Removing smoke odor from fire damaged homes
The chemical process of changing a solid into a gas via heat is called combustion. If combustion of a material is complete, non offensive gases would result. However, this is not the case in a house fire. What normally happens is that materials made of carbon are partially burned and as a result they release carbon and tars into the air. This sticky substance, aided by enormous heat, is propelled throughout the house and is deposited everywhere. Smoke particles are microscopic in size, and will find their way into the smallest cracks and crevices. In a house fire, many different substances are burned resulting in complex smoke odors and are sometimes difficult to remove. Smoke Odors are normally classified into 3 categories. They are as follows: 1. Natural substance odor- result from burned wood, paper, cotton, and other natural substances. Smoke from this substance is usually grey black. 2. Synthetic substance odor- result from from burned plastic and other synthetic material. The smoke from this substances is usually black and smudges easy. This smoke is very difficult to remove. 3. Protein odor- result from burned meat or poultry. This type of fire is commonly referred to as a grease fire. The smoke from meat can be a yellowish color and is has a greasy texture. This type of smoke odor can be a challenge to remove. We restored a home in that involved all three kinds of smoke odors. A grease fire started on the stove top and ignited the cabinets. The fire then spread throughout the house consuming carpet, plastic toys and furniture, synthetic material in furniture, and of coarse, wood and other natural substances. This was a tough job but thanks to our advanced training we were able to remove all the various smoke odors. The Smoke Odor Removal ProcessTo successfully remove an odor you must first find the source of the odor. Currently the best device we have to detect odor source is the human nose. After you find the source of the odor, the first step to successfully eliminate smoke odor would be to remove as much of the source as possible.
The fire and smoke damage shown in the picture above resulted from a gas explosion. We had to brace up the load bearing structural members, remove damaged girders and floor joist, and treat the entire crawl space for smoke odor. The second step in odor removal involves treatment of the residual odors. Listed below are some of the more common treatment procedures. 1.Oxidation- is a chemical reaction in which oxygen combines with another substance. The most common use of oxidation in smoke odor removal is the use of an ozone machine. Ozone can be very effective in removing odor from some substances, but not others. A knowledgeable fire and smoke restoration contractor will know when to try this process. 2.Neutralalization- involves combining chemicals to effectively neutralize an odor. 3.Bioenzymatic digestion- involves special genetically engineered bacteria and enzymes which actually consume odorous materials. 4. Adsorbents- are materials such as activated charcoal which capture and hold odors on their surfaces. We did a job in Jacksonville, NC where we had a very difficult time in finding and removing a smoke odor in an attic. We ended up using a granular activated charcoal product and it eliminated the odor . 5.Counteraction- Some odors are made up of a mixture of compounds. Complex odors such as smoke odor respond well to a series of odor counteraction procedures such as suppression spraying, vapor phase re-odorization, and thermal fogging. Conclusion. Smoke is a complex substance and no two house fires are the same. For successful remediation of smoke odor you need to call an experienced insurance restoration contractor. Call the name most trusted in New Bern and all of Eastern North Carolina. Tyson Construction and Restoration
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