But What About Smoke Damage and the Odor After a Fire?

10/2/2022 (Permalink)

Give SERVPRO of West Mecklenburg for any fire damage in your Charlotte, North Carolina home or business!

But What About Smoke Damage and the Odor After a Fire?

If you've experienced a fire, then you know how devastating it can be. However, what do you do if the smoke damage to your home is not immediately apparent? Or worse yet, what if there's damage to your personal belongings that get covered up by smoke and odors?

Structural Damage is Obvious

When there is structural damage to your home following a fire, it's pretty obvious. You can see the smoke damage on your walls and ceiling and on your furniture. Smoke damage is also called soot or charring.

When a home is exposed to excess heat, the resulting smoke can cause interior walls and ceilings to discolor and warp into irregular shapes. The wooden studs in the wall may swell up enough that they no longer line up with each other properly, creating large gaps between them where water can leak into the drywall behind them and start mold growth. The same thing happens when windows expand due to high temperatures—the seal around them breaks down, allowing moisture inside where it can cause more problems (like rain leaking through broken glass).

Smoke Odor and Damage are Not as Obvious

Not all fire damages are structural. Smoke damage can quickly destroy your personal property, especially if you don’t act quickly to mitigate the smell and damage done by smoke.

There are many ways that smoke can affect your belongings and cause permanent damage:

• Smoke destroys furniture by staining it and making it smell like smoke. If you want to sell a piece of furniture that has been exposed to a fire, but doesn’t necessarily have structural issues (like missing legs), then you need to clean it thoroughly first in order to get rid of any lingering odors.
• Smoke damages carpets and upholstery because they absorb the chemicals that come out of burning materials such as wood or clothing fabrics. If you don’t clean these items properly with professional equipment immediately after an incident occurs, there will be permanent discoloration as well as residual odor problems down the road when people sit on them or walk over them repeatedly over time

How does smoke cause odor in the first place?

There are many reasons why your home may smell like smoke after a fire. Some of these smells come from materials that were damaged by heat, while others are caused by chemicals released during combustion. Here are some examples of how smoke can cause an odor problem in your home:

Burnt Food

If you have a kitchen fire, the burnt food will release unpleasant odors into the air and onto surfaces throughout your house. Even if you don't have any ruined food items on hand when this happens, you can still get some lingering smells from them later on—like if someone else cooks something similar or if there's already grease buildup in your oven that hasn't been cleaned out yet. This is especially problematic for people who love making homemade meals with lots of spices or herbs—these flavors can become pungent over time and linger long after being cooked out!

Burnt Electrical/Plastic Parts

Aside from burning foods such as meatballs or tortillas (which do not contain any plastic components), there are other things that may catch fire due to electrical malfunctions within their circuitry - including TVs/gaming systems/phones etc.) which means those kinds of products release toxic fumes into homes when they're left plugged in for too long without proper care taken beforehand (such as changing batteries frequently). And since most people aren't aware of these kinds of hazards until after something bad happens, it’s best practice not to leave any kind of electronic device running overnight unless absolutely necessary!

Cleaning and Restoring After Fire

If you have had a fire in your home or business, you should contact a cleaning service as soon as possible to attempt to minimize the effects of smoke odors and other contaminants on your property.

The first step in cleaning up after a fire is to use a vacuum cleaner to clean up any soot and dust in the affected areas. You may also want to wash walls, ceilings and floors with a solution of water and cleaning detergent before drying them thoroughly with towels or fans. If there are stubborn stains left behind by soot particles, try using an ozone machine or thermal fogger (a machine that sprays heat-treated water vapor) to eliminate these stains; however, keep in mind that some types of flooring may be damaged by extreme temperatures like this one. Finally, use an air filtration device such as an ionizer (which removes odor particles from the air) after removing all visible signs of smoke damage for best results during reconstruction efforts later down the road!

Cleaning up after a fire is no fun, but it’s important to remember that there are many steps you can take. It’s not just about what products or methods you use to clean up the mess; it’s also about how you handle yourself in this stressful situation. Take care of yourself and your family members so that everyone stays healthy during this time. Don’t forget that there are professionals out there who can help make things easier for everyone involved! Give SERVPRO of West Mecklenburg for any fire damage in your Charlotte, North Carolina home or business!