That sounds kind of strange, does it not? Water is usually one of the last things that you tend to think about when your house is on fire, except for wanting lots of it to put the fire out with. When the fire trucks come and start the business of putting the fire out with gallons and gallons of water, we are typically overjoyed, except for those of us who know that the water they pour onto and into our home can be almost as damaging as the fire itself. Ceilings and walls become soaked in water, not to mention the rest of the home’s appliances, furniture, and fixtures. The insulation in the attic is not safe, either, because once it gets wet, it becomes completely useless in protecting your home from the heat and cold during the summer and winter seasons. It weighs down on your ceiling’s drywall and can eventually cause it to collapse if not replaced soon.
There are plenty of things that you can do when you have a fire in your home and you return to it to find not a dried out shell of a building, but a soaking wet interior.
Wait to turn on any household appliances or any lights while you are in standing water. This includes carpets that are soaked with water and make splashing sounds when you walk across them. It is also very important that you do not do this while standing on concrete floors. The possibility of electrocution is high.
If you start to enter a room, look up at the ceiling. If the ceiling is sagging down, then it is probably due to water that has been retained in the attic or because of insulation that has gotten soaked and is weighing down on the drywall. Do not enter this room. Instead, check out the damage to the attic, if possible.
Whatever clothing that you have in your home should be removed and hung outside to dry, if possible. Leaving wet clothing in your home to dry will ruin them because of the fact that mold will set in within about 24 to 48 hours after water exposure.
Whatever you do, do not attempt to vacuum floors that are wet. Using a wet vacuum cleaner to do this is the only option, but only do this after the electrical circuits in the house have been checked and found to be undamaged.
Remove any books and magazines that have colored covers from the floors. The dyes from these will run and stain your floors and carpet. These should be removed as soon as possible.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
South Carolina Water Damage Restoration and and other states such as
Chicago Water Damage Restoration companies across the united states.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Cleaning Up Smoke Damage
Fire is a veritable nightmare for any property owner, whether it is an apartment complex, a house, a business, or even just a piece of land. It can be devastating, but the most danger and expense usually comes from fires that affect the inside of a home or other building. These can wreak havoc on the lives of those who live in the home or even just the person renting it out, depending on whose fault the fire was, if it was anyone’s fault. There are a few things that you should do and not do if your house is the victim of a fire in order to clean up, especially if you cannot hire a restoration company to help you do so.
First, let us talk about the things that you really should do.
If you have pets in the home, you should remove them and get them to a safe environment as quickly as possible after the fire is out. You should not allow your pets, especially birds, to re-enter the home until the damage is taken care of. Birds are especially sensitive to smoke and other gases, so getting them removed from the home is very important to prevent the loss of life.
Open the windows and allow the air from outside to circulate. This will help get rid of the smell of smoke in the home. If your vacuum cleaner made it out of the fire or preferably if you have access to someone else’s, then using this to collect soot and other particles from your carpets, curtains, and upholstery should be the next thing that you do.
If you have plants, wash them completely in water and make sure that soot and other particles are not allowed to stay on them for long.
The things that you should not do should start with not using any electrical appliances (including your vacuum cleaner) until they have been checked and cleaned.
Do not attempt to clean porous surfaces like your ceilings and walls.
Sitting down on any furniture in your home that is upholstered (i.e. porous) is not recommended until they have been vacuumed and covered with plastic.
Any food items that were in the home at the time of the fire should be thrown away. This includes canned goods.
These tips are designed with your safety and your home’s restoration in mind. There may be other things that a restoration company could do to help you and in some cases, hiring a professional is the best thing that you can do. Weigh the pros and cons of hiring a professional and then decide what is best for you. Dealing with a home that has been water damaged due to the water from fire trucks is also another matter to contend with. Always consider hiring a professional to deal with extensive damage.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.localrestoration.com and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
First, let us talk about the things that you really should do.
If you have pets in the home, you should remove them and get them to a safe environment as quickly as possible after the fire is out. You should not allow your pets, especially birds, to re-enter the home until the damage is taken care of. Birds are especially sensitive to smoke and other gases, so getting them removed from the home is very important to prevent the loss of life.
Open the windows and allow the air from outside to circulate. This will help get rid of the smell of smoke in the home. If your vacuum cleaner made it out of the fire or preferably if you have access to someone else’s, then using this to collect soot and other particles from your carpets, curtains, and upholstery should be the next thing that you do.
If you have plants, wash them completely in water and make sure that soot and other particles are not allowed to stay on them for long.
The things that you should not do should start with not using any electrical appliances (including your vacuum cleaner) until they have been checked and cleaned.
Do not attempt to clean porous surfaces like your ceilings and walls.
Sitting down on any furniture in your home that is upholstered (i.e. porous) is not recommended until they have been vacuumed and covered with plastic.
Any food items that were in the home at the time of the fire should be thrown away. This includes canned goods.
These tips are designed with your safety and your home’s restoration in mind. There may be other things that a restoration company could do to help you and in some cases, hiring a professional is the best thing that you can do. Weigh the pros and cons of hiring a professional and then decide what is best for you. Dealing with a home that has been water damaged due to the water from fire trucks is also another matter to contend with. Always consider hiring a professional to deal with extensive damage.
Jim Corkern is a writer and respected contributor to the Water damage restoration and mold remediation Industry. Visit his sites for more information.
http://www.localrestoration.com and
http://www.moldrestorationusa.com
Cleaning Up Sewage From Your Home
Sewage damage to your home during a flood is a serious risk and if it is not taken care of properly, you may become very sick if you live in the home before it is properly cleaned up. Sewage will ALWAYS contain bacteria that cause all kinds of diseases, viruses, and other microorganisms that will cause you to become sick. As soon as the sewage and flood water has receded away from the home, you can begin cleaning it up. You must not allow the sewage to remain in your home any longer than necessary or it will possibly cause irreparable damage.
Proper protection equipment is essential when you are dealing with sewage damaged items. Always wear latex rubber gloves while you are working or do not help with the clean up process. A trick to help keep the gloves from sticking to your hands is to pour a small amount of baby powder inside them before you put them on. Rubber boots that are leak proof should also be worn to keep your feet dry and safe from the infected waters that may still be in your home.
Items that you will need for the cleaning process will be mops, brooms, sponges, buckets, a water hose, disinfectant products, and trash bags.
There are a few different items that you will throw away about 99 percent of the time once they have become contaminated with sewer water. These include large areas of carpet and carpet padding, food, books and other papers, foam rubber, and insulation. Porous toys must be thrown away, such as stuffed animals. Couches and chairs, mattresses, pillows, medicines, medical supplies, and cosmetics must also be thrown away. If it is porous, it must be thrown away.
Cleaning up the sewage is the next step. Using two buckets, one for cleaner-treated water and the other for rinsing water, you should do this one room at a time. Wash the surface you wish to start with and once you have gone over it one time, rinse your rag or mop in the rinse water. Do not re-insert it back into your cleaning water until you have rinsed it. Replace the rinsing water often.
After you clean an entire room, you should go over it again with a disinfectant. You may also have to deal with mold. Porous items with mold on them should be thrown away.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
Proper protection equipment is essential when you are dealing with sewage damaged items. Always wear latex rubber gloves while you are working or do not help with the clean up process. A trick to help keep the gloves from sticking to your hands is to pour a small amount of baby powder inside them before you put them on. Rubber boots that are leak proof should also be worn to keep your feet dry and safe from the infected waters that may still be in your home.
Items that you will need for the cleaning process will be mops, brooms, sponges, buckets, a water hose, disinfectant products, and trash bags.
There are a few different items that you will throw away about 99 percent of the time once they have become contaminated with sewer water. These include large areas of carpet and carpet padding, food, books and other papers, foam rubber, and insulation. Porous toys must be thrown away, such as stuffed animals. Couches and chairs, mattresses, pillows, medicines, medical supplies, and cosmetics must also be thrown away. If it is porous, it must be thrown away.
Cleaning up the sewage is the next step. Using two buckets, one for cleaner-treated water and the other for rinsing water, you should do this one room at a time. Wash the surface you wish to start with and once you have gone over it one time, rinse your rag or mop in the rinse water. Do not re-insert it back into your cleaning water until you have rinsed it. Replace the rinsing water often.
After you clean an entire room, you should go over it again with a disinfectant. You may also have to deal with mold. Porous items with mold on them should be thrown away.
Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
water damage restoration and
mold remediation companies across the united states.
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