Green Cleaning Archives

How to Prevent Fires In Healthcare Facilities-Fire Damage Restoration-Chicago-Illinois

Fires in Healthcare Facilities are considerably more dangerous, no matter their size. Patients may be seriously injured, expensive and specially designed equipment can be put out of commission or destroyed, and a blaze could spread more quickly as oxygen is widely used throughout the building. Fire threats shouldn’t be taken lightly because according to the National Fire Protection Agency, between 2011 and 2015 there were an estimated average of 5,750 fires in healthcare facilities each year. So preparing for a possible fire at your Chicagoland site can keep your patients and employees safe while it helps to prevent them from happening in the first place.

Three Main Fire in Healthcare Facility Dangers

Healthcare centers present many opportunities for fires to erupt if people aren’t careful. While preventing fires takes more than just one approach, you should always adhere to your accrediting organization’s guidelines and take into consideration these three common dangers:

Have all electrical outlets and wiring checked regularly to ensure they’re up to code. Broken, cracked, or split electric cables and cords will catch fire if they’re overloaded. Multi-plug adaptors, which allow numerous appliance cords to be plugged into the same outlet, can also overload an outlet.
Never should smoking be allowed anywhere near areas where oxygen is being used or near oxygen tanks and containers. Fires fed by pure oxygen burn much faster and can seriously harm a person using oxygen while also catching the building on fire.
Kitchens contain more fire hazards than any other part of your facility. So besides routine cleaning, areas like grills and hoods should be degreased regularly. All oils and other flammable liquids need to be safely stored away from stoves. Prevent grease fires by draining appliances’ grease traps frequently.

What To Do if a Healthcare Facility Fire Breaks Out

Should a fire break out, it’s vital that you already have an emergency plan in place so that all employees will know how to respond accordingly. This plan will include:

prioritizing the patient’s safety
rescuing all at-risk patients
evacuating the building calmly
shutting doors to contain fires
ensuring that critical care equipment remains operational
extinguishing small fires

While putting together the best action plan for your facility, it’s best to consult with professionals.

Additional Ways to Avoid Healthcare Facility Fires

Taking steps to ensure a fire in healthcare facilities never start in the first place, is a priority. One thing that can be done is to appoint a fire safety officer. This person will receive ongoing training on how to recognize fire hazards. They will check fire extinguishers to ensure they’re up to code, and train the staff on how to use them. This person may also be responsible for practicing emergency exercises with all employees and leading them during emergencies.

Another thing that can be done is to cultivate a relationship with your local fire damage and restoration company, ServiceMaster By Simons. There’s no substitution for professional help from experts. They can give you the edge you need by helping you develop an emergency contingency plan for Fires in Healthcare Facilities. If you do experience a fire, we’ll use state-of-the-art equipment and cleaning solutions. We’ll get your healthcare facility back to pre-loss conditions quickly. With two convenient locations in Chicago and Chicago’s North Shore, ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons is the trusted name in Cleaning & Restoration.

Clean Your Home Before The Holiday Rush

If you plan to have guests over for the holidays, our guess is you’ve got plenty on your plate. With decorating, shopping for gifts, and menu planning, the last thing you want to think about is cleaning the house. We at ServiceMaster By Simons have some tips to motivate you to begin:

Step 1: Organize a Team and Schedule

Start now! Create a calendar for daily tasks. It may seem too early, but time flies when there are so many things to get done.
Don’t try to clean all at once. Involve the whole family and tackle one or two items a day. Start with something that will remain clean until the day the guests arrive, such as windows.
Living on your own? A schedule will keep you on track.

Step 2: Declutter

Throw away clutter throughout your house. Take a heavy duty garbage bag and go from room to room, drawer to drawer and get rid of the things you don’t need or use. Here is a useful list we discovered to help you decide what you don’t need: 200 Things to Throw Away puts your excess items into perspective.

Step 3: Structure Cleaning

Clean the structure of your home first. Wipe down your windows and window trims, doors and door trims, and baseboards throughout the home. You may not notice the accumulation of dust now, however once you remove it, the home will not only appear cleaner, but you will also breathe better—and so will your guests.
If your walls are in need of a fresh coat of paint, but you have no time, wash them instead. Head to your favorite home improvement store and make sure to purchase a cleaning solution specifically for walls and a couple of flat head mops. This job is a little time consuming, so spread it out over two or three days.

Step 4: Furniture & Floor Cleaning

Vacuum your furniture—especially if you have pets. Many vacuum cleaners now have an attachment made specifically to tackle stubborn pet hair from your upholstery. Lint rollers or packing tape also work well for pet hair.
As you move closer to the day of your guests’ arrival, you can begin to wipe down your hard surface furniture. Use a furniture polish to help keep the dust away for a longer period of time.
Begin the floor cleaning process with vacuuming. Be sure to lift up lighter pieces of furniture to clean underneath. Follow by mopping your hard surface floors. Avoid using cleaning products that leave behind a waxy film which builds over time and are difficult to remove.

Step 5: Call ServiceMaster By Simons

If all this seems impossible for you to complete during the busy season, we can get the job done for you in one day. It’s the small details that refresh a home. And that is what ServiceMaster By Simons excels in. Call us soon before our schedule fills up. 773-376-1110

About Us: Co-Authors RESTORE your complete guide to protecting your home as your most valuable asset from water and fire disasters https://www.amazon.com/dp/1952779529. Recipient of 2022 award for Daily Herald Entrepreneurial Excellence. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, is a SB100 Best of Small Business Award Winner 2021, Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, recipient of the 2020 Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, and recipient of the 2020 Skokie Business of the Year Award, Honorable Mention Category. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons (MBE/WBE) is a family operated, IICRC & OSHA Certified company serving Chicago, Oak Park, River Forest, and the North Shore. We provide commercial disaster restoration services including Water & Flood Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation and a wide range of interior specialty cleaning including COVID-19 Cleaning Services, Hoarder & Clutter Cleaning, Post-Construction Cleaning, Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning to residential and commercial customers.

Why Should You Call a Water Damage Restoration Professional?

When your Chicagoland property experiences water damage, you’re frequently urged to contact a water damage restoration specialist to handle cleaning and repairs. But why? Aren’t you able to take care of it yourself? What’s so great about what restoration professionals accomplish that’s better than what you could do?

The science and resources behind water damage restoration and remediation have advanced considerably since its inception. For example, when the contents of your home or business were damaged, they were usually thrown out, along with water-damaged structural materials. Now, much of it can be saved. Technology is a big reason why. Let’s look at a few examples:

Powerful Truck Mounted Vacuums:

These are useful for removing large amounts of water quickly. A typical truck mount vacuum sucks up about 25 gallons of water per minute. And since they’re so powerful, they can rapidly eliminate most every bit of water from a soaking carpet.

Desiccant Dehumidifiers:

These are used in specific conditions. Desiccants release dry, warm air (110°F and 5% relative humidity) in high humidity conditions to remove moisture from the atmosphere. This is accomplished by using silica gel to absorb airborne water particles. (A tiny example of that is found in the packages of some products.) Desiccant dehumidifiers are very effective and even operate in below-freezing temperatures.

LGR Dehumidifiers:

These can lower relative humidity to as low as 10% and remove up to 25 gallons of water from the air each day. This is a huge increase from a few years ago when simple dehumidifiers could only reduce relative humidity to 40% and remove only 5 gallons of water a day from the air.

Intra-Wall Drying:

This technology dries the insides of walls without removing and replacing wet drywall. How it works is the baseboards are first removed and small holes are drilled through the drywall in that area. Air is then forced into the cavity behind the wall while powerful fans (air movers) blow air on the outside of the wall, causing wet walls to dry much faster.

Air Movers:

These are very powerful, high CFM fans. These work much more efficiently and faster than a typical box fan. The high movement of air they produce greatly speeds up the evaporation process. This not only dries your property quickly but also helps to ensure no further water damage can occur.

Floor Mat Systems:

These enable professional water restoration contractors to dry hardwood floors fast. Applying the power of a high-pressure blower, these mats vacuum water vapor right through the surface of the floor. At one time, wood floors that had been warped by water were immediately torn up and replaced. These floor mat systems can save hardwood floors in many instances.

The Benefits of Advanced Drying Techniques

Besides the benefits of professional drying equipment that were already mentioned, there are also these:

Mold prevention –

Faster drying times decrease the danger of mold growth, thus helping to prevent health issues, including respiratory infections and allergic reactions. Lower humidity levels don’t allow mold to grow.

Lower expenses –

Many building materials once automatically disposed of now can be restored and not replaced. Reduced drying times also mean lower restoration costs and allow lives and businesses to return to normal more quickly.

As water restoration equipment has advanced, so have the procedures and training undertaken by water damage restoration professionals. Chicago’s own ServiceMaster Disaster Restoration By Simons uses the latest equipment and we put our staff through IICRC continuing education (CE) classes. Our certified and experienced team uses the most advanced scientific methods along with sophisticated equipment to get your Chicagoland home or business back to pre-loss condition quickly, professionally, and with personal attention to every detail.

How Your Possessions are Saved After a Disaster

After the last flames of a fire have been snuffed out or water damage from flooding or a burst pipe has been repaired in your Chicagoland home or business and you’ve called ServiceMaster By Simons, what happens to your damaged treasured possessions, irreplaceable family keepsakes, or retail inventory? Are they forever ruined and unsalvageable?

In the past, that may have been the case. But we employ an extensive contents restoration system that’s devised to return your possessions and property to their pre-damaged condition, whether they were damaged by fire, smoke, water, or mold – even objects that were once thought to be unrecoverable!

First, our specially skilled staff will cautiously pack up your damaged property, handling them with care, before moving them to our protected warehouse for cleaning, deodorizing, and storage. Privacy and discretion are always preserved as the content restoration work proceeds.

After an expert examination of each of your damaged items, we’ll determine which type of cleaning is most appropriate for each piece. It’ll be contingent on the item’s composition, framework, sturdiness, and the type of damage it suffered. Once that’s determined, we’ll employ one or more of the following procedures and/or equipment:

Drying chambers
Ultrasonic cleaning
Laundering/dry cleaning
Spray and wipe
Heat agitated immersion cleaning
Odor Removal (Using Ozone and Hydroxyl Methods)
Deodorization

These methods efficiently clean, dry and deodorize even problematic items like china, silver, brass, delicate figurines, ceramics, electronics, mini-blinds, chandeliers, plastics, and stuffed toys. Ultrasonic machines effortlessly eliminate smoke residues, mold, water damage, and rust.

ServiceMaster By Simons utilizes assembly-line contents cleaning procedures for any disaster restoration job. Once your items are cleaned, we carefully wrap them up in bubble wrap and paper then cautiously pack them in boxes and warehouse them until your home or business has been restored when they can then be returned.

How Do Ultrasonic Machines Work?

Ultrasonic machines carefully and successfully remove contaminants from your belongings. This is done by immersing objects in a tank of liquid while high-frequency sound waves create imploding bubbles that generate a scrubbing brush-like action that acts on impurities adhering to surfaces such as metals, glass, plastics, ceramics, rubber, and even electronics. This action infiltrates holes, cracks, nooks, and crannies so that it systematically removes all traces of contamination and malodors. This technology allows us to clean your possessions faster, more carefully, and less expensively.

How Does Ozone Treatment Work?

Contents that need deodorization are put into an ozone chamber. Ozone, occasionally called “activated oxygen”, contains three oxygen atoms rather than the two atoms we usually breathe. It’s the second most effective disinfectant in the world and may be used to obliterate bacteria, viruses, and smells. When they collide with ozone, they’re totally destroyed by oxidation. In the process, that extra atom of oxygen is annihilated and there’s nothing left – no odors, no bacteria, no extra atom, only oxygen.

Ozone arises quite frequently in nature, most often as a consequence of lightning strikes that occur during thunderstorms. That “fresh, clean, spring rain” smell you may detect after a Chicago area storm most frequently results from nature’s creation of ozone.

If you have questions about how our other cleaning procedures work or would like to schedule a free consultation and estimate, call ServiceMaster By Simons at 773-376-1110.

About Us: Co-Authors RESTORE your complete guide to protecting your home as your most valuable asset from water and fire disasters https://www.amazon.com/dp/1952779529. Recipient of 2022 award for Daily Herald Entrepreneurial Excellence. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, is a SB100 Best of Small Business Award Winner 2021, Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, recipient of the 2020 Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, and recipient of the 2020 Skokie Business of the Year Award, Honorable Mention Category. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons (MBE/WBE) is a family operated, IICRC & OSHA Certified company serving Chicago, Oak Park, River Forest, and the North Shore. We provide commercial disaster restoration services including Water & Flood Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation and a wide range of interior specialty cleaning including COVID-19 Cleaning Services, Hoarder & Clutter Cleaning, Post-Construction Cleaning, Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning to residential and commercial customers.

Disaster Restoration for the Special Needs Family

If there’s one thing ServiceMaster By Simons of Chicago has learned is that disasters are like snowflakes – there are no two alike. Each occurrence creates its own exclusive set of problems that need to be tackled, and there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. That’s why we’ve established a customized set of procedures to be used for diverse water, fire, mold, and other disastrous events.

And just as no two disasters are alike, the same can be said for families. We use the term “special needs” to cover a wide range of conditions that make it tougher for a family to bounce back after a stressful event. This list can include conditions like allergies and chemical sensitivities, but also considers those with autism, mobility challenges, developmental delays, behavior disorders, and more. ServiceMaster By Simons believes that just as a personalized approach is required to fully restore a property after a disaster, a customized approach is needed to help all types of families achieve a healthy, happy home once again.

That process begins during the initial consultation stage. If your family includes those with special needs who will need to be assisted during the course of disaster restoration, we want to know about them. We will ask you about what will work best for your family and then review our procedures to see what changes need to be made to meet your needs in the most sufficient way possible. Here are two examples:

Those with autism often wrestle with sensory overload. They also have a tendency to dislike physical changes to their environment such as any alterations to their schedule and routine. This could mean that we’d schedule our disaster restoration services on a timetable that won’t disrupt a child’s routine.
People with asthma, COPD, cancer, and other medical conditions can be unfavorably impacted when certain cleaning chemicals that are used in the home or workplace. But by using a particular line of green cleaning products it may be possible to avoid generating chemical sensitivity issues.

We don’t consider caring for special needs families a burden. Doing all we can to take care of our customers, especially families, is what we do every day. Chicago’s ServiceMaster By Simons was created on the principle that every family deserves a happy, healthy home. We’ll ensure your life gets back to normal as quickly as possible by cleaning and restoring your property using the appropriate and very best cleaning products and expert restoration methods while taking your family’s wishes into account.

Don’t postpone receiving needed help because you’re unsure if the restoration company you hire will understand why you need things done in a specific way or at a specific time. We’ve been there. We get it. And we’re here to help.

About Us: ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, is a SB100 Best of Small Business Award Winner 2021, Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, recipient of the 2020 Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, and recipient of the 2020 Skokie Business of the Year Award, Honorable Mention Category. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons (MBE/WBE) is a family operated, IICRC & OSHA Certified company serving Chicago, Oak Park, River Forest, and the North Shore. We provide commercial disaster restoration services including Water & Flood Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation and a wide range of interior specialty cleaning including COVID-19 Cleaning Services, Hoarder & Clutter Cleaning, Post-Construction Cleaning, Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning to residential and commercial customers. For more information, call 773-839-5542 or visit www.servicemasterbysimons.com or info@servicemaster-rbs.com

Preventing Serious Illnesses After a Chicagoland Disaster

When it comes to disasters, many articles advise you on how to take preventative safety steps to either avoid them or ways to deal with them. But once a disaster is ended, some dangers still exist. They include numerous ways you could become ill due to the aftereffects of a catastrophe to your Chicagoland home and/or neighborhood.

The following are some disaster-related factors you need to know about to keep yourself safe from illness:

Animal and Insect-Related Threats

Stray animals and insects often seek shelter in places they normally don’t during natural disasters, especially after a flooding event. This can bring wildlife and people closer together and increase the risk of animals spreading diseases like leptospirosis and rabies. Never interact with stray or wild animals to avoid catching their illnesses and getting bitten.

If you come across a dead or sick stray animal, don’t try to capture or care for it on your own. Call the local authorities to handle the situation.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a dangerous gas that may cause serious illness and even death if breathed in. CO is impossible to detect without proper equipment as it’s colorless and odorless. So be sure you install a CO detector because natural disasters sometimes rupture gas lines on your property, releasing carbon monoxide.

If you even suspect your gas lines have been disrupted, don’t use a gas oven or furnace because they could add more carbon dioxide to the air. Don’t use generators, grills, propane, gasoline, or gas-burning devices inside or near your home. If you want to cook food or adjust the thermostat, don’t risk it. Instead, evacuate your home and look to family, friends, or a community shelter for help.

Flood Borne Diseases

Floodwaters carry with them a host of dangers. One of them is bacterial contamination. Many floods cause sewer overflows, releasing dangerous chemical waste and harmful microbes. These can make you very ill, especially if you swallow any of it, or if it comes in contact with your eyes, nose, or open sores.

Leave flood damage cleanup to the professionals. If you’re forced to have physical contact with floodwaters, wear protective clothing, and where your skin or clothing touches the water, wash as soon as possible.

Food and Drinking Water Dangers

During a disaster, electricity and water lines may be disrupted and tap water can become tainted. Be wary of food and water after a fire or flood because some of it might no longer be safe for consumption. Lack of electricity can spoil food and water can be contaminated with microorganisms, chemicals, and sewage waste, which makes it unsafe for drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Once a disaster passes, only consume food and water from a trusted source. Listen for public announcements to find out when it’s safe to use the local water supply. Meanwhile, use bottled water or boil water to disinfect it. Follow the link below to see directions and exceptions to disinfecting your water.

Take Extra Precautions to Keep Yourself Healthy

Illnesses and diseases can quickly spread after a disaster. Be sure to wash your hands often. Use disinfectant wipes or soap and warm, clean water to eliminate the germs off your hands. Disinfect your water source by boiling it or mixing in bleach and allowing it to sit for half an hour. If you don’t have access to clean water so you can wash your hands, use a hand sanitizer if available.

Contact Us and Worry Less

A disaster is already difficult to deal with without also worrying about the aftermath and its effects. Call ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons to properly clean and restore your Chicago area property so you can concentrate on the health and safety of you and your family. We’ll work conscientiously to return your property to its original condition as soon as possible.

About Us: ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, is a SB100 Best of Small Business Award Winner 2021, Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, recipient of the 2020 Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, and recipient of the 2020 Skokie Business of the Year Award, Honorable Mention Category. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons (MBE/WBE) is a family operated, IICRC & OSHA Certified company serving Chicago, Oak Park, River Forest, and the North Shore. We provide commercial disaster restoration services including Water & Flood Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation and a wide range of interior specialty cleaning including COVID-19 Cleaning Services, Hoarder & Clutter Cleaning, Post-Construction Cleaning, Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning to residential and commercial customers. For more information, call 773-839-5542 or visit www.servicemasterbysimons.com or info@servicemaster-rbs.com

Is it Mold or Mildew?

Many people commonly refer to various building molds found in the Chicago area as “mildew”, and numerous mold cleanup products use the words “mildew” or “mildewcide” in their name and instructions. Although interchanging the words mold and mildew is acceptable by many, what’s the truth of the matter?

What is Mold?

According to the Center For Disease Control And Prevention (CDC), Mold is very common. It’s found both outdoors and indoors. No one knows exactly how many mold species exist, but it is estimated to exceed over 300,000 strains

Mold is a distinct species and genus within the fungi family. (Did you flashback to biology class?) It’s one of the main decomposition methods that nature utilizes. Molds or fungus feed upon dead and decaying organic matter, and so they enhance the decaying processes of nature on fallen trees, plants, dead animals, leaves, etc.

Without life forms like mold, your Chicagoland property would be buried under piles of dead stuff. So that’s great. But problems arise because mold doesn’t know the difference between dead trees in the forest and a wet wall stud in a home. And since mold spores are always floating around, they easily find what they need to grow and reproduce; food, moisture, and darkness.

Mold can also grow on many nonporous materials such as concrete and brick. And with the right temperature, moisture, and food, mold will grow almost anywhere. A rolling stone may gather no moss, but one sitting still sure can. Although it’s more prevalent and grows more quickly on porous surfaces like drywall and wood (because there’s more food), over time even a large area of concrete or brick can be covered by it. This is especially true in high humidity when the temperature between the surface and the air is slightly different.

What is Mildew?

Mildew is likewise a segment of the fungi family, but a different genus. Mycologists (those who study the branch of botany dealing with fungi) regard it as a parasite because it feeds only on living plants. They’re divided into two sub-groups:

1. Oidium-Erysiphe, familiarly named Powdery Mildew
2. Peronosporaceae, familiarly named Downy Mildew

These take the form of a white or gray powdery or splotchy deposit on plant leaves and stems and are often caused by poor air circulation within or around the plant, and dampness or high humidity. And that’s an important distinction because most buildings will never have a mildew infestation unless they’re growing a ton of plants inside. But since the majority don’t mildew is rarely an issue with indoor contamination.

Many times, the term mildew will be used generically to refer to mold growth that has a flat growth tendency. In other words, it doesn’t grow roots and thus it’s non-destructive and easily scrubbed away. It, too, will grow anywhere there’s enough moisture, such as bathroom sinks and showers, basement walls, or fabrics.

For these reasons, a mold expert or a home inspector should never lump mold and mildew together or say that they’ve found mildew growing in or on a building.

Get the Remediation Help You Need

If you have a Mold Growth — or suspect you do —contact Chicagoland’s premier mold remediation services company ServiceMaster Restoration by Simons. Our mold removal specialists have the knowledge, equipment, and products to get rid of this potentially dangerous invader.

Concentrating on Cleaning Products Can Save You Money

Riddle: When is a gallon of all-purpose cleaner not a gallon of all-purpose cleaner?

Answer: When it’s really 20 gallons.

Puzzled? Consider this: usually when you purchase a gallon of a product, that’s all you get. If you buy a gallon of gas, you get a gallon of gas; buy a gallon of milk and you’ll only get a gallon of milk. But many cleaners, disinfectants and deodorizers you use to clean your Chicago area home or office are sold as concentrates. If you buy those and mix them correctly, you’ll greatly increase the usable amount of product, making them very inexpensive. Depending on the product, sometimes one gallon of concentrate can produce up to a hundred gallons of a RTU (ready to use) cleaner. So that 99¢ jug of RTU glass cleaner at your local Chicagoland box store might not really be such a terrific deal after all.

It might be enticing to try to make the concentrated cleaning products you buy go even further by diluting them more than recommended. But the suggested concentration dilution rate is much more cost efficient than watering them down because weakened chemicals take longer to do the job and you would probably have to repeat the cleaning process to accomplish the desired results. Your time is valuable; add that to the additional aggravation and you wouldn’t be saving a dime.

Precise Mixing Makes a Difference

Clearly, concentrates necessitate adding water to dilute them according to the precise directions on the product labels. Most comprehend that, but the means of communicating the amount of water to mix with the concentrate can be a little more complicated and leaves room for error.

For instance, the common method for stating dilution rates is by using ratios, but occasionally you need more info. For example, which does a ratio of 1:8 mean? Is it:

one part concentrate mixed with seven parts water to produce eight parts of solution?
one part concentrate mixed with eight parts water to produce make nine parts solution?

You need to get it right because, in this particular example, an error adds up to a 12.5% variance! That means either your cleaning effectiveness will decrease 12.5% or your costs will increase 12.5%, neither of which is a desired result.

What’s confusing is that each way of describing the ratios shown above is defensible. So always examine product labels for a thorough explanation of its mixing ratio. If details aren’t included, then go to the source and contact the manufacturer. It’s worth a little extra effort.

Help for Deep Cleaning

When it comes to deep cleaning, sometimes you need a little help. And with Covid-19, using the required disinfectants is vital. Without question, virus cleaning, removal, and disinfection services are foremost in the thoughts of many homeowners and business owners throughout the Chicagoland area today. ServiceMaster By Simons uses an EPA hospital-grade disinfectant that fights 99.99% of bacteria so that you as a business or homeowner can have peace of mind whether you work inside or outside your home.

About Us: ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, is a Bronze Stevie® Award in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in the 18th annual Stevie Awards for Women in Business, recipient of the 2020 Better Business Bureau’s Torch Award for Marketplace Ethics, and recipient of the 2020 Skokie Business of the Year Award, Honorable Mention Category. ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons (MBE/WBE) is a family operated, IICRC & OSHA Certified company serving Chicago, Oak Park, River Forest, and the North Shore. We provide commercial disaster restoration services including Water & Flood Damage Restoration, Fire & Smoke Damage Restoration, Mold Remediation and a wide range of interior specialty cleaning including COVID-19 Cleaning Services, Hoarder & Clutter Cleaning, Post-Construction Cleaning, Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning to residential and commercial customers. For more information, call 773-839-5542 or visit www.servicemasterbysimons.com or info@servicemaster-rbs.com

Exposing Fire Sprinkler Myths

There’s no denying a fire could cause terrible damage to your Chicagoland commercial property. And without a way to extinguish the flames quickly, your employees and customers could be critically injured or killed. That’s why installing a commercial fire sprinkler system is so important.

According to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), when sprinklers are present, the chances of dying in a fire are diminished by 80 percent and the typical property loss due to fire is reduced by 50 to 66 percent, compared to fires where sprinklers do not exist.

But although there’s undisputable evidence that sprinklers are a necessary line of defense against fires, many myths still live on about the way sprinklers truthfully work. So, lets touch on 4 myths surrounding commercial fire sprinkler systems and the reasons they’re wrong.

Myth 1: Water Damage From Fire Sprinklers Cost More Than Fire Damage

FACT: Sprinkler systems are more economical when contrasted to the damage caused by other firefighting efforts. Since sprinklers can keep a fire limited to one room rather than allowing flames and smoke to spread through a building, most fire damage cleaning is confined to one area. Furthermore, water damage caused by fire hoses usually costs more to restore; a sprinkler discharges only 8-24 gallons of water per minute, but a fire hose releases 50-125 gallons per minute.

Myth 2: All Sprinkler Heads Activate During a Fire

FACT: Sprinkler heads are constructed to respond to temperatures only above 155 °F. A temperature-sensitive glass bulb with a liquid or metal alloy inside keeps the fire sprinkler head in position. The bulb directs pressure to a pipe cap, stopping water from discharging through the system. So, only the sprinkler heads close to the fire will trigger, leaving unaffected areas dry.

Myth 3: Sprinklers Are Too Sensitive

FACT: Although sprinkler systems are sensitive to fire, that doesn’t mean they’ll be touched off by someone burning their lunch or smoking a cigarette. Only 1 in 16 million sprinkler heads activate accidentally, so their benefits far outweigh any extremely minimal risks. And the most common reason why a sprinkler fails to operate is that the system was shut off at some point before the fire.

Myth 4: Smoke Alarms Set Off Sprinkler Systems

FACT: Fire sprinkler systems and smoke alarms operate independently. Smoke alarms perceive smoke particles which cause them to sound a warning, which is very important because you need a warning before a fire has had time to spread too far. But fire sprinkler heads are only heat activated. One won’t set off the other.

As a Chicagoland business owner, safety is required to keep your operations running smoothly. To help guarantee your company will be more secure from fire damage, it’s a sound idea to install commercial fire sprinklers and affix fire extinguishers throughout your establishment.

But if the unexpected does occur, help is nearby. At ServiceMaster Restoration By Simons, we’re both fire damage and water damage clean up professionals. We offer 24-Hour Emergency Recovery Services and are dedicated to getting your business back up and running as quickly as possible.