The Real Truth Behind Fire Damage Remediation in Valparaiso

9/20/2022 (Permalink)

Why SERVPRO Deodorizes Smoke Damage that Happened Inside an Attic in Valparaiso

Three aspects of your attic over your Valparaiso home can become the refuge of soot particles that continue plaguing your family with foul odors. Anything your family stored in this area of your home can become saturated in soot particles and slowly give off odors. We also must consider the soot affecting the wooden structure and exposed insulation.

When your property in Valparaiso sustains smoke damage in the attic or another enclosed space, stripping it of the soot makes deodorization of the rest of the house more complete. Soot particles and ash, as well as aerosolized oils and other liquids from the fire, can become airborne and travel through the HVAC system. We want to prevent this from happening, as it can affect the rest of your home. 

We bring the items stored in the attic down and place them into a chamber where we can clean them. We might approach you about moving these items to our secure warehouse if we do not have sufficient space or the items seem highly damaged. Cleaning these and then placing the contents in new boxes eliminates any residue that might produce odor.

Attic insulation can retain large amounts of fire-related particles. When we determine this to have happened, our building services staff remove the damaged insulation. If soot deposits only cover the outer layer of the insulation, we can vacuum this away and leave the insulation intact. Once we finish the cleaning and other work required, we install new insulation.

The structure of a typical attic consists of exposed timbers and other wood pieces. This can include the floor, ceiling, walls, among other structures. Small doors might separate smaller sections of the attic, too. Unsealed wood quickly absorbs soot particles into the pores because these small molecules retain a lot of the heat from the fire. Once in, they often become wedged into place.

Sanding these items also removes the wood, so we only use this where charred wood occurs. Blasting with soda pellets is a non-toxic way that pulls embedded soot out of these pores. It also extracts soot from in between wooden pieces. However, it is gentle enough to be used on any painted surfaces, such as window frames and smaller doors.

SERVPRO of Porter County performs odor control after a fire by looking at all areas of the affected home. Our coverage area includes Chesterton and Porter, as well as Kouts and Burns Harbor. Call us at (219) 476-1883 for these and other services that help restore your property after a disaster.

Click here to see more info about the city of Valparaiso.

We proudly serve the communities of:

Check out our reviews on Google, Facebook, Yelp, Angie's List and the Better Business Bureau.