Fire Damage Cleanup Salt Lake City Utah Options

After a home has sustained damage from fire or smoke, it is vitally important that the cleanup begin without a significant delay. The structures of the home are not only damaged by the heat of the flames, but the chemicals used to fight the fire and the soot and residue left after the fire is put out create dangerous conditions. When work is delayed too long, extensive further damage often results. Here are some fire damage cleanup Salt Lake options to help you protect and restore your property.

Once a home fire has been put out, homeowners are often too devastated to think about acting quickly to protect the remaining structure. Unless the fire has completely destroyed your home, there are some things that you can do before the professionals arrive to clean up the fire damage in your home. Early action on your part actually reduces the amount of additional damage your home will sustain, but should not be used instead of hiring a professional cleaning company. Your job at this point is to stave off the worst until help arrives.

If the electrical in your home is working properly, hook up some fans to dry the place out. Water damage from the fire fighting efforts can actually cause worse damage than the damage from a small fire. A wet vacuum is another great tool that you can use to suck up pools of standing water. Getting the moisture out as quickly as you can prevents dangerous molds from moving in.

A pail of sudsy water will come in handy to start removing soot left on your furniture, walls, floors, and cabinets. Get as many volunteers as you can to get the worst of it off before the professionals get there. Soot damages almost every type of material including metal, wood, and plastic. Sort through your things and toss the items that can’t be restored.

Damage occurs quickly in a fire due to the heat, flames, and soot. But, after a fire has been put out, the damage continues if a fire damage cleanup Salt Lake crew doesn’t get onsite quickly. The single biggest problem after a fire is the acidic soot that is deposited all around the house. It flies everywhere, which means that skilled and competent cleaners are required.

Soot is strongly acidic and it starts acting on plastic and metals within minutes of being deposited. If the soot deposits are deep enough and left for too long, they may become impossible to remove. The net result is that textiles found in carpeting and on upholstered furniture is damaged forever. In addition, metallic bathroom fixtures and metal pipes for plumbing begin the corrosion process.

The sooner the soot is attacked, the lesst costly cleanup efforts will be. Since most homeowners have insurance to protect them against fire damage, one of the first things they should do is to contact us before you contact your insurance company. Talk to your insurance representative after speaking with us. Saying the wrong thing can result in your claim being denied.

The water and chemicals used to fight fires are also notorious for causing damage. While you might start the clean up using minimal measures, wait for the professionals to arrive if chemicals were used to put the fire out. Since some chemical combinations can be toxic, the clean up is best left to expert hands.

However, if parts of the building are left exposed to the elements, there is no time to delay. Hire a competent contractor to put temporary protection up to prevent additional water damage in case of a storm or the entry of unwanted creatures who will contaminate your home. Depending upon the extent of the damage, you may be able to board up a few windows on your own. However, when the damage is substantial, such as an exposed roof, you’ll need help from the experts, especially since the home may not be structurally sound.

Like other contractors, companies specializing in fire damage cleanup in Salt Lake should be certified. To get this certification, the company must demonstrate that they understand the best practices of the field and have insurance to cover their work. This certification ensures that the people who hire a fire damage cleanup Salt Lake company can trust that the work will be performed to high standards.

Since most people never experience a fire and are not familiar with companies who do this type of work, getting recommendations from your friends probably won’t help you very much. The Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration (IICR) is a national organization that certifies fire damage cleanup companies. Another option for finding a company in your area is to contact the IICRC and ask them for a list of certified contractors in your area. A certification with this institutions means that the company arriving to do the work on your home will have the best equipment and be aware of the most up-to-date techniques used in the field.

Hopefully, you will never experience a fire in your home. However, if you do, be sure to act quickly to begin the cleanup. Start by doing some on your own, but do not fail to contact a professional team to finish the job. It is possible to restore most homes after a fire.