The truth about restoration
While there are many misconceptions about property and restoration procedures, professional restoration companies know what to do best. Here are some misconceptions and the truth about the situation described.
“In the case of a fire, there’s no rush to process the smoke cleanup; the damage is already done.”
Secondary damage can result from an incident. When it happens, it’s often due to a failure on someone’s part to act quickly. Further damage can also result because no one took the right actions either to mitigate or restore damage caused by soot, smoke, water, sewage and mold. Mitigation will stop further damage and reduce the loss. Restoration repairs or attempts to put the damaged items back to a pre-loss condition are usually less critical, but important, and must be done quickly.
“It is less expensive to replace rather than to salvage.”
Cleaning fabrics and surfaces can produce very satisfactory results – and cleaning is cost effective. When smoke is not cleaned properly, secondary damage can result and replacement may be the only option. In truth, you can spend hundreds of dollars cleaning or thousands of dollars replacing items.
“If you get your carpets cleaned, they will get dirty faster.”
Restoration professionals are able to effectively clean and remove contaminates as a result of a loss. The old concept about carpets getting dirty faster is not true anymore. At one time, cleaning carpets meant using ineffective shampooing techniques that left soap residue in the carpet. This residue attracted soil. Today, a professional restoration company will use a process that rinses the carpet to prevent the soap residue.
“After a flood, once the carpet is dry, the noisy equipment being used can be removed.”
The greatest failure in any water damage drying scenario would be in removing the drying equipment before everything is dry to the professional standard expected. A professional restoration company uses various testing and measuring equipment to determine that the moisture content has been returned to normal standards. Ineffective drying of a structure can result in an expensive mold claim. Feeling a carpet or cushion to determine dryness is not a reliable method. Instead, a professional company uses meters and sensors to measure the moisture content and determine whether the carpet, furniture or structure is indeed dry.
“Once a building has a fire, it will always smell like smoke.”
When the odor remains or items don’t restore properly the problem is failed restoration procedures. The residue from smoked-damaged property is acidic in nature. It is far more damaging to everything it comes in contact with as compared to normal dirt or dust. Prompt cleaning action can reduce losses if this acid is removed or neutralized. Restoration for smoke odor has to be thorough and is more complicated than turning on any one machine to have satisfactory results. Guaranteed smoke odor removal means all contaminated areas need to be cleaned, deodorized, and possibly sealed (where applicable) as well as neutralization of all odor molecules whether airborne or absorbed.
Professional restoration firms are specialists that have undergone training – and continue to train each year. When an emergency property loss arises, contact Restoration 1 of West Denver for immediate mitigation and restoration services.