What to Expect During the Fire Damage Remediation Process in Your Chicago Home

9/8/2019 (Permalink)

Don’t get overwhelmed when fire damage affects your home or apartment. Contact SERVPRO to handle the situation!

How SERVPRO Handles Smoke Residue Cleanup in Chicago Properties

Fire damage is one of the most devastating things a homeowner experiences. The charred items and loss, along with the lingering odor, make for an overwhelming situation.

There are many steps to handling fire damage in a Chicago home, among them, are the testing of the residues left behind, so technicians choose the correct cleaning methods without causing further damage. As a fire burns in a home, there are varying temperatures and combustible objects it consumes. This leaves behind various types of residues to remove from surfaces. Testing is an important way to discern the kind of deposit and the surface it resides upon so the technicians apply the correct cleaning products and methods.

Initial Inspection Actions

During the preliminary review of the property, SERVPRO does initial scoping for damage and testing of residues to evaluate the nature of the damage done to the property as well as the necessary actions to restore it to its preloss condition.

Elimination of Residues

The removal of smoke residues is a two-step process. For a removal to occur, the residues require capturing using different methods such as liquid cleaners, vacuuming light, powdery residues that contain small carbon particles. The use of wet cleaners on this type of deposit results in absorption more in-depth into the surface and exacerbating the issue.

Wet smoke results mostly from the burning of rubber and plastics and require dissolving before it loses adherence to the surface and then wiped away.

Dissolving is an exacting process that has three main steps — washing the surface which loosens the residue and holds it in suspension for removal. Rinsing to ensure removal occurs and finally drying to complete the cleaning process.

Unique Surface Qualities Must Be Considered

Some surfaces cannot tolerate the application of water, and others cannot tolerate any type of solvents. This is just one reason is why pretesting is vital to a good outcome for restoration services.

SERVPRO of Hyde Park / E. Bridgeport / Bronzeville is available 24/7 to handle any size smoke and fire damage to your property. Contact our technicians at (312) 509-5000, and we arrive within an hour of your initial call because We're Faster to Any Size Disaster.

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