Smoke damage cleanup is one of the most important elements of cleaning up after a fire. Smoke not only causes a horrible and pervasive odor throughout your home, it can also cause an enormous amount of damage. Can the cleanup effort every really be successful? Here’s what you need to know.
The Speed of Cleanup is Directly Related to Its Success
One of the number one factors in the success of smoke cleanup is the speed at which it’s addressed. The longer soot and smoke residue sit untreated the more damage they can do.
If the smoke isn’t addressed quickly, it can discolor nearly everything in your home including appliances, paint, wallpaper, fixtures, furniture, upholstery, and even wood, tile grout, and vinyl. Glass and crystal can get etched by the residue and become pitted as well if the smoke sits on them for longer than a few days.
The damage that’s done by smoke residue is most often irreversible, so you want professionals on site managing cleanup as quickly as possible.
Knowing What to Do When and Where
Cleaning up smoke damage is part science part art. Knowing what to do where and when is key to the success of the whole project. A professional that is trained and certified will know and understand how different items and different materials will get treated and cleaned differently to achieve excellent results.
Different fabrics, for example, require different cleaning methods to not only get them clean but to rid them of the smoke odor. And different types of stone and flooring require different cleaning approaches as well. Understanding the differences in how things need to be handled will lead to successful cleanup.
Understanding the Scope of the Project
Just as any good project manager in any business setting will do, the restoration specialists will begin by evaluating the scope of the cleanup project. Was the fire contained to the kitchen? Were multiple rooms involved? Did it spread to more than one floor or up into the attic? What kind of water damage is present? How much damage is there inside and outside the home? These are all questions that will need answers before cleanup begins.
Another factor is how much time has passed since the fire. No matter how large the damage area, the damage itself will be much more significant if time has passed since the fire to allow more damage to be done by the smoke residue.
Dealing With the Odor
Unless you’ve been in a house that’s been on fire it’s hard to understand the smell created by a house fire. Our homes contain so much synthetic material, the smoke is full of particles of plastics and chemicals and toxins that coat the walls, ceilings, furniture, and belongings in our home, and with that coating comes the smell.
The smell of a wood fire, like a campfire, is not the same as the smell from a house fire. Getting rid of that odor is absolutely critical to making that home livable again. No one can, or should, live in a house tainted by smoke odor. Understanding the intricacies involved and the tools needed to get rid of that odor is what will ultimately make the cleanup a success.
Every aspect of fire damage restoration is important, but there’s something about smoke cleanup that is especially important to making a house a home again. If it’s done the right way the first time by trained and experienced professionals, it can be a success. Don’t trust anyone else with this monumental task.
If you’ve had a house fire, don’t wait. Contact Can-Restore for help with smoke damage cleanup by calling (770) 735-2695.
