Cleaning Up Smoke and Soot After a Fire

3/22/2023 (Permalink)

What type of smoke are you dealing with?

A fire in your Deer Park, FL, home will likely cause smoke damage. With everything else you have going on after a fire, you might want to wait to address this problem, but it is important to take care of it sooner rather than later.

What Type of Smoke Are You Dealing With?

It is helpful to know what kind of smoke is damaging your home because different types of smoke respond better to different cleaning methods. Three common types of smoke are the following:

Wet smoke comes from slow burning fires — low-heat fires, often from plastic and rubber.
Dry smoke comes from fast burning fires — high-heat fires, often from wood and paper.
Protein residue, created when food or other organic material evaporates in a fire, is not technically smoke but is still a problem because of the foul odor it produces.

What Happens if You Wait?

Because smoke damage and soot damage are corrosive, the longer they go untreated the more damage they cause. Additionally, movement in the area can cause the smoke and soot to become further embedded in upholstery, carpets, etc. This makes it more difficult, if not impossible, for the items to be fully cleaned and restored.

What Are Your Options?

There are a variety of smoke cleaning options currently available, including air scrubbing, thermal fogging and ozone treatments. Air scrubbers trap smoke particles in their filters. A commercial device can usually filter out more of the smoke than one designed for typical residential use. Thermal fogging works by heating up the surfaces in your home, causing them to expand. This allows the deodorization solution to penetrate further than it could in a room-temperature area. Ozone treatments are also an effective way to deodorize a home because the ozone oxidizes the smoke particles, destroying the unpleasant odors. For soot damage, ultrasonic cleaning is particularly effective. It uses a cleaning solution and ultrasound waves to thoroughly clean contaminated objects.
Regardless of the type of smoke damage you are dealing with, a professional restoration team can choose the best method to get your home and belongings back to normal.