Sarasota: Fire Cleanup Tips From The Pros At Accutech

It’s a worst case scenario nobody ever wants to face. A fire in your home not only costs you money and valuable time, but it’s a disastrous stressor and disruption and has the potential of destroying precious memories and keepsakes.

Still, sometimes these things happen and we have to find the strength to move on. If you decide to try and begin the fire cleanup on your own, it’s important that you begin as soon as it’s deemed safe to reenter the premises. The odors are bad enough, but both water (from extinguishing the fire) and soot are potentially dangerous to your health. So here are a few tips for fire and water damage cleanup in Venice, Bradenton , Sarasota and surrounding areas.

Remember: Always make sure you have the approval of a fire marshal before reentering your home!

Fire Cleanup In Bradenton

1. Open your windows. You want to ventilate the property. Use anything you have to circulate the air.
2. Any items that got wet such as clothes, draperies, wall-to-wall carpets, and rugs should be dried immediately. Hang them on clotheslines, lay them out under the sun, and use fans to help them dry quicker. If these things are left wet, mold and mildew might begin to grow. Neither are good for your health.
3. The same goes for floors, walls, and other parts of the house that are made of wood.
4. Soot is the first problem you need to address. The most important thing to remember about it is that soot is oil-based, therefore you do not want to use an upright vacuum or any machine which uses brushes as it will only spread, creating more of a problem. Instead, use a powerful vacuum attachment and, holding the nozzle above the fabric, allow the vacuum to do the work and pull the soot off of the surface. Accutech recommends our professional cleaning services for this because soot is a very stubborn substance.
5. For carpets, you can rent a rotary scrubbing or extractor machine from a supermarket. You may have already pulled them up, which is fine. It’s a good possibility that the foundation is soaked from water used to extinguish the fire. It has to be dried.
6. The textiles may be rid of soot, but they must to be deodorized before they are ready to be cleaned. Accutech employs advanced processes wherein all items are deodorized in a tent or in a room. This process removes all smoke particles and neutralizes odors that have been absorbed in the textiles during the fire. Again, we absolutely recommend professional service for this.
7. For cleaning carpets, rugs, clothing and textiles, it is best to take them to the laundry or the dry cleaners. Explain that the items have been fire damaged so that they know the appropriate cleaning process to use. Your items may require repeat cleanings.
8. If any electronics show visible fire damage, have them inspected by a professional. If it is a computer, have them checked to see if the data can be recovered. Even if the electronic device does not seem to be damaged, the heat from the fire can easily destroy its internal parts. Have these inspected by a professional as well before plugging them in an electrical socket and trying to use them.

Accutech Restoration of Venice encourages you to call the professionals after a fire for safe, competent and thorough cleaning.