Fire Residue Removal Without Ruining Surfaces
The soot and charring left after a household fire affects every surface of your home in St. Louis. Fire damage cleanup requires careful assessment before trained and experienced technicians select appropriate products and techniques to deliver effective outcomes based on the specific circumstances of each situation. The crew members responding to your fire aftermath project have completed rigorous coursework at the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), mastering the research-based best practice interventions that clear smoke, soot, and charring residues from building materials and contents thoroughly while leaving surfaces unharmed.
Soot Characteristics Vary
Fire residues, commonly termed soot, have different qualities depending on the fuel the blaze consumes. In general, soot sorts into three types:
- Dry soot is an ashy and loose coating created when wood, paper, and other cellulose materials burn.
- Wet soot is a thick, dark, and sticky coating deposited when rubber, plastics, and synthetic fibers melt and combust.
- Protein soot, a nearly colorless lacquer or varnish-like residue, consists of a fine mist of dehydrated food-stuffs, oils, and greases, typically found after a cooking fire.
Cleaning Methods Must Match
St. Louis homeowners who try to clean up fire residues quickly discover soot is no ordinary dirt. Avoid smearing and grinding coatings into surfaces by partnering with us. Sansara 24/7 Restoration & Remodeling technicians follow IICRC guidelines after testing interventions in inconspicuous areas, using:
- Dusters, dry sponges, HEPA-equipped vacuums, and compressed air to remove dry soot
- Spray and wipe techniques, choosing products that will dissolve or emulsify the sticky soot, lifting it away with as little pressure or scrubbing as possible to remove wet soot–testing both water and oil-based proprietary cleaner to discover which works best to loosen and suspend the residue for wiping away
- Spray and wait strategies, combined with either abrasives mixed into cleaning products or abrasive tools to remove stubbornly adhered protein soot–usually oil-based solvents are necessary to break the bond between the soot and the surface
Balancing Effective Cleaning with Surface Preservation
Although the goal is to clean surfaces completely, ensuring that building materials and contents do not sustain scrapes, finish removal, breakage, or weakening is also critical. Our professionals apply and adapt the following cleaning elements to achieve a clean and sanitary home with only minor damage to the existing structures, appliances, and more.
- Chemical action–different substances in cleaning products act to dissolve, emulsify, oxidize, bleach, modify pH, or digest residues, chosen depending on whether residues are water or oil-based and other factors
- Temperature–adjusting the temperature of cleaning solutions can accelerate the chemical action
- Time–allowing the cleaner to “dwell” on the dirty surface for a prescribed period can increase the efficacy of the chemical action
- Agitation–technicians dislodge residues already loose or loosened by the above tactics through agitation. Agitation includes everything from feather dusting to scrubbing and scraping with rough-sided or edged tools. Adding grit to a cleaning product enhances agitation.
Note: Appropriate agitation is an art and a part of the science of soot removal. Heavy-handed use of abrasives can irreparably damage delicate surfaces and finishes, particularly on kitchen appliances. Hiring the experts at Sansara assures that abrasive methods will be used patiently and appropriately—cleaning without destroying. Sansara 24/7 Restoration & Remodeling ensures the crew members who respond when you need fire damage cleanup are fully IICRC-certified and ready to employ residue removal services that exceed industry standards. Call 636-812-3838 to schedule a whole-home
