Was your home recently damaged in a fire? You may be searching for DIY fire restoration tips to save a little cash in the recovery process, but the simple fact is this: residential fire and smoke damage restoration is not a job for amateurs. Here are four reasons why trying to clean up the mess yourself could be problematic.
You Might be Exposed to Hidden Health Hazards
Unfortunately, the dangers of a fire don’t end once the flames go out. The smoke and soot left behind are more than just dirty little reminders of the disaster that took place. Exposure to fire-damaged objects and lingering residue could be hazardous to your health.
Soot forms after a fire because plastic, foam, textiles, wood, and other household materials don’t burn cleanly. The soot then contains toxic materials that either didn’t burn completely or were produced as a chemical reaction in the fire’s high heat.
Invisible soot particles floating through the air may contain cancer-causing asbestos fibers, ammonia, tar, formaldehyde, and much more. Walking through your fire-ravaged home could allow chemically laden soot to get into your eyes and penetrate your skin. If it enters your lungs, you may experience shortness of breath, asthma, and other respiratory issues in the short term. Eventually, it’s possible you could develop bronchitis, have a heart attack, or be diagnosed with cancer.
Exposure to soot in a fire-damaged home is obviously at its highest during the cleanup process. However, unless thorough, adequate cleaning is performed, the health effects of smoke could linger for years. This is why you should leave fire restoration to professionals who can employ deep-cleaning techniques to truly restore your home to its pre-fire condition.
You Need Special Equipment
A bottle of degreaser and a dust mask are not nearly enough to adequately clean up fire and smoke damage. After all, you can’t simply wipe soot away. You must deep clean all surfaces to eliminate lingering health threats and remove residual odors. Professional tools – not to mention knowledge of proper cleaning techniques – are at the heart of a thorough, safe fire restoration.
Also, be aware that laundering smoke-damaged clothing in your washer could deepen the damage and leave undesired odors in the washing machine. You must pursue special dry-cleaning techniques if you hope to salvage clothing damaged in a fire.
You Could Mistakenly Throw Away Salvageable Goods
It’s easy for the untrained eye to sift through damaged belongings and deem many of them a lost cause. However, with advanced recovery techniques, a fire restoration contractor can help minimize your loss. Then, for contaminated items that truly are unrecoverable, proper disposal prevents unnecessary health hazards.
The Recovery Process Could Take Much Longer
Restoring your home to its pre-fire condition is not a straightforward task. You have belongings to salvage, cleanup to do, and the home’s structure to repair. Then, there are the insurance claims to minimize the fire’s financial impact. The entire process is a headache to attempt yourself.
Your efforts to save money with DIY fire restoration could easily backfire if you throw out salvageable belongings and don’t complete insurance claims correctly. The time it takes to perform the cleanup without help could also be detrimental. Relying on a fire restoration contractor who’s familiar with every aspect of the disaster recovery process is a much better option.
Schedule Professional Fire Restoration Services
The team at Rainbow Restoration® is here to deliver affordable, convenient fire and smoke damage restoration services. We make the recovery process as quick and painless as possible. Request an appointment online or call Rainbow Restoration for 24/7 emergency services.
