How To Clean Up Your Floors After A Fire
After a fire, your floors might not be the most important concern. However, smoke stains and soot can cause damage if you step on them. We’ll show you how to clean floors after a fire. From what cleaners to use, to when to replace them following fire damage.
How To Clean Up Your Floors After A Fire
It is important to clean up the area as quickly as possible, but you should wait for the firefighters to arrive before doing so. Also, ensure you have the right protective gear. You should wear thick boots, long sleeves or long pants. Although they are not necessary, elbow and knee protectors can help make cleanup much easier. If you didn’t use a fire extinguisher or have a problem with the fire, you can skip steps 1 & 2. Or call the fire department for help.
1. Remove The Water
Before you can clean up any water damages caused by firefighting efforts, you must first deal with the problem. You can use towels or blankets to soak up the water. You can use a vacuum shop vacuum to remove more than 1 inch of water or a pump. When cleaning, avoid rubbing towels or blankets with the sponge. You can cause stains by rubbing blankets or towels with the floodwater. Instead, place them on top of the water to let it soak in. Next, lift the items and squeeze out any excess water. Keep going until all the water is gone.
2. Dry The Floor
After the water has dried, dry the flooring. For flooring drying quickly, high-volume fans and drying dehumidifiers work best. These can be rented from more equipment rental businesses. These fans dry floors quicker than regular household fans, and they reduce the risk of mold growth. You can dry smaller areas with just one fan and one humidifier in one day. For larger areas, you might need to use four to five fans. Ask the equipment rental company for help in determining how much gear you need based on the extent and severity of the damage.
3. Get Rid Of Soot And Other Debris
After drying the area, you are able to vacuum your floors using a shop vacuum. Do not press the hose on the floor. This will make it more difficult to clean. Always start at the corners of the room and work your way to the center. This will keep the stain from spreading to the floor. Check under appliances and furniture for fire stains. Make sure you have cleared out all rooms before you start cleaning floors after a fire. It might be worth replacing damaged or burned areas on your floor. If you plan on replacing or refinishing your entire floor, skip step 6.
4. Clear Fire Stain Floors
Next, remove any fire stains. Four tablespoons of liquid dish soap should be added to a gallon of warm water. To gently scrub the floors, use a soft sponge or rag. A grain brush is a good choice to clean hardwood floors. It will prevent streaks and scratches. When cleaning vinyl flooring, use small circular movements. This will make it easier to clean grout and crevices. Because soot can stick to hardwood floors, you may need to scrub them several times. It is best to use liquid dish soap. However, it might be necessary to clean your hardwood floors with oil soap. Vinyl flooring should always be cleaned. You should also inspect for areas that have been burned or melted and replace them. Vinyl tile is much easier to replace than rolled vinyl flooring. Glass tiles are impervious against soot stains, regardless of whether they’re sealed or glazed. They can be easily cleaned with liquid dish soap. However, unglazed tiles absorb stains more easily than glazed tiles. You can clean them with a soft scrubbrush instead of a sponge or rag. You can scrub the tile in circular motions to get under its grain. You can check for soap suds by wiping them off with a moist, clean rag.
5. Use Clean Water To Rinse Your Floors
After removing fire stains, you should wash your floors with clean water. To clean your floors, you will need to use a mop, water bucket or a rag. Move across the floor to clean it. Use a mop or rag to clean the floor and change the water if it gets murky.
6. Replacing Or Repairing Damaged Flooring
If the fire has caused damage to vinyl or laminate flooring, you might be able to replace it. Laminate flooring can be easily removed to replace fire stained boards. You can easily remove vinyl flooring and replace it with damaged tiles. To remove stains and charring from hardwood floors, you must sand them. While you can sand a small area of the floor, it is better to refinish the entire floor. Tile floors can be refinished by replacing individual tiles. Sometimes it’s impossible to replace all of the tiles. Sometimes, it may be necessary for entire floors to be replaced.
7. Polish Or Refinish Flooring
Also, you should polish or refinish your floors. A general-purpose polish can be used to restore the shine of tile and vinyl floors. You can clean hardwood floors with oil soap. Let them dry after drying. To remove dirt and dust, use a tackcloth before applying a hardwood varnish.
Get Fire Cleanup Services Now
911 Restoration of East Dallas can help clean up your floors after a fire or to repair any damage to your house. We offer a wide variety of restoration service and offer a 45-minute response time. This helps to reduce damage and costs. Call 469-398-2841 today for a free visual estimate of fire restoration services in your local area.
