Restorative Cleaning Can Save Northampton Homes from Fire Damage

3/22/2023 (Permalink)

Don't despair after fire damage in Northampton. Call SERVPRO for cleanup, "Like it never even happened."

How Do SERVPRO Technicians Clean and Restore Fire Damage in Northampton Homes?   

After fire damage to your Northampton home, professional cleaning and restoration is a much cheaper option than replacing or resurfacing the lost property. Services like SERVPRO, with a team of trained professionals, the right equipment, and experience, can help you get your home restored “Like it never even happened.”  

However, restoring fire damage to your Northampton home is complex, and technicians use a multi-faceted approach to get the job done. The first and most crucial step is to get rid of the smoke and soot residue from various surfaces. Different types of fires can generate other residues, and there is no one method to clean them all. SERVPRO uses multiple techniques and tools depending on the residue and surface involved. The process involves dislodging the soot particles and suspending them in a solution to remove them.  

Applying Cleaning Products 

Most cleaning products that technicians use in your fire damaged Northampton home are water or solvent-based. These products either dissolve, emulsify or suspend the smoke particles. However, these cleaning products can cause damage to the surfaces if the restorers are not careful while applying them. 

SERVPRO technicians use different techniques to control the amount of product applied to limit their effect on the surfaces. The methods can fall into the following three categories:

• Surface techniques: These techniques prevent the surface of the material from being saturated with the cleaning product, avoid over-wetting and allow the surface to dry quickly. Spray and wipe and foam cleaning are two examples of surface techniques. 
• Saturation techniques: The surface is saturated with the cleaning agent, which allows for more dissolving action and better extraction of residues and odors. Our restorers use saturation to clean residues from surfaces that can withstand being saturated with products. 
• Immersion techniques: allow for the greatest application of cleaning products since the material being cleaned is immersed into the cleaning solution. SERVPRO restorers control the temperature, quantity of the agent, and dwell time to get the best results. Ultrasonic cleaners that use sound waves to form and instantaneously implode millions of tiny vapor bubbles are an excellent example of immersion cleaning. 

Removing Water and Rust Stains

Water stains on fabrics or carpets can be a problem during restorative cleaning of fire damage. Our technicians use a special peroxide stain remover to remove the ‘browning’ caused by over-wetting or slow drying. The agent slowly decomposes when mixed with a detergent solution to liberate hydrogen peroxide, which oxidizes the residue removing the stain. 

SERVPRO technicians use an oxalic-phosphorus acid solution to remove rust stains. This strong acidic solution can dissolve rust stains on cotton, silk, synthetic fibers, and carpeting. 

Whatever cleaning technique technicians use, they always ensure the following:

• The product is safe to use on the material
• The product is used according to the label instructions
• Proper safety precautions are followed during the application of the product
• The product is approved by the EPA and other regulatory agencies

Successful fire damage restoration requires the restorers to thoroughly understand the scientific principles of restorative cleaning. SERVPRO’s trained and experienced professionals understand this and are equipped to handle fire incidents of any size. 

For further assistance, call SERVPRO of Hampshire County at (413) 324-1300; We’re Faster To Any Size Disaster.