4 Important Elements of Content Cleaning After a Fire

7/26/2022 (Permalink)

Fire damage in Cedar City, UT.

When a commercial fire strikes, your company in Cedar City, UT, will have a lot of steps to take before the recovery is complete. Not only will you need to deal with the insurance company and the restoration and cleaning of your facility, but you will also need to make sure all of the damaged contents in your building are looked at. This process involves several important elements such as deciding on replace versus restore and whether dry-cleaning will work on smoke-damaged fabrics.

4 Crucial Steps for Content Cleaning After a Business Fire

1. Restore or Replace

After a fire, it is important to make cleaning decisions based on knowledge and evidence. Not all contents can be cleaned, but some can, so how do you tell the difference? An experienced fire remediation franchise will pretest items and see if they are good candidates for cleaning. Whenever possible, restoring clothes and upholstery is more economical and it can also preserve special items that are irreplaceable. Technicians won't assume that an item can't be restored and will use rigorous testing methods to determine the viability of cleaning.

2. Content Cleaning Methods

A fire impacts all types of materials, from the glass of windows to the ceramics of bathroom tiles to the fabrics of clothes and upholstery. An experienced remediation team will match the material to the optimal cleaning method. They will use dry-cleaning for clothes and furniture, and ultrasonic options for certain nonporous items. Other effective options for cleaning damaged contents include the following methods:

• Wet cleaning
  
• Spray and wipe
  
• Foam cleaning
  
• Abrasive cleaning
  
• Immersion cleaning
  

3. Pack Outs and Moving

In some cases, it makes more sense to remove items from the fire-damaged area. This has dual benefits, such as making the area of cleanup less cluttered and protecting fragile items. It can also make the entire process more efficient. Content storage is a technique that is used in the aftermath of a fire, especially when you have insurance coverage for this process.
When the rest of your building is cleaned and restored, the items can then be moved back into your building. This is done on a schedule that meets the needs of your company.

4. Electrical Cleaning

Many specific requirements exist for cleaning and protecting electrical components after a fire. The fine film from soot and smoke can make computers, printers, television sets and other devices susceptible to additional damage if not treated properly. Items should not be turned on until cleaned and prompt action should be taken to stop corrosion and further damage.
In most cases, only a qualified electronics person can inspect and clean sensitive equipment. Often, due to fire fighting efforts, the devices also have water damage, further complicating the cleanup. While many devices can be restored after a fire, there are times when the damage is too extensive and items will need to be replaced.

With a variety of cleaning options available to them, technicians can restore many contents to good condition. Dry-cleaning and other methods can help restore many of the items damaged in a business fire.