Tips For Safely Cleaning Up A Fire Damaged Home

Blog

Having a fire in your home causes a wide variety of different types of damage. While the fire itself is obviously the primary cause of the damage, the ash and smoke often cause even more destruction than the fire.

Since it's vital the toxic ash, soot, and smoke damage are properly cleaned, this isn't a DIY project. Instead, the majority of the fire damage needs to be cleaned up by a professional fire damage restoration company.

While you are waiting for a professional cleanup crew to assist with the cleanup of your fire-damaged home, use these tips to stay safe and start the process.

Tip: Dress Properly for Safe Cleaning

Residential fires produce many chemicals, gases and other toxic substances that can make you and your family members very ill if they are inhaled or get onto your skin. For this reason, before you enter your home you need to dress in the proper protective equipment, including:

  • a respirator with a HEPA filter
  • a disposable Tyvek suit
  • goggles
  • gloves

In addition, you should wear a pair of work boots to protect your feet from nails and other hazards from the fire.

Tip: Empty Out the Refrigerator and Freezer

Since your home won't have power when you return after the fire, you need to remove everything from the refrigerator and freezer. Throw everything away since it is no longer safe to consume, and wash down the inside with some soapy water. Once the refrigerator and freezer are clean, then you must leave the doors open to prevent odors from building up before you can plug it in again.

Tip: Don't Use Your Shop Vacuum

It's important you don't use your wet and dry shop vacuum in any area affected by a fire. Even though your shop vac has an internal filter, it isn't effective at removing the very small toxic particles present after a fire. In fact, a shop vac will simply stir up the particles and make things worse. 

Tip: Change the Filter on Your HVAC System

Finally, the other thing you should do after a residential fire is to replace the HVAC system's filter. The filter will have a lot of toxic particles in it from the fire and if you don't change it, then the particles will be transported all over your home the next time you turn on the heater or air conditioner. Additionally, you need to change the filter every few weeks post-fire to ensure any other particles in your home are disposed of.

For more information, reach out to a fire damage service in your area.

Share

17 March 2019

Talking About Damage Contractor Services

Hello, I am Toby Massey. A storm raged through my neighborhood last year, knocking down trees and power lines. Several trees landed out my outbuildings and crushed the building materials in one fell swoop. Since I relied on these outbuildings to protect my farming equipment, I immediately called a damage contractor to come rebuild. The damage contractor helped me tear down the damaged materials and restore the units. I want to share information about the demolition and building process from start to finish. I hope you will visit my site often to learn about the benefits of hiring a damage contractor to perform this work for you.