When is Wet Cleaning Preferred for Smoke Residues in Raleigh Homes?

5/17/2022 (Permalink)

You can count on our team to remove any trace of fire and smoke damage on your home. Just call SERVPRO at (919) 790-1222.

Smoke Damage Can Affect Surfaces and Contents Throughout Your Property, Requiring Several Cleaning Approaches. 

Smoke and soot residues that impact Raleigh homes require special cleaning and restoration practices to remove. Without a single universal approach for this cleaning, several factors play a role in which wet cleaning methods are ideal for removing these soils. 

Wet cleaning is often one of the most efficient methods of contending with fire damage in Raleigh homes. Though pre-sampling cleaning approaches are ideal for ensuring the success of proposed techniques and products, our SERVPRO team utilizes our knowledge of the soil type and underlying material to choose among several wet cleaning tactics, such as:

• Dissolving – Allowing detergents and solvents to break down soils on the surface is the basis for how dissolving works. With this approach, soils require a product with a similar composition to work. 
• Emulsification – Unlike dissolving, emulsifying involves using the opposite type of base cleaner to repel particles from the surface. Loosened soils can get rinsed or blown off. 
• Alkaline Cleaners – Because so many particles are acidic, much like most soot and smoke residues, seeking a pH balance can increase the probability of efficient cleaning. 

Are Other Cleaning and Restoration Strategies Efficient? 

Dry cleaning approaches often work on the premise of agitation and reducing the thickness of surface soiling. Vacuuming can often be an efficient base approach to begin these cleaning methods, but these practices are often less efficient and thorough as wet cleaning strategies with solvents and detergents. 

Regardless of the approach used to restore and recover damaged structural elements and contents in your home after a fire, it is always a priority to restore over replacement. Our SERVPRO of North Raleigh & Wake Forest team has extensive experience and industry-leading equipment to help after a fire. Give us a call at (919) 790-1222.