Water Damage Restoration Services for Skokie, IL

Many homeowners policies cover sudden plumbing accidents, such as a burst pipe or a leaking appliance. However, water entering from outside, sewer backups, and sump pump failures may require additional coverage.

Your insurance company will determine coverage based on what caused the damage and the terms of your policy.

We take photographs, document wet materials, record moisture readings, and prepare reports for your adjuster. We also work with major insurance companies, including State Farm, Allstate, Farmers, Liberty Mutual, Travelers, and USAA.

When your policy permits, we'll bill your insurance company directly.

You can hire ServiceMaster by Zaba and pay for the restoration yourself.

We'll inspect the damage, explain the work your property needs, and provide an estimate. You can then compare the expected costs with your deductible and decide whether contacting your insurer makes sense.

If you'd rather spread out the cost of your restoration, we offer financing options to help you manage the payments if you qualify.

Several things can increase the amount of work needed to restore your property:

• Water reaches another apartment or room: We may need to open ceilings, check shared wall cavities, and dry more than one affected area.
• Sewage or dirty water enters your property: Contaminated water requires additional cleaning, sanitation, and sometimes removal of materials that cannot be safely restored.
• Kitchen cabinets block access to wet walls: We may need to temporarily detach cabinets, appliances, sinks, or trim to dry the materials behind them.
• Water soaks multiple flooring layers: If moisture reaches the underlayment or plywood subfloor, we may need to remove those layers to clean and dry the structure.
• Belongings need moving or storage: Large furniture, stored items, or business equipment can require extra handling to protect them during restoration.

After-hours, weekend, and holiday emergency calls may involve additional charges.

If our technicians uncover more damage after starting the work, we'll explain what they found, why additional work may be necessary, and how it could affect your estimate.

You can usually clean up a small spill of clean water yourself, as long as it hasn't soaked into your walls, carpet, or flooring and you can dry the area completely.

However, we recommend professional help when:

• Water has leaked through a ceiling from an apartment above.
• Your drywall, carpet padding, or subflooring has absorbed moisture.
• Cabinets are swelling, flooring is lifting, or ceiling paint is bubbling.
• Sewage or rainwater from outside has entered your property.
• You can't reach or dry the affected materials within 24 to 48 hours.

If you're unsure, call us at (847) 730-7301. Tell us where the water came from and what you're seeing, and we'll help you decide whether you need an inspection.

Not necessarily. We check the condition of affected materials and look for ways to dry and save them before recommending replacement.

For example, during a recent kitchen restoration project in Skokie, the lower cabinets weren't damaged, but the drywall and subfloor behind them were wet. Our team planned to detach the cabinets to reach those materials rather than throw out cabinetry that was still in good condition.

However, if water has severely damaged drywall, soaked insulation, or contaminated materials that cannot be safely cleaned, we may need to remove them.

We'll explain what needs to come out and why before starting the work.

If you have a water damage emergency, you can call us anytime, day or night, including weekends and holidays.

Our Skokie office is at 3909 W Howard Street. We usually arrive within 44 minutes of your call, depending on traffic, weather, and crew availability.

If your property is flooding, call (847) 730-7301. We'll discuss the damage and confirm when a crew can respond.

We've helped Skokie homeowners and businesses recover from all kinds of water damage, but we most often deal with sewer backups, burst pipes, sump pump failures, and leaking appliances.

The Village of Skokie's stormwater management system also allows rainwater to collect temporarily on certain streets during heavy storms to help prevent sewer backups in nearby homes.

Here are the most common causes of water damage we've found in the Skokie properties we've restored:

• 27% sewer and basement drain backups
• 23% burst pipes and plumbing leaks
• 20% sump pump failures and basement flooding
• 16% appliance and water heater leaks
• 10% roof leaks, window leaks, and foundation seepage
• 4% HVAC leaks and other causes

The Village of Skokie allows rainwater to collect temporarily on certain streets during heavy storms. Restrictors in the storm drains slow the flow of water into the sewer system, helping prevent sewage backups in nearby homes. According to village officials, the water can take up to four hours to drain after the rain stops.

If water starts coming into your basement through a window well, exterior door, or foundation crack, don't wait for the streets to drain. Stay away from electrical hazards and call a restoration professional to remove the water before it soaks into more of your walls and floors.

Keep children and pets out of the basement, avoid contact with the wastewater, and stop using sinks, toilets, and washing machines until a plumber finds the cause.

Don't try to clean up sewage yourself. It can contain harmful bacteria, viruses, and other contaminants that household cleaning equipment can't safely remove.

The Village of Skokie advises you to call Public Works at 847-933-8427 if sewer flooding doesn't go down within a few hours after a storm. Village crews can check the public sewer system, but you may also need a plumber to inspect your private sewer line.

If sewage has entered your home, call us at (847) 730-7301. Our sewage cleanup team will contain the affected area, remove wastewater and materials we can't safely restore, disinfect exposed surfaces, and dry your property.

Rainwater can get into your basement through foundation cracks, poorly sealed windows, exterior stairwells, or other openings near the ground.

The Village of Skokie recommends keeping basement drains clear, checking your downspouts, fixing low spots around your foundation, and maintaining your sump pump and flood control equipment.

If your basement keeps flooding, find out where the water is coming from before paying for repairs. A leaking window well or foundation drainage problem needs a different fix than a blocked sewer line.

We can usually dry the affected areas of your home in 3 to 5 days, depending on how much water entered and which materials got wet.

For example, a small room with tile flooring may dry faster than a finished basement with soaked drywall and insulation. If water gets trapped beneath your kitchen flooring, we may need to remove some materials before we can dry the area properly.

We'll check moisture levels throughout the process, keep you updated, and remove the drying equipment once the affected materials reach safe moisture levels.

Yes. We handle water damage restoration for apartments, condos, and other multifamily buildings throughout Skokie.

If water leaks from an upstairs kitchen or bathroom into your unit, we'll inspect your ceilings, walls, and floors, remove any materials we can't save, and dry the affected areas.

We'll also work with your property manager, neighbors, and insurance adjuster to arrange access, document the damage, and keep everyone informed throughout the restoration.

Often, yes. We'll check which of your belongings got wet, whether the water was contaminated, and what we can safely clean and restore.

If clean water reached your furniture, carpets, or personal belongings, we may be able to save them, especially if we start drying them quickly.

Items exposed to sewage or contaminated water may need special cleaning or replacement. We can also pack, clean, and store your belongings while we dry and repair your property.

Yes. According to the EPA, drying wet materials within 24 to 48 hours can help prevent mold growth.

Even if your walls or floors feel dry, moisture can still hide behind cabinets, beneath flooring, and inside walls.

If mold has already started growing, our mold remediation team will contain the affected area, remove materials we can't safely restore, clean contaminated surfaces, and dry any remaining moisture to help prevent mold from returning.

It depends on the work your property needs.

According to the Village of Skokie's building permit guidelines, interior demolition, plumbing or electrical repairs, changes to wall layouts, and flood control systems require permits. Regular flooring replacement and painting generally don't.

If your repairs require a permit, we'll help prepare the application, submit the necessary paperwork, and arrange inspections.

You generally don't need a reconstruction permit just to begin emergency water extraction and structural drying.

Yes. We help Skokie businesses recover from water damage, including shops, restaurants, offices, and industrial properties in Downtown Skokie, along Skokie Boulevard, near Dempster Street, and throughout the village.

Whether you're dealing with a burst pipe, leaking roof, or flooded office, we'll remove standing water, dry your walls and floors, protect inventory and equipment we can save, and handle the repairs so you can get back to business.

We'll also work with you and your property manager to schedule the cleanup around your business hours and access needs.

Yes. We help Skokie homeowners and businesses recover from severe weather with storm damage cleanup and restoration.

If heavy rain floods your basement or strong winds damage your roof and let water inside, we'll remove the water, dry the affected areas, and repair the damage to your property.

Yes. Our reconstruction team replaces damaged drywall, flooring, insulation, cabinets, ceilings, baseboards, and trim.

Whether you need a kitchen repaired after an upstairs leak or an entire basement restored after flooding, we can handle the cleanup and rebuilding without making you find another contractor.