When people think about the disastrous nature of major fires, their minds tend to go the bright and hungry flames that cut across the countryside or through neighborhoods. They often forget about the less obvious destructive power of smoke. Fire might burn in one place or pass through an area, destroying one house but leaving another. However, smoke is insidious. It can penetrate even the homes untouched by fire, causing significant damage of its own.
If your house is full of smoke, it’s important to take it seriously. Even if your home was untouched by fire, it might still suffer significant smoke damage that requires professional restoration to rectify.
How Smoke Can Damage Your Home
When a fire burns, it transforms its fuel into combustion products, which can be anything from water and carbon dioxide to toxic volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The heat of the fire then creates air currents that lift and transport the smoke – sometimes very far from its source.
When smoke touches any surface in your house, it may stop there. Depending on the type of smoke, it might be simple dry dust and ash. Or the residue might be thick, black, and oily. In addition, some components of the smoke will likely penetrate to the interior of walls, furniture, electronics, and more.
Smoke isn’t inert. It can be chemically active. It often includes acids and other destructive chemicals that can damage anything they touch. Clothes, furniture, and walls can all experience surface damage from smoke. Plus, acidic smoke can corrode metals, including the metals inside electronics. This can make them cease to function or even lead to dangerous short circuits.
There are some things you can do to address smoke damage, but it may not be enough.
The Benefits and Limits of Ventilation
One of the most important things you can do if you have smoke in your house is to open windows and ventilate the house.
Research shows that even if there was no fire in your house, having a wildfire pass by can significantly impact your indoor air quality. Opening windows can let some of that smoke out again, causing the air quality to improve. However, the air quality only improves so much. Once chemicals from smoke get into your walls and furniture, they will continue releasing VOCs for weeks, even months after the fire.
People returning home after a fire can have symptoms of smoke exposure, including dry cough, itchy eyes, and headaches for over a year after the fire. That’s how long the smoke that gets into your home can keep giving off toxic and irritating chemicals.
Cleaning Can Help, but It’s Not Enough
Another step you can take to help control smoke damage is to clean all the surfaces in your home. This will remove all the superficial deposits of chemicals. It will help with the smell and the smoke symptoms, but it won’t restore all the damage. However, it’s important to be careful when cleaning your home after smoke damage. Using the wrong type of cleaners can actually make the damage or discoloration permanent.
As we said before, smoke can penetrate everything in your home. It gets inside walls, furniture, and clothes, creating a persistent presence in your home. It can also penetrate inside electronics, corroding them from within.
Professional Restoration Can Help with Smoke and Fire Damage
Ventilation and cleaning won’t fully reverse the effects of smoke on your home. Instead, you need professional restoration.
Fire damage restoration experts can achieve full smoke damage restoration by:
- Using special tools or replacing insulation to eliminate smoke smell from walls
- Identifying the type of smoke residue on surfaces to effectively remove it
- Knowing which materials can be restored and which need to be replaced
- Properly cleaning porous items like furniture and clothes to eliminate odors
- Cleaning electronics inside to minimize chemical damage
These techniques and more can help restore your house from smoke damage even if it was never actually on fire.
Just Right Cleaning & Construction Is Here to Help
If your home has suffered fire damage and/or smoke damage in the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area, the restoration professionals at JRCC Damage Restoration Experts are ready to help. We have been the leading restoration provider in the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area since 1954. We offer 24/7 emergency response services. You don’t have to wait for the morning to get help with smoke and fire damage. We arrive quickly and get to work immediately.
We have the expertise to handle all aspects of your fire damage and smoke damage. We can perform initial safety inspections and board-up service immediately after a fire. Then we can perform all necessary repairs and cleaning, including demolition and removal of damaged walls. We can add all the finishing touches that return your house to its condition before the fire.
In addition, we have extensive experience working with insurance companies. We know what documentation they need to compensate you for covered losses. We extensively document both the damage and the work we perform so you will never have a claim delayed, diminished, or denied from a lack of documentation.
To learn how we can help you recover after smoke and fire have damaged your home, please contact us today at 844-967-4911. JRCC Damage Restoration Experts serves customers in the greater Seattle & Spokane Metro Area.