Joe and Sue Sejat were ready to try something new. Joe was employed as a manufacturing engineer with Amway while Sue was working for a greeting card company. Both liked their jobs, but owning a business held a certain appeal.
“We really wanted to do something in the community,” Joe says. They looked into retail options but decided they’d rather focus on a service which would allow them to make a meaningful impact on the lives of others. After much research, they settled on PuroClean, a franchise business that provides property restoration services.
“There was another PuroClean in the Grand Rapids area, but they left a few years ago,” Joe notes. That helped pave the way for the Sejats to incorporate PuroClean of Grand Rapids East in April 2017. Joe heads up the business as the owner while Sue is the manager of business development. The couple brought on another local resident, Mark Brown, as the manager of operations.
Since opening their doors in September, PuroClean of Grand Rapids East has been proud to call Lowell home and hopes that when you have water or mold damage, theirs will be the first number you call.
Happy to Be Located in Lowell
The Sejats have lived in the Lowell community for 20 years but weren’t sure if they would be able to find a spot for their business in town. With vacant space at a premium, Joe thought they may have to head to Cascade or another commercial district to find the right property.
“I never imaged I would find a place in town here,” Joe says. But then he did. He got a lead on a property on Bowes Road that was available. It was the former location of Grand River Veterinary, and it ended up being the perfect spot for PuroClean of Grand Rapids East. Not only was it the right size, it’s also easily found by customers. “Almost everyone knows where we are once we say the old vet office,” Joe explains.
As a Lowell resident, Joe didn’t simply want to provide service to Lowell; he wanted his business to be part of the community. He’s embraced the opportunity to meet other business owners and participate in community events such as the annual Santa parade.
“We want to be Lowell’s first stop for property damage,” Joe says. “We’re 20 seconds down the road. You can’t beat that.”
Crash Course on Remediation in Houston
In order to get certified in various property remediation services, Joe and Mark attended three weeks of training from PuroClean. “The last day of training, they announced the hurricane is about to hit Texas,” Joe remembers.
When flood waters inundated Houston, Joe decided he needed to do something to help. He and Mark picked up the company’s brand new service truck and drove it to Texas. They filled the back with 300 pounds of pet food and treats donated by Bernard’s Ace Hardware and stopped at a Walmart on the way down to load up on bottled water.
Once in the Houston area, they delivered the pet food to a local animal shelter and then stopped by a shelter for displaced residents to drop off the water. After that, they got to work and spent two weeks helping with relief efforts in the area.
It was a crash course in remediation and let Joe and Mark put their training to work in a way they couldn’t have imagined weeks earlier.
Four Main Services Plus More
PuroClean offers four main categories of service.
- Water – Whether it’s from a flooding event or a broken water line behind a refrigerator, PuroClean can dry out and clean up water damage. Joe notes time is of the essence since mold growth can begin 48 hours after the damage occurs.
- Mold – In the event mold growth does occur, Joe is certified to remove it. Some cases are relatively simple while others are more involved. The company has contractors it works with to replace drywall and perform similar work when mold infiltration is extensive.
- Fire – PuroClean works with insurance companies to provide service to homeowners filing a fire claim. However, they also provide services to people who may have soot on their walls or carpet due to a fireplace or similar circumstances. “If you get soot on your carpet, you can’t just run your vacuum,” Sue says.
- Biohazard – It’s a necessary but macabre service. In the event of a suicide or death in a house, PuroClean can sanitize property to eliminate stains and kill bacteria.
While those are the four main services offered by the company, Joe notes they can do more. “We have equipment we’d put in a house to destroy odor molecules,” he says. That can be helpful to someone trying to eliminate food, pet or smoke odors from a house or car. However, Joe cautions that unless the source of the odor is eliminated, the smell will come back eventually.
Carpet cleaning is another service that can be completed by PuroClean. “It’s not a core function of ours, but we have all the equipment,” Joe says. For those used to having carpet cleaners use equipment built into a van, Joe says the experience will be different with PuroClean. Their equipment is portable which means there is no need to have hoses running out the front door. Plus, the company uses carpet cleaning enzymes rather than just water.
Regardless of which service they are providing, “We try to do more than what’s expected,” Joe says. “We really treat it like our house.”
Offering Emergency Service During Emotional Times
Customers can call PuroClean 24/7, and emergency service is available. The Sejats themselves have experienced a flooding event in their house and understand the panicky feeling that comes from having water everywhere and not knowing what to do. “That’s what makes us different from our competitors,” Sue says of their personal experience.
Even if someone doesn’t need immediate service, it can sometimes be reassuring simply to call and hear a professional’s take on the situation. “It’s a very traumatic experience,” Sue explains, and she wants her company to be available to talk to people whenever they need help.
If all goes well, the Sejats hope to eventually open a second PuroClean location on the west side of Grand Rapids. However, for now, they are concentrating on keeping Lowell-area and other nearby properties clean and dry.
“We are really excited about the opportunity in Lowell,” Joe says. “Feel free to give us a call.”
For more information, visit the PuroClean of Grand Rapids East website or their Facebook page.
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