INDEX Cslebratians Fashion Pets... Seniors... sucking it up is their Restoration company ses top-down drying Jan-Christian pe ror Sorensen ; : Contributing Writer GOT that sinking feel- ing? If you've had trouble with freshwater floods in your home, you might think about giving Angel Restoration in North Vancouver a call to mop up the mess. The four-year-old company has pioneered a revolutionary top-down vortex drving machine © dubbed the “Water Leech” and restoration com- panies across North America are clamouring, to get their hands on one. “With the Water Leech we’re able to get prob- ably 95% of the water out of the carpet and und’':-. pad withour lifting up the carpet,” said Cam McLeod, co-owner of Angel Restoration. “We restore the whole house from top to bottom — whatever’s damaged.” The Leech uuilizes vacuum pressure to squeeze water out of carpet and other soft products that have become deluged with water resulting from a freshwater food. The new technique effectively eliminates the Need to rip out the carpet and underpad to get at the water damage. The Water Leech is a lightweight 18 Ib. and costs approximately $1,000 — a drop in the buck- ~ et compared to the closest comparable machine, which. weighs 250 tb. and costs upwards of $7,000. “Companies that get into this process will have the edge in the next couple years,” said McLeod. “Insurance companies don’t want to replace underpad or carper when it’s not necessary.” The Leech can reduce freshwater flood costs to insurance companies and apartment managers by . nearly one-third. With seven. employees and 24-hour emergency service, Angel bills itself as “the foremost author- ity on top-down drying in Vancouver.” Angel Restoration originally began as Angel Carpet Cleaning Inc,, and while that division is still in operation, it accounts for only abour 15% of their total business these days. ‘Angel Restoration uses the science of psy- chrometry — or the measure of atmospheric humidity within a given space — to calculate pre- cisely the arnount of water saturation that has - occurred, “Basically, what our company is doing is giving a more scientific approach to drying a structure down,” said McLeod. “We can give an explana- NORTH SHORE NEWS COMMUNITY LIFE =m. ; NEWS phsto Terry money matters up on the experts WORK smarier — not hard- er — by tapping into what the experts have to say. Then put your own spin on their advice. @ Work for yourself: “Discover those business opportunities that should be not only profitable but personally satisfring as well. Be cre- ative. Instead of limiting yourself to what’s been done before, look for new and better alternatives.” — Gregory and Patricia Kishel in Start, Run and Profit from Your Own Home-Based Business (Wiley, $25.95). B isiost businesses go under because “money out” exceeds “money in.” Especially at the start, keep expenses under control while you work on maximizing income. Learn new skills, share knowledge, resist the temptation to have the biggest and best, spend in areas that _ produce the greatest return. — Jay Levinson in Guerrilla Saving — Secrets for Keeping Profits in Your Home-Based Business (Wiley, $30.95). @ “If you decide to start a business from your home, don’t look on.it as a hobby. Write a business plan, know your zoning laws, get proper licences, create a separate office space, learn time-management tricks, create a professional image, take advantage of technology, take responsibility for successes and fail- CAM McLeod displays one of Angel Restoration’s revolutionary new top-down, vortex dry- ing Water Leech units. The Water Leech makes it possible for restoration companies to mop up freshwater flood damage without removing the carpet and underpad. tion as to why it might take five days to dry down as opposed to three.” The top-down vortex drying technique cannot be used if the flood is of the muddy, or “black water” type, however. In those type of situations any couches, carpet, underpad or other. “soft products” that were swamped need to be replaced. To that end, Angel Restoration also offers full sewage decontamination and mildew remediation services. 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