How Severe is Odor Damage After a Fire in My Raleigh Home?

7/23/2020 (Permalink)

The charring on this cabinet indicates the home will have smoke odors throughout. We are equipped and trained to restore your home.

Smoke and fire odors can spread quickly through a residence, requiring cutting-edge tools and potent products to resolve.  

One of the fastest-changing conditions after a fire in your Raleigh home is the odors created by combusting materials. Regardless of the fire's size, these scents generated through the burning of construction materials and contents can become an overwhelming presence. Our SERVPRO professionals can address these concerns as soon as we arrive, though official deodorization does not occur until one of the final restoration stages.

When it comes to fire and odor restoration for Raleigh homes or businesses, many look at our technicians' experience and fast response. We have a growing supply of recovery tools specifically to address lingering odors circulating in the environment, and those trapped in porous materials. Much of choosing which deodorization process is most effective begins with a thorough inspection to identify factors specific to the odor damage you are currently facing. 

What Factors Determine Odor Damages?  

Many elements and factors that can determine the best approach for removing lingering odors from open-air environments and those that become trapped in materials like drywall. Knowing how these various factors can impact the best plan for removing the scent can showcase how many possible methods exist to eliminate this condition in your house after a fire. The severity of the present odor damage falls into three possible categories: 

• Type of Fire - What is meant by the term type of fire is often the disaster's heat and spread. Wet smoke fires smolder and move slowly throughout the property, while high-heat, dry smoke incidents move fast, and are much more destructive to structural elements. Each of these produces a different type of odor damage, with wet smoke being among the worst. 

• Material Affected - What materials burn or char throughout the property can also impact the lingering odors present in the building, which can get determined by tracking the migration of fire loss effects throughout the structure. 

• Time of Exposure - The length of time odors and other damaging conditions exist in the property can amplify their spread and severity. The more prolonged exposure is, the worse these conditions often become. 

How Do Embedded Odors Get Removed?  

Odors are not always easy to get to and remove. There are many situations where porous materials can absorb smoke odors and trap them within Raleigh homes. When the structure cools back down, these odor molecules cannot escape. The solution involves sophisticated deodorization tools that can Impact trapped odor molecules within these structural elements and contents. This method often falls to portable machines like our thermal foggers, because they can produce a gaseous compound that can penetrate services to reach trapped odor molecules and eliminate them. Some of the most sensitive materials to absorb these odors include: 

• Drywall
• Wood
• Fabrics
• Textiles
• Carpet 

What Are the Tools Used for Odor Removal?  

Surprisingly many different tools can get used for odor removal in your home. The choice of these tools varies based on the severity of the damage and its location throughout the property. Making the correct decision for your home can be the difference between efficient restoration and much more prolonged and costlier approaches. In many of the fire recovery situations that our SERVPRO team addresses, multiple tools might be necessary to achieve the fastest results. Some of the most common deodorizing tools that we utilize include: 

• ULV and Thermal Foggers – Foggers produce a gaseous output of deodorizing compounds that can neutralize smoke and other harsh odors on contact. Because it is among the fastest options to move from place to place, it can be a useful tool for considerable damage areas when occupants are still present. 

• Hydroxyl Machine – One of the advantages of the hydroxyl machine is its ability to address widespread deodorization needs and clean the environment with onboard HEPA filtration. 

• Ozone Generator – As prevalent and beneficial as ozone machines can be for deodorization in an entire property, they cannot get used when occupants or living creatures are present. obstacles after a fire loss in your home or business, few can be as widespread and potentially challenging as smoke and burning odors. Our SERVPRO of North Raleigh & Wake Forest team can assist with a fast response featuring our industry-leading equipment. Contact us anytime at (919) 790-1222.