Every property owner should learn how to clean after fire damage in a home. It’s easy to shake your head in disbelief or laugh when you hear about someone falling asleep while cooking. However, small mistakes lead to big consequences. It’s important to understand fire safety, especially during the winter when fires tend to start more often.
You never know when a simple misstep can place your home and family in danger. If you find yourself dealing with a residential fire, you should immediately ensure your family is safe. Once everyone is safe, you can then begin to deal with the aftermath of a fire in your home.
Knowing how to clean up after a small household fire can help you determine if you need the help of a professional.
ServiceMaster Restoration by RSI is always one call away if you do need our experienced technicians and cleaning tools, but we want to prepare you to complete minor cleanups on your own. The following tips and insider tricks will help you restore your property after a minor blaze.
Can You Clean a Fire-Damaged House?
In some cases, you can clean a fire-damaged house. Even if you don’t know where to start, we have some tips that will teach you how to clean after fire damage.
The first step is taking burned debris and ash seriously. It may contain harsh chemicals that have the potential to damage your lungs. If ash touches your skin, it may leave a burn, rash, or other signs of irritation. You also want to avoid contact with your eyes to prevent permanent damage.
You do this by wearing long pants, long sleeves, an N95 mask, and protective shoes with closed toes. Cover your hands with thick gloves as well. Open all windows and doors to help air out some of the harsh chemicals and lingering smoke. If you need to take short breaks to get out in the open air in the early stages of cleaning, give yourself that time without feeling guilty.
With those protection measures in place, it’s time to get into the details of learning how to clean after fire damage.
How to Clean After Fire Damage
There are three types of damage that you may need to clean after a home fire:
- Fire damage
- Smoke damage
- Water damage
Let’s break that down into a quick checklist that will give you an overview of the cleaning process:
- Carefully remove all debris.
- Remove any standing water.
- Repair or replace anything that shows signs of water damage.
- Remove smoke particles and soot from all areas of the home.
- Clean the vents to eliminate soot and smoke particles that could damage the lungs. Make sure to turn your HVAC system off soon after the fire. You don’t want to spread those particles through your ventilation system and into other areas of the home. A thorough cleaning of the system is needed if you think that has happened.
- Throw away clothing and household items that are beyond repair or that you can’t wash. That’s an overwhelming step, but remember that most things are replaceable.
- Eliminate the smoky aroma that tends to set in after a fire.
- Purify the air to improve air quality throughout the home.
You can follow this checklist to clean up most areas of the home in the aftermath of a fire. If you find any of these tasks too difficult or you don’t have time to handle a post-fire cleanup, you may need to contact our team of experienced professionals.
How to Clean the Exterior
Before you start cleaning your home after a fire, make sure it is structurally sound. Even if you’re working on the outside first, you want to have the following checked for strength and functionality:
- Roof
- Entrances
- Outdoor living spaces – porches, decks, etc.
You can start cleaning the exterior surfaces with a power washer. If you don’t have access to that equipment, use the stiffest brush you can find and a mixture of water and borax or another safe cleaning solution.
Cleaning exterior surfaces by hand can take a significant amount of time unless the damaged area is small. The longer the soot and ash are allowed to sit on your home, the more likely it is to cause permanent damage. You should consider renting a power washer or hiring a professional if you’re dealing with a large area of damage.
After power washing, you can clean the gutters, porch, deck, sidewalks, driveway, and windows. All of these surfaces can collect dust and other debris from even a small house fire. You can use a power washer if you have it. Consider bringing in a team of professional cleaners to get this done quickly if you don’t have the proper equipment or manpower.
Inspecting the Interior Surfaces
The first step to cleaning the interior surfaces of your home after a fire is an inspection. Remove debris and trash as well as undamaged items that you want to keep. That should give you a clear view of the walls, ceiling, and floors to determine the extent of the damage.
You may need to remove standing water or use a large shop vacuum to eliminate loose soot and other debris. The cleaning process should start after you have a dry surface that is free of loose particles and burnt items.
If you see mold or other signs of serious water damage caused by the water used to put out the fire, you should contact our fire & smoke damage restoration experts in Oklahoma City, OK, for help. You want to restore your home to a healthy environment that is free of mold and ash.
How to Clean Interior Finishes
If a lot of water was sprayed inside your home to put out the fire, you can wipe those surfaces down with a bleach solution to reduce the risk of mold and mildew growth. For every gallon of water used, add one cup of liquid household bleach. Mix thoroughly and wipe down one small area of the surface to test for discoloration. If no discoloration is shown, you can continue wiping down all surfaces as needed.
To clean the interior surfaces, you can use a mild cleaning solution or a homemade mixture of tri-sodium phosphate, bleach, and warm water. These solutions will work for most hard, flat surfaces inside your home. Let’s go into greater detail on how to clean fire-damaged walls, floors, and brick.
How to Clean Fire-Damaged Walls & Hard Floors
Most walls are easily cleaned of soot and smoke with a mix of tri-sodium phosphate, bleach, and water. Use up to 6 T of tri-sodium phosphate with 1 cup of chlorine bleach and a gallon of warm water. Put on rubber gloves before wiping the walls down with the solution, starting at the floor and working your way up to the ceiling one small section at a time.
Don’t dump water over large surfaces at one time. Use small amounts of the cleaning solution on limited areas of the wall to prevent mold and mildew. Rinse each small area with warm water immediately after cleaning.
The final step is to allow the walls to dry. You can use large fans and open the windows to speed up this process. You want the walls to dry quickly to avoid the growth of mold and mildew.
Resist the urge to use a harsher cleaning solution if you don’t get the results you expect. You may need a professional cleaning team to assist in the cleanup process if more substantial damage has set into the walls or hard flooring.
What to Toss After a Small Interior Fire
You can go through most of your belongings after a small house fire to determine what is salvageable, but there are some things that you should throw out immediately regardless of their visible condition. These items include:
- Non-Perishable Foods – Canned foods may appear undamaged, but you never know what exposure to intense heat has done to the food inside. That heat can trigger the growth of bacteria that could make you sick. Foods in boxes and bags are no longer good because smoke can make its way through the packaging easily.
- Burnt Clothing – You can wash a lot of fabrics that have soot or minor smoke damage, but burnt clothing should always go in the trash.
- Medication – If left close to the fire or damaged by water and cleaning solutions in the cleanup process, your medication should go in the trash. Intense heat and exposure to moisture and chemicals could cause damage that you don’t see easily.
In general, anything that has a strange odor or shows even minor signs of damage should hit the trash in the aftermath of a fire. The further an item was located from the fire, the more likely it is safe to keep. When you’re unsure about an item, go with the trash.
Need Help? SMRSI Can Help with Fire Damage Restoration
The process of cleaning up after even the smallest house fire can feel overwhelming or even impossible. We pride ourselves on remaining on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year because we understand that our clients need fast assistance. You never know when a fire is going to break out, so we stay alert and ready to help when needed.
A fire can turn your life upside down, but calling ServiceMaster Restoration by RSI will help put it all back together as quickly as possible. Call us now at (405) 251-7286 to restore your peace of mind.
