Chicago Residents Worry About Their Documents During Water Restoration

3/28/2022 (Permalink)

Residents of Chicago know how easily waters can rise, and rivers can burst their banks. Destructive weather is a part of life in the city, and its residents understand the importance of always being prepared.  

In the event of flooding, you might need water restoration services in Chicago. Restoration services help clean water-damaged items, dry out your home, and deal with leftover damp smells. One thing our customers often worry about is their household documents.  

Which Documents Should I Keep Safe? 

We store so many precious papers in our homes: 

• Household records such as birth, marriage, and death certificates
• Health papers such as scripts, test results, health insurance documents, and even wills
• Pet and auto papers such as vaccination records for pets, or servicing history for vehicles
• Irreplaceable souvenirs like photographs, newspaper, old letters, and children’s artworks 

Can I protect my documents? 

SERVPRO believes that prevention is always better when it comes to water restoration. There are several things you can do to protect your papers: 

• Please keep them in water and fireproof boxes and cabinets
• Never store documents in a room you know is prone to flooding, such as basements
• Make electronic copies of everything and hold those separate from the originals
• Consider keeping copies in your home and storing originals off-site in a safe or bank vault
• Keep precious papers on shelves that are at least twelve inches from floor level 

Can SERVPRO help if my documents are damaged? 

Sometimes, no matter how prudent you are, a disaster still occurs. Our technicians are trained in water restoration for all manner of materials, including paper. 

We use a state of the art freeze-drying process to salvage water-damaged documents. Vacuum freeze-drying is the only paper drying method approved by the National Archives and Records Administration. Your paper records are frozen, and then we apply vacuum pressure to remove moisture in vapor form without turning it back into water. We can also clean and deodorize papers as needed. 

Time is of the essence for vacuum freezing, so please call us as soon as you suspect water damage to any of your household documents. 

For help rescuing your papers, call SERVPRO of Evergreen Park / South Chicago City at (773) 337-3900. 

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