- How do I get soot off walls after a fire? Can you just paint over soot?
- When do I need professionals to remove soot and how do they go about it?
- How does Deutsche Schadenhilfe help me with fire damage?
After a major fire in your four walls, you usually have to hire a professional specialist company to remove soot from the building and household items.
Deutsche Schadenhilfe mediates appropriate fire damage repairs from its network of experts
- Fire damage restorer
- Experts / appraisers and
- Specialist lawyers for insurance law.
We support you in ensuring that the fire damage is repaired quickly and that the costs are covered as comprehensively as possible by insurance companies.
Soot removal after fire - How experts do it, what insurance companies pay
After a fire in the apartment, the first thing to do is process the initial shock. But pretty soon after that, the clean-up work begins. Here the objects that can be saved are saved. After a fire, you also need to somehow remove the soot that has formed from the flames. You usually have to hire a professional soot removal company to do this. Alternatively, you can renovate the affected walls yourself. But which variant should you choose? And what is there to consider when repairing fire damage on your own or through a specialist company? We would like to get to the bottom of these questions with this guide.
And if you need help after a fire: Deutsche Schadenhilfe specializes in the settlement of fire damage: from clarifying problems with insurance companies to the complete renovation / elimination of damage after a fire. – We have a mature network of experts, specialist lawyers and restructuring service providers who can help you quickly and competently. – Contact us today and let us examine your claim.
Remove soot after a house fire: do it yourself or hire a company?
After a house fire , nerves are often on edge. First and foremost, it should be about processing what happened and thinking about how it could have happened. Accordingly, you should also think about how you can avoid an apartment fire in the future. But human error is not always the cause: sometimes technical defects can also cause fires (e.g. cable fires).
If you then move on to the clean-up work such as removing the soot , the question quickly arises: should I do it myself or hire a professional company? The answer depends entirely on the circumstances. Check how much damage there is exactly.
- What is the extent of the fire damage?
- Were the flames fought in time before they could attack several walls or the wallpaper, or was "only" one wall slightly damaged?
Is it a relatively small room, several large rooms or even an entire warehouse?
The more extensive the fire damage repair work, the more likely you are to rely on professional help from fire damage restoration companies. Of course, the surface and material of walls also play a role. If, for example, dangerous or toxic gases are produced, you should definitely leave the damage repair to a specialist company. The professionals also deal with the removal of larger objects, clearing away fire debris and dehumidification.
No matter which variant you decide on in the end, there are a few things that you can do and should consider in any case. Basically, act as quickly as possible. Because the shorter you wait with suitable measures (see measures after a fire ), the sooner you can prevent possible consequential damage. As a first step, you should try to prevent further direct damage. For example, close any leaks that have arisen or secure the damaged area to prevent an accident from happening. Among other things, you should make sure that nothing comes loose from the ceiling. In addition, you should refrain from using electrical devices until further notice, as there is an increased risk of short circuits after a fireconsists. In the worst case, this will cause a (re)cable fire.
Remove soot yourself: You should pay attention to this when removing soot
If you decide to clean up the soot and smoke damage yourself , there are a few things to keep in mind (see Clean Up Smoke Damage ). The first step you should take as a tenant is to contact the owner. You should then contact your insurance company, who will discuss how to proceed with you. As a rule, you will be asked not to make any changes to the fire site until an expert arrives. The only exception: measures to prevent consequential damage (see obligation to mitigate damage ).
How do I get the soot off walls?
The crucial question when looking at sooty walls and household items after the fire is: How do I get rid of soot?– As poisonous gases or liquids can emanate from burnt furniture and other objects, you should ventilate the affected rooms well immediately. In addition, dangerous soot settles on all surfaces, which can cause serious damage to health if inhaled or swallowed. You should therefore clean or dispose of affected items very thoroughly. Even small fires such as stove fires or wastepaper basket fires can cause a lot of fire residue. However, these small fires can be cleaned with gloves and all-purpose cleaners. However, be careful not to stir up dust or soot unnecessarily. Smooth surfaces such as tiles or stone are particularly easy to clean. It is best to use some vinegar cleaner for this.
Unpleasant odors and the risk of inhaling fire residues
To avoid unpleasant odors and fire residue spreading to other rooms, you should also keep the doors to unaffected rooms closed. If necessary, you can additionally seal the door slots. You can also lay out damp cloths on the walkways through the apartment. This will prevent ash from getting into other rooms with your shoes.
Basically, when cleaning, you should make sure that you do not come into direct skin contact with the fire residues. So always use gloves. In addition, you should also consider the use of a respirator for certain types of work. If you want to be on the safe side, you can also use a disposable protective suit. These are usually made of plastic or paper fleece and are available from well-stocked specialist retailers, such as hardware stores. You should refrain from eating in the vicinity of the fire, as the danger of ingesting soot through food is too great. You should also wash yourself thoroughly after leaving the scene of the fire.
Can you just paint over soot?
Perhaps you are also asking yourself the question: Can soot be painted over? Only when all dangers and odors have been eliminated can you safely move on to renovation work such as painting the rooms. Before doing so, you should thoroughly clean the surface of the walls from soot stains. Also, when choosing the color for the wall, be sure to use high-quality funds. On the other hand , you usually have to replace wallpaper. Another sensitive material is wood. It is best to ask a competent expert here, as soot and smoke particles can get stuck in the wood and later escape again, which can lead to health problems.
Soot removal by a specialist company: you should know that
In most cases, however, after a fire you cannot avoid hiring a specialist company to remove soot. Private individuals not only lack the necessary expertise; they are often overwhelmed in many respects when carrying out the cleaning work after a fire.
The big advantage of cleaning work after a fire by a specialist company is the use of modern cleaning technology (see fire sanitation in Hamburg or fire damage elimination in Berlin ). Damage repair companies, for example, use special suction devices that pick up even the smallest soot particles. Residues from metal, for example, must be removed as soon as possible, as this material is damaged particularly quickly. In addition, the employees take on the disposal of extinguishing water , professional debris removal (see debris removal after fires ) and combating the smell of smoke. In most cases, the surfaces are also specially cleaned here and important electrical devices are also checked. So you can be sure that you can use the devices again without hesitation.
In the case of professional fire damage restoration, the on-site situation is first analyzed in detail. Where there is a danger to life or the environment, the employees carry out appropriate repairs. The experts know the answers to specific questions such as: How do you get soot off the house wall? With special cleaning machines, the rooms are cleaned in an environmentally friendly way. So-called vacuum jet methods are often used, which remove soot without the use of chemicals. Thorough filtering ensures that no pollutants are released into the environment (cf. health hazards after fire ). The unpleasant and acrid odor is also eliminated by a specialist company using specialized equipment (see odor neutralization ). So-called ozone devices neutralize odors and clean the air.
In other cases, detergents are used. For very large rooms, so-called aerosol cleaning is recommended. Different aerosols are sprayed into the air. These then bind the odor molecules within a short time and break them down.
There is no general answer to the question of costs. Because these are primarily based on the effort involved. The larger the area and the more fire debris and fire residues, the more expensive it is to clear the area after the fire damage. See also: What does insurance pay after a fire?
Conclusion
Removing the fire residue after an apartment fire is definitely not a pleasant thing. You can remove minor smoke damage yourself, but even with somewhat larger cases, your health should be worth hiring a special specialist company. However, it is unfortunately not that easy to find competent experts and to arrange an appointment in a timely manner. But with the right support from us, you can reduce the stones on your way to a necessary minimum. We can recommend experienced service providers who specialize in repairing fire damage and removing soot from walls after a fire, and who will provide you with competent and friendly assistance. Then after a fire you no longer have to deal with the question:How do I get sooty walls clean?
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