Addressing Soot After You Experience a Fire in Your Home

6/29/2020 (Permalink)

Sometimes even the smallest of fires in a kitchen can cause some serious damage. Not only can you experience appliances melted or fire damage on your walls and ceilings, you may also suffer from extensive soot damage, which can be a challenge to clean up. Here are a few tips on addressing soot after you experience a fire in your home.

What is soot?

Soot, sometimes called lampblack or carbon black, is a fine black or brown powder that can be slightly sticky and is a product of incomplete combustion. It leaves an ugly sight and foul smell. During a fire, soot spreads to the whole house, attaching to several surfaces. The acidic properties of soot can damage your home and indoor air quality if the soot is not removed immediately.

Do all house fires result in soot?

Most of the materials used for the construction of your home have the ability to catch fire and help it to spread throughout the structure. Unfortunately, this can spread the effects of this blaze all throughout your property, which means you will likely experience some level of soot in your home after a fire. While you might be tempted to simply clean up the soot on your home, cleanup is best left to the professionals, as it can be more difficult to completely clean than you might imagine.

When to call in fire clean up specialists

Most often the substantial effects that stand out from a house fire of any kind are smoke and soot damages. These are common versions of fire damage in homes, and they can often prove to be challenging to remove without the right equipment.  Fortunately, our SERVPRO professionals have the tools and expertise to help you through often widespread soot damages throughout your household. While the most concentrated of this effect can get found around the fires originating point where it burned the longest, this is not always the case. The debris and film from the combustion leaves a dark, often black residue on surfaces, furniture, flooring, and other materials. That is soot. Unless the fire didn’t spread at all and was quickly extinguished, it’s time to call fire clean up specialists, or those skilled in fire damage remediation, to help with clean up.

How can soot be removed? 
 
Removing this residue requires multiple approaches. For wall surfaces, scrubbing with wet and dry sponges can often remove the bulk of the present film. Confined spaces like ductwork require high powered vacuums to get used instead. SERVPRO of East Phoenix can assist in cleaning ductwork. Smoke damage often presents itself in the form of a harsh odor lingering in fabrics, carpeting and open spaces throughout affected areas of your house. Removal of this odor typically requires thermal fogging to break apart odor molecules and leave no discernable scent behind. Depending on the extent of soot damage found in the home, our highly trained technicians will know exactly what to do to address the soot throughout your home.

If you suffer a home fire, regardless of the extent of damage, it is a good idea to contact SERVPRO of East Phoenix to help with all your fire damage remediation needs, including addressing soot. We can be reached 24/7 at 602-507-6163. Let us help restore your home to pre-fire condition.