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Fire & Water - Cleanup & Restoration


How Does SERVPRO Handle Smoke and Soot Damage in This Largo Home?

A fire can leave a Largo home contending with multiple layers of damage. This home showcased in the Before and After Photos shows how widespread and threatening soot and smoke residues can be. Thick soils can adhere to drywall and fixtures, and you can see where the door frame and window frames each suffered considerable residue damage. With the rising smoke damage, the ceiling was also heavily impacted by soot, as the Before Photo depicts. Addressing these concerns begins with focused attention by the responding SERVPRO of Largo restoration specialists.

As leading fire restorers in the Greater Largo area, we had a team ready to mobilize when the call came about this damaged residence. As with many Largo fires, due to higher relative humidity in the structure, combustion can generate wet smoke that forms thick soil coating surfaces and contents. As you can see from the condition of the ceiling and cabinet in the Before Photo and its darkest areas, our professionals addressed wet smoke in these areas. This is evident by the continued discoloration in the After Photo that was taken mid-restoration of the property.

Among the first steps in overcoming widespread smoke damage is utilizing specialty cleaning instruments like chemical sponges. For this Largo property, these rubber sponge products trap loose debris and soot solids where moist residues are not present. Chem sponges helped eliminate dry smoke concerns and leave only a portion of the damage remaining on the surface. Intricate and advanced cleaning processes would be necessary to remove the lingering soils visible in the After Photo fully. Some of these processes include:

  • Media blasting
  • Abrasive cleaning
  • Controlled demolition

Containment was a considerable priority as well. Eliminating the possibilities of soot and smoke damages migrating to other areas of the house creates a zone where more focused cleaning and restoration is possible. As you can see in the After Photo taken during restoration, structural openings like the windows and the doorways have been covered with thick poly sheeting to prevent the spread of hazardous soot and smoke soils.

Combustion can create these thick residues present in the photographs and additional threats and effects like pungent odors. Overcoming harsh smells circulating in the work area often begins with the surface cleaning efforts already described but continued for the property with the application of odor removal tools and equipment like thermal foggers, hydroxyl machines, and ozone generators. Because these deodorization efforts were combined with air filtration like HEPA products, our SERVPRO of Largo team could simultaneously reduce the presence of harmful carcinogens and soot particles. The After Photo shows continued efforts to minimize odor severity during the soot removal process with primers before repainting in the final restoration stages.

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