Find a Local Service Provider

Month: December 2013

How to remove winter salt stains
Cleaning and restoration tips

How to remove winter salt stains

Winter is here in Illinois, and with the holidays comes the cold weather and the snow – and with the snow comes the perpetually salted sidewalks and roads.  Salt is of course great for driving, as it melts ice and snow and helps you get where you want to go safely, but when it comes to keeping your home clean road salt can lead to staining and damage. Winter cleaning tips to combat salt stains When crushed by your car’s tires or your feet, road salt becomes a very fine powder that sticks to basically everything it touches.  This means that if you’re walking on salted sidewalks or roads, you’re inevitably going to bring road salt into your home and end up with salt stains.  Salt can also come in through half-melted snow.  Besides being unattractive, salt stains can actually harm the inter...
Chimney Cleaning Tips
Smoke Damage Cleanup

Chimney Cleaning Tips

As winter fast approaches or may already be here, wood-burning fireplaces must be cleaned to ensure there will be no issues with carbon poisoning. Pay special attention to that because without regular cleaning your chimney will be at higher risk of keeping much of the dangerous buildup produced while burning firewood or coal. Clean your fireplace not only to make it look good but also to ensure it is safe and doesn't have any buildup. Begin the chimney check up by looking for leaks. Start a fire in the fireplace as usual and once it is burning throw in some smoke-causing fuel that would allow you to track for possible leaks. Once the smoke goes in the chimney, pay attention and mark the leaks if you can spot any. Repair by using chimney patch and make sure it is safe to proceed to the n...