House fires are destructive and terrifying to experience. Then, after the flames are put out, you’re left to deal with the resulting fire damage and figure out what to do with all your furniture and belongings.
Unsure of where to start? We’ll help you learn more about the different ways fire can damage items in your home and then figure out which items you can salvage.
Types of Fire Damage
Before assessing your items, it’s helpful to understand that there are multiple types of damage possible when you experience a house fire. While direct flame damage may be the first thing to come to mind, your items can also be damaged by heat, smoke, and firefighting efforts.
Flame Damage
Direct flames can quickly burn through many items in your home, including furniture, wooden items, clothing, and fabric. Fire can also melt and warp plastic and electronic items.
Heat Damage
Fire doesn’t need to directly touch items to impact them. During a fire, a room’s temperature may rise to 600 degrees Fahrenheit at eye level—hot enough to melt plastic items, appliances, and electronics.
Smoke and Soot Damage
Made up of many tiny, toxic particles, smoke and soot linger long after a fire is put out, embedding themselves throughout your home. Not only do smoke- and soot-damaged items smell and look unpleasant, but they can also seriously impact your health.
Water Damage
Firefighters may have saved your home from further damage, but in many cases, putting out the fire leaves you with water damage on top of fire damage. Water can seriously impact your personal items and your home’s drywall, insulation, and overall structure. Water damage should be dealt with quickly to avoid another dangerous problem: mold.
What Items Can Be Salvaged After a Fire?
When recovering from a fire, you’ll need to assess the extent of the damage to your items. Fire affects items differently based on proximity and duration of exposure, as well as what the item is made of.
Glass and Metal Items
Glass and metal are both non-porous materials with high melting points and are unlikely to sustain permanent damage from smoke or water. Smoke-stained items can most likely be saved or restored with the help of dish soap and water.
Direct flame may warp metal items and turn them brittle. Professional restoration can help repair, clean, and restore fire-damaged metal items like jewelry, making them look as good as new.
Furniture
Furniture is often made of materials that burn, warp, or melt during a fire. Also, smoke and water can both easily damage furniture, making it hard to salvage. Furniture that has been burned or damaged will likely need to be tossed, but it may be possible to salvage pieces that have only sustained smoke damage.
Appliances
Fifty-one percent of all house fires start in the kitchen, and appliances like ovens and refrigerators frequently sustain damage. Appliances can sometimes be saved, but it’s always best to get a professional to assess the damage. Exposure to extreme heat, smoke, or water can damage internal components or wiring, which may lead to another fire in the future.
Small Electronics
Like large appliances, entertainment devices, small appliances, and other electronics contain complex components that can be easily damaged by heat, smoke, and water. It’s best to get your electronics professionally assessed for damage before turning them on again.
Clothing and Textiles
It may be possible to save washable fabric items like clothing, curtains, and bedding, especially those that were far away from the fire and didn’t suffer burns or direct damage. Washable fabric items should be treated promptly to avoid permanent smoke damage. These items may require professional, specialized cleaning methods.
Small Personal Items
Sentimental items like photographs and artwork are often the items people are most concerned about saving. Photos that have sustained damage can often be restored and digitized by a professional. Artwork may be salvaged using special restoration techniques like laser ablation.
What Should Not Be Salvaged?
Certain household items should not be saved after a house fire, as they can be dangerous to your health. These include:
- Makeup and toiletries
- Food
- Medications
- Burned or melted items
- Visibly damaged electronics
How Do Professionals Restore Fire Damage?
Professional restoration teams strive to help you salvage as much as possible after a house fire. They’ll guide you through the salvaging process and help you understand what you can and cannot keep.
They will also be able to restore your home through advanced restoration methods, including:
Laser Ablation
Laser ablation removes contaminants like soot and char from surfaces with great precision, all without further damaging surfaces. This process does not require physical contact, making it perfect for cleaning hard-to-reach areas, building materials like wood and brick, and even delicate items like artwork.
Dry Ice Blasting
Dry ice blasting uses CO2 pellets rapidly sublimated into their gaseous form to clean away smoke, dirt, and other contaminants. Unlike traditional cleaning methods, dry ice blasting is non-abrasive and doesn’t leave residue behind, allowing surfaces to be cleaned without damage.
It’s a highly effective option for soot and smoke damage, as it cleans below the surface, eliminating stains, layers of soot, and odors. Not only is dry ice blasting safer, faster, and more effective than many other restoration techniques, but it also lowers restoration costs.
Odor Elimination
Smoke is made up of carbon, ash, and toxic chemicals like hydrogen sulfide and ammonia. When a house fire occurs, smoke carries through your home and penetrates deep into surfaces, causing lingering odors. It can drastically affect the air quality of your home and your family’s health.
Professionals understand that eliminating smoke odor requires deep cleaning. That’s why the Biodynamic team uses BioSweep technology, a chemical-free, five-step process that eliminates airborne and surface odors.
Restore Your Home from Fire Damage
A house fire is a devastating thing to experience. Biodynamic is here to help you get back on your feet.
Our team has years of experience restoring homes after fire damage. Contact us today to learn more about the restoration process. We’ll work with you to salvage and clean your items, remove odors, and restore your home back to normal.
