3 Areas To Focus On When Cleaning Up Your Home After A Fire

After the fire has been quenched and your home has been deemed safe to enter again, it is up to you and whomever you hire to get your home livable again. It's not just the fire damage that you have to deal with, but the smoke and water damage as well. The smoke damage is often much more extensive and widespread in comparison to the fire damage. Even if the fire was contained to a small area, the smoke and water damage could be more widespread.

#1 Cleaning the Walls

The first place that you are going to want to start cleaning is your walls. Soot is surprisingly greasy, so you should start off by dusting away as much soot as you can from the walls. Dust the walls using paper towels that you can just throw away so you don't have to try to rinse the soot from rags. Alternatively, you can buy a box of rags from your home improvement store that are designed for one-time use.

After you dust the walls, you are going to want to start cleaning them. You are going to want to scrub the walls down with a combination of dishwasher detergents that are designed to lift away grease, then follow up with a bleach and water solution.

Once you have cleaned the walls and they have dried, you'll want to repaint them.

You don't want to breathe in the soot, so be sure to wear a mask and protect your eyes with protective eyewear.

#2 Cleaning the Floors

For carpet, you will want to pull up the carpets and replace them. In the meantime, you should make sure that everything is dry. Pull up the carpets and put blowers under the carpet to dry the carpet and the padding. When possible, pull up and remove the carpet and padding. The absorptive surface of the carpet and padding can hold in contaminants that you don't want in your home.

You need to take care of your vinyl and hardwood flooring as well. If water was applied to those rooms, water could have easily seeped underneath your vinyl and hardwood flooring in your home. This flooring needs to be lifted up, cleaned underneath, and dried as well. Don't just assume that your flooring is okay because it isn't carpet; have it inspected by a professional because the last thing you want is mold to grow under your flooring because you failed to clean up properly underneath it.

#3 Cleaning Personal Items

Any item that is dirty or was in the room where the fire occurred, as well as any item smoke got into, needs to be cleaned. For items like dishes, pots, and pans, clean them with dish soap and then soak them in bleach and water for twenty minutes before cleaning them again. You don't want to eat any of the substances that are left behind by the fire so be sure to clean your kitchen gear really well. When in doubt, throw it out.

Cleaning up after a fire can be a complicated process as you have to deal with fire, smoke, and water damage, which is why it is best to bring in a fire damage services specialist to help you with this important work.