Fire Damage Restoration: Ceiling Soot Stains

If you’ve had a fire or smoke damage in your home, you know that everything has been damaged by smoke and soot. When synthetic and natural materials burn, soot is left behind. This black residue clings to hard surfaces, ceilings and walls. Soot is a messy irritant, and it can damage the materials it touches. 

So, the question arises; can I cheat and attempt to disguise the stains? Nope. It is not enough just to cover up the stains, you need to properly clean the residue or the stains will emerge later. The chemistry resulting from fire affects how stubborn the stains are. When the fire damage restoration service experts at Challis Restoration arrives to inspect your smoke damage, they will take the steps to bring your home back to life. 

Protect The Home (And Family) From More Damage

The key to properly cleaning soot from the walls is to avoid spreading it around. Before starting the cleanup process, the team will visually inspect the  damaged rooms. If you touch any surfaces during the inspection, you may inadvertently transfer the residue to other surfaces or rooms. So our fire damage restoration service experts will suit up properly (including shoe covers) to minimize contact with other areas of your home.

The team will assess the indoor air quality as well. They may bring in air scrubbers, fans, and HEPA filters to control particulates.

Clean and Repair Vs Replace

Fire damage repair requires specific knowledge of the chemical reactions for the various materials of your possessions. Every item reacts differently to fire and the residual chemicals, causing a wide variety of success in clean up. If the walls, carpet and windows are damaged beyond repair, we can replace them. But more importantly, our fire damage restoration service team will work to clean and restore whenever possible.

Use the Proper Cleaning Techniques

If you approach the cleaning process incorrectly, you may further damage the walls by smearing the soot. In some situations, vacuuming then dry sponging can wash away the soot. Soap and water are not sufficient–wet cleaning is more likely to smear the soot unless the soot came from a low oxygen fire.

Remove (Don’t Disguise) Smells

Soot and smoke from candles, fireplaces or cigars and cigarettes can be quite unsightly on interior plaster or sheetrock walls — and that smoky residue may also produce some unpleasant odors. Simply covering the soot with low-priced latex paint won’t solve the problem. What’s needed is a systemic approach that removes surface soot particles, seals embedded smoky content behind a primer, and tops off the job with a scrubbable finish coat that will prevent the problem from reappearing.

Call Challis For Fire Damage Restoration Service

The team at Challis Restoration in Cedar Rapids understands the restoration and recovery process – from first-aid measures and emergency response to technical services and total reconstruction. With over 25 years of experience, our fire damage restoration service experts offer compassion and a calm response to your emergency.

If you have any questions regarding water damage cleanup, fire damage restoration service, sewage damage repair, or flooding cleanup, give us a call. Or visit our website for an online contact form.