Cleaning Your Belongings After a Fire: 3 Steps To Take

10/22/2021 (Permalink)

Fire damage in a hallway of a home in Clinton, TN.

Cleaning Items After a Fire

After a fire damages your Clinton, TN, home, facing the task of cleaning your belongings can be a challenge. Your clothing, furniture, carpeting and other items might have all suffered smoke and soot damage that can be difficult to remove on your own. However, there are some steps you can take to restore them, from sorting restorable belongings to having a fire remediation and restoration company use dry cleaning techniques and other industrial machinery to salvage as many possessions as possible after a blaze.

1. Gauge What Might Be Saved

Once fire officials have let you know it is safe to re-enter your home, the first step you may want to take is sorting through smoke-damaged items and finding those that could still be salvaged. Most non-porous items, such as metal kitchen items and certain types of building materials can be wiped clean or sanitized in boiling water.

2. Sort Out Saved Items

Once you find items you wish to salvage, sort them into piles so the company that handles your content cleaning does not have to work with one large pile of different belongings. This can also make the process more efficient. If any of the items have both smoke and water damage, keep these separate and ask your restoration company if they will require a different restoration process.

3. Note Building Cleaning Requirements

While restoration specialists can use dry cleaning machines on your clothing and other items, cleaning soot and smoke from your walls, ceiling and carpeting may be more of a challenge. As you note which rooms have sustained such damage, you can work with your fire damage techs and discuss whether you will require content storage for your cleaned items while stationery sections of your home are cleaned with industrial foggers and air sanitizing machines.

Cleaning items after a fire affects your Clinton, TN, home does not have to be an insurmountable task. From sorting your items efficiently to reaching out to a professional restoration company for dry cleaning and air purification services, there are several steps you can take to reclaim your property from the ravages of fire.