Eliminating Ash and Soot After a Fire in Your Home

7/11/2022 (Permalink)

House fires can be incredibly destructive beyond just the flames. Cleaning ash and soot residues can be difficult to address yet become essential to get a home back to normal. Smoke created by a fire fills the house and leaves behind a residue that’s challenging to clean, to say the least. Soot deposits discolor and ruin furnishings, decor, and building materials inside your house, which is why it’s important to address ash and soot cleanup after a home fire professionally.

Replacing or cleaning damaged items

Replacing materials inside your home can get expensive, so cleaning them instead can save you money, time, and headache. SERVPRO's fire damage technicians use numerous approaches to cleaning during the mitigation process, depending on what is damaged by soot or ash. The purpose of cleaning smoke-related damage is to restore the materials to the conditions they were before the fire. Depending on the items, some cleaning methods work better in certain situations than others. The type of cleaning used depends on the kind of materials that got burned and the type of materials soot damaged. That’s why professional cleaning is essential versus trying to do it yourself.

The basics of cleaning soot-damaged items

There are four fundamental elements required to deal with residues so that they get removed effectively and thoroughly. The first element of cleaning is temperature. Heat increases the speed of chemical reactions in products. SERVPRO's restoration technicians always select the ideal temperature based on which chemical gets used and the material being cleaned. The next element is agitation. When soot-damaged or ash-covered materials get agitated, the residues get dislodged, and chemicals get distributed across the surface. When cleaning smoke-damaged surfaces, we agitate the surface with towels, brushes, air and water pressure, and sonic vibrations from ultrasonic machines. Soot residues also get cleaned through chemical action. Most chemicals are designed to cause a reaction with the soot, therefore assisting in its removal. The reactions that take place include dissolving, emulsifying, changing pH, oxidizing, and bleaching. The last element of cleaning is time. Most chemicals need time to appropriately react to the soot and work efficiently. The amount of time needed varies based on the product, type of residue, and the kind of surface affected by soot. Patience is essential here to get the job done right!

Call the professionals if you experience a house fire

In most scenarios, soot and ash get cleaned the best by using a variety of elements and approaches to cleaning. For professional help with cleaning residues call SERVPRO of Central Phoenix at (602) 386-4268 any time of the day. Our technicians will endeavor to restore all your possessions to pre-fire conditions to help you recover from the disaster of a house fire.