In storm’s aftermath, calls for restoration flood business

Rick Vaca’s business is usually cleaning carpets and upholstery, but after the July rainstorms he was swamped with calls for flood restoration.

“Even before the last bit of rain, I was getting calls,” he said of the July 19 downpour that produced 3 inches of rain. “We did two big whole house extractions. We worked late into the night.”

The 1982 Ramona High School graduate started his business, Vaca’s Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, in 1988. Flood restoration is a part of the business, but calls usually involve flooding in a house from interior water, said Vaca.

After the July 19 storm, calls for flood restoration kept coming in, he said.

Each house would take three to four hours to extract the water, and for 2-1/2 days he only did water extraction.

“We extracted as well as we could without pulling out the carpet,” he said.

Vaca said from one house he extracted “hundreds of gallons of water.”

He also took out drywall and, where there was moisture behind the walls, put in dehumidifiers.

Vaca said he was extremely busy for at least 1-1/2 weeks and had more calls than he could service.

Conscientious about servicing his customers well, Vaca said, “I don’t want to let anybody down.”

He believes that all business calls should be returned within a day and has been with the Better Business Bureau since 2003.

“We offer really good service, guaranteed,” he said.

Vaca got into carpet cleaning when a friend started a business in Rancho Bernardo in 1984.

“It was just kind of a budding business at that time,” he said.

The carpet cleaning business has changed a lot in the past 10 years, he added, with better products and warranties.

Vaca said he uses a biodegradable detergent that is applied with high heat under pressure and a rinsing agent to further neutralize the carpet.

“I tell people that the service and product in this industry varies dramatically,” he said.

The heat, he noted, is one of the biggest factors in removing stains and dirt.

If a carpet is cleaned correctly, it can be done many times without worries that it could then become more easily soiled, Vaca said.

His business also provides upholstery and ceramic tile and grout cleaning.

Vaca is surrounded by other Ramona High graduates. His wife, Laura (Perez), is a 1984 graduate, and working with him is Devin Collingwood, a 2011 graduate.

The Vacas’ two daughters played tennis for Ramona High. Rachel graduated in 2012, and Rebecca in 2015.

For more on the business, see vacascarpetandupholsterycleaning.com.