What to Avoid When Dealing With Fire Damage in Slidell

7/24/2022 (Permalink)

Most fire damage situations include soot stained walls. Don’t despair. Contact team SERVPRO day or night for certified technicians and equipment.

Cleaning Walls and Ceilings from Soots and Fire Damage in Slidell

While fires can damage almost all materials, it is likely that a contained property fire only causes harm to some regions of the home and not all of them. Typically fires rise upward with the most significant harm coming closer to the flames and temperature. Smoke plumes can also cause a large amount of soiling on upper walls and ceilings, which, while not impacting the structure, can cause odor or pierce below the surface resulting in permanent stains. 

There are many different aspects to consider when taking on fire damage in your Slidell home. One of the core considerations for any restorer is to avoid spreading damages around or causing further harm to an already damaged property.  Soots, smoke residues, odors, and ashes can spread by foot traffic, on equipment, or in the presence of moisture. SERVPRO organizes the area before wall or ceiling work takes place by setting up covering for floors and carpets. Anywhere that you might need to travel during the restoration, whether to pick up tools or exit the area, should be safeguarded against soil spreading. 

While wet cleaning areas walls and ceilings may seem like a no brainer, these steps can be counter-intuitive without proper testing of materials. Dry soot can sit atop the surface and may appear like a stain. However, these soots are not bonded and respond better to dry cleaning methods using sponges or dusters. Vacuuming may also be an effective method to remove unbonded soots or residues from your walls. SERVPRO technicians conduct dry cleaning first because moisture can set soots into surfaces and make them more challenging to clean. 

A great deal of mitigation and cleaning work can be done prior to introducing moisture to the affected area. However, some heavy-set soot may be oily, stubborn, or tough to remove. Abrasively cleaning the affected area using steel wool pads can be useful. Still, you should only apply these to areas where the surface needs to be refinished as they can damage finishes, varnishes, or paintwork. When SERVPRO tackles tough soiling, we may use water or oil-based solvents to dissolve soot particles that are bonded with a wall or ceiling surface. 

Tackling fire restoration by yourself can be a challenge. You can always contact SERVPRO of Slidell at (985) 649-1516.