Home Comfort

What You Should Know About Restoring Property Contents After a Fire

Gideon Anderson

Fires are among the biggest disasters in the US. But while some fires are a total loss, not all they are. From time to time, fires are somewhat smaller in scale, causing partial structural damage. In such cases, the contents of this house can usually be salvaged. But then, there’s usually substantial smoke/soot harm to the contents of the home. When coping with home fire damage, always hire a professional restoration company, for example, PuroClean, that understands how to clean smoke damage from house contents. Here’s how we do it. 

The best way to clean smoke damage from contents:

1. Safety comes first

The primary concern in every fire damage cleanup scenario is security. Restoration professionals will take action to be certain all employees and others entering a structure after a fire is secure. It’s important that the structure is safe before the test and recovery.

Also, remember that, after a fire, the indoor atmosphere contains floating smoke and soot particles. Smoke/soot particles are Products of Incomplete Combustion (PIC). These are carcinogens and therefore are harmful. When cleaning up smoke/soot, it’s important to put on a respirator, such as an N-95 or even N-100. Using gloves and other protective garments will also shield against soot exposure. Ventilation is key to letting the contaminants from the air outside. Learn more about fire safety here.

2. Evaluating the damaged items

The next step is to determine which items must be washed and where, in addition to which items to discard. Cost and classic worth are key consideration factors. Professionals assess the affected things as promptly as possible, as soot can create further damage in a matter of hours or days, depending on the material.

Oftentimes, items that have never been damaged directly by the fire or by excessive heat shouldn’t be discarded. Luckily, we understand how to wash smoke harm from salvageable items.

Most textile products like draperies and bedding will be obtained from some laundry or dry-cleaning facility. Other restorable items, such as furniture, might be cleaned within the home or sent to an outside site.

Food items must be treated with caution. Any open items should be thrown off. Unopened items in original packaging that was away in the heat can be considered safe. If there is any doubt, throw the items away.

Remember that melted or stained plastic items can not be revived, only cleaned.

3. Creating an inventory

When a”pack out” (taking contents to a cleaning center ) is necessary, our technicians will maintain careful records for items taken, place of the things, and state of the things when eliminated. In other situations, we might determine that conditions allow for cleaning and storing the contents within the house, or maybe the garage. A list of all discarded items is essential to receiving compensation when filing an insurance claim.

4. Cleaning the influenced contents

Our restoration experts will perform testing to determine the appropriate product and mix ratio to use on every product. Today’s restoration professionals will use environmentally friendly products for many cleaning and cleaning procedures. This is an important consideration when choosing a restoration company.

Then, they begin to gently remove soot from every restorable item — either at the home or another place. The cleaning method depends upon the product, such as furniture, kitchen utensils, dishes, toys, clothing, bedding, draperies, and more.

5. Removing the odor

Odor problems arrive with smoke/soot damage. Following the cleaning procedure, the majority of the smoke odor will be removed. However, if there is still a small odor, we might add a step to the recovery process. This could include ozone or hydroxyl deodorizing, as appropriate. Learn more about smoke odor removal.

For fire damage recovery, get the PuroClean restoration pros!

When the contents of a home are ruined by smoke/soot, mitigating the flame damage, cleaning, and restoring the materials into their pre-loss condition is a job for restoration professionals. PuroClean technicians understand how to wash smoke damage from contents ethically and professionally. When you call us, we’ll mitigate the reduction and revive your property utilizing innovative equipment and methods.