Fire Damage Experts In Cape Canaveral Talk About Different Cleaning Products and Methods

7/25/2022 (Permalink)

Cape Canaveral House Fires Can Leave a Lot of Smoke and Soot Behind--Call SERVPRO for Rocket-Fast Cleanup and Restoration

SERVPRO Technicians Provide a Large Arsenal of Equipment and Cleaning Agents to Mitigate Fire Damage

Any fire that burns on your Cape Canaveral property can cause several different kinds of damage to buildings. Even small fires that do not burn building materials can cause smoke damage throughout the house. Smoke first rises with the heat of the blaze; then, it is attracted to cooler surfaces. When smoke hits cold surfaces, it leaves behind soils and soot residues. 

Since fires burn various types of materials, the chemical composition of the soot also varies. During fire damage mitigation in Cape Canaveral, the removal of soot residues is a significant part of the project. Residues can ruin the finished contents inside your home and produce burnt aromas. Some types of soot are easily wiped off, whereas others can be nearly impossible to remove. 

To find the most efficient method, our SERVPRO technicians try until they find the one that works best for each scenario. In some cases, multiple methods are needed to remove different types of soot found in the same building. Other times various techniques must be used to clean the same kind of soot off different materials. Typically, vacuuming coated surfaces is initially a practical first step.

If the surface is non-porous, our SERVPRO restoration team can use wet chemicals to clean off soot damage. Using wet chemicals on porous substances can cause the soils to soak into the item and create more problems. Permeable surfaces are best cleaned with dry cleaning methods such as compressed air or dry sponges. 

When wet cleaning items, most paintable and washable surfaces can be cleaned with a general surface cleaner. These cleaners have a low enough alkalinity to where they will not ruin the interior paint. Heavy duty cleaners remove heavy grease and thick soils. These chemicals usually have high alkalinity and contain ammonia. The high alkaline detergents cannot be used on some surfaces because they will eat away the finish and ruin the item. 

Once the best cleaning method and chemicals for the job are discovered, we clean everything inside your home that got affected by smoke with detail. Often items can get hand scrubbed until there is no soot present. If you ever need help with smoke-related problems, call SERVPRO of Central Brevard at (321) 638-4947 24/7.