Flood Specialists: Water Damage Cleanup & Restoration News

Water Damage Restoration Specialists News

Chicago Water Damage Victims Know - Do You?

- 2012-01-31 09:32:33

People remember their phone numbers, address, how to tie their shoes, and how to get to the office. But when people need to remember to maintain their homes, or at least check for potential problems, people don't do it.

Many people last year learned the hard way that winter time is when it snows and that snow eventually melts. These same people also learned that if they didn't clean their gutters before the snow started, chances were that they'd have problems when the melting snow had no place to drain except over the side of the gutter - right into the side of their foundation, through a crack and into their basement.

Chicago water damage victims won't make that mistake twice. Instead many are spreading the word and giving helpful tips to their neighbors and friends. So, if you have a wet basement because you forgot to do a little preventative maintenance on your home, give us a call and we'll fix it.

Does Your Home Have The Proper Coverage?

- 2011-12-21 08:33:36

Many homeowners have little or no homeowners insurance. Analysis of calls to Flood Specialists shows that almost 80% of the rainstorm calls were sewage backups and/or sump pump failures. Of these a high percentage were under-insured or did not have the proper coverage to pay for cleanup and repairs.

Read Low Premium Homeowners Insurance Is Costly to learn more about this topic.

Avoid Christmas Fire Damage

- 2011-12-05 10:50:56

Every year residents of Chicago hear the stories of homes that burn to the ground because of live Christmas tree fires. Be safe this year by following some simple tips.

First, make sure you water your live Christmas tree DAILY. A 6-7 foot tree will drink at least 1-2 cups of water daily.
Check the water level daily. Some homes are very dry during the winter and the water will evaporate quickly.
Never water 'the' tree, but rather pour the water into the base that it sits in.
Never leave your home with the Christmas tree lights still on. Turn it off before you leave.
Make sure you have a smoke alarm close to your tree and you have an escape route in case it goes off. Christmas trees can virtually explode into flames before you could do anything about it.
Make sure the Christmas lights are not old and damaged. Replace them when they look worn or if you're not sure.

Merry Christmas Chicago!

Winter Water and Fire Damage Prevention

- 2011-11-02 12:25:56

If you thought the only time water damage could happen was during severe summer storms, you are wrong. Winter can be just as bad or be the cause for Springtime issues. Winter is also a popular time for fires.

There a few things you can do to prevent winter water & fire damage.

Make sure you change your furnace filter frequently. A clogged filter makes your furnace work harder resulting in it running more often.
Clear away anything flammable from your furnace. Keep everything at least a couple feet away.
Check your smoke alarms and replace batteries. Consider a smoke detector that works on AC power and battery backup.
Disconnect, drain, and hide your garden hose in the garage.
Check your fireplace and chimney. Make sure there are no rodents or birds living there.
Get your chimney cleaned if you haven't done so in a while.

If you are not sure how to do any of these things, give us a call.

Avoid Water Damage By Winterizing

- 2011-10-23 06:26:32

The frigid temperatures of winter are slowly creeping up on us. Soon we'll have snow and ice and it will be too cold and possibly too late to winterize your home. Why would you winterize if you've never had problems in the past? The simple answer is that you may have never had a power outage during a blizzard or it hasn't gotten cold enough. Consider what happens when there is a power outage. Your home gets cold and can't keep the plumbing warm enough to keep them from freezing. Once they do, there is a good chance they will crack. When the power returns and your home heating restores the temperature in the house, the pipes will thaw and water will drain out the cracks caused by the freeze. You can avoid this mess by buying pipe insulation at your local home improvement store.

Chicago - The Windy City Also Waterlogged

- 2011-09-30 01:14:05

Chicago has broken another record by getting 41.62 inches of rain in one year. 2011 has been rough and it doesn't look like Mother Nature is going to give Chicago a break. Thursday's forecast calls for wind advisories starting at 4pm, followed by a cold front with chances of more rain and thunderstorms.

As of 7 p.m., over 27,000 customers are without power due to the weather. ComEd tweets are asking residents to report power outages while the wind advisory lasts until 5 a.m. Friday.

High winds can cause roof damage. It's a good idea to check your shingles after the winds die down. Missing shingles can result in roof leaks when it starts raining. With all the rain lately, the ground in your area can be saturated and create a dangerous situation if you have large trees. Trees, saturated soil, and high winds can result in fallen trees.

Contact Flood Specialists, Inc. for storm damage, flooding, and water damage services.

Flood Specialists, Inc. Helps VA Water Damage Company

- 2011-09-22 03:28:15

Flood Specialists, Inc. recently flew to Virginia to assess the magnitude of Hurricane Irene water damage and to see how several water damage companies in the area were handling cleanup. These companies requested supplies and equipment because of the shortage of equipment in the area. However, Flood Specialists, Inc. felt the amount requested was on the light side. After arriving to the job sites, President of Flood Specialists, Inc. M. Majewski ordered more equipment to be delivered to these companies so they could complete their work more efficiently and get the people of Virginia back to normal living conditions.

Flood Specialists, Inc. is equipped with one of the largest stockpiles of water damage equipment in the state of Illinois and is able to handle not only Chicagoland but other cities and states as well.

Certified Crime Scene Cleaning

- 2011-09-09 00:06:02

Flood Specialists, Inc. is certified to cleanup crime scenes and remove biohazard waste in the state of Illinois. The type of cleaning/removal includes but not limited to blood and other bodily fluids, evidence-gathering chemicals, tear gas, pepper spray residues, graffiti, and drug lab disassembly and cleaning. All work follows Federal and State guidelines.

Flood Specialists, Inc. Completes Local Pages

- 2011-09-08 22:47:38

Flood Specialists, Inc. has completed the creation of local pages for Illinois cities where Flood Specialists provides service to regularly. These pages currently contain info about their community, the water damage services available to them, as well as links to their community resources. Anyone who has a website that is beneficial to their community, is welcome to submit their site for inclusion on the local pages.

Winter Weather Preparation

- 2011-09-07 12:23:12

This time of year in Chicagoland we get excited about the beautiful weather. It's not too hot, it's not too cold. And it doesn't rain as much. The summer thunderstorms are quickly forgotten and we start thinking about Halloween costumes for our young children. Soon after, we are debating where we'll be having Thanksgiving dinner. Will it be at Uncle Bob's house, Aunt Jane's or will we treat this year? And before you know it you're busy buying gifts for Christmas, wrapping them, and hiding them from your kids. Can you help it with all the stuff in the stores, the decorations, constant reminders, and the fluffy snowflakes that dust your lawn?

It's no surprise though, that many homeowners and companies forget to think about protecting their property from winter storms. By the time you realize it, you have two feet of snow in your driveway. Most will shovel or snow-blow a path to their cars or garages but the rest of the snow waits for the sun to melt it away. Many of you will remember the amount of water that resulted from the snow melt and what it did to your basements. So, these tips are primarily for those who have problems in the winter time.

Older homes typically have cracks in the foundation. Shovel as much snow away from your home as possible so it doesn't melt and flow into your basement.
Make sure your basement temperature doesn't drop below freezing. Your pipes could burst while you sleep. If you have to, wrap any exposed pipes with pipe insulation from your local hardware store.
If you know your shingles are due to be replaced, don't wait for winter snow to help you change your mind. Emergency roof repairs like that are very expensive. Get it done before it's too cold.
Clear out your gutters before the first snow after all the leaves have fallen. This will allow the snow on your roof to flow properly and away from your home.
Finally, watch the humidity in your home. If it gets too humid, your windows will sweat and could soak drywall, wood and inside your walls. So when Spring comes, not only will you have flowers growing again, but mold too.

So, if you need to get your home or business ready for winter, give us a call at (847) 266-7100 or (773) 248-8200 or (708) 707-6200 or visit our website to see how we can help.

Water Damage Addison, IL

- 2011-09-06 11:08:18

Flood Specialists, Inc. has created a local page for Addison, IL. This page currently contains info about their town, the water damage services available to them, as well as links to community resources. Anyone in the Addison community who would like to add a link to their website is welcome to submit their request on the local page.

Water Damage News

- 2011-09-02 00:55:57

Flood Specialists, Inc. has added a news feed into their website which will allow homeowners and business to get up to the minute news and water damage education from the field. When restoration technicians encounter situations that could have been avoided, they will now be able to send this info directly to their website. Why would a company do this? Isn't this pushing business away? Actually, it's a way of teaching homeowners what is water damage and what is not. There are too many trips made to homes that we really shouldn't have been called for. So by educating homeowners about restoration is, we are saving them time and money as well as keeping our technicians where they belong... cleaning water damage.

New Local Water Damage Pages

- 2011-09-01 20:42:47

Flood Specialists now has local pages for each city it provides water damage restoration services to. These local pages not only provide homeowners with valuable information about our services but they also provide info about the town they live in. It's a work in progress and we're always looking for ways to help our community. So submit your local websites today and we'll add it to your local page.

Equipment and Technicians enroute to help Hurricane Victims

- 2011-08-28 17:28:34

Flood Specialists, Inc. today sent several technicians and equipment to help in the cleanup and restoration effort in North Carolina. The news from sites is that much is flooded and in need water removal. More information will be posted when it becomes available.

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