FIRE! When you hear these words a feeling of panic comes fast over you. Of course, the Fire Department will put the fire out, but what exactly do you do? The first thing that needs to be done would be to have the unit wrapped up and utilities secured. A restoration company can conduct this service and will send workers out to look after this problem. Reputable restoration companies are available 24 hours per day – 7 days a week.
If your house has sustained damage from smoke and fire, any restoration work must be performed quickly and economically. Professional restoration companies work closely with your insurance company, ensuring that the process of getting your house back in order is done completely and to your satisfaction. Like this.
- Appliances/Electronics: Do not use any TV, stereo, or digital equipment until it’s been checked and cleaned. Empty refrigerators and freezers fully if power is off, and prop their doors open with a rolled towel. Avoid walking or tracking on carpeting if possible. Don’t use “do-it-yourself” home cleaner.
- Doors: Close doors in affected regions to localize smoke smells as far as possible.
- Food Things: For safety reasons, do not consume food items vulnerable to smoke or canned goods which have been exposed to excessive heat.
- Furnace: Change the furnace filter when the blower is working. Use masking tape to secure double sets of cheesecloth over air registers.
- Furniture: When possible, avoid using upholstered furniture.
- Pets: Move all pets into a fresh environment.
- Plants: Wash plants with gentle soap and water, cleaning both sides of the leaves (water softener helps).
Windows: When you can, open windows to ventilate.
Smoke Residue Contamination
- Within Minutes: Plastic and paper things discolor.
- Within Hours: Grout stains; appliances, furniture, and countertops begin to yellowish; metals begin corroding.
- Inside Days: Wallpaper and paint discolor permanently; carpet, upholstery, and drapery fibers become permanently stained; wood and vinyl floors discolor; glass, china, and crystal etch or pit.
- Ongoing Water Damage: The way to put a fire out is to use water. Now you have a new issue – furniture warps, cracks, splits, and stains carpets; alloy components (screws, nails, corner bead) begin to rust; dyes move from clothes, shoes, and rugs; electronics corrode, malfunction; plywood delaminates, particleboard buckles; mold can start to grow in as little as 48 hours.
Reputable restoration companies provide full service to include removing furnishings and possessions and keeping them before the job is complete.
Property restoration contractors are specialized in the repair process for fires as procedures need to be followed closely to ensure a full restoration including demolition, cleaning of exposed framing, sealing of the framing, and deodorization of the construction.
For any insured reduction there are 3 types of adjusters. A “Business Adjuster” works directly for the insurance company. An “Independent Adjuster” is contracted by an insurance company to represent them. The third kind of adjuster is that the “Public Adjuster”. Typically a public adjuster may speak to a homeowner immediately after any reduction and contract with them to act on their behalf. Their selling point is they signify the homeowner to make the most of the dollar amount of their loss. Unfortunately, because this adds a third person to the mix it will not only slow down the repairs but their fee is still a significant proportion of the loss. This could leave a severe shortfall in the funds required to complete the job.
For fire damage recovery, get the PuroClean restoration experts!
When the contents of your home are ruined by smoke/soot, mitigating the flame damage, cleaning, and restoring the materials into their pre-loss state is a task for recovery professionals. PuroClean technicians understand how to wash smoke damage from materials ethically and professionally. When you telephone us, we will mitigate the reduction and restore your house using state-of-the-art equipment and techniques.
