Disaster Recovery & Restoration,
Services in Glen Ellyn, IL

Fire, water and mold restoration in Glen Ellyn, IL

ServiceMaster Restoration Services provides 24/7 fire and smoke restoration, water damage cleanup, mold remediation, biohazard cleanup and cleaning for Glen Ellyn homes and businesses. A local detail worth knowing: about 16% of Glen Ellyn's homes were built before 1940, so repairs often involve plaster walls, original trim and old paint.

What Glen Ellyn's housing age means for restoration

Glen Ellyn has a sizable stock of pre-war houses. ACS 2020–2024 5-year estimates count 1,781 of the village's 11,110 housing units, or 16.0%, as built in 1939 or earlier. Construction picked up again in the 1960s and 1970s, which together account for 36.5% of homes, and 67.0% of all units predate 1980. The median year built is 1971.

Older houses tend to carry original plaster walls, wood trim and many coats of paint applied over the decades. Those materials can usually be cleaned or restored, but taking them apart triggers federal safeguards.

Lead-safe work in pre-1978 homes

Under EPA's Renovation, Repair and Painting rule, firms paid to disturb painted surfaces in homes built before 1978 must be lead-safe certified. The rule generally doesn't cover homeowners working on their own houses, though it does apply if you rent out all or part of the home, and EPA recommends hiring a certified firm either way.

Asbestos before demolition

Fire and water damage can loosen materials that were stable for decades. EPA's asbestos guidance treats damaged material differently from intact material: if suspect pipe wrap, floor tile or ceiling texture is more than slightly damaged, or if repairs will disturb it, repair or removal by a trained and accredited professional is needed.

Why soot behaves differently in older rooms

Smoke residue settles into porous surfaces such as unsealed plaster, old flat paint and open-grain wood. Cleaning those surfaces gently, and testing a small area first, protects original finishes that are hard to match once they are scrubbed away.

The first hour after a house fire in Glen Ellyn

The American Red Cross notes that a home fire can leave as little as two minutes to escape, so the steps below start only once everyone is out and the fire department has done its work.

1. Wait for the all-clear. Ready.gov's home fire guidance says to check with the fire department that the residence is safe to enter.
2. Leave the utilities alone. Don't try to reconnect gas, electricity or water yourself; the fire department should confirm they are safe or disconnected.
3. Inventory before you discard. Photograph and list damaged belongings before throwing anything away, because the insurer will need that record.
4. Keep every receipt. Save receipts for hotel stays, meals and supplies related to the fire loss.
5. Call your insurer and your mortgage company. Ready.gov recommends notifying the mortgage holder, and your insurer will explain next steps for the claim.
6. Protect the structure. Broken windows and roof openings need emergency board-up or tarping so weather doesn't add water damage to the smoke damage.

Firefighting water is a second loss

Hoses and sprinklers put out the fire but leave soaked drywall, insulation and flooring behind. Drying that water quickly matters as much as the soot cleanup, since EPA advises drying wet materials within 24–48 hours to keep mold from starting.

Water risks in Glen Ellyn: river floodplain and urban flooding

The East Branch DuPage River runs through Glen Ellyn, and the village's floodplain page explains that areas inundated in a 100-year storm, one with a 1% chance of happening in any year, are regulatory floodplain on FEMA's maps. Building in those areas must meet the DuPage County Stormwater and Floodplain Ordinance and National Flood Insurance Program requirements. The village also links to a U.S. Geological Survey gauge on the East Branch near Downers Grove for real-time river levels.

Most basement water, though, comes from what the village calls urban flooding: water in streets, underpasses, basements and low spots when drainage paths are blocked or storm sewers reach capacity, which can happen in any kind of rain. On April 17–18, 2013, the National Weather Service Chicago office logged a two-day total of 6.86 inches at its Glen Ellyn observation site.

Sump pumps and sewer protection

Glen Ellyn regulates where water goes. Its sump pump rules prohibit directing discharge into the public right-of-way under Village Code 8-1-10, citing summer algae and winter icing, and clear water may not enter the sanitary sewer under Code 7-9-25. For homes with backup problems, the village reimburses 50% of an overhead sewer conversion up to a cap, with funding also available for a backflow valve, once clear-water connections such as sump pumps, drain tiles and downspouts are removed.

Where your sump water should go

A sump pump only protects the basement if its discharge carries water well away from the foundation and onto your own property or an approved connection. A frozen or crushed discharge line can send water straight back toward the house, so check it before winter.

Restoration services in Glen Ellyn

Smoke odor, soot and suppression water are handled through fire damage restoration in Glen Ellyn; our guide on the fire and smoke damage restoration process lays out each stage, and the fire damage hub covers related services.

For river seepage, sump failures and plumbing leaks, Glen Ellyn water damage restoration includes extraction and structural drying. If damp conditions have already produced growth, mold remediation in Glen Ellyn follows containment-based methods.

We also provide biohazard cleanup in Glen Ellyn with discretion, and Glen Ellyn cleaning services for homes and businesses before and after restoration.

Our team works with your insurance company and can help you assemble photos and inventories for the claim through insurance claim assistance. Nearby communities such as Lombard, Downers Grove and Lisle are part of our DuPage County service area too.

Dealing with smoke or water damage in Glen Ellyn? Call (630) 241-1111 at any hour, or contact us online.