Frequently Asked Questions

We clean up and repair homes and businesses after water, fire, smoke and mold damage, and we handle biohazard and sewage cleanup. We also do scheduled cleaning work such as duct cleaning, floor care, apartment and condo cleaning and post-construction cleanup. We work for homeowners and for owners of commercial and multi-family properties across Maine.

Bouchard is a local, family-owned business that has served Maine communities for over 40 years. Norman Bouchard, a Van Buren native, started out as the local carpet cleaner in Northern Maine. His daughters Lisa Beck and Lara Clark work in the business with him, and our corporate office is in Hampden. You can read more on our Meet Our Team page.

Yes. Emergency service is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year at 1-800-479-6676. After hours, a local answering service takes your call and pages our on-call staff, who will call you back within 15 minutes to go over what happened. See Emergency Cleaning Service for the kinds of emergencies we respond to.

We work with all insurance carriers, and many of them list us as a preferred provider. If you have never filed a claim for property damage before, we can explain how the process works and what your adjuster will want to see. Call your insurance company as soon as you can after the damage happens.

Claims are sometimes denied, and some people don’t carry coverage for the kind of damage they have. In that case you can apply for financing through our partner Enhancify and pay for the cleaning or restoration over time. The application is on our Financing page.

Yes. We offer complete rebuild services for residential and commercial properties, using our own contractors to bring a building back to its pre-loss condition. Having one company handle both the cleanup and the repairs can save you the work of hiring and coordinating additional contractors.

DKI is a North American network of disaster restoration contractors, and we joined it over a decade ago. When a job is bigger than our own crews can cover, we can ask DKI for additional trained technicians and equipment. It works the other way as well: after Hurricane Sandy, our employees helped fellow DKI members in New Jersey.

We use Benefect products so that our clients and our employees are protected from harmful chemicals. If anyone in your household has a sensitivity or a specific concern, tell us when we schedule the work and we will talk it through with you.

For non-emergency work, one of our representatives will call you within 24 hours to set a time to look at the damage or the space. You can also start with our Request an Estimate form.

We restore property after water damage, smoke and fire damage and mold, and we restore clothing and other soft contents. We also respond to vandalism, including board-up and tarping. Residential and commercial properties are both part of the work, and each job starts with an evaluation of what happened.

Yes. We have our own contractors and offer complete rebuild services for residential and commercial properties, so you do not need to hire additional contractors once the damage is cleaned up. The aim of the whole job is to bring the property back to its pre-loss condition.

We handle both. Water that stays in a building can lead to mold growth, so drying and mold assessment often belong in the same job. After we evaluate the property, we build the recovery plan around what we find and add mold removal where it is needed.

We restore wherever we can. Our equipment and methods give us the ability to restore items rather than replace them. Clothing and other soft contents can go through our Esporta Wash System to be cleaned and restored before anyone decides they are a loss.

After we evaluate your situation, we work with you to develop a plan for returning the property to normal. The plan sets out what needs to be dried, cleaned, treated or rebuilt on your particular job. Throughout the work we treat your home as if it were our own.

We use Benefect products, which protect our clients and our employees from harmful chemicals. They are used in the cleaning and treatment steps across our restoration work, and they are part of how we keep the job safe for the people who live or work in the building.

We have several crews available to handle many projects at once. We are also a member of DKI, a large disaster restoration network, and we can contact DKI to request additional trained technicians and equipment when a job is too large for our own crews.

A small spill caught right away, yes. Once water has soaked into drywall, insulation, subfloor or carpet pad, it is very hard to dry fully with fans and a shop vac, and what stays wet can lead to mold, wood rot and odor. In almost all of those cases you need professional drying equipment and someone measuring moisture.

It depends on how much water there was, how long it sat and what it soaked into. We monitor moisture levels throughout the drying, keep you updated, and keep the equipment running until the property is thoroughly dry.

We extract standing water, and work out what can be dried in place and what has to come out. Then we set up drying equipment and HEPA air scrubbers, deodorize, and keep checking moisture until everything is dry. Wet documents can be dried as well.

Yes. Along with burst pipes and roof leaks, we handle storm damage, groundwater coming up through the basement and malfunctioning sprinkler systems, in homes and commercial buildings.

Water from a river, storm runoff or a sewer backup carries bacteria and silt. Keep people and pets away from it, and don’t use a household vacuum to pick it up. Materials that flood water has soaked usually have to be removed and the area sanitized. See our biohazard and sewage cleanup page.

Yes. We offer complete rebuild services for residential and commercial properties, so you don’t need to hire separate contractors after the drying is done.

Coverage depends on your policy and on what caused the water. We work with all insurance carriers and can help you understand the claims process. If your claim is denied, you can apply for financing through Enhancify.

Often, yes. Soft contents can go through our Esporta Wash System, which returns about 90 percent of soft contents to food-grade clean. Upholstered furniture can be cleaned with hot steam extraction, and we inventory and pack out contents when a room has to be emptied.

Smoke damage can cause corrosion, unpleasant odors and discoloration, so we treat the smell as part of the job. Our fire services include deodorization and HEPA air scrubbing, and duct cleaning is available for ductwork that smoke has reached. How much odor comes out depends on the fire.

We start with a damage assessment and, where it is needed, a board-up. Then we put together a personalized recovery plan with you. Our staff is available 24 hours a day, so the first call can be made at any hour, whether the fire was last night or this afternoon.

A fire can leave windows, doors or parts of a roof damaged or missing. A board-up covers those openings, and tarping covers the roof. Our staff is available 24/7/365 to board up damaged areas, so the building is closed in while the rest of the plan is put together.

Yes. We work with all insurance companies, and we are listed as the preferred provider for many of them. We can help you understand the claims process. Contact your insurance company about the fire as early as you can, since they will have their own steps for you.

Document recovery is one of our fire damage services. How much can be saved depends on what happened to each document, so we look at what is there. Bring up anything important, such as records or paperwork, when you first talk with us, and we will include it in the recovery plan.

When rooms cannot be cleaned with belongings still in them, we pack the contents out of the building. The content inventory is the written record of what was taken. Carpet and upholstery cleaning and clothing restoration are available for the items that come back.

Reconstruction is one of our fire damage services, and we have our own contractors for it. That lets one company handle the damage assessment, the cleanup and the repairs, in homes and in commercial buildings, so you are not looking for a separate builder.

Removal starts with an assessment. We will tell you what needs to be done, how it will be done and what testing needs to be performed. We then customize a plan for your property. Whether testing is needed depends on what the assessment finds, so ask us when you call.

After the assessment, the work can include removal and remediation, HEPA air scrubbing, anti-microbial treatments and deodorization. Where mold has reached building materials, we also tear out the affected areas. The plan depends on where the mold is growing and how far it has spread.

Sometimes. Tear out is one of our mold services, and whether it is needed depends on where the mold is growing and which materials it has reached. Our project managers communicate with you throughout the process, so you hear what is coming out as the work goes on.

We do. Our tear out and rebuild service lets the company that removes the mold also put the building back together. We have our own contractors, so you do not need to bring in and coordinate a second company for the repairs after the removal is finished.

We can take a content inventory and pack out belongings from the affected rooms, so they are out of the work area. Clothing damaged by mold can go through our clothing restoration process, and we also offer deodorization for contents and rooms.

Mold needs moisture to grow, so the moisture source has to be dealt with along with the mold itself. Our mold prevention tips cover humidity, drainage and spills, which are the things to watch once the removal is done. Our project managers can talk you through them.

Not all policies include mold coverage, so speak with your local insurance agent before assuming it is covered. We work with all insurance carriers and can help you understand the claims process. If a claim is denied, you can apply for financing through Enhancify.

It is a wash system built to clean and restore soft contents after a loss. We use it because it predictably cleans these items, and its results have been verified by third-party testing. Clothing is the most common soft content that comes through it after a fire or flood.

According to Esporta’s verified third-party testing, the system consistently delivers 90% of soft contents back to food-grade clean. That is the standard we aim for with clothing and other washable items after a loss, and it is the reason we use the system on these jobs.

We restore clothing and soft contents damaged by fire, smoke, water, sewage and mold. Those are the same kinds of losses covered by our other restoration services, so clothing restoration is often part of a larger job on the building itself.

Soft contents are the fabric items in a home or business, and clothing is the most common example. If you are unsure whether a particular item can go through the wash system, ask us when you call, and we will evaluate it as part of the job.

The system uses a phosphate-free detergent and about half the water of a conventional wash. It sits alongside our other cleaning practices, which use Benefect products so that clients and our employees are protected from harmful chemicals in the cleaning process.

It can be. On larger jobs we take a content inventory and pack out belongings, and clothing restoration is one of the services listed with our smoke and fire damage and mold work. Tell us what was damaged and we will plan it with the rest.

We offer floor care, upholstery cleaning, duct cleaning, biohazard cleanup, cleaning and sanitizing, post construction cleaning and apartment and condo cleaning. We also do spring cleaning and cleanup after vandalism or a disaster. Each one starts with an evaluation of your situation and a recovery plan.

Our work runs from a simple apartment cleaning to cleaning and restoring an entire department store. We have several crews available to handle many projects at once, and we can request additional technicians and equipment through DKI if a job is very large.

Yes. We serve residential and commercial clients throughout Maine, and multi-family properties as well. The same services are available for each. When you call, tell us about the building and what needs cleaning, and we will plan the job around it.

Tell us what you are dealing with and we evaluate your situation with you, then develop a recovery plan. For a non-emergency request, one of our representatives calls you within 24 hours to schedule a time to evaluate the damage or the cleaning needed.

Yes. Several of our services overlap, for example carpet and upholstery cleaning, tile floor care and duct cleaning all appear in our apartment and post construction work. We plan the services you need as one job for the property, with several crews if needed.

Insurance does not always cover the cost of cleaning and restoration. If your claim was denied or you do not have insurance, financing through our partner Enhancify can help you get the work done and pay over time. You can apply on our website.

That work is part of our restoration services. We provide 24/7/365 emergency cleaning services after fire, water, mold and sewage, and the same company can carry the job through to the rebuild with our own contractors. Our staff is available around the clock for emergencies.

The pathogens it kills include C. difficile, COVID-19, norovirus, MRSA, Ebola, Salmonella, Staphylococcus, E. coli, Listeria, H1N1 and Pseudomonas. The page also lists efficacy against 43 molds and fungi. Call us if you have a particular concern.

It is the technology in the TOMI SteraMist Environmental System we use. It is an ionized hydrogen peroxide that kills on contact with a 5-second application time. It reaches particles as small as 0.05 microns, and it leaves no residue on the surfaces it treats.

Six-log is a 99.9999% kill, which is the labeled rate for the system. The treatment is non-corrosive, a certified green product and OMRI certified, with no residue left behind after the application. Ask us if you would like the details for a particular building.

We are ready to assist with cleaning and sanitizing hospitals, schools, nursing homes, malls, daycare centers, municipal buildings, restaurants, gyms and office buildings. We also serve residential clients, and we can plan the work around how the building is used.

Yes. We offer presumptive, positive and preventive care. That covers a space where an illness is suspected, one where it has been confirmed and one that you simply want treated as a precaution. Call us with the building type and what you need.

The treatment lists efficacy against 43 molds and fungi, but a mold problem still starts with an assessment of where the mold is and what it has reached. See mold assessment and removal for the full list of services and how we plan that work.

The two use the same disinfecting system. Our biohazard cleaning covers bodily fluids, sewage, animal feces and hoarding, while cleaning and sanitizing is the routine, presumptive or preventive treatment of a building and its surfaces. Tell us which you need and we will plan it.

Our biohazard services include bodily fluid cleanup, sewage cleanup, animal feces cleanup, and hoarding cleanup and removal. We also restore property after vandalism. The work involves cleaning and sanitizing, and deodorization is offered with it, for residential and commercial properties.

We use the TOMI SteraMist Environmental System, which uses Binary Ionization Technology, an ionized hydrogen peroxide. It kills on contact, with a 5-second application time, and it reaches particles as small as 0.05 microns, which lets it treat surfaces that are hard to wipe by hand.

The treatment leaves no residue. It is non-corrosive, a certified green product and OMRI certified. That is the reason we use it for biohazard work where the surfaces have to be usable again.

Yes. Sewage cleanup is one of our biohazard services, with cleaning, sanitizing and deodorization. If the backup came with flooding, we also handle the water damage and drying, so one company can take the whole job from the first call through the rebuild.

Yes. Hoarding cleanup and removal is one of our services. We recognize that it has an emotional side, so our technicians work with homeowners, property managers and realtors to get the property cleaned and back in use. Call us and we will talk through what the job involves.

Yes. Vandalism restoration is part of our biohazard services, and our emergency services include board-up and tarping of damaged areas. We work on residential and commercial properties and plan the cleanup around what was damaged, and we are available around the clock for emergencies.

Yes. We are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. After hours, a local answering service pages your information to our on-call staff, who call you within 15 minutes of your call to evaluate your emergency needs.

The National Air Duct Cleaners Association recommends that air ducts be cleaned every 3 to 5 years. Clean them more often if you have pets, if people smoke indoors or if anyone in the home has seasonal allergies. Call us if you are not sure where your system stands.

Cleaning improves indoor air quality and reduces pollution hazards in the air your system circulates. It also increases comfort in the building. These benefits apply to homes, apartments and commercial buildings that have a ducted system.

Reducing heating and cooling costs is one of the benefits of a clean duct system. How much a particular building saves depends on its system and on how dirty the ducts were, so we do not promise a figure. We can talk through your system when you call.

Smoke travels through a heating and cooling system, so duct cleaning is one of the services in our fire damage work. It is done alongside deodorization and HEPA air scrubbing, so the whole building is addressed rather than only the rooms with visible damage.

Yes. We serve residential and commercial clients throughout Maine. Duct cleaning is also offered with our apartment and condo cleaning and with post construction cleaning, so it can be added to a larger cleaning job. Tell us what else is on the list when you call.

Yes. In a duct cleaning we clean, disinfect and inspect the system, and we do the same in our post construction work. If you have a particular concern about your system, such as odors or dust coming from the vents, mention it when you call so we can plan the work around it.

We use van-mounted hot steam extraction systems. The carpet care steps include pre-treatment, steam extraction and deodorization, and stain removal is part of the service. The technicians who do the work are certified and trained, and you do not need to prepare before they arrive.

Yes. Scotchgard application is part of our carpet care service. If you want the protection applied along with the cleaning, say so when you book, and we will include it in the job along with the other carpet care steps.

Pet odor removal is one of our carpet care services, and it is done together with deodorization. Tell us about the odor and where it is when you call, so we can plan the pre-treatment and the extraction for your carpet.

Yes. We offer tile floor waxing and grout cleaning throughout Maine. Tile floor care is also part of our post construction cleaning and our apartment and condo cleaning, so it can be done with those jobs. Tell us which floors you have and what shape they are in.

Yes. Water extraction is one of our carpet care services. If the water came from a leak or a flood, see water damage restoration, since the pad and the floor underneath may need to be dried as well as the carpet.

Our technicians are certified and trained. If you want to know more about the training behind a particular kind of job, ask us when you call. Our owner began in the industry as the local carpet cleaner, and carpet remains a core part of what we do.

Yes. Upholstery cleaning is part of our cleaning services, and it is often done on the same visit as the carpets so the room is finished at once. Our carpet and upholstery cleaning FAQs answer the common questions about preparation, stains and drying time, and the carpet care steps above are covered there as well.

We remove the debris, dust, mud and adhesive left by the work. The service also covers surface and wall cleaning, windows, tile floor care, carpet and upholstery cleaning, and duct cleaning, so you can choose the parts of the building the construction affected.

Yes. We remove the factory stickers, and then clean and wash the windows, sills and screens. Windows are one of the listed services in our post construction cleaning, and they can be done together with the surface and wall cleaning in the same visit.

Yes. High-space cleaning is part of the service, and we do it with equipment for reaching those areas. Dust and debris from construction settle on high surfaces as well as low ones, so it gets cleaned along with the rest of the building.

We offer tile floor care and carpet and upholstery cleaning as part of the job. Carpet is cleaned with van-mounted hot steam extraction. Our floor care services page describes how the carpet and tile work is done, including the steam extraction and the pre-treatment.

Construction can leave dust and debris in the building, and our duct cleaning is part of the service. We clean, disinfect and inspect your system. Mention it when you call if you want the ducts included in the quote, and we will add them to the plan.

Yes. We offer a free quote for post construction cleaning. Tell us about the building and what was built or renovated, and we will evaluate the job and tell you what it needs. We also work with you on what services you want included.

We clean residential and commercial properties, and our work ranges from a simple apartment to an entire department store. We have several crews available to handle many projects at once, so a large building can have more than one crew working on it.

Yes. Move-in and move-out cleaning is part of our apartment and condo cleaning. Tell us the size of the unit and the date you need it ready, and we will plan the services that suit it. We work from our two offices in Hampden and Westbrook.

The services include surface cleaning, content cleaning, windows and walls, carpets and upholstery, tile floor care and duct cleaning. You choose the services the unit needs, so a simple surface clean and a full clean of every item on the list are both possible.

Yes. We work with our clients to determine what services they need, what timeline they may have and what their budget may look like. We then plan the cleaning around those three things, so you know what is being done before the work starts.

Yes. We serve residential, commercial and multi-family properties. For a building with many units, call us with the number of units and what needs doing in each one, and we will evaluate the job and plan the work with you.

We have several crews available to handle many projects at once, so more than one unit can be worked on at the same time. Tell us how many units there are and how soon you need them ready, and we will plan the crews around your timeline.

That is restoration work, and we do it too. See our restoration services. We can clean and restore the unit and our own contractors can rebuild it, so the same company handles the damage from the first call to the finish.

Yes. Our cleaning and sanitizing service uses a disinfecting system that kills on contact and leaves no residue. Ask for it when you request the cleaning and we will add it to the plan for the unit along with the rest of the cleaning.