Stealthy Smoke Damage In Your Omaha Home

11/2/2022 (Permalink)

Smoke Damage In Your Home

When a fire breaks out in a Omaha residence, everyone understandably focuses on the harm caused by the flames. Although blackened and charred materials grab homeowners’ attention, other processes occur during a household fire that can be as destructive to the structure as the burning. This less noticeable damage also can be completely hidden, and continue to damage materials and items in your home.

Smoke and soot damage is a serious problem after a fire. The materials ignited by the fire make up the content of smoke, and the soot deposited as the airborne particles float through the atmosphere within a residence. Depending on what burned, the combustion can create dangerous and toxic byproducts. Inhaling this noxious mixture sometimes results in health issues, including severe injury or death. More people die during a fire from smoke inhalation than any burns inflicted.

The drifting smoke and soot are hard to follow as they make their path throughout a building. Hot air rises during the fire, lifting the smoke to one or more stories above the site of a fire. The smoke can slip through cracks into the areas above ceilings and between walls, filling these recesses while still emitting odors and fumes. The soot deposits a mix of incompletely burned solids, a part of the chemical combination of gases and minute particles of solids and liquids that make up smoke.

Hidden smoke damage corrodes, tarnishes, etches, and deteriorates metals, woods, glass, and other surfaces. It invades and ruins porous materials like insulation and carpeting over time. Its odor lingers, trapped in the tiny bits of combusted plastic, wood, fabric, and a host of other organic and inorganic building materials and contents inside the burned home.

It is imperative that our technicians locate and evaluate smoke damage wherever it migrates. A plan to remove the smoke damage or seal it to prevent continuous vaporization is crucial.

After the remediation of smoke damage, the final task is often odor removal. Airing out of spaces helps somewhat, but the odiferous particles remain suspended and trapped in walls and cavities, furnishings, materials and other places. Advanced technology that replicates the combustion known as thermal fogging shows good results in odor elimination. So does hydroxyl generation and other oxidative processes. These solutions work by sending other particles into the air to seek out odor molecules, They attach to the odor particles and neutralize the smell through a chemical conversion that permanently eliminates the stench.

If your home experiences fire damage, connect immediately with SERVPRO of Omaha Northwest for fast and lasting results. You can count on our team to restore your property to pre-damage condition. Call us today at (402) 800-2134. “Like it never even happened.”

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