What To Do If Your Home In Chicago Is Damaged By A Flood

7/15/2019 (Permalink)

If flood waters have ruined your property, call SERVPRO of Marquette Park / West Lawn / Ford City for effective cleanup services.

A Guide To Handling Flood Damage In Your Chicago Residence

Flooding is common in Chicago, and according to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 90 percent of flood damage claims are for locations outside the mapped 100-year floodplain. Urban flooding can happen when water from a heavy downpour overwhelm the local drainage system, resulting in water pooling in yards and streets, entering houses through the foundation and backing up from sewers into streets and basements.

Dealing with significant flood damage in your Chicago residence can be overwhelming, and you may not know where to begin the flood cleanup efforts. To prevent further destruction to the contents of your property, remove movable items that can soak water quickly like clothing, furniture, bedding, and non-permanent carpeting to prevent mold growth.

It is also imperative to document the destruction by taking photographs of your house. This can eliminate disputes between you and your insurance provider over which items sustained damage and which repairs have been completed. Like with other major property damage, alert your insurance firm immediately after floodwater enters your house. A representative of the insurance provider can analyze the damage and inform you about the coverage you can get based on the evaluation.

The other essential step to take is contacting flood cleanup company such as SERVPRO to extract the water, clean up and sanitize your property and its contents. Our technicians can assess the damage and provide you with an estimate and our remediation plan. Our Water Restoration Technicians (WRT) have the resources and expertise to handle your emergency. We begin the water removal process speedily to contain the loss and ensure it does not spread to other areas of your property and cause more significant damage.

The water can disintegrate wallboard, rot wood, ruin many types of insulation, and compromise electrical wiring. We can use pumps or wet/dry vacuums to extract the water so that your house can dry faster. Mold can grow within 48 hours after the incident, potentially causing health effects to your family and producing a lingering musty scent. Most molds need lots of moisture to grow, but some survive in relative humidities as low as 65%. Our technicians maintain indoor relative humidity below 60 percent to reduce mold growth. We can use different air movers and dehumidifiers to dry your property.

Floodwater is usually a toxic mixture of water, household chemicals, pesticides, and gasoline, among other substances. Our SERVPRO technicians can use antimicrobial products to decontaminate your home. We can complete every aspect of the flood damage cleanup process to your satisfaction. Our technicians can also rebuild the structures that water has ruined.

If flood waters have ruined your property, call SERVPRO of Marquette Park / West Lawn / Ford City for effective cleanup services. You can reach at (773) 337-3993. We’re Faster to Any Size Disaster.

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