Fire damage cleanup techniques are not exclusive to house fires. During the winter months, when we use our home heating systems, the mess and odor of furnace puff backs are not merely a mechanical nuisance, they’re disruptive and messy.
A puff back is an explosion inside the burner chamber of an oil furnace. The result is that the oil in your furnace vaporizes and is expelled, depositing soot throughout your entire home.
In one quick burst, your home is covered in oily soot and carcinogens.
Why Would I Need Fire Damage Clean Up If I Haven’t Experienced a Fire?
If you’ve experienced a puff back then home’s interior will be covered with a greasy, sooty, black residue. Your walls and all your fixtures including your lights, doors, appliances, and cabinets will have a dingy film. The decorations you so lovingly selected and placed will be filthy. The air will smell like petroleum and it will make your head ache and your stomach nauseous. The clothes in your closet will be discolored, smelly, and you will carry that pervasive odor around with you wherever you go. Your bedding, upholstered furniture, and carpet will be greasy and blackened. Your windows, blinds, and draperies will be dirty. Everything you touch will be dirty and smeary. If you’re experiencing any of these problems, most likely, you’ve had a puff back and will need fire damage clean up services.
Can I Clean a Puff Back Myself or Do I Need a Fire Damage Clean Up Professional?
If you choose to try to clean up the puff back on your own, you’ll roll up your sleeves and will most likely try dishwashing liquid, ammonia, distilled vinegar and baking soda, chemical sponges or vacuuming.
However, you will be horrified to discover that your elbow grease, home remedies, and store-bought chemicals won’t work. Besides, most insurance companies will be reluctant to pay homeowners to clean it themselves. The problem will get bigger because you’ll track soot all over your home.
You’re fortunate that your furnace malfunction didn’t result in a fire. Still, your throat will tighten, and you will want to cry. You will need professional help.
How Do Fire Damage Clean Up Techniques Work on Puff Backs?
A professional fire damage clean-up contractor can rescue you from a puff back. They have the experience, manpower, and equipment to deal with your dirty disaster.
When you file a claim with your insurance agency and then call a professional cleaning service, the cleaning crew will respond quickly; and will begin doing a pre-clean of your home. Pre-cleaning is a quick cleaning of surfaces affected by soot or smoke to reduce or eliminate the chance of discoloration or pitting of those surfaces. It’s the first step of the project along with the placement of equipment to start cleaning the air so that you can breathe again.
Next, the leader will make a plan for you to clean and restore your belongings. You decide that it will be faster and more effective to have a crew pack up your clothes, decorative items, electronics, and dishes to process them in a facility that houses specialty equipment such as ultrasonic technology and an Esporta wash system. This too, makes you breathe easier, knowing that your household contents have been inventoried, securely packed, and will be returned to you, free of soot and residue.
You, along with the fire damage cleanup crew, now turn your attention to the upholstery and carpets. Once the ceilings, walls, fixtures, and floors have been completely cleaned, plans will be made to deodorize and restore those items, too. A duct cleaning will be performed to ensure that your air quality and home ventilation is clean and safe.
Finally, as the fire damage clean up team returns to unpack your cleaned belongings for you, you breathe a deep sigh of relief that your home and belongings are sparkling again…perhaps even cleaner than before.