Practically everyone’ has seen pictures of a place where there’s been a fire. The walls range from wearing a bit of soot to being so charred that the building might no longer be habitable. But there are other problems caused by smoke that might not be as easy to see. This is true even if the fire didn’t last long, and the damage seemed minimal.
The Different Kinds of Smoke Damage
You may be surprised to know that there are different kinds of smoke damage. These are as follows.
Dry
This type of damage occurs when the fire burns objects like wood. It’s easier to clean up, but because it’s dry, it can get into cracks and crevices.
Wet
This type of smoke damage happens when materials such as rubber and plastic burn. Indeed, the smoke smells like burnt rubber.
Protein
Protein smoke happens when the food you left and forgot on the stove catches on fire. Fortunately, smoke residue from these fires, though bad-smelling, is the easiest to clean up.
Fuel
It’s unusual for fuel smoke to happen in the living areas of the home. It’s more likely to occur in the garage or in the tool shed. This is the hardest type of smoke damage to repair.
What Smoke Damages
The damage caused by smoke ranges from trivial to health-threatening. Dry smoke is so powdery that it can get into your HVAC system and damage it. It can also damage your electrical wiring and even the foundation of your building.
Wet smoke can land on metal items and rust or corrode them. The smoke from a kitchen fire doesn’t stain, but it can cause the paint on the walls to discolor. Once fuel smoke gets on your fabric upholstery or your clothing, it destroys them. You may think your clothes and your bed linens don’t look that bad and put them in the washing machine. However, the damage done by fuel smoke is permanent, and you’re at risk of breathing in toxins even as you sleep.
Smoke damages and weakens the wood frames of your furniture and even the hardwood of your floors. If it’s not mitigated, the damage can get to the point where your floors are no longer sound.
Other items affected by smoke are simply discolored. Still, you’re not going to want the brilliant white porcelain dinner set handed down from your great-grandmother to be permanently jaundiced from smoke.
If you’ve had the misfortune of having a fire in your home or place of business, you need help straight away. Whatever the cause or the intensity of the fire, smoke damage needs to be cleaned up as soon as possible. For smoke damage cleanup, call our professionals at Complete Detail Cleaning & Restoration of Troy, Ohio.
