How Does Smoke Damage Affect Your Property's Contents?

9/23/2021 (Permalink)

If you have ever experienced a fire in your home, then you would know that even small fires can produce tremendous amounts of smoke. This can result in smoke damage that is difficult to mitigate without professional help. Smoke damage can damage the structural integrity of your home, tarnish your furniture and even destroy your personal belongings. Smoke contains tons of dangerous chemicals that can have detrimental effects on our health. It can also affect the various surfaces in your home differently, making smoke damage restoration a time-sensitive issue.

Can You Salvage any Belongings?

If you lack experience with smoke damage, it can be challenging to decide which items require the most attention. However, with the help of expert professionals, you will be able to determine which of your belongings can be salvaged. More importantly, it is important to note that these items should be salvaged as soon as possible, which might be impossible if you do not possess the necessary equipment and knowledge.

Important Factors

There are many different factors to consider when dealing with items that have been affected by smoke damage. In order to decide how to handle them, experts must first determine the temperature that the fire was burning at, what type of fire caused the smoke damage, and even the type of materials that were burnt. Furthermore, without the proper expertise, it is not easy to deal with the remnant smoke particles that might seep into any cracks in your home. If this is not dealt with properly, you might be left with a lingering, unpleasant smoke smell long after the fire is put out. When handling such situations, it is crucial to create good ventilation for your home, remove the remaining debris, and attempt to neutralize the odor of smoke. Experts also feel that the most important factor to remember after a fire is time.

Damage to Household Items

• Furniture: If you happen to own a wood furniture, it is best that you do not try to clean it on your own. This is because they can stain your flooring or carpets with its dyes. On the other hand, if your furniture is largely made of metal, smoke damage can cause rust to happen and stain your rug or carpet as well. This is why professionals utilize various protective barriers to separate the different surfaces in your home until they are completely dry.
• Porous Surfaces: Some porous surfaces such as paint and plaster can be irreversibly stained by smoke. As such, it is essential to use dry chemical sponges to avoid causing permanent stains on your walls.
• Hard Floors: In the case of a fire, wooden flooring might need to be replaced entirely because of the water damage from fighting the fire. However, if there are still areas of your floor that are undamaged by water, it might even be possible to resurface them.

Sense of Urgency

If there is one thing you should take away from this article, it should be that time is of the essence when fighting smoke damage. If these actions are delayed for up to a few days, there is an increased chance of permanent stains in your home, with other problems such as rust and corrosion of your belongings. In the long run, it will definitely be much cheaper to hire a team of professionals to fix the problem with a sense of urgency.