The CleanUP Guys

The company was a nightmare to deal with. The first team they sent to do the work was very courteous but took a few days longer to complete the project than they anticipated. By the end of the week the project appeared complete. The paint job was a "C" at best so we ended up hiring a professional painting company to properly re-sand and repaint the room. Several weeks later it rained and we discovered that little had been done to prevent rain from re-entering our condo. In fact, the problem was much worse, and pieces of the ceiling began falling down. We immediately called Sherman, the company owner, requesting either a refund or another team to promptly fix the problem. His initial response was that his company did not do the work. When we provided the name of the project manager who had been at our house, he stated he did not know who that was. After we provided proof of payment to Sherman's company, he finally stated that he would send a different team to do the repairs. Even after many emails and follow-up phone calls, it took weeks for this new team to finally show up. The day they were suppose to show up, no one came. A day later we received a call from Juan, Sherman's employee, saying he would be there the following week. He did come the following week, and his project turned into a three-week disaster. After he opened up the rooftop flower box to investigate the problem, he left and did not tarp or cover the flower box, i.e. if you are standing in the living room you could see straight up to the sky. It poured rain that night and our living room flooded. Our hardwood floors were ruined. Some days Juan's team showed up and some days they did not. Sometimes they showed up at noon. Other days they worked for a few hours and stated they had to leave to go work on another project. Juan attempted to re-drywall and the result was crooked lines down our living room wall. After three weeks he claimed everything was complete. Days later it rained and we had water pouring into our house again. I called Juan's number and was only able to speak with his wife, who stated he was out of the country. I never received a call back, nor would I want this company to step foot into our home again. It is clear that the employees are not professionally trained. Next, we hired a different company. They fixed everything promptly and correctly the first time.

Juan and crew were very professional, thorough and did an excellent job with condo basement cleanup and mold remediation. They were quite responsive in resolving a number of unexpected issues that arose during the project.

They quickly assessed the extent of the damage, recommended a plan of action, and had removed and treated the flooded areas within hours of arriving. Every step of the way they were punctual, professional and polite. I have two areas of mild concern, neither of which would keep me from hiring these guys again. First, they left the removed, soggy carpet in garbage bags on my front lawn for two days. However, this was a function of the last-minute nature of their removal and the fact that they did not have their normal truck with them, and that it was a holiday weekend. I would have liked them to remove it a little quicker as a few neighbors took notice and commented about the waste. Second, I felt that the price charged was a little bit high for the service provided. I imagine there are services that charge less, but I'm not sure anyone could possibly do a better or more professional job. I would not hesitate to hire The CleanUP Guys again.

It was great. They were very responsive and professional.

This crew, led by Cesar, did an excellent job.  They arrived on time, did everything they promised, were polite and did a great job cleaning up everything afterward. They put my mind at ease in my unforeseen disaster.  I would recommend them in a New York minute!

Excellent experience.  They responded within hours and did the job the next day, a Sunday.  They were prompt, professional, friendly and courteous and did an excellent job of cleaning mud off basement floor left by rain storm sewer water backup.  They were pricy, but basement has never been cleaner.  Crew was led by Cesar Caro who left his cellphone # and offered to return if I found something I wasn't happy with.

Thursday, April 18th flood backed up water into finished basement, 4-5 inches.  Looked up service online.  Spoke with boss, Wayne, who quoted price and came over on time.  Hard sell regarding dangers of HIV and hepatitis in the contaminated water and urgent need to remove and disenfect for family safety.  Workers were courteous and hard-working.  Removed carpet, advised baseboards were wet particle board and removed those as well.  Discovered tile under carpet which made cleanup easier.  Were advised no need to replace drywall.

Friday we discovered they forgot to clean in storage area under stairs as was contracted.  Called and left multiple messages with no callback.  So much for the urgency to prevent disease.  We cleaned up remaining mess on our own.  They did call Saturday, but we had finished the cleanup.

Our long-time and trusted contractor came on Sunday.  Opened drywall and noted saturated insulation that needed removal.  Next noted plywood flooring under tiling (FYI it is a bad idea to do this) that was also soaked and needed removal.

Moral of the experience: They arrived promptly and were polite and hard-working but neglected to do part of job.  Their assessment of water damage and need for remediation was sub-standard.  Had we trusted this assessment, we would potentially be dealing with a significant mold issue down the road.

UPDATE: 4/27/13
Sherman, the owner, called and expressed empathy and regret for our experience. He indicated this was not the usual situation in their 18 years of doing business, and there was likely miscommunication with the service team due to the stress of the flooding and so many people needing service. He offered to refund 20% of the fees. To us this was an acceptable resolution. Although I wish the service was complete and transparent from the outset, I believe the owner is practicing in good faith and trying to deliver quality service.

Discovered wet carpet in our finished basement due to heavy rains and sewer backup. Thought I was lucky to be able to get The Cleanup Guys to come out on Saturday only 6 hours after the drains in basement bathroom and furnace room spewed sewer water - especially since so many people were needing help. He quoted me $600 for the clean-up. It seemed high, but we were desperate. Sherman and his assistant wet vac'ed the affected areas and then told me he'd leave one fan. I asked for two - which he provided. I also asked (more than once) are you sure we don't need to pull up the carpet? He said "No, trust me. We didn't pull up that much water, you'll be fine." 

Other friends had water issues and were surprised when I said my guy didn't pull up the carpet to check the pad. Concerned, I decided to pull up the carpet in a closet myself. Even though the carpet was dry, the pad was soaking wet - 24 hours after the carpet had been wet vac'ed. Then I thought to check the other bedroom closet - one Sherman hadn't checked - and discovered it was damp and a book case I had in there already had mold on it.

I called him immediately. He seemed to have a hard time believing what I was telling him. Said he would come out on Monday. I had to call him in the morning to find out he was having truck problems.  Called him, again, at noon, and he apologized for not calling me. Said it would now be around 3pm before he could get here. Called at 3pm, and his assistant answered saying it would be now 6pm. I told his assistant that was unacceptable. He said they would be right over.

Four guys showed up (no Sherman) to remove all our carpeting and padding - carpeting that could have been saved if they had pulled up the carpet and put enough fans in when they first got here.  Sherman called wanting an additional money for pulling up the carpet. When I argued that I had to purchase new carpet due to his mistake, he tried to tell me that he had suggested pulling up the carpet and padding in the hallway, but I had declined - which was not true. We finally agreed that the $600 already paid would be his final payment.