Dangers of Letting Smoke Go Untreated

2/27/2023 (Permalink)

Even though this fire happened inside someone's condo, smoke damage is visible in the common area, hallway, and around the elevator.

When there’s a fire on your property, it can wreak havoc. Even if the fire damage is not catastrophic, smoke can cause permanent damage to your belongings and home's structure. That’s why you have to move quickly to treat smoke damage.

A few of the dangers of letting smoke go untreated are:

• When you don’t treat smoke damage quickly, your restoration costs increase. The odor becomes harder to neutralize, and it becomes more difficult to salvage things like carpets, drapes, and upholstery. The restoration process will become more difficult and time-consuming, and therefore more expensive. 
• Smoke and ash left behind can cause extensive damage. When mixed with water, smoke and ash are extremely corrosive. When these substances are not cleaned promptly, they can corrode metal elements in your home including appliances, blinds, window frames, ceiling fans and light fixtures, and other surfaces in your home. You may think you can clean the residue with soap and water, but soap and water are not enough. It requires deep cleaning with the appropriate products and tools for the job. In fact, cleaning smoke damage with water can make the problem worse. 
• Soot deposits can travel through the building. Soot left alone will migrate through the building. Traveling from room to room, it will damage paint, carpet, drapes, furniture, clothing, and other items, even in rooms previously unaffected by the fire. 
• Exposure to smoke residue can cause health issues. If the damage caused by smoke and fire is not completely eradicated, hidden dangers will remain behind. Both old and new homes hold chemicals that can become dangerous if the proper procedures aren’t used in restoration. Asbestos fibers, synthetic fabrics, carpeting, wood, PVC, and other materials can release harmful substances like hydrocarbons, ketones, cresols, sulfur dioxide, formaldehyde, and hydrogen chloride into the air. Exposure to smoke residue and all those chemicals can impact your health, resulting in respiratory illnesses like bronchitis, asthma, emphysema, and allergies. It can be especially dangerous for people with heart conditions or a compromised immune system. 
• Without smoke treatment, your home can be permanently damaged. Within hours of a fire, damage from smoke and ash starts to set in. Leaving it untreated can cause your walls to turn yellow, metal surfaces to corrode, wooden furniture to need refinishing, and clothes to become permanently stained. It may also cause irreversible damage to the floors, which could need to be replaced. 

If you’ve had a fire at your house, call SERVPRO of Mandarin to assess and repair the smoke damage. Our highly-trained restoration technicians have the experience and equipment necessary to restore your Jacksonville area home and get everything back to preloss condition. We’ve served our community for over 40 years, and we’re experts in fire and smoke damage repair and restoration. Call (904) 636-0044 to ensure your property is restored following a fire.