Jay to the Rescue: Part I of SteamKleen

When our tenant asked me to have a look at the basement this morning, apparently I was smiling as I walked down the stairs, but I assure you there was no smile in my heart. I knew by the tone of her voice that there was something disastrous down there.

I was already stressed to the max and had just managed to focus on some R&R for March break. So the sight of a soaked carpet was not what the doctor ordered. This has never happened before, though underlying damage indicates that there have been smaller leaks that we weren't aware of. But this time it was undeniable. It's no tsunami, let's keep things in perspective, but it was a flooded basement.

I had no idea what to do next. I'm a writer. I can also paint walls and have gone as far as lifting carpet. That's about the extent of my abilities. (My husband fixes the toilet.) I just wanted to cry. Instead I called my best friend and left a message that there was water in the basement and I was going to have a nervous breakdown.

Then I googled carpet cleaners. The first one on the list wasn't available to come out until tomorrow. The second one was Jay Nader of SteamKleen, a family business in operation since 1986. Jay sounded like he knew what he was doing. He was reassuring (and I needed reassurance!). He explained what was going on, why, and what was needed to fix it. Best of all he said he'd be out this afternoon and he was–in fact earlier than I was expecting.

Jay was considerate, courteous, I can even say chivalrous–more welcome here than a knight in shining armor. He even removed a damaged closet door that was scheduled to be replaced so that he could get at the carpet inside the closet. He pulled back the carpet, removed damaged underpadding, sucked out water, and set up a blower to dry everything out. Everything necessary is being done to prevent mold. He said he'd be back in 3 days time to finish up, promising that all will be well.

Impressed and grateful, I offered to post a review on my blog–I am a writer, so this was one thing I could do. You know, there is so much aggravation in this life, but there is also opportunity to be heartened and helped by complete strangers.

Filed under: Personal Tagged: carpet cleaning Toronto, flooded basements Toronto, steamkleen