A professional fire cleanup crew can do much more than just clear away debris. These specialists can also clean and sanitize salvageable items and rooms.
This step involves cleaning porous items like clothes, mattresses and furniture that absorbed chemicals from smoke and firefighting fluids. They can also sanitize metal items and sand and repaint wood surfaces.
Removing Debris
There is a lot of stuff that needs to be tossed after a fire. This can include furniture, clothes and other items with a sentimental value. However, it is important to remember that these things could pose a safety risk. This is because they may contain toxins that could make you sick.
Soot, ash and other materials left behind from fire damage areas are dangerous for several reasons. They release toxic volatile organic compounds that are harmful to long-term health. They also cling to surfaces and can be ingested or inhaled. This is why you should only enter a contaminated area with proper gear. This includes clothing, eye protection and a properly fitted respirator.
It is also important to avoid moving displaced containers until professionals have given their clearance. This is because they can contain toxic chemicals, lack of oxygen or other hazardous conditions that could cause a deadly situation. This is especially true for confined spaces that are not properly ventilated.
Cleaning the Surfaces
After removing debris, the next step in fire cleanup is to clean the surfaces. Smoke residue darkens walls and other hard surfaces, and it can stain fabric materials like rugs, drapes and carpeting. It also deposits corrosive chemicals and acidic particulates deep into porous surfaces, like drywall.
The type of fire will influence how much soot is left behind. For example, high-oxygen fires leave oily soot that may not respond to wet cleaning methods. Regardless of the type of fire, soot-covered areas must be cleaned as soon as possible to prevent permanent staining.
Be sure to use a vacuum hose with a brush attachment to remove loose granules from hard surfaces. If soot is left too long, it can cause a sticky film that is impossible to remove.
Eliminating Bad Smells
The smell of smoke can linger even after everything is cleaned up and rebuilt. It’s very difficult to get rid of because it clings to all surfaces and materials, especially porous ones like carpeting, fabrics, and wood.
The first step to eliminating bad smells from fire damage areas is to remove all items that were damaged in the fire. This includes discarded items and those that can’t be salvaged, such as drywall, furniture and other building materials.
The next step is to clean and disinfect all surfaces, including ceilings and walls. This is the most important part of cleaning smoke damage, since it’s here that the odor can linger the longest. After cleaning and disinfecting all surfaces, you should carry out odour remediation. Odour neutralisation, unlike odour masking, ensures that the molecules responsible for unpleasant smells break down or transform into odour-neutral substances. This is a process that should be carried out by professional odour removal specialists.
Restoring the Structure
The fire damage restoration process goes far beyond simply removing the visible signs of smoke and soot. It often involves assessing what items are salvageable and discarding any that are beyond saving. Porous materials, such as fabric and drywall, must be cleaned and treated to remove contaminants that can cause mold growth and other issues later on.
Water damage from the firefighting effort also needs to be assessed and repaired, as well as any structural damage. If windows and doors have been ruined, they need to be boarded up, both to protect the property from looters and for safety reasons.
As the fire cleanup process progresses, professional restoration experts will work to restore any areas that have been affected by smoke or water damage. They will also clean and deodorize surfaces, including walls, ceilings, upholstery and carpeting that are unable to be removed or replaced. They may use odor-eliminating techniques such as thermal fogging or ozone treatment.