Leave Smoke & Soot to Your Trusted Experts!
Putting out the flames is only the first step in fire control. When this is done, there’s an extensive recovery process to undertake. The lingering smoke and soot can continually damage your home, belongings and your health if it’s not addressed quickly, and can cause just as much damage as the fire. Our experienced team at Flood Pros, USA are trained to help you mitigate this damage in a time and cost-effective manner.
Don’t put your health or your home on the line, our team will assess the damage caused by the fire and determine a path to remediation while also finding any unseen damage you may not have initially noticed, to get you back home and to your daily life as soon as we can.
Time is Ticking
Smoke is one of the quickest ways to damage your home. Within a few minutes it’ll discolor your walls, and in hours it can discolor your kitchen appliances. It can cause corrosion, glass etching and take down electrical appliances easily. Within days, soot damaged walls may even have permanent staining that can’t be chemically removed and requires repainting.
With all this in mind, smoke cleaning services aren’t something to leave until the end, call us right after you get off the phone with your insurance company and we’ll get you back in your home sooner.
What Does Smoke Cleaning Entail?
At Flood Pros, USA, we use the best possible tools and techniques to get your home back to its original splendor in a time efficient manner.
Our smoke cleaning process includes:
- Cleaning any ash residue before it spreads further.
- Neutralizing the harmful smoke odors.
- Cleaning carpets, upholstery, curtains and fabrics.
- Deodorizing curtains and carpeting to remove stubborn smells.
- Removing any soot stains and odors from fragile items like chrome, brass, aluminum and marble as this can permanently stain.
- Clothing dry cleaning if required.
Wait For the Experts
You probably don’t want to just sit around until we arrive to help you recover from the soot damage. If you’d like to be productive, there are some safe steps you can take to help the process along. Just make sure not to enter your home without clearance from the fire department.
- Open doors and windows to air out your home and reduce smoke smells if the temperature and humidity is low enough.
- Remove any important documents.
- Change the air filter on your furnace if you have one.
- Try not to wash the walls, this can make things worse.
- Don’t touch any damaged spaces with your hands, as the oils from your skin can make things worse.
It’s clear that there’s not a lot to be done without the help of professionals, so call us first, so we can get started sooner, and you can go back to your life sooner!
FAQ
Should I clean up fire damage on my own?
We don’t recommend this. Fires are destructive and can impact your home’s structure, which can make it dangerous to walk through. Smoke, soot and the odors from smoke are all dangerous to breathe in and touch. This is why most people choose to work with professional smoke cleaning services.
Can I clean the smoke damage myself?
If there is minor smoke damage like what you would get from burning a candle too close to a surface, or burning some toast, you can use household products. But anything larger than this should be left to the smoke cleaning professionals. If not handled correctly, smoke damage can smudge into carpets, walls and ceilings, and even change the consistency of plaster.
Why is smoke residue so hard to remove?
The particles that make up smoke are very fine, which means that the surface doesn’t have to be porous for them to sink in and stick. Even marble countertops will be damaged by smoke and soot.
How can I tell if something was affected by smoke damage?
Here are some common things to keep an eye on:
- Clothes: Smoke always travels further than flames, so your clothes may be in the next room, but it’s still a good idea to get smoke covered clothes professionally cleaned, as smoke residue can really harm your skin.
- Plants: Your indoor plants may be far from the fire, but that doesn’t mean they’re safe from soot. Give them a wipe down and put it outside to air out for a few days after a fire.
- The Fridge: Check the inside of your fridge for any smoke residue and remove and discard any affected food that isn’t in an airtight container.
- Food: Smoke can even get through food packaging, so make sure the food is checked thoroughly, and if you’re in doubt, throw it out!
- Pets: It’s a smart idea to take your pets to the vet after a fire to make sure they aren’t suffering from any smoke damage internally.
How do experts remove smoke smells?
There are a lot of ways to remove smoke odor that the smoke damage clean up professionals will use. For most surfaces that are hard, wet cleaning options with chemicals are likely to be used. Industrial dry-cleaning tools may be used for flooring and upholstery.
Can I stay home during the cleaning process?
This depends on the extent of the damage to your home. Most times, our team will advise you to relocate until the cleaning is completely done. This is because of the hazards that come from the chemicals used and other such hazards.
