How professionals tackle the result of fire in your home
Removing odor from your carpet is not easy, and there are many things that leave your carpet smelling terrible. Perhaps the worst is smoke.
While there are ways to remove smoke odor from your home, you must employ a methodical approach, set aside plenty of time, and be prepared to use a fair amount of elbow grease. For many people, it makes sense to use the services of professional cleaners and restoration companies to do the job. This guarantees an odorless home, with different smoke smell removal techniques used for each type of odor.
In this article, you’ll learn what you must consider before hiring professionals to remove odor from your carpet.
What type of smoke odor has affected your carpets?
Smoke odor infiltrates carpet fibers very quickly. Then they linger – forever, if you allow them to. How you clean a carpet and remove the smoke odor depends upon which type of smoke has infected your carpet. House fires are the worst, while cigarette smoke leaves a stale, pungent odor.
The worse the odor, the more work required to eliminate it. There will be more steps involved in the clean-up, and rooms will have to be properly ventilated. If undertaking a fire restoration, there will also be dirt, ash, and soot to remove.
How long has the odor been hanging around?
The next consideration is the length of time the odor has been hanging around. The longer this has been, the more work will be needed to make your home odor free. Some odors transfer easily from carpet to other soft furnishings like drapes, sofas and chairs.
If you suffer a fire, it’s best to call in the professionals immediately. The more time there is between fire and cleaning, the more damage the smoke will do – and the more expensive the clean-up will be. And it’s not just the smell that takes a real hold. If you leave the damage untended for just a few weeks, your carpets and upholstery will probably suffer permanent discoloration. Replacement will be more expensive than restoration.
What do we do when you contact us?
Our first job is to determine how badly smoke or fire has damaged your carpet. We’ll consider the smell, the amount of soot and ash present, and the steps we need to take before doing a deep clean. (By the way, be careful if you attempt to remove soot yourself. Read our blog about what professionals use to clean smoke damage from fire first.)
We’ll want to know exactly what we’re dealing with, and so will first concentrate on the source of the odor. It may be that some items cannot be rescued and restored, as doing so won’t remove the smell. If these items aren’t disposed of, your room and furnishings will simply become re-infected with the smoke odor and the problem will persist.
Once we’ve removed irrecoverable items, we’ll start the process of removing the smoke odor from your carpet and other furnishings. We may use a deodorizing mist and specialist detergents to help us attack the remaining sources of the smell of smoke. We will carefully remove soot and ash, disposing of all residues.
Finally, we will seal surfaces that need to be sealed, ensuring that any remaining deeply hidden smoke particles cause no further irritation.
If you have suffered a house fire in the NYC area, get in touch with professional cleaners and restorers sooner rather than later. Contact Porter’s Cleaning today – we’ll be happy to provide a no obligation quote and help remove smoke odors from your carpet and home.