Fire & Smoke Damage Tips
While waiting for help
Even if you haven’t actually suffered whole house fire damage, the resulting smoke from any size fire can destroy the contents of your home or property. Our expert fire damage cleanup team of technicians can expertly clean and disinfect your home and contents in no time, but here are a few basic tips to help you cope with the mess before help arrives.
- Air movement can cause ash and soot on the ground and on other surfaces to generate smoke odors and flying soot particles when disturbed therefore, an indoor air filtration system should be used to help filter the air and minimize odors that could threaten your health and well-being.
- Be sure to clean hard surfaces with mild soap or other cleaning agents and rinse thoroughly. Remember to clean and wipe the insides of drawers, cabinets, and closets.
- Scrub and disinfect all of the interior and exterior surfaces of your home or building.
- Wipe down or wash all household items such as picture frames, knick-knacks, lamps, tables, and electronics.
- Curtains, upholstery cushion covers, toss pillows, as well as clothing can become soot covered and absorb odors. Dry-clean or launder all household fabrics and clothing to remove soot and odors.
- Disinfect and deodorize all carpets, window coverings, upholstered furniture and mattresses with steam or other appropriate equipment.
- Have all ductwork professionally cleaned to remove soot, ash and smoke residue. Change filters when you first return to the property and again at least once a month for the first year.
- If aerial fire retardant or firefighting foam residue was sprayed on the house and/or automobiles use a mild detergent and brushes to scrub and dilute the dried residue and flush it from the surfaces; rinse with clean water. A follow-up with pressure washing may be beneficial but will not replace scrubbing to remove the residue.
Taking these easy and achievable steps can go a long way toward getting your life back to normal after a fire. If you are in need of more detailed fire damage cleanup that includes content restoration of household specialty items like electronics and photos or important document restoration, call us— we’re your content restoration experts.
