Why You Shouldn’t Leave Smoke/Soot in Your Home or Office
Regardless of how massive or mild the fire that caused the soot and smoke damage was, you must consider smoke and soot removal as soon as possible and contact fire damage restoration experts.
Smoke damage is a severe health danger, whether it is the consequence of a full-fledged home fire or a localized fire that was restricted to one room. It’s natural to believe that smoke from a fire that only harmed one appliance and did not spread to adjacent rooms will be restricted to that area. For example, if the microwave caught fire and was immediately extinguished, it is reasonable to believe that the upstairs bedroom would not be harmed by smoke damage. However, it’s not that simple.
It Doesn’t Just Go Away
Although smoke appears to disappear fast, it is extremely invasive. It will infiltrate every nook and cranny in the house, utilizing all means at its disposal. This may result in accommodation of smoke damage inside the HVAC vents. It may also get disposed behind the walls, or in the furnishings. Smoke damage can even be found within the light fittings and electrical connections. Even if you can’t see any smoke, there may be smoke particles that you can’t see. These smoke particles are hazardous to health.
It Causes Early Deaths
Smoke inhalation for a prolonged time is the leading cause of early deaths. Smoke inhalation can not only cause respiratory system burns, but it can also lead to subsequent complications that might result in death or permanent damage. Smoke inhalation causes coughing, vomiting, nausea, disorientation, tiredness, etc. It can even be a primary cause for early onset of lung and esophageal cancer.
It Suffocates You
When you inhale smoke, you produce more carbon monoxide in your lungs, which prevents oxygen from entering your body. Fires also use oxygen, eliminating it from the environment, leaving less for you to breathe in. Prolonged smoke inhalation might cause death or lasting brain damage.
It Can Be Poisonous
Smoke contains tar and carbon as its most prevalent byproducts, but it can also contain heavy metals and other poisons. If these are inhaled over time, they can have a negative impact on one’s health. If you live in a smoke-damaged residence, breathing can become difficult.
Your lungs and sinuses might be directly affected, making breathing difficult. Furthermore, persistent particles in clothing and furnishings can irritate the skin, which lotions cannot heal. These skin irritations might be severe at times and it would be wise to visit a doctor for a checkup.
It Produces Soot
Smoke, unlike fire, does not destroy items, rather, it coats objects with soot and odor. The presence of soot in a residence causes severe respiratory problems which is why you should go for soot removal by calling fire damage restoration services.
The residents of a house are likely to breathe in small soot particles that become buried deep within the lung cavities. Long-term exposure to soot causes a slew of lung issues, including asthma. Bronchitis is also a possible outcome. Respiratory illnesses are common among persons who are frequently exposed to soot.
It Destroys Your Furnishings
Aside from the health risks linked with soot, objects in the house suffer from soot and smoke damage too. Soot particles, in particular, wreak havoc on electronics. Because smoke and its aftermath soot contain metallic particles when soot becomes lodged within a device, the electronics short circuit.
Soot’s acidic nature corrodes the metal pieces found in technical gear. Since soot is highly acidic, any touch with paint within the house discolors the surface. If soot particles are kept on painted surfaces for an extended period, the paint layer will eventually degrade and deteriorate.
When soot particles penetrate deeply into the fabric, they cause substantial damage to draperies, walls, carpets, and upholstery. The longer these household items are kept neglected, the more difficult it will be to recover them. Soot can permanently harm floors and carpeting, necessitating replacement. Ceilings will become a darkened mass as a result of soot.
It’s a Nightmare to Clean It
Soot and smoke damage have the potential to be exceedingly destructive, posing health risks that make fire damage restoration a dangerous and demanding task. Even if the fire is minimal, soot particles might enter a building through the HVAC system.
If not handled carefully, soot cleanup can have an immediate impact on your eyes, lungs, and skin. To restore indoor air quality after a fire, professional tools, experience, and specific techniques such as air scrubbing and thermal fogging are required.
Cleaning up soot requires more than a dust mask and a household cleaner! Experts can remove soot and odors from an entire house, ensuring that it is safe to live in.
It is not only the immediate fire that poses a threat to your health. Staying in a fire-damaged property, whether or not there is visible smoke damage, is hazardous to one’s health, especially for children, the elderly, and people with compromised immune systems.
If you’ve had a fire, hire a fire damage restoration professional to fully clean and decontaminate the entire property so you can rest certain that your home is safe for you and your family.
