Northwest Ontario Property Owners Can Always Ask SERVPRO for Help with Fire and Smoke Damage Cleanup and Restoration Services

6/28/2019 (Permalink)

DIY Smoke Damage Wall and Surface Cleanup in Northwest Ontario Homes

It is crucial to clean any area of your home that has fire damage as soon as possible. Both soot and smoke are acidic and often prove difficult to clean. Airborne soot particles are harmful to breathe and should be professionally cleaned to ensure a healthy living environment. For minor smoke damage, these tips should make it easy to clean up. 

The items needed to clean fire damage in your Ontario home are probably already there with one exception, a dry-cleaning sponge. This sponge cleans surfaces without getting them wet and wipes away particulate matter. Other items you need are as follows:

Rubbing alcohol
White Vinegar
Degreasing cleaner
Bucket with hot water
Cleaning Cloths
Dry-cleaning sponge
Kitchen sponges
Respirator
Gloves
Eye protection
Disposable shoe covers

Before you begin cleaning walls damaged by fire, there are a few things you need to do. First, turn off your HVAC system, so soot does not spread and open up the windows and doors to ventilate the room, but only if there is no risk of circulating ashes or soot to clean areas of the home. Always consider calling in SERVPRO for fire damage restoration services.

Ensure that you wear clothing that covers your arms and legs. You need to wear a respirator, eye protection, and gloves as soot is unhealthy to breathe and can irritate the skin. If you leave the area you are cleaning to go to another area of the home, change your shoe covers to avoid tracking soot around the property.

If there is debris that requires removal or a lot of surfaces to clean, it is a smart move to bring in professional assistance to clean up your home. Improper cleaning of residues from a fire can stain walls and cause more damage to other surfaces. SERVPRO uses pre-testing to minimize potential added staining and marring to porous surfaces.

When you begin cleaning, use the dry-cleaning sponge first to wipe away as much soot and smoke residue as you can from surfaces. Avoid wetting soot as it has the potential to smear and spread, staining affected surfaces further.  

One of the best dry-cleaning sponge techniques to use is to turn the sponge as you use it for a few strokes; this ensures you continue picking up soot instead of spreading it. Once all sides of the dry-cleaning sponge show soot, use a utility knife to slice away the sides to clean away the used portions and have virtually a clean sponge ready to work again. Use gentle wiping motions and never scrub walls or surfaces. 

After you finish wiping surfaces with the dry-cleaning sponge, you can move on to regular sponges and liquid cleaners. There are specific commercial formulas for cleaning soot; however, vinegar, paint thinner, and degreasing solutions work in their place. It is vital to clean every surface in the room, even if it appears clean and untouched by smoke. 

Rinse your cleaning cloth in a bucket of hot water as you wipe up residue from the fire and change the water out in the bucket when it is dark or smells like smoke. Then upon completion, wipe surfaces again with a clean cloth and clean water to remove any residue from cleaning products. Chances are great you may have to prime or recoat some walls or a ceiling with fresh paint.

SERVPRO of Northwest Ontario knows fire damage can feel overwhelming to deal with. Our qualified team is available 24/7 by calling (909) 984-3544 to mitigate fire loss in your home. We try to make it "Like it never even happened."