Fire Damage Restoration Including Smoke and Soot Cleanup

August 10,2020

Seeing your business or home being consumed by fire is enough to make you feel like giving up on the property. Unfortunately, even if the fire is successfully extinguished, you still have a long way to recovery—that should begin immediately.

A property owner can be limited to think that the damage caused by a fire can be confirmed visually, that is not usually the case. A Fire damage restoration company is able to understand that other than the visible damage, there can be extensive damage caused. After combating a fire successfully, odor, water, and soot can further destroy your property.

After a fire, ensure that no additional damage can occur. Remove all items from the affected areas and come up with a plan of action that guarantees that your property will be restored. At this point, you will realize that you need a team of fire damage restoration experts.

A fire damage restoration company will use state-of-the-art equipment for fire damage remediation tasks including technology for smoke and soot residue cleaning. Deodorizing equipment such as the hydroxyl generators are safe to use even with your family still occupying the house. Also, professionals are experienced in soot removal and deodorizing of most materials, surfaces, and coverings. Besides enabling the areas that require mitigation to be quickly determined, experience enables the technicians to properly address items and structures, thus prevent further damage.

A Typical Fire Damage Restoration Process

Among the first steps in a fire, smoke, and soot damage restoration is to ensure that the air is clean and safe. Since fire and smoke may result in toxic pollutants, ensure that the harsh and harmful odor does not reach your loved ones too. If you are dealing with a restoration company, here is what to expect:

1. Air cleaning

Immediately, air scrubbers should be installed on the property.  A single unit can be used for two or three rooms depending on their sizes. To clean the air use Alorair air scrubbers which feature three filters including a HEPA filter. So, with efficient time and efficient scrubbing, the air quality improves hence, you can proceed to the deodorizing and cleaning procedures.

2. Deodorizing

During the deodorization procedure, use either hydroxyl units or the ozone machines. Ozone machines are best applicable where the property is vacant. Using the hydroxyl units is recommended since it doesn’t affect the technicians or residents of the building. Also, the units should be installed closest to the room where the fire started. This maximizes its efficiency. 

3. Material removal

Walls, ceilings, and cabinets closer to the source of fire are in most cases, beyond recovery. In such situations, remove and dispose of these materials. Afterward, you are set to begin the fire damage restoration process

4. Soot removal

Being oily, soot easily stains surfaces it lands on. Don’t touch the curtains, upholstered furniture, or flooring if they are covered with soot. Touching them could permanently rub the stains in. A restoration company should be equipped with a durable vacuum to get rid of the soot.

5. Final repairs

The final step in any restoration project should be finalizing repairs. Typical repairs include a material replacement, painting, and other services that ensure the home returns to its pre-fire condition.