Why You Shouldn’t Try to Clean Smoke and Soot Yourself at Your Kingston Home

9/25/2020 (Permalink)

Don't try to clean fire damage yourself, call the experts at SERVPRO of Kingston/New Paltz!

Smoke and soot are very invasive and will get into various cavities within your home, ones you never thought of and can cause hidden damage and odor. For example, if you had a fire in your kitchen, the linens on your bed on the other side of the house were probably affected as well. The closed closet doors in the hallway can’t stop smoke and soot from getting in either.

Smoke Facts:

-Hot smoke migrates to cooler areas and upper levels of a structure.

-Smoke flows around plumbing systems, seeping through the holes used by pipes to go from floor to floor.

-The type of smoke greatly affects the restoration process.

Different Types of Smoke and Soot:

There are two different types of smoke–wet and dry. As a result, there are different types of soot residue after a fire. Before restoration begins, SERVPRO of Kingston/New Paltz will test the soot to determine which type of smoke damage occurred. The cleaning procedures will then be based on the information identified during pretesting.

Wet Smoke – Plastic and Rubber: Low heat, oxygen starved, smoldering types of fires. Usually a pungent odor and are sticky and smeary. This produces smoke webs that are more difficult to clean. 

Dry Smoke – Paper and Wood: Oxygen-rich, fast burning, high temperatures, heat rises therefore smoke rises. Occurs with natural materials, the odor is less intense than wet smoke.

Protein Fire Residue – Produced by evaporation of material rather than from a fire. Virtually invisible, discolors paints and varnishes, extreme pungent odor, clings to all surfaces, requires extensive cleaning to achieve deodorization and remove residues.

Fuel Oil Soot: Occurs from furnace or oil burner puff back or misfire due to a cracked heat exchanger or internal combustion in the heating system.. Attaches to every surface and the odor varies from very light to very heavy.

Since each smoke and fire damage situation is a little different, each one requires a unique solution tailored for the specific conditions. The fire remediation teams from SERVPRO of Kingston/New Paltz have the experience, the knowledge and the right equipment to restore your fire and smoke damaged property efficiently and effectively. We’ve been locally owned and operated for over 28 years and pride ourselves on being able to make it “Like it never even happened.”

Call us 24/7, our emergency response teams are always here to help.