Category: Fire Damage

Smoke damage restoration is the process of cleaning and repairing buildings and possessions that have been damaged by smoke. 

This typically involves removing soot and odor and repairing any structural damage caused by the fire. Professional smoke damage restoration companies use specialized techniques and equipment to restore items to their pre-fire condition.

Steps for smoke damage restoration:

1. Assess the extent of the damage
2. Secure the affected area to prevent further damage
3. Ventilate the affected area to remove smoke and odor
4. Remove any unsalvageable items
5. Clean and restore any salvageable items
6. Repair any structural damage
7. Use specialized techniques and equipment to remove soot and smoke stains
8. Deodorize the affected area to eliminate smoke odors
9. Reinstall any removed fixtures and items.

Importance of Smoke Damage Restoration:

1. Prevents further damage: prompt restoration can prevent additional damage to building structures, possessions, and contents.
2. Saves money: restoring damaged items is usually more cost-effective than replacing them.
3. Protects health: smoke damage can lead to the release of harmful chemicals, and restoration eliminates these hazardous substances.
4. Preserves memories and possessions: restoring personal items such as photographs and keepsakes can help keep memories.
5. Restores normalcy: returning a damaged building or home to its pre-fire condition can help restore a sense of normalcy for its inhabitants.
6. Maintains property value: prompt and proper smoke damage restoration can help maintain the value of a property.

If Smoke Damage Restoration is not taken into action:

1. Health and safety: consider any potential health risks from the buildup of smoke residues and odors.
2. Long-term cost: replacing damaged items may be more expensive than restoring them.
3. Property value: failure to address smoke damage can decrease the value of a property and make it difficult to sell.
4. Lingering odors: smoke odors can persist and become embedded in the structure and furnishings.
5. Structural damage: without proper restoration, the building structure can suffer additional damage, potentially becoming unsafe.
6. Memories and possessions: consider the loss of personal items and keepsakes that cannot be replaced.
7. Insurance coverage: check with your insurance company to determine what coverage is provided for smoke damage restoration.

Pros to Call:

1. Fire and water damage restoration companies specialize in cleaning up and repairing the damage caused by fire, smoke, and water.
2. Cleaning and restoration technicians: Trained and certified professionals with the expertise and equipment to restore damaged items safely and effectively.
3. Contractors: General contractors who have experience in construction and rebuilding can handle the repair of structural damage caused by fire and smoke.
4. Odor control specialists: Specialists trained in removing smoke odors using advanced techniques and equipment.
5. Insurance adjusters: Insurance adjusters who work with the property owner and the restoration company to assess the damage and determine the necessary repairs.

Immediate Home Remedies before pros arrive:

1. Ventilate the affected area: Open windows and doors to allow for proper air circulation and remove smoke odors.
2. Remove soot: Use a dry, damp cloth to remove soot from surfaces, being careful not to rub it in and cause additional damage.
3. Protect salvageable items: Cover items with plastic sheeting to protect them from further damage.
4. Remove food and perishable items: Food and perishable items may have been contaminated by smoke and should be disposed of.
5. Remove wet items: Remove wet items, such as wet clothing and bedding, to prevent mold growth.
6. Turn off HVAC systems: Turn off heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems to prevent the spread of smoke odors.

Note: It is important to refrain from attempting major cleaning and restoration efforts on your own, as improper techniques can cause additional damage. Contact professional restoration services as soon as possible.

 

Total Loss Home Inventory Insurance Claims is a household inventory list that documents all your valuable and not-so-valuable possessions.

• It can be used if you need to file a home insurance claim that has damaged or destroyed some or all of your personal belongings.
• A personal property inventory list
• It dictates the item’s name, a brief description, the purchase date, and an estimated value with a receipt.

How to Create a Total Loss Home Inventory for Insurance Claims

Permission

Get permission from the fire department to enter your fire-damaged home, and wear protective equipment.

Begin Your List by Room

• Draw a diagram of your home, labeling each room.
• Pick a room and start documenting. Begin by writing down each item by room name (i.e., bedroom #1 or living room). 
• Group items like clothes within the same thing. If you have 25 shirts and ten pants, it’s OK to group them instead of writing down 35 different entries.
• Repeat this process in every room of your home until you have documented everything.

Take Photos and Videos 

This will prove you owned the items and what condition they were in when you conducted your last home inventory checklist. Using your smartphone to capture photos and videos is sufficient. 

Organize Your List by Category

Look through the photographs and create a list of every item depicted, as descriptive as possible (including brand, age, quantity, price, and condition).

Organizing it by category is the easiest and most efficient way to keep track of all your items—group things like work tools, furniture, or household appliances. 

TIP! Include the purchase price of each item in your inventory, and include receipts for the original purchase whenever possible. If you need receipts or were lost or damaged, you can get duplicates from the merchants or look up comparable values online.

Use a price-scanning app or websites like wedding registries to find your possessions’ replacement cost values. If an item is no longer available, list the closest alternatives.

Keep Your Home Inventory List Safe

If you physically wrote it down, ensure the list is locked away in a waterproof lockbox that won’t get destroyed if your home does.

Keep all invoices and receipts for items you need to replace for reimbursement purposes.

If you choose modern technology, email the list to yourself or save it to an external hard drive for safekeeping. The quicker you can access your home inventory list after a disaster, the faster you can get your life back to normal.

Lead-Based paint, dust, and soil in and around your home can be dangerous if not managed properly. 

• Highly toxic metals may cause various health problems
• If absorbed into the body, it can cause damage to the brain and other vital organs
• It may also cause behavioral problems, learning disabilities, seizures, and in extreme cases, death. 
• Headaches, stomachaches, nausea, tiredness, and irritability. 
• Lead-poisoned children may show no symptoms.

Both inside and outside of the home deteriorated lead-based paint mixed with household dust and soil and became tracked in. Children may become lead poisoned by:

• Hands or other lead-contaminated objects into their mouths,
• Eating paint chips from peeling or flaking lead-based paint, or
• Playing in lead-contaminated soil

Lead-based paint may also be a hazard when children can chew or that get a lot of wear and tear, such as:

• Windows and window sills;
• Doors and door frames; and
• Stairs, railings, banisters, and porches.

CAUTION:

If your home was built before 1978:

•  Wipe down flat surfaces, like window sills, with a damp paper towel and throw away the paper towel,
• Mop smooth floors (using a damp mop) weekly to control dust; take off shoes when entering the house
• Vacuum carpets and upholstery to remove dust,
• If possible, use a vacuum with a HEPA filter or a “higher efficiency” collection bag,
• Discard loose paint chips with a paper towel, then wipe the surface clean
• Take precautions to avoid creating lead dust when remodeling, renovating, or maintaining your home,
• Test for lead hazards by a lead professional. (Have the soil tested too).

Soil, Yards, and Playgrounds

Soil, yards, and playgrounds can become contaminated when 

• exterior lead-based paint from houses or buildings flakes or peels and gets into the soil.
• Soil may also be contaminated by leaded gasoline in cars, industrial sources, or even from contaminated sites, including former lead smelters. 
• Lead is also naturally occurring and can be found in high concentrations in some areas.

Lead in soil can be 

• Ingested due to hand-to-mouth activity or from eating vegetables that may have taken up lead from the soil in the garden. 
• Lead in soil may also be inhaled if resuspended in the air or tracked into your house.

Important:

• Older playground equipment can still contain old lead-based paint; 
• Artificial turf (Artificial Grass) and playground surfaces made from shredded rubber can have lead.
• Ensure young children do not eat shredded rubber or put their hands in their mouths before washing them.  

To reduce exposure to lead from soils, yards, and playgrounds:

• Check the exterior of your home, including porches and fences, for flaking or deteriorating lead-based paint that may contaminate soil in your yard or be tracked into your house.
• Put doormats outside and inside all entryways, 
• Remove shoes before entering to avoid contaminated soil in your house.
• Wash hands several times daily using soap and water, especially after playing or working outside.
• Plant bushes close to the house to keep children from playing in the soil near your home.

Dust

Lead in household dust results from indoor sources such as 

• old lead-based paint on surfaces that are frequently in motion (such as window frames), 
• deteriorating old lead-based paint on any surface, 
• home repair activities, 
• tracking lead-contaminated soil from the outdoors into the indoor environment, 
• or even from lead dust on clothing worn at a job site.

Even in well-maintained homes, 

• lead dust can form when lead-based paint is scraped, sanded, or heated during home repair activities. 
• Lead paint chips and dust can get on surfaces and objects people touch. 
• Settled lead dust can re-enter the air when the home is vacuumed or swept or people walk through it.

To reduce exposure to lead dust, it is imperative to:

Maintain all painted surfaces in good condition.

• Clean frequently using a wet mop, cloth, or sponge to reduce the likelihood of chips and dust forming.
• Use a lead-safe certified renovator to perform renovation, repair, and painting jobs to reduce the likelihood of contaminating your home with lead dust. 
• Find a lead-safe certified firm near you.

Products

Lead can also be found in 

• painted toys, 
• furniture and 
• toy jewelry; 
• cosmetics; 
• food or liquid containers; 
• and plumbing materials.

That favorite dump truck or rocking chair handed down in the family, antique doll furniture or toy jewelry could contain lead or lead-based paint. 

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has a comprehensive program on lead-in toys, including toy jewelry. Biting or swallowing toys or jewelry containing lead can cause a child to suffer from lead poisoning. 

Food and liquids stored or served in lead crystal, lead-glazed pottery, or porcelain can become contaminated because lead can leach from these containers into the food or liquid. 

Lead can enter drinking water when plumbing materials like pipes, faucets, and fixtures that contain lead corrode.

Drinking Water

Lead can enter drinking water through corrosion of plumbing materials, especially where the water has high acidity or low mineral content that corrodes pipes and fixtures. Homes built before 1986 are more likely to have lead pipes, fixtures, and solder.

Corrosion is the dissolving or wearing away of metal caused by a chemical reaction between water and your plumbing. 

Corrosion control treatment means utilities must make drinking water less corrosive to the materials it comes into contact with on its way to consumers’ taps.

Jobs and Hobbies

Working with lead and/or lead-based paint (e.g., renovation and painting, mining, smelting, battery recycling, refinishing old furniture, autobody, shooting ranges); or having a hobby that uses lead (e.g., hunting, fishing, stained glass, stock cars, making pottery) could cause you to bring lead home on your hands or clothes, or contaminate your home directly. 

Can be found in 

• hunting ammunition, 
• fishing tackle, 
• Lead came and solder was used in stained glass, 
• weights used in stock cars, 
• dyes and glazes used in pottery 
• and many other places.

Important:

• Never put leaded materials (fishing sinkers, lead came or solder for stained glass, or leaded pottery clay or glaze) in your mouth.
• Use proper ventilation and equipment when melting lead to casting your bullets, sinker, decoys, or other metal items.
• Avoid handling food or touching your mouth or face while working with lead materials, and wash your hands before eating or drinking following such activities.
• Shower and change clothes before entering your vehicle or coming home.
• Launder your work and hobby clothes separately from the rest of your family’s clothes.
• Keep all work and hobby materials away from living areas.
• If someone in your family is a renovator or contractor working in older housing, find out more about lead-safe work practices.

If you are an owner or operator of outdoor rifle, pistol, trap, skeet, or sporting clay ranges, find out more about lead management at ranges.

Folk Remedies

Some folk remedies that contain lead, such as “Greta” and “azarcon,”are used to treat an upset stomach.

Some folk remedies for morning sickness, including “nzu”, “poto” and “calabash chalk,” contain dangerous levels of lead and other chemicals. 

Consuming even small amounts of lead can be harmful. 

For your child:

• Have your child’s blood lead level tested at ages 1 and 2. Children from 3 to 6 years of age should have their blood tested if they have not been tested before and: They live in or regularly visit a house built before 1950,
• They live in or regularly visit a home built before 1978 with ongoing or recent renovations or remodeling
• They have a sibling or playmate who has or did have lead poisoning
• Frequently wash your child’s hands and toys to reduce contact with dust,
• Use cold tap water for drinking and cooking
• Avoid using home remedies (such as arzacon, greta, pay- loo-ah, or litargirio) and cosmetics (such as kohl or alkohl) that contain lead
• Certain candies, such as tamarindo candy jam products from
• Some tableware, mainly folk terra cotta plates and bowls from Latin America, may contain high levels of lead that can leach into food.