When a fire hits, there is not always much you can do. Smoke and fire can cause extensive damage to your property. A small fire can create massive amounts of smoke within a structure and depending on what is burned in the fire, poisonous gases can be released via the smoke. The smoke can be passed throughout your ventilation system affecting your whole property.
Kitchen fires are one of the most common types of fires and although they often leave smoke behind, they sometimes leave unseen damage to the untrained eye.
It’s important to know that when a fire occurs at your property, the proper steps can help or deter you from the restoration process. At Expert Restoration, we are here to help you every step of the way.
Here are a few things to remember when it comes to smoke damage and the smoke restoration process:
- Contact a fire restoration company right away. You may be anxious to clean your home after a fire, BUT FIRST, you should contact your insurance agency and Expert Restoration so that we can effectively assess the damage. We can begin the process of helping you restore and remediate the smoke damage immediately and correctly.
- Make sure that you have permission from the fire marshal before reentering your home. You want to make sure that it is safe before you go in. If you must enter the structure, please remember to wear a protective device over your mouth and nose to prevent inhaling any toxins left behind by the fire. If you haven’t had a professional fire restoration company in your home to clean the toxins yet, you don’t know what kind of air you’re walking into.
- Don’t attempt to clean any household textiles, carpets, upholstered furniture or draperies on your own. You will likely cause additional and possibly irreparable damage. Smoke is oily and requires cleaning in a very specific way. We do not recommend try to do this yourself. Expert Restoration can help you with getting those cleaned properly. We have a specific process that we use to ensure we clean these items properly and carefully.
- Get a ventilation system cleaned or at least change the furnace filter. If you have an operating filter and are able to get into the house, remember to change the furnace filter at least once a day until the filter doesn’t show any soot. In most cases, you will need to have your entire ventilation system cleaned by a professional cleaning company.
- Have a professional deodorize via an ozone treatment. Smoke odor can remain in clothing, furniture, carpets, insulation, and draperies after any retail spray or perfume evaporates unless it is properly deodorized by a highly-effective ozone treatment. Without an ozone treatment, you will not be able to get smoke odor out of clothing, furniture, carpets, draperies and often other prized possessions.
- Smoke will enter and remain in and between the walls of the living space. If it is not properly removed, the smoke odor will reoccur, especially during times of high humidity.
- Remove items from the affected areas. To prevent additional soiling, remove from the affected areas or at least cover clean items with plastic while further repairs are being carried out in the dwelling.
- Carpets should be cleaned by a professional carpet cleaner. Sometimes the carpet will need to be cleaned twice or completely replaced.
- Do not attempt to wipe down the walls on your own. Our expertly trained crew at Expert Restoration will identify the areas that need to be cleaned and use specific “chemical sponges” that effectively clean smoke and soot from different surfaces, thus saving money and reducing further damage.
