Different methods for different fires, but the best soot cleaner suits all
A house fire is a nightmare scenario for every family. Most start in the kitchen, which is why we recently wrote about our 14 tips to prevent kitchen fires. But wherever a fire starts in a house, the smoke will carry soot to other parts of your home.
Soot can be corrosive. It can damage PVC and become ingrained into soft and hard furnishings. The decolorization it causes can be permanent. On walls, the damage can be irreversible if you don’t clean the soot away effectively.
In this article, you’ll learn how to remove soot from walls, the types of equipment and cleaners needed, and the best soot cleaner you’ll find anywhere.
Soot spreads easily, so don’t help it to
Soot is one of those substances that spreads easily, so it’s important that you don’t give it a helping hand:
- Don’t touch anything when you first inspect the room
- Wear protective clothing and masks
- Only work in rooms that are well ventilated – you really don’t want to inhale airborne soot particles
Having taken these basic precautions, and depending on the extent of the soot coverage, you may decide to attempt the cleanup yourself.
How to clean soot damage from walls
The method for cleaning soot damage from walls depends on what type of fire has caused the damage.
First, vacuum any loose soot away, holding the nozzle away from the surface of the wall.
You may be tempted to attack the wall with soap and water. If, so, always test a small piece of the wall where it won’t show if this causes staining.
Many fires in the home are high-oxygen fires. If you use soap and water on the soot left behind by this type of fire, you’ll leave a horrendous stain. Remember:
- High-oxygen fires require dry clean methods
- Low-oxygen fires require wet clean methods
Dry clean methods include using a dry, clean sponge or chemical dry sponge.
Once the wall is clean and dry, you will need to prime and repaint.
What to do for more extensive soot damage
If you use the wrong method to clean soot off walls, ceilings, and furniture, you will risk causing damage beyond repair. Therefore, if you are not sure which type of fire caused the soot, or of how to clean up, or if the soot spread is extensive, you should call a professional.
And this leads me on to the best soot cleaner available to you.
What is the best soot cleaner?
New products to remove soot from hard and soft surfaces are being developed constantly. Many of these are only available to professional restoration companies. If your walls are textured or rough, using traditional cleanup methods is a labor-intensive and tedious process. A relatively new addition to the fire restoration armory is a special film which is sprayed on and peeled off. This lifts soot and other contaminants.
Whatever strategies, methods, solutions, and equipment used to clean soot after a house fire, there is one ingredient that beats them all: experience.
A fire restoration expert will have the experience to understand your fire. They will understand which type of soot they are dealing with, and whether to use dry cleaning or wet cleaning strategies to remove the soot without causing further damage. They will know what to use to clean smoke damage after fire, and how to get your home looking and smelling like new again.
Call on experience. Get a professional to take care of soot and smoke damage after a house fire. You don’t need the hassle, and your insurance should cover the cost.
If you have had a house fire in your NJ home, contact Porter’s Cleaning today – we’ll be happy to provide a no-obligation quote for any cleanup and restoration work that may be needed.