Fire Damage in Chesterton

3/15/2018 (Permalink)

Recently, SERVPRO of Benton, Jasper, Newton and Southern Lake Counties was asked to respond to a fire damage in Chesterton, IN. The home had smoke and soot damage from a water heater that caught fire. All of the home’s structural surfaces and contents were covered with a thin layer of black soot.

Our trained professionals were able to determine which items could be cleaned to preloss condition and which items would have to be replaced.

There are several methods for cleaning smoke and soot damage. One method is dry cleaning which is used any time a material will not survive wet cleaning or has only a little amount of soot/dirt. First, any excess soot is vacuumed. Then the crews use either a pre-treated cloth to wipe the item or a dry cleaning sponge. Both processes work well on books, paper, cardboard, photos, and wood.

If dry cleaning does not restore an item to preloss condition then the crews will switch to wet cleaning which is more aggressive. The wallpaper photographed was first dry cleaned and then wet cleaned. The crew will first pre-test several products to determine which will work based on the specific type of soot you have and confirm it will not damage the surface being cleaned. In this picture, you can see the difference as we cleaned the wall.

SERVPRO of Benton, Jasper, Newton, and Southern Lake Counties can help with all smoke or soot damage! Call 219-779-7577 so we can help!