The Importance of Content Cleaning and Restoration After a Fire or Flood
Property loss and damage through fire or flood can be devastating, especially when personal belongings with sentimental value are involved. Flood and fire can do irreparable damage to our contents, but it is possible to save your most precious items through a content cleaning service.
Read on to learn more about content cleaning, the processes involved, and how it can help you get back on your feet faster.
What is Content Cleaning and Restoration?
Content cleaning is a critical part of the restoration process where property owners thoroughly clean and restore recovered items from a flood or fire-damaged site.
Fire, smoke, water, and mold will continue to degrade items long after the fire has been extinguished, so it is critical to start the content cleaning process as soon as possible. Due to the severity of the damage typical of a fire, a content cleaning and restoration service is often a highly technical and meticulous task.
It can also be challenging to tackle by yourself, even with friends and family helping out. There is also the expense and sophistication of the equipment used to consider, plus the time needed to clean, pack, inventory, and store every item.
A content cleaning service can be a valuable ally when it comes to getting back on your feet as quickly as possible.
What to Do After The Fire?
There are some things you should do after the fire that will help prevent further damage to the property, including:
● Covering carpets and floors to protect against additional soot and foot traffic
● Open every window to allow fresh air in and expel remnant smoke and pollutants
● Let your insurance provider know your situation
● Create a list and photograph all damaged items and list their value
What Not to Do After The Fire?
There are also some things to keep in mind that you should not do after a fire. You want to save as much as you can, but you should not touch anything that has been contaminated by water or soot. You could do further damage that will make the cleaning and restoration process more difficult. Also, avoid doing any of the following:
● Attempt to clean upholstery
● Use electrical appliances even if they look undamaged
● Turn on the water and gas before getting the all-clear from a professional
It’s a tough time, and you will be tempted to visit your property to assess the damage for yourself. However, doing this is not recommended. Cleaning up after a fire can be very dangerous, and there may be life-threatening conditions in and around the property.
Always contact your insurance company and a professional content cleaning company to be on the safe side and improve your ability to recover as much as possible as quickly as possible.
Why Is Content Cleaning Important?
The time after a fire can be distressing, and there's a lot to do. The content cleaning process is often the last thing on people's minds as they deal with insurance companies and find alternative living or business arrangements.
Items that could be saved may become irreparable if left for too long, so these items must be recovered, cleaned, and restored as soon as possible to prevent further degradation.
What Does the Content Cleaning Process Involve?
In general, a content cleaning company will help you with the following tasks:
● Analysis of your contents to help determine what is and isn't salvageable
● Contents cleaning and restoration
● Work with insurance providers
Content Analysis
Once the recovery process is started, a content cleaning and restoration team will go through the items affected by the event. Damaged items may look unsalvageable to the untrained eye. However, our certified IICRC and IRI Technicians, using the proper equipment and techniques, can often restore them to their previous condition.
We will also work with your insurance providers to ensure your insurance company compensates you for your lost belongings.
As a professional content cleaning company, our service will help property owners with:
● Cleaning
● Packing
● Dry/Wet Cleaning
● Sanitizing
● Smoke damage deodorizing and odor removal
● Refinishing
After the fire, content cleaning professionals will assess the damage and create a restoration strategy. Each item will be examined and photographed and added to an inventory. Everything is then professionally packed and cataloged for easy tracking.
Your goods are then transported to the cleaning facility, where they are stored in a climate-controlled location. From here, the content cleaning and restoration process begins.
Each item is individually assessed to ensure it is cleaned and restored using appropriate tools and techniques. For example, some things will need to be cleaned by hand, while others will be suitable for machine washing. Hard and soft materials will require different techniques and chemical solutions to avoid damage or further degradation.
What Can Be Saved, and How?
We will use several different methods during the content cleaning process, which might include:
● Laundry and dry-cleaning
● Upholstered furniture
● Area rugs and carpets
● Kitchenware
● Plastic items like containers and toys
● Wood furniture
● Antiques
● Art pieces
● Electronic devices
● Documents
● Business equipment
The cleaning process we use will depend on the item and the material it is made from. For example, household kitchen items will go through a multi-step process that starts with pre-washing, ultrasonic cleansing, rinsing and drying.
Upholstered furniture may also require water extraction, decontamination, and odor removal. Sensitive items will go through a delicate handwashing and drying procedure.
Cleaning and restoration of business equipment will start with a clean on the outside, followed by vacuuming using a HEPA (High-Efficiency Particulate Air) vacuum to remove tiny dirt and soot particles.
It’s worth noting that discolored plastic appliances cannot usually be restored to their original color. Electronic devices like computers and copiers are examined and tested by a safety and functionality expert before getting the all-clear.
Document restoration is tricky, but many official documents like marriage licenses, birth certificates, leases, and insurance documents can be saved after water damage. Wet documents are flash-frozen before being placed in a freeze dryer, which prevents further water damage by converting ice to vapor and skipping the liquid phase.
If you have recently suffered property damage due to fire or flood, why not let the professionals get on with the content cleaning while you continue with rebuilding your life or business.
Best Option Restoration - Thornton
(720) 620-3272
Water · Fire · Mold · Storm
BORestoration-Thornton.com
