Cleaning Fire and Soot Damage

Fires can have disastrous effects on a home or business. They can spread quickly and cause severe damage in a matter of minutes. Even smaller fire damage can cause permanent damage to a building. Smoke and soot damage are common in every size of fire and can cause lingering damage. 

United Water Restoration Group, a company that focuses on water, mold, and fire damage restoration, would like to discuss how you can clean up soot damage and fire damage. While less damaging events may not warrant a fire damage restoration company, more severe events may require professionals. 

What is Soot Damage?

Soot damage is fairly common after any level of fire damage event. Soot damage is a black powdery or flaky substance. This substance is created through an incomplete burn of organic material. Soot damage can accrue from virtually any item in a house or building after a fire. If your building has soot damage, please be sure to wear protective gear when around the affected areas. Soot damage is unhealthy to breathe in and should be avoided at all costs.

Cleaning Soot Damage

Soot damage can be cleaned up fairly easily, it requires protective gear and vastly depends on the severity of the damage. Most of this damage will likely be shown on walls and floors. The first step to properly cleaning up soot damage is to get rid of the excess damages on the ground and walls. You can use a vacuum to help clear most soot from the floor.

For wall stains, you’ll need a dry chemical sponge, more commonly known as a magic eraser. Before this, do not use water or cleaning chemicals. The dry chemical sponge will help remove several layers of soot. Using water and liquid chemicals before this may result in the soot being spread on the wall and can make it impossible to remove with the dry sponge.

After you are done using the dry sponge, you will want to scrub the affected areas with a degreaser product or dish soap. Home improvement stores sell products that specifically target soot as well. 

Fixing Fire Damage

Fire damage can have many different appearances. It can be in the form of soot, smoke, or destroyed portions of a building. Cleaning fire damage greatly varies on the situation at hand. Items such as drywall can accumulate fire damage through smoke that lingers long after the event is over.

Fire damage can be fixed with something simple such as cleaning affected areas or it can be more severe and require reconstruction. Smaller fire events, that cause smoke damage, can seep into porous materials and cause deterioration over time. 

While fire damage restoration may not be fully required for your home or business, United Water Restoration Group can still help. Our certified technicians can clean and clear your home or business of soot damage or fire damage. We can help protect your property from accruing more damage and bring it back to pre-loss conditions.

Our emergency hotline, (800) 430-5838, is open 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. This hotline can place you in direct contact with a certified technician! United Water Restoration Group has offices located all around the United States. To learn if there is a United Water Restoration Group office near you, we encourage you to input your zip code into our database! 

We provide services in Ormond Beach, Florida, Jacksonville, Florida, Daytona Beach, Florida, Orlando, Florida, Tampa, Florida, Melbourne, Florida, and many other locations around Florida!