How to Salvage Home Contents Affected by Fire

Each year, fires cause damages and loss worth millions of dollars in Canada. Although a fire can completely destroy a building and its content, the structural damage caused is sometimes reversible. In the latter case, the contents of the home can be usually salvaged, depending on the items and their exposure to fire, heat and soot.

When dealing with fire damages, it is important to hire a professional restoration company that can mitigate the loss. Here are the steps involved in the cleaning process:

• Safety for the occupants and workers is ensured. Because the indoor air is filled with floating smoke and soot particles, workers wear respirators, gloves and other protective clothing.
• The restoration company evaluates the affected items as quickly as possible, since soot can produce further damage in a matter of hours or days, depending on the material.
• After the evaluation, the specialists decide which items are to be cleaned and which are to be discarded. Cost, sentimental and antique value is taken into consideration.
• Textile goods like draperies and bedding will be sent to a laundry or dry cleaning facility.
• Other restorable items may be cleaned within the home or taken to an outside location.
• The restoration specialists determine the appropriate cleaning product and mix ratio to use on each damaged item. Environmentally friendly products are preferred.
• Unopened food items can usually be kept, but open food items should be discarded.
• Melted or discolored plastic items cannot be restored, only cleaned.
• After the cleaning process, most of the smoke odour will be eliminated. If odour lingers inside the home, additional odour removing techniques, such as ozone or hydroxyl deodorizing, will be applied.

• Property owners are strongly advised to make an inventory list of every affected item after the fire. Documenting the losses helps when filing the insurance claim.

For fire and smoke remediation services, contact reliable professionals such as PuroClean to get a property back in order.

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