for business hours.  They can happen any day at any time.  The Horicon Bank branch in Fond du Lac experienced a sump pump failure over Memorial Day weekend.  Despite the holiday weekend, SERVPRO was there quickly to help mitigate the damage and get them ready to open back up for their customers Tuesday morning.  

Traditional shingles do not create a watertight seal.  But if the roof is adequately pitched or sloped the roof does not need to be completely watertight.  Gravity works so that water and melting snow runs off the roof.  But if the roof is flat, or has very little slope, water from melting snow and rain can pool on the roof.  In these situations, rubber roofs work better as they are watertight.   

This home had a rubber roof.  Unfortunately a wind storm lifted the rubber roof.  The weight of the rubber roof destroyed the chimney and once the rubber was lifted, the rain that was a  part of this storm poured into the house and caused quite a bit of water damage throughout the home.  

On February 23rd, 2020, we sent two crews down to the Dallas, Texas area to help people with water damage to their homes following the historic winter storm that caused lots of frozen and burst pipes.  Our crews stayed for about 2 weeks before heading home for a brief "reset".  This past week we sent another crew down to Texas to assist people who now have mold damage from the historic storm.  We are honored to be part of this historic effort and assist the people of Texas during their time of need.  

According to Wikipedia, “A chimney fire is the combustion of residue deposits referred to as soot or creosote, on the inner surfaces of chimney tiles, flue liners, stove pipes, etc.”

So, what is creosote?  When wood burns, certain by-products or substances are produced.  There is the smoke you can see, as well as things you cannot see like tar in the smoke, water vapor, gases, unburned wood particles, and assorted minerals. These by-products are warm, and when they pass through the cool chimney, condensation forms.  The resulting residue sticks to the inner walls of the chimney creating something called creosote.  Creosote is highly flammable.  If enough creosote builds up, and the temperature in the chimney becomes high enough, a chimney fire can erupt.

This chimney fire in Stevens Point caused a great deal of smoke damage to the entire home.  

One of the biggest dangers to our homes and businesses during a storm is wind.  High winds can not only blow roofing materials off our roofs but they can topple trees and these trees can land on our homes and do significant damage.  

As you can see, this homeowner had a tree fall on their roof during a storm and shatter their sky light.  The shattered sky light allowed rain water to enter the home doing even more damage.

SERVPRO of Appleton is a full service restoration company.  We have carpenters on staff that we can send out 24/7 to do board ups in such situations to prevent further damage while we begin the water mitigation and rebuilding of the damaged structure.  

This home fire actually started outside the home.  Some pine tree needles had accumulated underneath the deck/porch.  A guest to the home was smoking outside on the deck/porch.  The cigarette, or embers from the cigarette, started the pine needles underneath the decking material on fire.  The fire quickly spread into the kitchen area of the home.  Luckily everyone inside the home was able to escape unharmed.  

We here at SERVPRO of Appleton think that we have some of the best personnel in the industry.  The truth is, if you need our services, you are probably having a bad day.  We take great pride in being there to help you in your time of need.  Our goal is to make your disaster "Like it never even happened," as quickly and seamlessly as possible.  

Meet our seasonal employee Benjamin Snyder.  Ben spent 6 years working for us during summer, winter and spring breaks from school.  In May 2020 Benjamin graduated from the University of Wisconsin Whitewater with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance with Honors in just 4 years.  While Benjamin accepted a full time position outside of the restoration business after graduation, he will continue on as an occasional employee during high volume times.   

In July 2019 this church had a tree fall on it's roof during strong storms.  This particular church had several layers of roofing installed through out the years, which made drying very difficult as there was condensation and a small amount of water trapped between the different layers.  The obvious and easy solution was to completely replace the roof.  But we were determined to save the insurance company and the customer a great deal of money and dry the roof in place.  The large boxes in the picture are commercial dehumidifiers.  We set up the pictured system of getting dehumidification up in to the ceiling.  The insurance adjuster for the job said he hadn't seen such effort and creativity in many years.  We are proud to say our efforts paid off and this church community is now in their beautiful and fully restored space without having to pay for an all new roof.           

We are proud to be doing our part during this difficult time in world history. This past week we cleaned and disinfected a 60,000 square foot, no longer in use, medical facility so it can be used for COVID-19 testing and triage. We are beyond proud of the way our team came together and worked so very hard to complete this task quickly and efficiently. And we are proud to help our hard working and brave medical professionals in any way we can.

Our fleet is always expanding to better serve our customers. We added this great new truck yesterday. It will soon be put to use to make your disaster “Like it never even happened.”

Burst water pipes are a common cause of water damage in homes and businesses alike.  The cause is usually the result of increased pressure in the pipe.  This is a common problem during the winter storm months.  People often think that pipes burst when they freeze.  In fact, they burst when water that has frozen in the pipes begins to thaw.  Pipes burst when water thaws and begins to flow, but then runs into other, still-frozen parts of the pipe and builds up pressure. It's important for home and business owners to know where their water shut off valves are in case of a rupture.  

This kitchen in Oshkosh experienced what appears to be a kitchen grease fire.  The homeowner reported not even being sure how the fire started.  The homeowner left the home for about 20 minutes and came back to find this disaster.  According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), "During the five-year period of 2012-2016, cooking was the leading cause of reported home fires (48%) and home fire injuries (45%) and the second leading cause of home fire deaths (21%)."  And according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), cooking is also the leading cause of unreported home fires.  While this damage may not look too significant, it really is.  Even a fire this size can cause significant smoke damage through out the home.  

"The Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce Business Expo Sponsored by Network Health goes on for one day every January at the Oshkosh Convention Center. Over 100 businesses set up booths and offer a great way to make new connections, learn more about area businesses’ products, services, and upcoming job openings. Several activities are offered by exhibitors for attendees throughout the day.

The evening finishes out with a social, Business After Hours – A Taste of Oshkosh, from 5pm-7pm.  You’ll get a chance to sample food and beverages from area restaurants, caterers, and breweries."

SERVPRO of Appleton was pleased to have a booth at this wonderful event.  Pictured at the 2020 expo is our Sales Manager, Joe Leadley, along with Justin Wolman, with Big Bark Media in Neenah.       

Meet Paisley & Hazel. Recently we helped with a water loss at their home. When our Crew Chief Rhonda came back to pick up the last of our drying equipment, she left two SERVPRO rubber ducks in its place. Mom Michelle says, “Paisley and Hazel are in love with their SERVPRO ducks!  Thank you, SERVPRO, for the excellent service and cute ducks! We're grateful for your assistance!” Paisley & Hazel we think you’re adorable and it was our pleasure to help your family!

Recently we were called to a large water loss at a senior living apartment building.  A water main broke in two places at either end of a long hallway.  By the time maintenance was able to shut off the water, 55 rooms were effected including tenant units, a community room, offices and more.

Pictured is our technician, extracting water from the commercial carpet involved.  The darker areas are where the carpet is still saturated.  The lighter areas show where our technician has already extracted water with our heavy duty suction.

Our Sales Manager, Joe Leadley, is also an Assistant Football Coach for the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.  

On July 26th, 2019, the UW Oshkosh Football Program helped with the Northeast Wisconsin Old Glory Honor Flight as part of the EAA.  This year, 114 veterans flew out of Oshkosh to Washington DC.  

Our own Joe Leadley and some of his players were honored to assist with this flight.  Joe is pictured second from the left.  

In this picture you can see what we call "blocking".  We put the wood bar in this basement up on styrofoam blocks.  In a water damage situation it's important to get wood furniture, furniture legs, etc..up and off of any wet carpet or other surfaces.  The water or moisture can warp or damage the wood.  In addition, the stain on the wood can leach into the carpet and cause staining that would be difficult, or even impossible, for our carpet cleaning experts to remove.   

Not all water damage situations are immediately evident.  Sometimes a small or slow plumbing leak can take days, weeks or even months to become evident.  This was a slow plumbing leak in the basement of a news publication building.  The carpeted area was the first place to get wet.  It took a little while for the blue carpet in the room to become saturated and eventually leak out into the unfinished area where it was a little more obvious and the leak was finally detected.   

Severe storms came through our area in July 2019.  The National Weather Service confirmed nine EF1 or EF0 tornadoes touched down in Wisconsin in less than a 24 hour period, with several of them being in or near the Fox Valley.  We received many calls from customers who had trees fall on their homes or businesses resulting in water damage to the structure.  Pictured is a tree that fell on a local church we helped restore.  The tree was so large you can't even see the structure it's sitting on in this picture.    

When water damage strikes a commercial property, the amount of square footage that gets wet is often very large.  And a large amount of square footage, requires a large number of air movers and dehumidifiers to properly dry the structure.  Very often there simply aren't enough electrical outlets, and sometimes even power to the structure, to run all of the necessary equipment.  

In situations like that, we bring in an electrician and/or additional power panels as necessary.  Here is a small power panel at a furniture store that experienced water damage when a pipe burst due to extreme winter cold.     

SERVPRO is proud to be a Preferred Provider for American Family Insurance.  Not only is it a privilege to serve their customers but we are honored to be associated with an organization doing good in our community.  

The American Family Insurance Championship is a professional golf tournament in Wisconsin on the PGA Tour Champions.  It is played at University Ridge Golf Course in Madison. 

Proceeds from this event benefit the Steve Stricker American Family Insurance Foundation.  "The foundation supports charities, educational initiatives and organizations aimed at building strong families and healthy kids, empowering them to chase and achieve their dreams."

Pictured at the 2019 event is our very own Joe Leadley with Tammy Mc Alister, a National Account Manager for SERVPRO.      

Every year SERVPRO Corporate hosts a convention at various locations around the country at the end of June.  This year SERVPRO is celebrating their 50th anniversary.  To honor the occasion, the 2019 convention was hosted in Sacramento, California, where SERVPRO got its start.  

The annual convention gives our franchise owners the opportunity to learn about the latest techniques and tools in the restoration industry and how to better serve our customers. 

As always SERVPRO of Appleton & Winnebago County was in attendance.  

Once again our SERVPRO Family is participating in a local Kickball League.  It's great team building and a good time is had by all.  We kicked off our 2nd season of kickball on a beautiful night the end of May 2019.   

On Saturday, May 7th, 2019, our President and 6 other employees volunteered their time to install smoke detectors as part of the American Red Cross' Sound the Alarm Campaign.  We love being involved in our community.    

"Thankful for teachers who never miss an opportunity to turn every experience (good or challenging) into an opportunity to learn.  Exhibit 1 - Here is Luke from SERVPRO of Appleton & SERVPRO of Winnebago County (in our building for a week taking care of water damage) giving 4th graders a lesson on AREA, and how he calculates and uses it in his job every day.  Thank you Luke for going above and beyond and thank you Mrs. Wiedenhaupt and Mr. Gross for seizing the opportunity!"  Valley Christian School's Facebook Page  

We are proud to say we have the hardest working and best trained staff in the industry in the Fox Valley.  We couldn't be more thankful for all of the hard work they do to help customers during a time of crisis.  

Every summer our SERVPRO team and their families attend a Wisconsin Timber Rattlers Baseball Game at Neuroscience Group Field.  We have the best employees in the business and it's always fun to get out with them and their families.  For more pictures from the 2018 outing, see our Facebook Page at:

 www.facebook.com/SERVPROAppleton 

SERVPRO of Appleton has two carpenters on staff.  Our carpenters board up and secure a property after a fire or other disaster.  In addition, they are a vital part of our building services or rebuilding team.  Once a property is dried out and/or cleaned by our mitigation crews, our carpenters and various subcontractors can rebuild your home or business and make the damage "Like it never even happened."  This is an additional service we are proud to offer.    

Pictured is our carpenter Henry in his workshop at our office.  

Any time there is water damage, humidity levels spike, especially when the drying process begins.  As air movers are placed, the moisture evaporating off wet materials (which the air movers help encourage) spikes the humidity in the room.  This moisture must be removed by a dehumidifier in order for proper drying to take place.  The dehumidifiers we use are not your average household dehumidifier.  The dehumidifiers we use in many situations, remove up to 30 gallons of water a day from the air, while using only 7.4 amps of electricity.  In addition, our dehumidifiers feature significant air filtration. This filtration dramatically improves the air quality in the areas being dried. 

This unit has been cleaned, its filter has been replaced, and a protective plastic has been placed on top to keep it clean until it goes out to the next job. 

Not all wet drywall has to be removed and replaced.  Often we can dry it in place and save the customer a great deal of money.  Our professionals remove the baseboards and drill holes in the drywall behind the baseboard. Then we place low profile air movers in front of these holes to push air up behind the drywall through the holes.  Daily moisture checks are done with specialized meters to ensure proper drying.  Once completely dry, the baseboard is replaced and the holes are covered.  Here one of our professionals is using a moisture meter to check whether or not the drywall is completely dry at this hotel water loss.   

According to Dr. Bruce Mitchell, CEO of Airmid Healthgroup, "effectively cleaned carpets have the capacity to trap allergen and microbial particles making these particulates less available to become airborne and thus maintaining indoor air quality.”

Our carpet cleaning professionals got this Butte des Morts Country Club room in Appleton looking amazing, and they can do the same in your home or office!     

Hurricane Harvey inflicted over $125 billion in damage, primarily due to flooding.  SERVPRO of Appleton was proud to send a crew down to Texas for a month, in September of 2017, to help with Hurricane Harvey disaster relief. It was so rewarding to help people restore their flooded homes.  

SERVPRO of Appleton

SERVPRO of Winnebago County