A Steger family that has been unable to live in its home for more than 100 days will be able to return in time for Thanksgiving as a result of a professional cleaner donating his services.
Rich Michniak said Tuesday that his Chicago Heights-based firm, D&R Steam Master Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning, has waived its estimated fee of $12,000 to clean and disinfect the home of Ray and Lisa Morrow, which was inundated with sewage 3 1/2 months ago.
“We’re doing it totally for free,” Michniak said, adding that the Morrows “couldn’t get any help from anybody. I have children of my own.”
The house, on the 3600 block of John Street, was declared uninhabitable by the Will County Public Health Department after sewage spewed into the structure in the early morning hours of June 16, leaving the lower level three feet-deep in human waste.
Michniak said he was on the scene almost immediately.
“I’ve never seen anything like that. It came so quick,” he recalled, adding that sewage was shooting out the downstairs toilet several feet into the air. The bacterial contamination, he said, “was the worst you can get anywhere.”
The Morrow couple, whose insurance did not cover the damage, and their three children had to move, staying alternatively with friends and relatives.
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Unable to cover the cost of the cleanup, the couple tried to convince Steger officials that the village, with its aging sewer system, bore some responsibility and should shoulder some of the cleanup costs. But on Aug. 28, the Morrows formally learned that neither the village nor its insurance company would pay any of the cost of cleaning and disinfecting the structure.