When smoke damage occurs in your business and home, the sheer amount of damage smoke causes can leave you feeling stressed and overwhelmed. To reduce this stress, one of the best things you can do is hire a specialist to help you clean the smoke, as it's often more than what a contracted cleaner can manage on their own. But you're likely to not know off the cuff, what smoke restoration is, so for more information keep reading.
Smoke Restoration Services
Smoke damage services consist of professional smoke restoration techniques that involve things such as cleaning, deodorizing and restoring furnishings to their original state. This entire process depends on the damage levels.
If there's only a light layer of soot, it can be removed by specialized techniques, but if the soot is permanently embedded it needs to be carefully removed to help salvage as many of the belongings as can be done properly. The professionals who conduct these services can also determine how toxic the smoke is.
Smoke Is a Hazard
Smoke from either home or commercial fires is inherently toxic. This is because it's not just natural materials such as wood that are burning. Items such as plastics, chemicals and leather will also burn, and this can release toxins. Often this is why the fire department will not easily allow you to enter the vicinity, and if you do, they will recommend wearing face masks to protect from inhaling the soot.
Don't Let Smoke Sit
The longer you stall on calling the right people to assess your property, the worse the damage will become. Within minutes acidic soot and residue can cause marble, plastics and alabaster to yellow. Within hours this can stain your grout, fridge, furniture and tarnish metals.
Within a few days, wood furniture will need to be refinished and flooring may need to be replaced. If you wait weeks, windows, glass, crystals and china may need to be replaced due to exposure to soot that causes etching and pitting to occur. With all this in mind, don't wait to call the professionals, you may end up losing more if you do.
What Does Smoke Restoration Entail?
A great restoration company will often complete the following steps:
- There will be an evaluation to determine the most cost-effective cleaning process for your property.
- The team will then choose how to clean the property, and this will be a 5-step cleaning process that is based on time, damages and your budget.
- The plan will be executed, and then the company will report on the cleaning process and inspect that soot and carbon have been correctly eliminated, check the odor has been eliminated and a once-over will be done before you move back in.
Some of the services the fire and smoke damage repair company will complete are as follows, and what you will require depends on your property's needs.
- Smoke odor removal
- Document drying
- Art restoration
- Ozone treatment
- Corrosion control
- Contents pack-out services.
- Contents restoration & refinishing services
- Electronics and ultrasonic cleaning.
Now that you understand the reasons smoke remediation is so important, all you need to do is choose an affordable smoke-cleaning company. One great option is Flood Pros USA, they're on call 24/7 for emergency remediation, and they can guide you on the process.
The Community's Most Asked Questions
Why is smoke remediation important?
Smoke remediation is vital as smoke and soot aren't just unpleasant, they're also harmful and can cause long-term damage to a property and its content if it's not correctly treated. This can later diminish the worth of your property and make it difficult to reside in the home.
Can't I handle smoke damage myself?
While some very minor smoke damage can be handled with DIY methods, it's much safer for you to contact the professionals, especially if your property suffers a larger fire. You won't have access to the specialized tools or knowledge the experts understand and have on hand. You will also not be aware of common issues such as smoke seeping into insulation and more.
How long does this process take?
The length of time that your smoke remediation takes will always vary depending on the extent of the damage to your property, and how much needs to be cleaned or restored. Small, localized fires often take a few days, but larger fires can take weeks to months. So be aware that your usual routine will be disturbed for some time. But it's worth it in the long run!
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