Cleaning up Smoke Damage in your home

4/13/2015 (Permalink)

Fire and Smoke Damage can be one of the most devastating things to happen to your home.

Fire and Smoke Damage can be one of the most devastating things to happen to your home.  Once the fire is out and everyone is safe, it is important to focus as quickly as possible on cleaning up the mess.

Soot particles, especially those from synthetic fires (think plastics, etc) can become extremely corrosive to everything in your house.

Here are a few helpful hints on getting started on the clean-up:

Safety First!  Do not reenter a home that has been damaged by smoke or fire unless it is 100% safe to do so.  If you are unsure, ask your fire department.

Open windows to help ventilate your home – The more quickly you can get the smoke out of your home the less of it there will be that will settle on walls, ceilings and contents in the form of soot.

Dispose of any food that may have been exposed to smoke- You do not want to take the chance of ingesting any soot particles though food that may have been contaminated.  This includes anything in the refrigerator.  Even if the door remained shut, smoke can still get in!

Replace the air filters in your cooling and heating system- Do this daily during the first week after a fire in hour home, it will help limit the dispersion of smoke particles throughout the house.

Even for small fires it is important to enlist the services of a restoration professional as soon as possible.  They can help you determine the scope of the loss and prevent significant further damage to your home and contents. 

SERVPRO of Minnetonka has helped out hundreds of homeowners in the Minnetonka, Minneapolis, St. Louis Park, Edina and Eden Prairie areas recover from smoke and fire damage both big and small.  Our technicians are all certified in Fire and Smoke Restoration and are on call to help 24/7.  We are always happy to answer any questions you may have: 952.473.4837.

Locally Owned Company with National Resources

SERVPRO of Minnetonka is locally owned and operated—so we are part of the Minneapolis community too. We are also part of a national network of over 1,650 SERVPRO Franchises and special Disaster Recovery Teams strategically located throughout the country to respond to large-scale disasters.