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January 24, 2012 – Chicago, IL
Research shows that 76% of all companies experience at least one business disruption in any five-year period, and 27% have to declare at least one disaster, meaning critical systems were disabled long enough that recovery procedures had to be executed. It’s not if a disaster will strike, it’s when it will strike and how you will be able to deal with it.
If disaster strikes, how can a business ensure
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Chicago, IL January, 20, 2012
Freezing Pipes
Water is a unique substance. As with most materials, when water cools, its density increases and it settles to the bottom of a container. However, at 32º F, it expands and, therefore, its density decreases! This is why ice floats. This expansion increases the volume of water by about 11% and creates tremendous pressure on its container (be
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One of the most stressful experiences is to have a water or fire disaster in your home. If you have, you know how difficult it can be to deal with your insurance company and all the contractors it will take to get you home back in order.
If you experience a significant water or fire loss in your home you will be required by your insurance company to provide them with a list of all your contents that were destroyed or damaged by the w
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Winter is fire season. According to the U.S. Fire Administration (USFA), the number of residential building fires peaks in December, but is collectively the highest in the three winter months of January, February and March. While cooking fires are the leading cause of all winter residential building fires, the high cost of home heating fuels and utilities have caused many homeowners to turn to wood burning stoves, space heaters and fireplaces as alternate sources of home heating, increasing the risk of home fires from those sources as well.
“No matter where you live, the winter months bring family get-togethers. Please take extra precautions to keep your families and homes safe during these high risk months.”
A combination of prevention, precautions and good old common sense can help avoid costly and often tragic residential fires. Here are some tips that all homeowners should keep in mind:
Furnace and Heater Safety Tips
Fireplace and Stove Safety Tips
Kitchen Safety Tips
Decorating Safety Tips
If a fire does break out with resulting damage to a property, contact a restoration professional immediately. On call 24 hours a day, even on holidays, we provide fast response to properties damaged by fire and smoke that can help minimize property loss, save possessions and contain insurance claims.
We are available 24/7 throughout the holiday season at 312-453-1500.
Please have a safe and happy December!
Regards,
Scott Majeski
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With the tremendous rainstorms, mold remains a concern in the Chicagoland area. I caution each of you to stay alert for signs of indoor mold.
Preventing mold growth indoors is straightforward – mold will not grow without moisture or water. But, if your walls or carpets do get wet, it’s important to dry them quickly, within two days. Even though molds are part of the natural environment and play an important role outdoors in breaking down dead organic matter like leaves and fallen trees, inside homes, it’s another story. Mold growth indoors can cause serious health problems, allergic reactions and, when left unchecked, even property damage.
The Center for Disease Control says that all molds should be removed from the indoor environment.
PuroClean offers the following tips from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to help Chicago homeowners protect their families and property from the hazards of indoor mold:
· Keep moisture out
o Keep air conditioner drip pans and drain lines clean
o Clean gutters regularly
o Make sure that the ground around your home slopes away from the foundation to keep rain water out of your house
· Keep humidity low
o Vent appliances such as clothes dryers to the outside
o Use air conditioners and/or dehumidifiers to keep indoor humidity levels below 60 percent (and ideally between 30 and 50 percent)
o Clean up spills and leaks immediately – within 24 hours
o Control condensation by putting insulation around cold water pipes, and, open your windows when practical for ventilation and air flow.
And remember: Simply removing the mold is not enough. If you don’t take care of the moisture problem that allowed the mold to grow in the first place, the mold may simply grow back.
If mold does become a problem, PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists works with environmental hygienists and laboratories to help ensure that, after remediation, your home is safe and free from harmful mold growth.
For more information about PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists, please contact me at 312-453-1500. For more information about the hazards and cleanup of indoor mold, please visit www.epa.gov\mold.
We are finally pulling the last of our equipment from our clients homes and businesses, and finally have time to reflect on the recent rains that created this surge event. I learned a few lessons from these storms and want to share them with you:
Most projects were Category 2 (standing, gray water) events. These are easily mitigated and rarely cause heavy damage. However, it only takes a few days to turn a Category 2 event into a Category 3 (standing, black water) event. Mitigation becomes much more difficult, requires additional equipment, more man-power and significantly more money.
Relationships matter!!! It’s important to cultivate knowledgeable providers prior to needing them. If you have any questions about what to do the next time there’s a surge: call or email me.
Scott Majeski 312.453.1500
PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists
Insurance policies, emergency evacuation plans, smoke alarms, fire extinguishers – these are the types of things that knowledgeable homeowners put in place to help minimize the losses if a disaster strikes. That is where the preparation stops for most people, because they never fully plan for disasters that might devastate their home or business.
But, the fact is that disasters do happen. A cooking accident, electrical short, a burst pipe, a blocked chimney, a severe storm and other everyday hazards can turn an ordinary day into a nightmare. Recovering from that nightmare takes the same type of planning and forethought that you put into your disaster-prevention plans.
When disaster strikes, leaving water or fire damage in its wake, you need to act quickly to begin the clean-up, and it is very important that you choose your restoration professional with care. Water and fire damage restoration is a very specialized field, so choosing a firm with a reputation for professionalism, efficiency and quick response is critical.
Use this checklist when selecting a property damage restoration professional.
Make Sure Your Property Damage Restoration Professional:
If you need property damage restoration services, focus on quality over price. This checklist will lead you to a specialist in fire and water damage restoration, and that’s the person you need to restore your home or business back to normal. Cutting corners almost always results in incomplete or substandard work, and then more expensive repairs and more disruption later.
PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists serving the Chicago area specializes in property emergency services. PuroClean certified technicians help families and businesses overcome the devastating setbacks caused by water, fire, mold and other conditions resulting in property damage.
For more information about PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists serving the Chicago area or for additional advice on choosing a property damage restoration expert, please contact Scott Majeski at 312-453-1500 or smajeski@puroclean.com.
With the rain and the coming heat, Chicago area homeowners should worry about mold in their homes during the summer months. Mold can grow almost anywhere there is moisture and it grows on almost anything: paper, cardboard, ceiling tiles, wood, fabric, insulation, even dust. It can cause serious damage to a family’s home and health if the homeowner doesn’t take steps to control and deal with it quickly and effectively.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the key to both preventing and remediating mold in the home is controlling moisture. Mold cannot grow without moisture, so a homeowner needs to identify and control moisture sources in the home to prevent the spread of mold.
During the warm summer months, we advise homeowners to keep an eye on these seasonal sources of moisture and take steps to control or eliminate them:
These less-obvious moisture sources can be as dangerous as the typical leaks, spills and flooding that most homeowners recognize as potential breeding grounds for mold. Mold causes a hazard wherever it grows indoors, so homeowners need to be vigilant about controlling indoor moisture.
Homeowners need to understand how prevalent mold is and how easy it is for mold to find a foothold in the home. You also need to stay on the alert to identify and correct everyday sources of moisture before mold has a chance to grow.
For more information about PuroClean Property Restoration Specialists serving the Chicago area or for additional advice on protecting a home from mold, please contact Scott Majeski at 312-453-1500 or smajeski@puroclean.com.
Wall Street Journal – May 26, 2011
By CHAD TERHUNE And ANNAMARIA ANDRIOTIS
Already plagued by stubbornly low home prices, homeowners soon may be facinganother blow: rising insurance premiums.
After five years of relatively stable premiums, some of the country’s biggestinsurers have raised rates—or say they plan to. Premiums vary by state, but lastyear, State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Co. says it increased homeownersrates 7.3% on average and, this year, has raised them in 18 states, including afew by more than 7%. By contrast, it cut rates in just two states.
In Florida, upscale insurer PURE Risk Management raised premiums 11% this year. Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Allianz SE, saysit has started to raise premiums in some areas. For some Pennsylvaniahomeowners, premiums shot up 33% last year.
For homeowners, the increases may seem counter-intuitive. Why are they payingmore to protect a house that may have lost significant value? Insurers saypremiums are partly based on rebuilding costs, not on a home’s appraised marketvalue. When energy and building-material costs rise, insurers sometimes raisepremiums, said Mike LaRocco, chief executive of Fireman’s Fund Insurance. Evenwith the recent decline in commodities prices, gasoline is up 37% in the pastyear, copper is up about 20% and plywood is up around 8%.
There may be more premium increases on the way, experts say, given the risingtoll of natural disasters, including recent tornadoes and extreme weather in theU.S. and the earthquake and tsunami in Japan in March.
New risk models also are causing insurers to reassess rates, said PUREPresident and CEO Ross Buchmueller. A new hurricane model used widely across theindustry forecasts a higher “wind risk,” even for homes far from the coasts,driving premiums higher.
Federal flood-insurance prices may rise as Congress looks to erase theremaining $18 billion deficit from Hurricane Katrina. One congressional proposalwould raise the limit on annual premium increases to 20% from 10% and make itharder for the most flood-prone properties to get coverage. The average floodpremium is about $600 annually; rates go to nearly $6,000 for the highest-riskcoastal properties, the National Flood Insurance Program says.
All this may be a shock to homeowners, who have gotten used to premiums keptstable by the absence of big storms and costly disasters since Hurricane Katrinacaused insured losses of more than $45 billion in 2005. The recession anddecline in home construction also sapped demand for insurance, according toindustry researcher Insurance Information Institute. The average annual premiumfor homeowners’ insurance fell 3.8% to $791 in 2008 from 2007, Institute figuresshow. It estimates the average premium rose to $807 last year.
There may be little home owners can do, beyond the usual shopping around.Jack Powers, an independent agent at Gulfshore Insurance in Naples, Fla., sayssome of his customers face rate increases of 20% or more. Still, he advises manyof them to swallow the increases. The alternatives, he says, are smaller,unrated insurers that may not withstand a storm financially.
Angie’s List has been an invaluable tool for me to grow my business. I’m proud of the positive feedback I’ve received and want to share with you a recent review I received from a customer.
ANGIE’S LIST WORK REPORT Member: Nancy D. WAUKEGAN, IL 60085 (Full client name can be provided upon request)
Category: Mold Testing & Remediation
Work Done: Yes
Work Completed Date: April 29, 2011
Hire Again: Yes
Approximate Cost: $3,600.00
Home Build Year: 1950
Description Of Work:
Prepared, cleaned and contained mold areas in attic. They followed the recommendations from the mold tester, addressed some areas that looked suspect and noted rotted board in roof that needed replacing (suggested to hire roofer).
Member Comments:
I requested estimates from several companies (from Angie’s List and referrals). I saw the great reviews on Angie’s List for Puroclean in Chicago, so I called to inquire if they provided service in Northern Lake County. Scott Majeski said it was further than usual, but I requested the Puroclean Chicago vs. Milwaukee (due to ratings on this site). He was not free on the Friday I hoped for an estimate, so he came on a Sunday (his suggestion to me). I was not available/present for the walk through of the three attic spaces that had been identified by a separate company as having mold, but a friend met with him here.
I understand that Scott spent about an hour looking at the area, discussing the process, measuring and clarifying the timing needed by the team. He sent an estimate promptly, which was higher than other estimates, but I felt was fair (and included the discount for Angie’s List members without my requesting it). Others that provided estimates spent about 15 minutes measuring the space and not discussing process with me. His thorough-ness, communication and professionalism were worth the additional dollars (especially for the distance).
On the service date, they called to let me know they were caught in traffic and would be late – courteous. The team of three then did a walk through, explained the process to me (since I was not here the first time), answered all my questions and got to work. They took about a 20 minute break for lunch and put in a very full day (till about 530)! He had noted on the first walk through a rotted board on the roof to be repaired and pointed it out to me again after their thorough clean-up.
Overall A
Price B
Quality A
Responsiveness A
Punctuality A
Professionalism A
Additional Questions Answered when completing this report.
How much did the final cost compare to the original estimate? right on
How does the value of the work compare to the price? I got exactly what I paid for
How far in advance did you schedule the work? 1-2 weeks
Did you find the company through Angie’s List? yes
If yes, which source(s)? website
Why did you choose this contractor? reputation
Have you used this company before? this is the first time I’ve used this company
What did you like most about this contractor? professional
What did you like least about this contractor? nothing
What surprises came up during the course of the work? color of the containment paint – thought would be clear, but used the white as noted in mold report suggestion (I didn’t clarify with him prior)
What words of advice would you give other members considering this contractor? good option
What words of advice would you give this contractor? keep up with the communication with customers – very respected
