Cleaning Fire Damage in San Leandro

11/12/2017 (Permalink)

Smoke damage can be just as damaging as damage from the fire itself. Stay safe and when the fire fighters leave, contact SERVPRO for remediation.

SERVPRO Technicians Understand Fires and the Residues that They Leave Behind in Order to Provide a More Effective Level of Cleaning

Even a small fire in a San Leandro home can cause a remarkable amount of damage. If it burns slowly at a cooler temperature, there may even be more damage than one that burned fast and hot.
 
Knowing what burned and how fast helps SERVPRO determine the equipment and methods we need to deal with fire damage in a San Leandro home. The process of burning material is called combustion, and it has three requirements: Heat, oxygen, and fuel.
 
When these requirements burn in the perfect mix, the fire is hot, bright, and leaves little ash or another residue. When the mix is poor, the amount of residue increases accordingly. A poor mix means that either the heat or oxygen are too low to burn cleanly. This poor mix is the source of smoke and soot residues. The lower the heat or oxygen means more smoke is generated and travels farther through the home.
 
As smoke cools; the residue particles which did not burn in the poor mix fall out of the air and onto the surfaces below. These residue particles are solid bits of carbon and small amounts of liquids called aerosols. They are what makes smoke visible when trapped in the gases generated by the burned organic material.
 
Understanding this is what helps SERVPRO technicians can determine which cleaners and methods to use in a home. The farther away it is from the fire origin means that the smoke is lighter and contains fewer particles. The farthest point usually contains fewer aerosols, so we start at that point using dry cleaning methods.
 
Dry cleaning simply means that we wipe down surfaces with a dry cloth or sponge. In a large room, we may use a vacuum cleaner to remove the bulk of it before using a cloth or sponge to remove residue particles from in corners or other spots difficult to reach with the vacuum.
 
Closer to the fire, we use wet cleaning methods. In this situation, we try to use only water first to break up the thicker residues and then wipe them off surfaces with a cloth or sponge. If the residue is on a surface for an extended amount of time, then we use a cleaning agent to break it up for easier removal. If neither method is effective, then we remove the item for additional cleaning either on-site or at our facility.
 
Remediating the effects of fire damage requires not just equipment, chemicals, and personnel. The task also needs the knowledge to understand what and how to clean. SERVPRO of San Leandro has built up that knowledge over two decades helping our neighbors and community. If you need our services, call us today at (510) 352-2480.

For more information about the City of San Leandro, California visit:  https://www.sanleandro.org/