Handling your Commercial Property with SERVPRO

9/25/2022 (Permalink)

There are over 21 million commercial establishments in the United States, occupying 4.9 million buildings. These buildings cover over 72 billion square feet or 1.6 million acres. The U.S. adds about 1.6 billion square feet per year—nearly 110,000 buildings annually, or roughly half-a-million buildings every five years. The sheer magnitude of annual growth in commercial real estate is astounding.

How are you planning on protecting your property?

Most companies attempt to treat a commercial project like a “really big house”, which is a big mistake. Calling and hiring a restoration company without the right education or credentials can cause further damage and business interruption.

With residential homes, the primary purpose is to house a family, whereas commercial structures have a variety of uses and functions. All these factors can affect the restoration process. 

Commercial facilities, if they are greatly impacted by damage, require more time for scoping, planning, and estimating. Additional square footage affected raises the requirements of the commercial project, meaning additional management staff, labor, equipment, and supplies will be needed.

At SERVPRO, we have a highly trained, experienced, and certified team, able to handle all your property damage needs. Our staff receives ongoing training from our corporate training facility to meet and exceed IICRC industry certifications. This ensures we provide the proper assessment and repairs.

When your property is the victim of a disaster or damage, such as water and fire damage, fire and smoke damage, or storm damage, every minute counts to minimize the effect on your building.

Every time we enter a commercial large loss project, we focus on the differences that occur in a commercial building over a residential home. We consider how our communication, planning, and even our conversations might have to be altered to provide the highest level of customer service on a commercial restoration project when speaking with either an owner or property management team.

Our cleaning and restoration team can provide support from water damage cleanup and water damage restoration to fire damage repairs and mold remediation services. As a locally owned and operated facility, we provide commercial cleaning services, residential cleaning services, biohazard cleanup, carpet cleaning, air duct cleaning, mold removal, and more.

When you have a disaster or water emergency call us at SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen, your trusted leader for restoration services, 24 hours, 7 days a week to restore your home or business. We are centrally located, and you will receive an immediate response. Faster to any size disaster. Make it "Like it never even happened."

Top Things to Know About Mold

9/22/2022 (Permalink)

We’ve all have seen mold before. Whether it’s in a bathroom, on an exterior wall, in the fridge on some food, or other damp areas; we’ve all experienced mold before. While many people are quite familiar with mold and battling it in their Lockport, Lemont, or Homer Glen home, most may not know everything about this nuisance. In this blog, we go over some of the top things most people may not know about mold in their businesses and homes.

Mold Is Practically Everywhere

Mold at it’s smallest form travels as microscopic spores through the air we breathe. It is in the air outside our home and inside our home. There is no simple way to remove all traces of mold from your home. It is naturally occurring and exists everywhere. While there is very little you can do to keep mold spores from entering your home, you can take steps to keep those spores from colonizing and growing into a bigger and more visible mold growth problem. Keep the air circulating throughout your home and eliminate any moisture problems.

Mold Can Grow In Many Places

The key to mold growth is moisture and organic material. In the home, organic material can include carpeting, wood framing materials, drywall, cardboard boxes, clothes, wallpaper, and furniture. In the forest, mold grows or feeds off of dead organic matter like dead trees and fallen leaves. Mold can also grow from the dust on a concrete floor or in your air ducts. If there is organic material and moisture present, mold will find a way to grow.

Moisture is Mold’s Best Friend

While you can’t eliminate organic material from your home, you can take away the fuel that causes mold growth -- moisture and standing water. The reason why you will often find mold in basements, bathrooms, and crawl spaces is because that is where you also tend to find moisture in the air. Since mold spores and organic material are present in most environments, including homes and businesses, it is just a matter of introducing moisture to cause mold to grow.

In basements, you can reduce the moisture with a dehumidifier, In a crawl space, you can line the bare ground with a moisture barrier lock i.e. plastic sheeting. With bathrooms, you can make sure to keep the exhaust fan on when showering and leave the bathroom door open afterward to allow the moisture to dissipate.

If you should have a basement flood or a roof leak or a broken water pipe, it’s important to get the water and the moisture out quickly to inhibit mold growth. Since water can get into areas that may not be so easy to dry, most homeowners and businesses contact a water damage restoration and mold remediation company, like SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen. They have the equipment and the expertise to remove all of the water and all of the moisture and treat the areas to prevent mold from taking hold. If mold growth has occurred, they can also remediate the mold and eliminate the moisture problem.

Mold Has a Distinct Smell

Mold can’t always be spotted with the naked eye. Sometimes it is hidden underneath or deep within carpets. Sometimes it starts inside walls or in air ducts or in other hidden and unseen areas of your home. If you don’t see the mold occurring, the other tell-tale sign of the presence of mold in your home is the smell of mold. Mold has a distinct musty smell that many may acquaint with a basement or crawl space or wet forest. The smell is the result of the mold eating and metabolizing the organic material it is feeding off of. The material can include most organic matter like wood, carpeting, clothes, cardboard boxes, drywall, and furniture. In the forest, mold feeds off dead organic matter like fallen trees and dead leaves.

Call the Mold Remediation Professionals

If the mold should get out of hand or you discover mold growth in your basement or crawlspace, call the mold remediation experts at SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen. They have the expertise and equipment to safely remove and remediate your mold problem. If your home should suffer flooding or water damage, it’s important to quickly remove the water and moisture to reduce or eliminate potential mold growth. SERVPRO can also help homeowners and business owners out with water damage restoration. Give them a call any time and any day for your water damage and mold problems.

24 Hour Response. Here to Help.

9/21/2022 (Permalink)

Here at SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen, we are available 24 hours a day for water emergencies, large or small. So, when you are dealing with water damage, immediate action is crucial. A delay of just a few hours can greatly increase the severity of the water damage.

We understand when you call, you may be feeling confused, stressed, and vulnerable. You need an expert to guide you through. SERVPRO has the specific water damage training and experience to help you through this tough time. We specialize in water damage restoration as the cornerstone of our business.

When you call, you can expect several questions from us regarding your water damage emergency. These questions will help us determine what equipment and resources to bring, including how many trained SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen technicians may be needed.

Here are some of the questions you may be asked:

              Your name and contact information

              Your insurance information (if applicable)

              The street address of the water-damaged home or business

              When did the flooding or water damage occur?

              What caused the water damage (if known)?

              Is there electricity available (on-site)?

We specialize in the cleanup and restoration of residential and commercial property after a fire, smoke or water damage event. Our staff is highly trained in property damage restoration. From initial and ongoing training at SERVPRO's corporate training facility to regular IICRC-industry certification, rest assured our staff is equipped with the knowledge to restore your property.

How to protect you home against flooding

9/13/2022 (Permalink)

Flash Flood Warning-- the alert that many of us dread. By calling SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and homer Glen, we can help make it "Like it never even happened."

How to Protect Your Property:

• Keep insurance policies, important documents and other valuables in a safe-deposit box. Make sure you store them where it's least likely to be damaged by a flood.
• Raise your furnace, water heater and electric panel to higher floors if there are areas in your home that are capable of being flooded. 
• Install check valves in building sewer traps to prevent flood water from backing up into the drains of your home. 
• Seal walls in basements with waterproofing elements to avoid leakage through cracks. 

Kitchen Fire Damage Prevention

9/13/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen understands the importance of keeping families and loved ones safe. According to the NFPA, “House fire claims over the five years have caused $6.9 billion  in property damage.” SERVPRO is dedicated to being a resource when you need us most. We want to make sure that our community is taking all the precautions necessary to prevent house fires. The following are tips to avoid fire damage in the kitchen.

Kitchen Fire Damage Safety

• When cooking food, stay at home and keep an eye on it.
• Keep children away from the kitchen when you are cooking
• Avoid food and grease buildup on cooking surfaces
• Solvents and flammable cleaners should be kept away from hot surfaces.
• Never store fuel in your home or business.
• Check that no electric cords from your appliances are hanging from the counters.

Smoke Detectors

• Replace smoke detectors every six months.
• Check the status of your smoke alarms.
• Plan a fire escape strategy for family members including pets.

In the event of fire or smoke damage, please contact SERVPRO of Lockport, Lemont, and Homer Glen to help restore your home or property. Our certified technicians focus on helping you restore your home to the pre-fire condition you know and love. If you have any questions about what we do after fire damage or need help recovering from a fire damage incident, give us a call at any time. 

Make Your Business, Our Business

6/30/2022 (Permalink)

Is your business prepared? From a burst pipe in an office building to faulty wiring in an apartment complex – fire and water losses are never planned, but they do happen. SERVPRO of Aurora, Illinois professionals know there is no such thing as a small emergency when it threatens the welfare of the tenants and the revenue of the property owner.

 During a loss, your objective is to focus on your customers and ours is to focus on your restoration needs. Our quick response and trained professionals may help avoid revenue loss for property owners and minimize inconvenience to tenants. SERVPRO of Aurora, Illinois can help you resume normal business functions quickly. We are available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and we will work hard to restore your property and its contents to preloss condition. Call 630-862-3930.

How To Address Mold In Your Home

6/29/2022 (Permalink)

A mold infestation can grow in any room of a house, including bathrooms, kitchens, and living rooms. It usually appears as a series of splotches or streaks across walls and ceilings but can sometimes be hidden behind walls or underneath cabinets. In many cases, there will also be a musty odor that is the first telltale sign to a homeowner there may be a problem. Once you realize you have mold, it’s important to find the cause of mold in your home and address it.

How mold can damage your home

Mold damage is not just a visual or cosmetic problem. It also causes permanent damage to materials such as drywall, furniture, and whatever else it comes in contact with. It can lead to permanent staining or even deterioration of materials. Knowing how to combat the damage and prevent further problems requires a company trained in remediation and restoration of mold in the structure and personal property. SERVPRO mold remediation technicians have extensive experience and training to help homeowners suffering from mold damage.

How SERVPRO finds and addresses mold

When addressing mold damage, the first task is to control the mold at its source. We set up containment around the affected area using heavy plastic sheeting to cover entrances and exit, sealing the vents to prevent mold from spreading through the ductwork. Technicians may also set up special machines to reduce the number of airborne spores while they remove mold from the affected area.

Next, we remove the contamination in the home. Any structural or personal property item that cannot be cleaned is disposed of. Homeowners are alerted when this is necessary. Before moving any compromised item out of the contained area, our technicians clean it using vacuums with HEPA filters, dry wiping with sponges or cloths, and using anti-fungal and anti-microbial cleaning agents, all to prevent further spread

3 Types of Water Damages

6/28/2022 (Permalink)

THERE ARE 3 BASIC CATEGORIES OF WATER Category 1: Clean water originates from a sanitary source such as a broken pipe, or other water source; rainwater is also considered clean and poses no substantial risk from dermal, ingestion, or inhalation exposure. However, it may not always remain clean after it meets other surfaces or materials. Category 2: Gray water is used to classify slightly contaminated water and has the potential to cause discomfort or sickness if contacted or consumed by humans. It may contain potentially unsafe levels of microorganisms or nutrients for microorganisms, as well as other organic or inorganic matter (chemical or biological). Category 3: Black water is highly contaminated and filled with pathogenic, toxigenic or other harmful agents. Such water sources may carry silt, organic matter, pesticides, heavy metals, regulated materials, or toxic organic substances. Black water is typically caused by sewage damage, flooding or any type of natural disaster; Black water should always be handled by trained professionals.

THE 4 PRIMARY CLASSIFICATIONS OF WATER DAMAGE

• Class 1 is the least amount of water, absorption and evaporation. It affects only part of a room or area, or larger areas containing materials that have absorbed minimal moisture. Little or no wet carpet and/or cushion is present.
• Class 2 involves a large amount of water, absorption and evaporation. It affects at least an entire room of carpet and cushion (pad). Water has wicked up walls less than 24 inches. There is moisture remaining in structural materials and substructure soil.
• Class 3 involves the greatest amount of water, absorption and evaporation. Water may have come from overhead.  Ceilings, walls, insulation, carpet, cushions and subfloor in virtually all the entire area is saturated.
• Class 4 relates to specialty drying situations. Wet materials with very low permeance/porosity (eg. hardwood, plaster, brick, concrete, light-weight concrete and stone). Typically, there are deep pockets of saturation, which require very low specific humidity. These types of losses may require longer drying times and special methods.

We have the knowledge, experience and proper equipment to locate any hidden moisture lurking out of sight and clean up water damage of any size and get it done right the first time.

Moisture sensors, which are used to detect moisture in carpets, baseboards and walls. We have moisture meters that we use to test the actual moisture content of materials. The meters allow our technicians to accurately monitor the drying process. Our team also has thermohygrometers on hand to measure temperature and relative humidity, which ensures techs can calculate and create an environment that is most conducive to drying.

SERVPRO of Aurora - Working With Clients and Insurance Reps

6/21/2022 (Permalink)

Making, Processing and Settling an Insurance Claim

Several features set SERVPRO apart from other mitigation and restoration companies. These distinctions should be clear to an insurance adjuster as well as homeowners. Here are four ways this company facilitates the process of making, processing and settling an insurance claim.

1. Fast Response A fast response on the part of a mitigation and restoration company benefits clients and insurers. The sooner that damage can be professionally assessed, the sooner mitigation can start. A call response time of one hour, a four hour window for an on-site visit and an eight hour window for a verbal briefing can limit extensive primary and secondary damage.

2. Accurate Estimates A company can make more accurate estimates by hiring certified professionals, relying on a national network of locations for training and maintaining data on locations. An insurance adjuster can use the Claims Information Center to obtain information about individual estimates and compare different companies, causes of loss and job files costs. All of this data adds up to more accurate estimates that account for mitigation and restoration.

3. All-In-One Service Rather than working with separate mitigation and restoration companies, clients and insurers may prefer a one-stop shop. A company that handles the damage remediation process from start to finish can provide a more accurate estimate from the start. There will also be less need to worry about adjusting schedules or necessary tasks getting lost in the shuffle.

4. Electronic Claims Service In addition to the aggregated data available through an electronic claims service, this portal can also make it easy for a restoration service and insurer to share information. This resource can speed up insurance claim processing and allow for faster settlements. All of these are ways in which SERVPRO, a national mitigation and restoration company with local and regional franchises, can support insurers and clients. Whether you are an insurance adjuster or homeowner in the Aurora area, you should consider hiring this Preferred Vendor for the best results.

SERVPRO of Aurora Faster To Your Disaster

6/16/2022 (Permalink)

Being an industry leader with more than 1,400 franchises strong in cleanup and restoration, SERVPRO is equipped to handle any cleanup or restoration job no matter how large or small. With SERVPRO's Storm Response Team, SERVPRO of Aurora, Illinois has access to vast resources at its disposal to help with any situation.

When a natural disaster sweeps through a region, whether it's a wildfire, blizzard, flood, tornado or hurricane; SERVPRO of Aurora, Illinois Franchise Professionals knows your family can't afford to wait for your home to be restored to preloss condition. Every hour of unmitigated damage can cause more damage to your home or business and more stress and trauma to you or your family.

When disaster strikes, you need help, and you need it now. If the unthinkable happens and a natural disaster strikes your area, you can be sure SERVPRO of Aurora, Illinois will be there, working to make it "Like it never even happened." Call 630-862-3930.