Firms scramble to keep up with flood cleanup work

Since last week’s rain dampened much of Port Washington and surrounding communities, local service companies have been flooded with calls to help residents

“We’ve been working around the clock since the rain hit Sunday,” said Joe D’Acquisto, owner of P&R Cleaning in Grafton, adding his employees are working on 217 jobs in the area.

The company has helped out on a number of disaster relief efforts throughout the country and focuses on fire restoration, mold removal and managing other biological hazards.  

“Last year, we had about 40 jobs in Florida, and now we have over 200 in our own backyard,” D’Acquisto said last week. “At least the weather here is good; in Florida it was so hot.”

D’Acquisto said his 21 employees can handle 18 jobs per day, and it takes about five days before a property is back to normal. He expects the flood damage will provide his business many more jobs for the next couple of months.

“There is a waiting list, and right now our priority is helping businesses with sewage,” he said. “There’s only so much we can do, and we’re trying to get to everyone as fast as we can.”

Most of the cleanup costs are covered by insurance, with prices ranging from $500 to $30,000, he said.

In Saukville, Magic Touch Carpet Cleaning & Water Damage Restoration is using psychometrics — the science of drying — to help more than 250 customers.

“Since 1 a.m. Monday morning, we’ve been getting calls left and right,” owner Nick Kertscher said.

With 16 employees and the help of Boy Scout Troop 840 in Grafton, the company has been able to service about 12 customers per day.

“The Boy Scouts in Grafton who are in high school have been volunteering their time before school starts,” he said.

The company has more than 400 pieces of drying equipment that include industrial fans, dehumidifiers, pumps and power washers, but Kertscher had to order 100 more pieces to fill the demand.

“That’s all gone already, and we’re trying to rotate the equipment on a daily basis to help everybody,” Kertscher said last week. “There’s only so much we can do, and we’re not going to rush the jobs.”

Kertscher said there are a number of guidelines and protocols required to sanitize a property.

“Especially with basements, most of the carpeting and drywall have to go before we can start cleaning the floors and walls,” he said. “Everything is a science and if you don’t understand the science of drying, you’re doing it wrong.”

Kertscher said dehumidification and airflow are the two major components in drying out a property. One of the tools he uses is a thermal imaging camera to see the water’s migration pattern.

“People think they’re safe if they just tear out their carpeting, but usually the water travels from the floor to the walls,” he said. “There are 21 different ways for water to get into a house.”

Besides the flooding to homes and businesses, a number of vehicles also experienced damage.

The parking lot at Eddie’s Service in Saukville was full of waterlogged vehicles after owner Paul Krauska and his son Brandon towed 19 cars and trucks in three days.

“For one of my calls, I had to pull a guy out who had a river going through his driveway. We had to call the dive team to get it out, because the current was so strong,” Krauska said. “When you see standing water, don’t try to drive through it.”

Most of the vehicles were found in standing water while some were extricated in hazardous conditions. During one of the procedures, Krauska said, he was nearly sucked into a farm field.

He said emergency crews were on hand during some of the rescues to ensure it was safe to tow the vehicle. Most of the calls he received were reported by the Sheriff’s Office and Saukville Police Department.

A typical tow and haul costs $55, but with the amount of time spent and personnel required to move a vehicle, some calls can cost upwards of $500.

He said all of the cars he moved last week during the storm are total losses.

“Once the car is waterlogged, they’re junk and you’ve got to throw them away,” Krauska said. “A lot of the cars are already growing mold because the heat is baking the cars inside.”

At Drews True Value Hardware in Port Washington, the aisles have been chock-a-block full of customers buying sump pumps, wet and dry vacuums, hoses, fans and dehumidifiers and cleanup items like garbage bags.   

“When we opened at 7 on Monday morning, there were people already waiting outside in the lot,” store manager Alex Kornley said.

The store also made a special order on the Tuesday following the storms to bring in more supplies.

He said most of customers are frustrated with the damage done to their properties but see the hardware store as a refuge for bringing their lives back to normalcy.

 “Obviously the people are upset but most of them have a good sense of humor about it and said they will come back to buy paint and other items once the flooding recedes,” Kornley said. “We’re a community-based business and we want to get it back in shape.”