Smoke, Fire, and Water Damage Go Hand in Hand

The smoke, fire, and water damage that typically follow a fire are not very fun to have to deal with, but since the majority of us cannot afford a professional remediation service to come in and take care of these things for us, we tend to have to do it ourselves. Many of us who have to deal with this at some point in our lives simply “wing it”, but if you do a little research before you start trying to take on this necessary home improvement project, you should make it just fine.

The first thing that you need to do is make sure that it is okay to re-enter your home after the fire is over with. Talk to your fire marshal and ask him or her if the property is safe. If there is standing water left in your home after the fire truck has gone away, turn the electricity to the entire house off to avoid the risk of electrocution.

Any standing water should be swept out immediately, since mold can start to grow as little as 48 hours after the fire is over. It is important to get started as quickly as possible where standing water is concerned. The windows and doors of the house need to be opened to allow the air and remaining smoke in the house to get escape. Removing the smell of smoke from the house is not easy, but this can really help. If there is no wind that day, using fans to help blow the air outside can assist.

Pets should not be let back in the home. Any birds exposed to the event need to be taken to the vet, since they are particularly sensitive to changes in their living conditions.

Anything in the home that was wet from the fire hose should be taken out and let to dry, but try to keep them out of direct sunlight, since this can bleach certain items.

Any foods that were open when the fire started need to be thrown away, since they might be contaminated.

Wash down the leaves of any plants you own and remove the soot. Soot and ash on plant leaves can kill them.

Your walls and ceilings will probably need to be repainted, since the vast majority of smoke damage cannot be washed away.

Any furniture in the house that was not soaked by the fire hose will probably have soot and ash on it and you do not want to sit down on or rub up against these. Vacuum them with a vacuum cleaner attachment without any bristles, since bristles and brushes will only drive it further into the fibers. This also applies to carpet.

Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of
Texas Water Damage Restoration and
Houston Water Damage Restoration Which are Certified IICRC Water damage and mold remediation contractors.