How to Clean Up After Fire Damage and Get Rid of the Smoke Smell in Your Home

Clean Up After Fire Damage — Listed below will be 3 different aspects to include when you begin fire damage clean up within your home.

Introduction

Within America, it is estimated that over 374,000 homes catch fire each year. Some of those fires are extremely destructive, while other fires cause mild to no damage. After a fire in your home, it can be difficult to know what to do next to try and get your home back to normal.

How to Clean Up After Fire Damage and Get Rid of the Smoke Smell in Your Home

1. Personal Protective Equipment

No matter how small or big the fire was within your home, you should make sure you have the proper equipment to be protected as you begin the process of cleaning up. At the very least, you should have gloves, a respirator, eye protection, long pants, and closed toed shoes or boots.

As you begin cleaning, it is easy to stir up more soot and smoke which can impact your vision and your breathing capability if you don’t have the proper personal protective equipment with you.

2. Clean Every Area Thoroughly

The first step you must take when you begin dealing with fire damage once the fire has been put out is to open your windows to encourage air flow. Also, remove as many items holding the smoke smell as possible.

However, you need to act swiftly on starting the cleaning process. The longer that smoke sits within your home, the more permanent it will become. If you believe that the fire or smoke may have reached your HVAC system, have your system inspected or replaced before you turn it back on.

If the fire impacted your system, it would blow smoke throughout your home causing the smell to enter other areas of your home too. It’d be great if you clean your electrical hardware to ensure they aren’t affected by the fire.

The very next step will be to eliminate the soot or black particles left behind after a fire. As these particles contain chemicals and acids that can damage your items and fabrics, it is best to eliminate these first. You can use an industrial or heavy duty vacuum to remove the black and oily residue.

In order to begin cleaning soot stains, use a carpet cleaner that is designed to clean carpets or stains. Make sure to hold the vacuum nozzle above the fabric. If you just vacuum over the carpet without using a carpet cleaner or the proper attachment, you may rub the stain into the carpet further.

Next, test all of the electrical outlets within your home, to determine if there has been any type of electrical damage that has occurred due to the fire. Additionally, if the fire has impacted your kitchen or food pantry, throw out any food that has been contaminated as it is not safe to eat.

3. Remove the Smoke Smell

The next step will be to remove the smoke smell from the house. The best way to remove the smoke smell is to wash each wall individually. To clean the walls, furniture, or floors, use a mild soap mixed with water. You can also wipe the floors, walls and ceilings with a rag dipped in vinegar. It is a great DIY that will instantly remove the smoke smell.

You can also use baking soda mixed with water. Baking soda works to clean, and eliminate odor. Use warm water and rinse out your rag frequently.

You can also consider dry cleaning as an option as professional dry cleaners if you do not want to do it all yourself. Also, if you are considering repainting areas of your home, make sure they are completely dry before you begin that process.

Conclusion

It can be confusing to know from where to begin after a fire has occurred, but the more quickly you act, will help to prevent permanent damage from smoke. If you feel that you still aren’t sure on the best approach to clean up, or you have very large areas to clean, consider fire remediation services in Montrose. They will be able to clean your home quickly and efficiently so you can continue with your day to day activities.