Cleaning Smoke After Fire Damage in Sandy Springs

3/7/2017 (Permalink)

Rely on SERVPRO for Smoke Cleanup in Your Sandy Springs House

Inspection and Assessment Lead to Correct Fire Cleanup Procedures

You had a kitchen fire, so now what? Even though you got it put out relatively quickly, there is still plenty of damage, including much damage from smoke. Instead of cleaning it yourself, you need the help of a knowledgeable professional, such as SERVPRO, who is trained to handle this kind of damage.

You may be quite out of sorts after experiencing a fire, but as soon as you can gather your thoughts a bit, a call to SERVPRO should be immediate so as to prevent further fire damage to your home in Sandy Springs. The longer you wait to call, the longer the acidic soot and smoke have time to do more harm. Our technicians follow core principles for cleaning up smoke residues including:
 
• Finding all the residues
• Identifying the kind of residues
• Identifying the type of surface the residues are on
• Capturing the residues in dry particulate form or a solution
• Removing the residues
• Properly disposing of the residues
 
Finding and Identifying the Residues
The technician first inspects and tests for smoke residues to determine the extent of damages and decide what cleaning methods are needed for restoration. The technician also pre-tests particular items to figure out the best restoration procedure. By doing this inspection and pre-testing, the tech locates residues, identifies the kinds of residues, and decides what surfaces to clean.
 
Capturing and Removing Residues
Before being removed, you have to capture the residues. The restorer uses air and fluids to release and carry soils away. Air and fluids carry particles suspended with them on contact. Dissolving and vacuuming are two ways to contact soils and dispose of them.
 
Dissolving
Soils and residues which are not loose need to dissolve before being removed. Doing so loosens their bond with the surface and suspends them in a cleaning product and flushed away once it is rinsed or extracted from the surface. The kind of surface and soil are two main factors in dissolving soils. Some soils dissolve in water while others do not and need the use of a cleaning product which is solvent-based. The kind of surface has to be considered to preserve what is being cleaned.
 
Vacuuming
Smoke residues with solid particles consist of mostly carbon. Dry particles which are loosely attached to surfaces can be suctioned by vacuuming. Moisture contacting particles allow the surface to absorb them and therefore are harder to remove. Vacuuming is always attempted first before applying wet cleaning products.
 
Disposing Residues
There are general rules which the SERVPRO tech follows to dispose of the residues properly, so you do not have to worry about it yourself. They understand not to dispose of cleaning solvents in a sewer and septic system and not to dispose of cleaning wastes in a gutter or storm drain. If needed, water with biohazards is brought to a proper disposal firm to handle correctly.
 
Smoke damage left from a fire can have detrimental effects on your possessions and needs to be cleaned right away, so call SERVPRO of North Fulton County immediately after a fire. We can be reached with just a phone call to (770) 992-2777, and we will be to your property quickly to help.