The Significance of Documenting Your Home Inventory for Insurance Purposes

9/5/2023 (Permalink)

In a recent incident, one of our clients experienced a fire in their home. As the first responders on the scene, SERVPRO® provided immediate assistance by boarding up the property, conducting exterior cleanup and safety measures, safeguarding sentimental and valuable items, and assessing which items could be salvaged and which were irreparable.

This particular event underscored the crucial importance of maintaining a comprehensive and accurate home inventory. Without such documentation, it would have been significantly more challenging for the client to determine the extent of their losses and file an insurance claim.

A home inventory is essentially a detailed record of all the belongings in your home, accompanied by their estimated values. It can be as simple as a spreadsheet or a more elaborate document containing itemized descriptions and accompanying photographs.

The advantages of maintaining a home inventory are manifold. Here are a few notable benefits:

• Minimizing the stress associated with filing an insurance claim after experiencing a loss or damage.
• Ensuring a more precise insurance settlement by providing concrete evidence of the value of your belongings.
• Facilitating the tracking of your possessions over time, making it easier to keep tabs on them.
• Simplifying the process of donating or selling unwanted items by providing a comprehensive overview of your belongings.

Creating a home inventory can be accomplished through various methods, including using a spreadsheet, a dedicated home inventory app, or even a video recording.

To assist you in creating an effective home inventory, consider the following tips:

• Begin by listing all the rooms in your home.
• For each room, catalog the major items such as furniture, appliances, and electronics.
• Include the following information for each item: item name, description, estimated value, serial number (if applicable), and date of purchase.
• Take photographs of each item to supplement the written inventory.
• Store your home inventory in a secure location, such as a fireproof safe or a cloud storage service.

Remember to regularly update your home inventory, especially after making significant purchases or modifications to your home. This practice ensures that your inventory remains accurate and up-to-date at all times.

If you have yet to create a home inventory, we strongly encourage you to take action today. It is a straightforward yet invaluable measure that safeguards both you and your belongings in the event of a loss.

Consider these additional tips for documenting your home inventory:

• Strive for meticulous detail by including as much information as possible.
• Note the specific location of each item to facilitate quick retrieval in case of loss or damage.
• Utilize photographs and videos to provide visual evidence of ownership and value for potential insurance claims.
• Store your home inventory in a secure manner, whether it be a fireproof safe, a cloud storage service, or a USB drive.

By following these guidelines, you can create a comprehensive home inventory that offers crucial protection and peace of mind in the face of potential loss.

Does Your Elmhurst Home Have A Mold Problem?

9/5/2023 (Permalink)

Microscopic mold spores naturally occur almost everywhere, both outdoors and indoors. This makes it impossible to remove all mold from a home or business. Therefore, mold remediation reduces the mold spore count back to its natural or baseline level. Some restoration businesses advertise “mold removal” and even guarantee to remove all mold, which is a fallacy. Consider the following mold facts:

• Mold is present almost everywhere, indoors and outdoors.
• Mold spores are microscopic and float along in the air and may enter your home through windows, doors, or AC/heating systems or even hitch a ride indoors on your clothing or a pet.
• Mold spores thrive on moisture. Mold spores can quickly grow into colonies when exposed to water. These colonies may produce health effects.
• Before mold remediation can begin, any sources of water or moisture must be addressed. Otherwise, the mold may return.
• Mold often produces a strong, musty odor and can lead you to possible mold problem areas.
• Even higher-than-normal indoor humidity can support mold growth. Keep indoor humidity below 45 percent.

If your home or business has a mold problem, we can inspect and assess your property and use our specialized training, equipment, and expertise to remediate your mold infestation.

If You See Signs of Mold, Call Us Today – (630) 758-1701

SERVPRO compares to none.

8/11/2023 (Permalink)

“To develop a team of quality people who focus on excellent service, fairness, and mutual respect.” This is our mission statement. We get to help people through a tough time. For more than half a century, the compass guiding us has remained the same — serving others professionally. Our mission, vision, and purpose steer our actions and decisions as we continually evolve and grow.

SERVPRO of Elmhurst specializes in storm and surge harm reclamation. Our groups are profoundly prepared, and we utilize specialized gear to reestablish your property to its pre-storm condition.

Speedier Reaction

Since we are locally possessed and worked, we are ready to reply faster with the correct assets, which is amazingly imperative. A quick reaction reduces the harm, limits advance harm, and decreases the reclamation fetched.

Assets to Handle Surges and Storms

When storms hit Elmhurst, IL arrive zone, ready to scale our assets to handle a huge storm or flooding fiasco. Able to get to gear and staff from a organize of 1,650 Establishments over the nation and tip top Catastrophe Recuperation Groups that are deliberately found all through the Joined together States.

Have Storm or Surge Harm? Call Us Now (630) 758-1701

Helpful Tips After Experiencing a Home or Property Fire

8/8/2023 (Permalink)

A home or property fire can be a very scary and traumatic experience. It can leave you feeling nervous, panicked, and overwhelmed and the feeling isn’t over yet. The aftermath of the fire can leave you just as anxious if you don’t know what to do. Fortunately, as fire damage restoration experts we understand what you might be feeling, and we’re here to help. In this blog post, we will provide you with helpful tips to navigate the aftermath of a fire, guiding you towards a swift recovery with the reliable assistance of SERVPRO.

Ensure your safety.

• Take care and depart from your abode without delay.
• Request medical assistance if needed.

To ensure the safe entry of your property, contact the local fire department.

• Assess the damage.
• After the fire has sparked, assess the damage. Obtain photographs or videos for insurance claims purposes.

 Secure valuable belongings such as ID papers, jewelry, and crucial documents in a secure place.

• Contact your insurance provider.
• Make sure to inform your insurance provider about the fire immediately. Take note of all discussions and communications with your insurance provider for future reference.

Secure the property.

• Be vigilant and prevent any potential harm to your property. Board up windows, tarp or cover roof damage and secure any openings.
• Emergency services, such as temporary board ups and roof tarping, are available from SERVPRO to avoid further damage.

 Request for expert fire damage restoration services.

• Call SERVPRO for a fire damage assessment and plan of action for restoration.
• SERVPRO uses state-of the art equipment and restoration techniques to efficiently clean, deodorize and restore your property.
• Reduce the impact of smoke and dust. Using SERVPRO's advanced equipment, you can remove smoke, soot, and smells from your property and restore it to its pre-fire state. We thoroughly clean affected surfaces, furnishings and HVAC systems ensuring smoke and soot are removed.

Deal with Water Damage:

• During firefighting, water can cause significant harm. Our experts use state-of-the-art equipment, such as dehumidifiers and air movers, to completely dry out the affected areas and prevent mold growth.

Conclusion:

Recovering from a home or property fire requires professional expertise and guidance. SERVPRO is here to help you during this challenging time. Our dedicated team of professionals will work with compassion, efficiency, and expertise to restore your property to its pre-fire condition. Contact SERVPRO today, and let us handle the restoration process, allowing you to focus on rebuilding your life.

September is National Preparedness Month

9/1/2022 (Permalink)

September is National Preparedness Month (NPM). NPM is FEMA's national annual preparedness outreach. It is managed and sponsored by FEMA's Ready Campaign. The Ready Campaign, in conjunction with the Ad Council, aims to educate and empower Americans during NPM and through the year to prepare for and respond to all types of emergencies, including natural disasters and potential terrorist attacks. National Preparedness Month culminates on September 30th with National Preparedness Day, the National Day of Action. The theme for 2022 is: A Lasting Legacy. The life you've built is worth protecting. Prepare for disasters to create a lasting legacy for you and your family. SERVPRO® is proud to spotlight National Preparedness Month this year. By doing so, we want to make sure you are prepared in case of a disaster? whether natural or man-made. If you haven't taken the time to think about how different disasters could affect you, then we challenge you to take the necessary steps to become informed and develop an emergency plan for before, during, and after an event for yourself and your family. IN THIS ISSUE of the Restoration Newsline:

• Why is NPM observed in September?

• What 2 states experience the most tornadoes?

• Preparedness steps that could save your life

• What to include in an emergency supply kit We must work together to ensure that our families, businesses, places of worship, and neighborhoods are ready for the unthinkable.

Begin preparing vital information now so you can address the unique needs of your business during an emergency situation. Contact your local SERVPRO® team of professionals to find out more preparedness planning tips and how you can minimize business interruption with SERVPRO's Emergency READY Profile®.

How SERVPRO work directly with your insurance

8/31/2022 (Permalink)

When a disaster strikes your property, it is important to know who to call! SERVPRO of La Grange Park / North Riverside, Arlington Heights/Prospect Height, and Elmhurst is highly trained and experienced in disaster restoration and cleanup. Our team is the trusted leader in the restoration and cleaning industry, and we offer a wide variety of services for your residential and commercial properties. Water damage, fire damage, and mold damage don't stand a chance against our team! Locally owned and operated, we are dedicated to being "Faster to any size disaster!" Available 24 hours a day, days a week for your emergency.

When you experience an unexpected disaster in your home, you may not know how to handle it. After the shock is over, your first thoughts are “what am I going to do?” and  “How am I going to pay for this?”. These are two very common questions homeowners ask themselves given the high cost of repairing water, fire, mold or trauma damage. Good news for you, our team of professionals is here to help eliminate that concern.

Here at SERVPRO of La Grange Park / North Riverside, Arlington Heights/Prospect Height, and Elmhurst set ourselves apart from other restoration companies with our seamless design to work directly with most insurance companies while keeping property owners in the loop. Our dedicated team of professionals understands the insurance industry. From knowing how the claims process works, to getting your claim submitted and your repairs documented correctly. One major advantage we use is our advanced technology that allows us to perform very accurate estimates with detailed reports on replacements. Many of our team members have worked directly with insurance agents and adjusters.

As one of the largest restoration and damage remediation companies in the country, we work with hundreds of insurance companies to help our customers get their claims processed quickly and fairly. Many insurance companies know that SERVPRO handles losses professionally and often recommend us to their policyholders.

If you have any questions or are in need of emergency services, don't hesitate and give our SERVPRO of La Grange Park / North Riverside, Arlington Heights/Prospect Height, and Elmhurst team a call!  

What to do after a Home or Commercial Property Fire!

6/24/2022 (Permalink)

Experiencing a Home or Commercial Property fire can be a very traumatic experience and leave you feeling overwhelmed and confused. SERVPRO understands the anxiety that comes when a water or fire damage event hits your home or business. Our professionally trained staff is accustomed to handling these emergencies, and we strive to minimize the disruption for you so you can get back to normal life, soon. We’re a trusted leader in fire and water cleanup, restoration services, pathogen, and biohazard cleaning, and more. Our experience in this service allows us you help understand and answer some of the questions you may have and leave you with some insightful tips. The following is a list of tips we believe will help us through a difficult experience.

Call for Help

This may seem obvious for some but in the case of panic, your mind may be in a state of stress and confusion. Remove yourself from immediate danger and call for help. In the case of an emergency first responders are trained professionals with experience in dangerous situations Getting out of the home or property and seeking help from your first responder may be detrimental to saving others and your own life.

Take a moment to collect your thoughts

A backdraft of emotions often sweeps over the homeowners after a fire ravages a home. Fear, uncertainty, stress and doubt about the future of the property can overwhelm the homeowner long after the flames have extinguished, and the smoke has cleared. Once the first responders have arrived and you are no longer in immediate danger, take a moment. Understand that you may have just undergone a traumatic experience. Take a deep breath and take a moment to gather your thoughts. Taking a moment to collect your thoughts and clear your mind you may be able to better assist and communicate with your first responders. Help the first responders to answer questions they may have such as the number of individuals on or in the property and the cause of the fire. Help the first responders to make sure all individuals are safe. People and animals that are injured may need to be transported to a hospital or veterinarian for immediate help.

Contact your property manager or Insurance Agent

Contact your property manager to let them know what has transpired. Your property manager may have essential resources to help, such as new or temporary housing. Your property manager may also need to collect information from you to file an insurance claim. Contact your insurance company immediately. Insurance companies may take some time to process claims and the quicker that you are, the better. Many insurance companies face casualty losses such as fires and have national accounts with professional restoration companies. Such as SERVPRO, utilize highly trained and skilled technicians alongside advanced technologies to get your home back together “Like it never even happened”

Secure your property ad Call a reputable restoration company

Many restoration companies such as SERVPRO have emergency response teams that are available 24/7. Depending on the damage the company to come to your home and begin as soon as the fire department allows. When it is safe they will secure the property, and start pumping out water and drying material to reduce water damage and mold infestation. Restoration companies such as SERVPRO will help you understand the true damages of your property.

The first 48 hours after fire damage can make the difference between restoring and replacing your property and personal belongings. SERVPRO franchise professionals can help prevent fire damage from creating long-term problems. SERVPRO franchise professionals provide timely response with mitigation services ranging from fire, smoke, and soot removal to contents claims inventory and document restoration. These services help ensure your property, belongings, and memories are restored to preloss condition when possible. Here are a few tips you might be able to do until help arrives

• Limit movement in the home to prevent soot particles from spreading and additional damage from occurring.
• Place clean towels or old linens on rugs and high traffic areas and upholstery.
• Coat chrome faucets, trim, and appliances with petroleum jelly or oil.
• Place aluminum foil or wood blocks between furniture legs and wet carpet.
• Do not wash any walls or painted surfaces.
• Do not shampoo carpet or upholstery.
• Do not clean any electrical equipment.
• Do not send clothing to a dry cleaner since improper cleaning may set up smoke odor.

Building Safety Month

5/3/2022 (Permalink)

Building Safety Month is an international campaign that takes place annually in the month of May to raise awareness about building safety, according to the International Code Council (ICC) website. This increasingly popular campaign reinforces the need for the adoption of modern, regularly updated building codes, and help individuals, families and businesses understand what it takes to create safe and sustainable structures. This initiative is presented by the International Code Council, a nonprofit association that is focused on building safety worldwide. The Code Council provides a wide range of building safety solutions and develops codes and standards used around the world to construct safe, sustainable, affordable, and resilient structures. All communities need building codes to protect their citizens from disasters like fires, weather-related events such as flooding, and structural collapse. Model building codes, adopted and enforced by well-trained professional code officials, are society's best way of protecting homes, offices, schools, manufacturing facilities, stores, and entertainment venues. The theme for this year's campaign is Safety for All: Building Codes In Action. Regularly updated codes and a strong system of strict code enforcement ensures that individuals and communities are safe in the buildings where they live, work, and play. This campaign is supported by four core themes that will be highlighted throughout the month:

Week 1: Planning for a Safe & Sustainable Tomorrow

Week 2: Exploring Careers in Building Safety

Week 3: Understanding Disaster Mitigation

Week 4: Creating a Safe & Abundant Water Supply To learn more about the weekly themes, check out iccsafe.org.

You can help spread the word about Building Safety Month, the importance of building safety, and the role of code officials with your community! Use the hashtag #BuildingSafety365 to join the global conversation on social media. As always, if your residential or commercial property suffers from structural damage, call your local SERVPRO franchise professionals to help make it "Like it never even happened.®" 

SERVPRO’s Higher Standard of Cleaning

4/5/2022 (Permalink)

SERVPRO has been helping our community for over 50 years so it should be of no surprise that when the COVID-19 pandemic began SERVPRO was quick to react to the virus. We enacted safety guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus between customers and businesses. SERVPRO has been committed to providing a safe and clean location for customers and businesses to frequent often. This has been possible through our higher stander of cleaning operations.

Did you know that 89% of consumers said they are hesitant about returning to brick-and-mortar establishments according to a recent survey? And of those, 40% say that cleanliness is a major factor for concern?

A business can look spot on clean but what about the invisible germs and pathogens that our naked eye can’t see? These hesitant consumers are talking about coronavirus, and patrons and employeeswant to feel safe and secure. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed what it means to be clean. Fortunately, SERVPRO has adapted and changed the way we clean. SERVPRO to tell everyone about a new program we are rolling out to take ourCOVID-related cleaningwork to a whole new level, or a “higher standard of clean” says our SVP & Chief Marketing Officer Mike Stahl.

Certified: SERVPRO cleaned program is a cleaning and disinfecting program. This program ensures that businesses and their patrons have been treated by SERVPRO’s best-in-class cleaning and disinfecting services. Businesses and buildings will be provided SERVPRO Certifies Cleaned decals for their windows and doors, signage for tabletops, and digital assets they can share online. This gives consumers and employees peace of mind knowing that a business or building has been treated by the #1 cleaning and restoration brand.

Springtime Storm Flooding

3/29/2022 (Permalink)

Bingley Floods Boxing Day 2015 River Aire - Ireland Bridge

Flooding, an overflowing of water that covers or submerges land that is normally dry, is the most common natural disaster in the United States. (Ready.gov/ Samhsa.gov) Although often predicable and planned for alongside “emergency declaration for evacuation, storms and floods can be occasionally unpredictable. Floods happen during heavy rains when the snow melts rapidly when dams or levees break (most notably is the New Orleans levee break killing hundreds and leaving millions homeless). Flooding can even be in relation to other natural disasters such as underwater earthquakes causing tsunamis and hurricanes.

Flash floods are fast-moving waters that are particularly dangerous because of the combination of destructive power and speed. Usually occurred by heavy rainfall exceeding the grounds or drainage system’s ability to absorb the water. Water flows out into streets and sidewalks making driving and walking very dangerous. These flash floods can be significantly damaging to infrastructure. Flooding can cause server damage to residential and commercial properties. Although these events can occur randomly there are ways to prepare and prevent the damaging effects of flooding.  

Preventative steps you can take in the case of a flood are unclogging drains and gutters, using sandbags to direct the flow of water, installing a backflow prevention device, and getting a sump pump. A sump pump is a submersible device installed in a sump pit dug at the lowest point of your house such as the basement and used as a sort of drain. installed If your residential or commercial property suffers from flood damage, call your local SERVPRO franchise professionals to help make it “Like it never even happened”