SERVPRO Cleaning Fire Damage in Amherst

3/27/2018 (Permalink)

The professionals at SERVPRO can thoroughly clean smoke and odor residues left behind after a fire.

SERVPRO Categorizes Fire Damage into Three Categories: Minor, Medium, and Major

After a fire, most of the damage to Amherst homes comes from smoke and odor residues that rest on and even penetrate some surfaces like building material and furniture. To fully clean and remove them requires not just experience, but also the right tools.

SERVPRO places fire damage to Amherst homes into three categories: Minor, Medium, and Major. We make this determination for odors and smoke residues depending on how far out they extend from the fire point of origin and how strong the odor or how thick the residue is in each room.

With Minor damage, odors are mild and usually removed with the same cleaning agents we use smoke residues on ceilings, floors, walls, and furniture. The residues themselves are normally light-to-moderate in this category and are limited to only a few rooms. Our technicians can remove all of these with sponges or cloths and hand-spraying a cleaning agent when needed.

Medium damage happens with hotter fires. They produce stronger odors, thicker residues, and spread them throughout more of the home. In this category, a cleaning agent is needed to break up the residues to remove them. Simply cleaning the building material and property does not eliminate all odors in this category, so SERVPRO technicians use an additional deodorizing agent to destroy the odor-causing particles.

To get rid of them, SERVPRO technicians use pressure sprayers and injectors to distribute deodorizing agents. The pressure sprayers are excellent for covering large surfaces such as kitchen walls or living room carpets with either a deodorizer or a cleaning agent. We use the injectors to apply a small amount of deodorizer directly into a small stain in carpets or upholstered furniture.

Major damage occurs close to the fire’s point of origin. Odors are exceptionally strong, and standard deodorizers do not remove all of them. If the fire burned hot enough to cause structural damage, then the smoke residues are exceptionally thick here and spread through the entire home. The level of residue makes removal of building material like drywall cheaper than attempting to clean it. The same may apply to furniture and other personal property due to the extent of the damage or the cost of cleaning.

For heavily covered property, we use an immersion tank to soak and remove the residue in a cleaning agent. We do this only for items not further damaged by soaking. To remove the odors when the usual agents do not work, our technicians bring in an ozone machine. This device generates a gas that oxidizes the odor particles. This gas alters them and removes the odor completely. The drawback to using an ozone machine is we need to evacuate the home of people, pets, and any items made from natural rubber until we finish the procedure.

Restoring your home after a fire is not a quick process, but SERVPRO of Merrimack is here with you at each step. If you need our services, call us at (603) 262-9293 today.

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