Why Do I Need Professional Cleaning After a Minor Fire

1/4/2021 (Permalink)

Example of apartment fire and the damage it can cause.

The residues from an apartment fire are not your everyday dirt and grime. Instead of being tracked in from the outside, spills, or settled dust floats. Fire residues result from the combustion of building materials and contents inside your Portland apartment. One prevalent source of fire damage in a home or apartment is the protein-based coating from food and grease fires. This residue from a kitchen fire aggressively  adheres to surfaces, almost like a glue. It represents the dehydrated remains of food and oils and is incredibly malodorous and hard to remove.

If I Cannot See the Fire Damage Residue, Do I Need to Clean It?
We all relate to the walking past neighbors’ doorways and noticing a cooking smell that does not go away. Even without an actual fire, food odors work their way into porous materials if not vented or managed. When you add the increased temperatures of a fire burning on a stovetop with oils and proteins heating above their smoking point, your space fills with the rancid compounds into which these ingredients break down. The transparency of the residues is irrelevant, and you need professional help to remove them.

How Are Protein-Based Residues Removed?
SERVPRO of SE Portland will discern the types of soot and their cleaning solutions based on the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) training they master. Protein-based soots respond to:

    •    Oil-based solvents
    •    Skillful use of agitation
    •    Use of abrasives, with both agitation and abrasive use and intensity increased carefully by certified technicians to ensure the affected surface can endure the cleaning
    •    The choice of thermal fogging or hydroxyl generation for malodor elimination the odor-bearing molecules require a chemical modification to lose the stench

Turn to SERVPRO of SE Portland for effective and efficient cleanup of fire damage, even if it seems minor save yourself the time and trouble and call a professional.

SERVPRO of SE Portland!