Hidden Fire Damage And Cleanup Ideas

After a house fire, you’ll need to remove all charred and broken possessions. You’ll have to repair ruined building materials like sheetrock and carpet. The damaging effects of smoke and soot can linger. Add to that the chemicals and water used to put out the fire and you have a mess to clean up.

Fire Damage Cleanup In Greenville

Seek Out Specialized Knowledge

When you’ve had a fire, the builder who built your home isn’t always the best choice for repairs and remodeling. Although you might love your housekeeper, this is much more than your weekly spruce up. Your project requires unique experience, skills, and equipment, and contacts. Restoration work is more involved than you might think; it may require structural repairs, legal permits, engineering, or other highly specialized work.

Protect The HVAC System

Ash and soot in the space will continue to become airborne when disturbed by air movement. Until the ash and soot are diluted and absorbed by the environment, your indoor HVAC air filtration may help minimize the uncomfortable and potentially health-threatening impact of these pollutants.

However, the corrosive soot can degrade your expensive system. Have the fire damage cleanup team check the heating, ventilating and air conditioning units plus all ductwork professionally to identify soot, ash and smoke residue. Change filters when you first return to the house after the fire and at least once a month for the first year.

Attic Space

Smoke rises and will cause damage in the attic. Even if you don’t have steps or easy access to use the attic for storage the soot needs to be cleaned out. Otherwise, it can affect the quality of air in the home for years, just a little bit at a time, so the people who live there won’t notice until they have breathing problems after years of exposure. Guests may not recognize a distinct smell of smoke, but will likely find the house to have an unpleasant odor when they visit.

Smoke Clings To Fabrics

Smoke and soot get everywhere. The hot air took the microscopic particles into every space in your home. When you wash and disinfect all interior walls and hard surfaces, don’t forget inside cabinets, drawers and closets. Some wood surfaces might absorb the smoke odor. 

Launder or dry clean all clothing and household fabrics. Decide if you want to tackle this job with your washer or if you want to outsource to a laundry service. Sunlight and fresh air will help neutralize the smell.

Disinfect and deodorize all carpets, window coverings, upholstered furniture and mattresses with steam or other appropriate equipment. Ask your fire damage cleanup team for advice on how to salvage your materials.

Check Outside, As Well

The smoke, ask, soot and fire-fighting chemicals probably landed on your outdoor living spaces as well. Pressure wash, scrub or disinfect all exterior surfaces including walls, walks, drives, decks, window and deck screens, etc. Buy a really great outdoor mat for the home entrances; by diligent about keeping it clean. Don’t track grime in and out of the house while you recover.

Call The Professionals

The fire damage cleanup team at Premier Construction will be there immediately after a fire to begin clean up. However, you might have initially decided to tackle it on your own. If you suspect hidden damage after a fire, call our team to search deeper. If you only smell a suspicious odor, restoration experts should come investigate. If you have hidden damage, the team will find and remedy the problem.

In Greenville, the fire damage cleanup experts at Premier Construction are dedicated to safe construction and restoration projects. The integrity of your property relies on how quickly the fire damage cleanup process begins after the fire is out; lingering soot and smoke will damage your home even more if not cleaned up right away.