4 Tips for Smoke/Soot Cleanup

12/31/2019 (Permalink)

Once a fire loss is over and the adrenaline high wears off, the panic begins to set in. This is where SERVPRO of Daviess County, Kentucky steps in and helps make it “Like it never even happened.” Our trainer professionals can come in, assess the damage, and write up an estimate of work for what they see. But before help is onsite, here are a few things you can do to help minimize the damage:

*NOTE: We want to warn you, when doing a thorough cleaning job, you need specialized training. If you are nervous about what to do, let us get onsite before moving anything. *

1. Cleaning Sooty Dishes

        Dishes are an item you cannot live without very long. They are also an item you will want to have these 100% clean, simply because they are what you eat off. Wooden items are difficult to clean, as they will soak up water during the cleaning/soaking process. They are best to replace in this situation. To clean the plastic and glass items, first soak in a solution of water and bleach (2 tablespoons of bleach per gallon of water) for about 20 minutes. Then scrub the items with detergent until clean.

2. Textiles and Clothing Impacted

         When these items are impacted, do not throw them into a regular washing machine, as this will worsen the situation. You can call a local dry cleaner and ask what they suggest doing, or you can give us a call and we can do an emergency wash on items you need immediately. We have the Esporta Wash System in house, which can easily handle items that have went through a fire. This is a great service to take advantage of when your items are all impacted, and you need them back quickly.

3. Tips to Remove Smoke Soot

        After a fire, if the soot has not been sitting quite a while, or is not very thick, you may be able to remove the top layer yourself. But before you put any mixture with water in it on the wall, make sure to wipe and dust the wall or item to take off as much of the dried particles as possible. Once soot gets wet, it will get sticky and harder to remove. If you are going to paint the area, also make sure the all is as clean and dry as possible before beginning.

4. Limit Traffic in Impacted Areas

       The more people are going through the area, the more of the soot will be tracked through your home or business, and ground into the flooring until you are ready to begin the cleaning process. also limit the amount of people handling the items. Touching will make the soot harder to scrub off.  

SERVPRO of Daviess County, Kentucky can help ease your mind in this situation, and make it “Like it never even happened.” Call us today to get on the schedule for a free quote!