Where There's Fire, There's Smoke: Disaster Restoration Challenges
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Posted On :
Jan-31-2012
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Article Word Count :
490
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Smoke can be more damaging to a home than the fire itself. Learn why, and what it can do to your health.
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Managing Smoke Damage Once The Fire Has Been Extinguished
While there's no doubt that a fire will severely damage a home, many homeowners do not realize how extensive and long-lasting the damage caused by smoke can also be.
Smoke is an insidious intruder - which can be caustic, smell terrible, and may even be toxic. Cleaning this damage can be the source of much more grief than the (sometimes very small) fire that generates it.
Smoke & Soot In Hard-To Reach Places
The heat of a fire will cause pores and openings to expand, and pressure will force fire-related particles into many areas that are normally not accessible. The particles present in a fire are attracted to cold surfaces, and will adhere to exterior walls and windows, as well as metal surfaces such as plumbing and heating pipes.
Smoke And Toxicity
While some soot and smoke will manifest itself visibly, other fire-related airborne particles will not be visible to the naked eye. Combustion particles can range in size from 0.1 to 4 microns. By comparison, a human hair is about 75 microns in diameter. Particles smaller than 1 micron in size may remain suspended in air indefinitely.
Human bronchial passages contain ciliated surfaces that are meant to capture particles in the 10-micron range. Once captured, they push the particles back to the throat, where they are swallowed and eliminated through the digestive track. Anything smaller than that may penetrate deep into the tender lung tissues beyond, entering the alveoli. At best, these particles will irritate the alveoli; at worst, they can cause permanent scarring and diminished lung capacity.
Soot Chemistry
Soot, which is present in smoke, is comprised of carbon and materials that are incompletely burned or oxidized. While some soot is loose and dry, and can be vacuumed effectively, other soot materials are greasy or oily, and will stick to surfaces. High temperatures can also "bake" this soot onto surfaces. In some cases, soot may need to be removed with a putty knife, or some other harsh cleaning instrument.
Addressing Soot & Smoke Damage
There are three ways to address damage caused by soot and smoke.
Cleaning: When possible, simply cleaning the smoke damage is the most simple, inexpensive option. In these cases, the challenge can be to completely clean it - so there is no odor remaining.
Resurfacing: This is a more expensive and time-consuming effort. This process includes refinishing wooden furniture, reupholstering furniture, repainting walls and ceilings, etc. It's important to take not that smoke particles are often corrosive, and may bleed through paints and persist in emitting smoke odors.
Removal & Replacement: Insurance companies will stray from this option when possible, as it's the most expensive and time-consuming. They will generally only opt for this when the cost to restore the damage is more than 50% of the cost to replace it.
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Article Source :
http://www.articleseen.com/Article_Where There's Fire, There's Smoke: Disaster Restoration Challenges_141423.aspx
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Author Resource :
This article provided by Able Restoration, providers of disaster restoration in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. To schedule a professional inspection and quote, contact us by phone or e-mail today!
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Keywords :
disaster restoration in Rhode Island, fire damage in RI, smoke damage in rhode island,
Category :
Business
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Business
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