Why SERVPRO, Because It's Personal

3/19/2021 (Permalink)

Picture of burnt charger

Many of you have seen the SERVPRO commercials on television which markets our 1-800-SERVPRO phone number. But did you know that when you dial the 800# those reps turn around and call the closest SERVPRO-owned franchise to your location to expedite your emergency?  That’s because there are over 1800 SERVPRO individually owned and operated branches throughout the USA.  Each one of those branches (or franchises) – though all following industry-standard cleaning protocols – like to make themselves stand out.  SERVPRO of Ravenswood likes to stand by sharing personal stories of their own by blogging about it.  Today I share my personal story to help educate families on what could happen to you.

Like many residents across Chicago, my home is on technology overload! Between working from home on my laptop for months, my daughters Zooming in and out of classes throughout the days, and the cable television always on in the background so not to miss the latest breaking news our WiFi has been tested to the max this past year.  As are our charging cables. 

Over the weekend my daughters and I were just doing our own weekend thing in our condo playing with the cats, streaming shows and of course snacking throughout the day when we noticed an odd burning smell in the air.  It was a sunny fresh Saturday, so we opened the balcony door for fresh air, checked our oven to make sure it wasn’t on and made sure the curling iron wasn’t left on in the bathroom.  All checked out on our end so we brushed it off thinking our neighbor must have accidentally burned something next door.  But I kept smelling it throughout the morning, hmm?  A few hours later I sat down on my couch and went to plug in my phone to charge when I noticed my charging station was super hot to the touch, odd!  I picked up one of the cords that laid down onto the carpet below only to find the end completely burned and melting.  BINGO!  We found our culprit.  Apparently, our charging station had reached its capacity and began the very scary and real process of burning.  Not only was I lucky to find it in time, but I also found this to be an excellent teachable moment.  I called my daughters over and showed them what had happened.  They were shocked, because they too knew that this could have been a fire hazard.

So, I post my little story today to encourage our readers to always pay close attention to odd burning smells, and to look further than just the standard oven or curling iron checks.  We now have technology to watch out for in the background.  My takeaways to you are: 1. Don’t Buy Cheap Chargers! 2. Don’t Charge Devices on Carpets or Couches (or any cloth-type areas for that matter) and 3. Should you encounter a fire or smoke damage, call SERVPRO of Ravenswood (773-878-5200) to get rid of that awful odor!

For more helpful tips, click HERE.