.png)
More Than A Water Damage Restoration Service
ServiceMaster Fire & Water Cleanup Services was contacted on a summer evening around dinnertime by a commercial building owner located on the north side of Chicago. The four story 80,000 square foot building's first floor was completely flooded due to sewer back up failure from the street. All tenant spaces took on about 2.5 inches of raw Category 3 sewage. All first floor building tenants leased out by a surgical office and two dental offices, were severely affected. The tenants needed to re-open their business the very next day with no business interruption. Too difficult a task? Not for ServiceMaster Fire and Water Cleanup Services!
THE PROBLEM
The tenants needed to re-open their business the very next day with no business interruption. Too difficult a task? Not for ServiceMaster Fire & Water Cleanup Services!
THE PLAN
Sam, the lead project manager, established communication with the insurance company, the facility manager and the property owner to make sure everyone is on the same page.
Our Commercial Water Cleanup Process
Step 1: Sewage Removal
The first step in the water damage restoration process was to begin extracting all of the sewage in each area using a truck mount with long hoses and strong power. After about four hours of extraction, the crew then sanitized and disinfected all areas.
Step 2: Locate Source Of Problem
As Sam and the crew were walking out to the trucks to go home for the night, a second sewer back-up occurred in the same first floor areas all over again! This time, it was now apparent that there was a major city infrastructure issue with the sewer main or pipes at the street. Sam directed the crew to repeat the extraction process again and this took another 2.5 hours to remove & disinfect.
Step 3: Common Areas
The next step in the water damage restoration process was for Sam to visit the building and perform daily moisture and humidity checks, and logging down this information to ensure the building was drying properly. Sam also provided daily updates to the building owner, facility manager and insurance adjuster as the drying phase continued.
.png)
RESULTS
After ten days, Sam deemed the building sufficiently dry after using thermal imaging and checking the relative humidity in all affected areas. The crew pulled all of the drying fans, commercial dehumidifiers, extension cords, and returned the equipment to the truck. The building owner was pleased with the way the team handled the entire water damage restoration job from start to finish and communicated regularly.
The main challenge for this particular commercial water damage restoration job was the repeated sewer back up that very same evenings and the difficulty in moving, wiping and disinfecting over 50 pieces of equipment from the CAT3 sewer back up and re-installing the equipment to begin the drying period immediately. There was pressure to begin drying the building right away in order for the first floor tenants to re-open for business the next morning. This goal was delayed after the second sewer back up in the same evening, however, Sam and the crew were able to push forward and meet the customer's needs.
.png)