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WHEN HOMES ATTACK.

Article Excerpt
Byline: Lewis Taylor The Register-Guard

Exploding washing machine hoses, leaky ice-makers, "protein fires," clogged dryer hoses, demolished garage doors, flaming drapes, sparking chimneys, leaking toilets and sinking floors.

What do these household mishaps have in common? They're all very expensive to fix and potentially dangerous. They're also mostly preventable.

"Most disasters happen because somebody got distracted from what they were doing," says Michael Jones, owner of Willamette Valley Restoration, a company that deals with all of the above problems and more.

Jones recalls the case of a woman who left a boiling chicken on the stovetop while she went to work causing what's known in the industry as a "protein fire." She returned to find a pile of bones, a tar-like gook and a horrendous odor throughout the house.

Jones says the acrid white smoke such a conflagration causes permeates everything it touches, requiring thousands of dollars in cleanup. Walls need to be repainted and sealed, drapes, clothing and carpets all need to be professionally cleaned.

After more than 20 years in the business, Jones has seen it all, from the woman who drew herself a bath and then went to sleep without turning the water off to the construction crew that...

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