Puff Backs: A Nasty Hazard that can happen in your Kingston, Saugerties, Highland or New Paltz Home

1/28/2020 (Permalink)

Don't try to clean a puff back yourself, most household products just can't do it. Call the experts at SERVPRO to get your house back to normal!

If you have an oil furnace, hot water heater or boiler, this is for you.

Have you ever seen a car backfire and there’s a dark plume of smoke behind it when that happens? When your hot water heater or furnace burners don’t ignite upon start up, this causes excess oil fumes to combust, basically an explosion of un-burned oil.  While this is a malfunction and should be fixed asap, the main problem is that this reaction can produce a large amount of smoke that will cause soot and debris to spread throughout your house, called a Puff Back.

Have you’ve noticed oily, black-looking webs on your ceiling? Those are soot webs, exactly the bi-product of a puff-back. If you think it’s only going to found in the areas where the vents might be, think again. The only thing soot is good at is traveling and hiding. Most likely you’ll start noticing an oily film or see blackish spots and more webs in other rooms too. Forced air systems will do just that, force the air everywhere along with whatever soot is hitching a ride.

Inhaling soot can be dangerous to your health, as it contains dirt, dust, chemicals, acids, and other harmful items. Inhaling those particles can lead to serious health issues. As much as you want to grab a sponge and get to work, most household cleaners can’t remove soot. The absolute safest and easiest course of action is to contact a professional restoration company.

Some Quick Tips-

-Turn off the furnace and call an HVAC specialist to fix the furnace.

- Don’t touch the soot and limit movement in the house. Don’t turn on fans or open windows, that will only force the soot to further move around your home.

-Don’t stay in the home if you really don’t need to. Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth if you must go inside for any reason. (Same for pets!). Do not eat or drink any exposed or uncovered food or beverages.

-Do call your insurance company and file a claim.

**Call SERVPRO of Kingston/New Paltz 24/7. Our trained experts will get to work immediately getting your home back to preloss condition. We’ll walk you through every step and work directly with your insurance company to help expediate the process. Program our number in your phone, (845)255-4334.

We’ll help make it “Like it never even happened.”