Restore or Replace: A Disaster Restoration Guide for Chicago Residents

ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons Provides Disaster Restoration in Chicago

Disaster can strike Chicago at any time. There is always a slight risk for businesses and homes that fire damage, water damage, and smoke damage may occur. After the damage has occurred, it’s hard to decide whether items in the home should be replaced or restored. How do you determine what has become a total loss and what can still be salvaged?

ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons

has a few tips to guide you through the

Chicago water damage and fire damage restoration

process.

The first step for disaster restoration in your Chicago home or business is to begin separating objects. Remove any items that haven’t been damaged to a safe place, such as an unaffected room, to prevent any contamination. After that, it’s important to separate out the damaged items in your home or office. There may be multiple types of damage from the disaster, such as fire damage from flames, smoke and soot damage from the fire, and water damage from a sprinkler system or fire department.

Smoke and soot damage is not always visible to the naked eye. Smoke can easily travel through vents and under doors, so it’s important to inspect all the rooms in your building to assess the smoke and soot damage. Two types of smoke residue may be left on objects in your home or office: a stinky, pungent residue, or a flaky powder residue. Hard surface objects are the easiest to clean after smoke damage since they can be wiped down, so they can almost always be restored. Items that have softer surfaces will be more difficult, but not impossible to repair. For permanent structures like ceilings, walls, and carpets, professionals like ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons'

disaster restoration

professionals can ensure that smoke residue and odor is completely removed from them.

Where there is smoke damage and residue, there is most likely fire damage as well. After the flames have been doused, fire damaged items beyond repair must be disposed of properly to avoid harming the environment, such as plastics and some electronics. Everything must be checked for structural damage, and electronic items should be evaluated to make sure that the sensitive parts and wires have not been melted.

Finally, water damaged items must be separated and given space to dry. Most people would assume that documents or works of art are a total loss after water damage, but ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons has the professional equipment to safely dry and restore those items that are special to you. Additionally, we can dry furniture and walls to stunt mold growth and ensure that you can keep some of your original belongings.

Before you count items in your home or office as a total loss,

give the professionals at ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons a call

. We've got the disaster restoration equipment, experience, and employees that will help you recover from this difficult time.