How to Clean Items Affected by Fire Damage

5/12/2022 (Permalink)

When most people think of fire damage mitigation, they usually think of cleaning the damage done to the building. A lot of the damage that occurs to your commercial property during a fire, however, happens to the items inside the building. Fire restoration specialists use various methods, including dry-cleaning and ultrasonic waves, to clean salvageable items after a fire.

Textiles

Many of the items you find in the building after a fire are able to be washed, and that simple process typically restores them to their former state. Various textiles fall in this category:

• Curtains
• Uniforms
• Dining linens
• Shop towels

Technicians use powerful detergents to clean soot and smoke off the fabrics. Many fabrics respond well to dry-cleaning. Once the items are cleaned, they can be stored until the building is ready again.

Porous Furniture

A lot of office furniture is built for economy rather than longevity. It is often constructed of particle board that tends to take on water. This can make it difficult to save during content cleaning. If the furniture has not been significantly warped by the fire suppression process, however, it can often be wiped clean with mild detergent and a cloth. A vacuum with a HEPA filter attachment can often be used to suck the soot and smoke residue out of porous furniture.

Nonporous Items

Many items placed in content storage to await cleaning after a fire can be cleaned by ultrasonic waves. Ultrasonic cleaning is very thorough, reaching into cracks and crevices that other cleaning methods miss. A machine generates ultrasonic waves, which pass through a cleaning solution, creating tiny bubbles. The implosion of these bubbles cleans the item. After the item is cleaned, it can be properly dried and is then ready to use again.

Whether items are salvaged by dry-cleaning or some other method, content cleaning is an integral part of fire remediation. It is the goal of the team of specialists to save everything they can.