Area Homes with Fire Damage Can be Repaired

7/21/2016 (Permalink)

Fire and Soot Damage in a Home

Smoke and Soot Damage are Best Handled by Professionals at SERVPRO

If your home has had the experience of a fire, you know that fire damage can be extensive. Settled smoke and soot throughout your home must be cleaned up immediately to reduce the ongoing damage of the corrosive nature of the soot's particles. The oily property of soot can make cleaning up a very tiresome chore, and special cleaners should be used.

Our team of restoration specialists are specially trained and certified in IICRC techniques. We have the skills, training, experience, and equipment to reduce the damage your home's interior and contents suffer. Smoke, even though it has settled, can cause complications in individuals who already have respiratory problems. Homes that have not been cleaned of smoke and soot should not be occupied until the cleaning and restoration processes are completed.

Why Soot is So Difficult to Clean

The types of soot and smoke that are created during a fire are varied, and these variations are dependent on what materials are burning within the home. Sometimes soot is drier and more easily cleaned but this only true if the materials burned were dried wood or paper products. Very few house fires experience this. Some of the burnt materials' smoke and soot combine together, further complicating the cleaning procedures needed to complete the work correctly and fully. Professional training is required to gain the knowledge about these different types of soot deposits within the broad scope of fire damage.

The particles in soot can be as small as .0004 microns in diameter, necessitating a microscope be used to view them individually. Because they are so tiny, they are often difficult to remove without specific tools and instruments. The microscopic particles are what creates the foul odor after a fire, and even with cleaning by professionals, a gas treatment is often required as a final step to completely eliminate these odors. Using ozone, or O3, we can remove even the faintest odors left behind by a fire. Treatment by ozone is safe, and does not take a very extended period of time, but must be done as one of the last steps.

Because of the complicated aspect of soot and smoke deposits after a fire, this type of work is not recommended as a DIY project. Our technicians have the correct equipment and supplies available to them so they can make it “Like it never even happened.” If you have fire damage in your Wetumpka area home, it's best to leave this difficult cleaning job for the trained professionals at your local SERVPRO office. Call SERVPRO of Prattville at (334) 358-1186 for promptest service. We are open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.