How Do I Clean My Carpet After a Fire in Marysville?

7/31/2020 (Permalink)

You might put out a fire quickly, but the damage fire can do within that time can leave lingering effects all around your house. Contact SERVPRO.

SERVPRO technicians bring the professional equipment and extensive training to local Marysville properties for all types of restoration services

SERVPRO technicians know that choosing the carpet for your Marysville house is a significant decision and investment, which makes it hard to see it covered in soot and water after a fire in the home. The goal of restoration services is to clean items and give them a second life with no signs of the previous damage, and that includes your carpet. Cleaning methods that produce agitation are most frequently used as they force the release of the smoke damage on the carpet threads in tandem with steam cleaning and the use of carpet-safe cleaning agents. Some of the signs the techs look for as far as restoration potential include:  

If any charring occurred to the carpet fibers

• Outcome of testing of the carpet threads to determine the construction materials, so the best cleaning methods get chosen
• If the carpet needs water extraction 
• The potential for dye bleeding or if staining happened

Do I Need to Relocate During Fire Damage Restoration Services? 

If your Marysville home has had a fire, before the fire damage restoration begins, it is best to consult with the first responders as to the safety of your structure if you are considering remaining in the home. For example, a fire in your kitchen may get contained to a single area, but the soot can get tracked around the house unintentionally through foot traffic or the use of the HVAC system. In the majority of cases, the healthiest option is to relocate for a short time it will take to restore your home.

SERVPRO technicians halt the cross-contamination to other areas of your Marysville home through containment. This can get accomplished in multiple ways, but the most common involves thick gauge plastic over doors, windows, and vents.

The cleanup of the fire loss area is more than wiping away smoke damage and spritzing some air freshener. Soot particles produce odors until one of two things happens, they get removed using equipment such as air scrubbers to capture airborne particulate or through the use of neutralizing agents like hydroxyl generators or thermal fogging units.

The disposal of the waste liquid after cleaning away residues is another consideration. Mainly when the smoke damage was of the wet smoke variety and needed the assistance of dry cleaning fluid or solvents to get removed off surfaces. The leftover liquid is considered industrial waste and has specific ways it requires disposal to comply with state and local mandates. This is one of the many reasons to outsource your cleanup to SERVPRO. The technicians are trained, certified, and know the local regulations for proper disposal of biohazards and industrial waste products.

To save homeowners from replacing items, the technicians typically set up cleaning stations outside of the worksite. As things get found during the cleanup with restoration potential, they get brought to the cleaning station. The articles go through a process such as:   

• Determination of the materials that make up the object
• Testing of fibers and surfaces when necessary 
• Ascertaining the correct cleaning method for the best outcome

The removal of smoke damage from surfaces in a fire loss area requires the use of post-cleaning testing. This action gets done because some methods of releasing the grip wet, smeary residues have on surfaces sometimes involves the use of acidic or alkaline solutions. SERVPRO technicians test the surfaces after cleaning to ensure they are at a state of neutral pH, which ensures that the surfaces are not prone to any damage from chemical residues. Special attention gets paid to soot on chrome fixtures as it can be caustic and cause irreparable damage if it remains in contact for too long.

Another frequently seen issue after fire loss cleanup on carpets involves water stains. SERVPRO technicians have a multilayered approach for the removal of this type of staining. In some cases, using a steam cleaner to rewet the area and immediately steam it away eliminates the problem. On a case by case basis, the techs have access to a powerful stain lifting agent, "Brown Out" however, it is for synthetic carpets only, and it can react to certain types of dyes and cause bleaching, so testing gets done before this method gets used. The technicians also have specific cleaning solutions for natural fiber carpets with stain removal needs.

SERVPRO of Marysville / Arlington at (360) 658-0506 stands ready to assist local property owners with any size fire damage restoration services needed. The technicians are available 24/7 to come when you call and make the loss, "Like it never even happened."