How to Clean and Restore Fire Damaged Fabrics?

5/1/2020 (Permalink)

Fire Damage Restoration in Emporia/South Boston Often Requires Restorers to Clean Fabrics 

When a fire burns a home, business or any other type of property, the smoke produced can spread throughout the entire space. Due to the fact that smoke rises with heat and attaches to cooler surfaces, extensive damage can be caused to your property. Soot and soil residue are left behind by the gases from the burn onto every surface they touch within your home. 

Remember, smoke can travel through every room, not just the room where the fire initially starts. This means that you can have fire damages throughout the entire space. Many fire damage projects in and around the Emporia/South Boston area require extensive cleaning and soot removal during the restoration process. 

SERVPRO technicians use a variety of different techniques to clean the different rooms and surfaces in fire damaged properties. This is important because different blazes emit different types of smoke based on what burns. 

When SERVPRO first arrives to the property, our first step is to test clean the materials and contents that were affected by the fire. By doing this before beginning the restoration process, the Emporia/South Boston team will be able to determine what can be salvaged with cleaning and what soot removal methods will work best for each item. 

For example, because heat rises, carpets can often times be restored through the cleaning process. But, in some cases, carpets can collect the fallout of burnt smoke particles. When cleaning carpets, our technicians start by vacuuming the entire affected area. SERVPRO vacuums are high-efficiency filters that are designed to remove even light soot residue from fabrics. 

If soot residues are soaked deeper into the carpet, detergents and deodorizers are often used to complete the cleaning process. 

On upholstered items, like furniture and curtains, fire damage residue is often removed using dry cleaning methods. Vacuuming and dry sponges are able to remove soils and soot on the surface of upholstered furniture. However, if the soot has caused a stain, SERVPRO technicians will clean them with a one percent chlorine bleach solution to remove any stains. 

Have you noticed soot or soil residue after a fire? Call SERVPRO Emporia/South Boston today at 434-262-6792.