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Home » Blog » Chicago Disaster Restoration » Restore or Replace: A Disaster Restoration Guide for Chicago Residents

Restore or Replace: A Disaster Restoration Guide for Chicago Residents

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    ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons Provides Disaster Restoration in Chicago

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    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.

    Author

    • Nasutsa Mabwa

      Nasutsa Mabwa is the CEO of ServiceMaster by Simons, a MBE/WBE City of Chicago and State of Illinois certified firm. She is a 2020 Daily Herald Business Ledger C-Suite awardee, a member of Crain’s Chicago Business 40 under 40 and a 2018 ServiceMaster(c) Achiever Award recipient. She is a Civic Federation Board Member, an Advisory Board Member, and Past President of the Executive Committee for the Evanston Chamber of Commerce. She is IICRC certified for WRT & FSRT.

      About ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons
      Restoration By Simons is an MBE/WBE certified firm and family-run company serving Northern Cook County, Northern DuPage County, and Lake County Illinois. Recently, the company was awarded a variety of honors, including the 2024 Chicago Star Award, SB100 Best of Small Business Award Winner 2021, Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, recipient of the 2020 Better Business Bureau's Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, and the recipient of the 2020 Skokie Business of the Year Award, Honorable Mention Category. Restoration By Simons provides disaster restoration services including water and flood damage restoration, fire and smoke damage restoration, mold remediation, to residential and commercial customers in DuPage, Cook, and Lake Counties IL.

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