Vent Cleaning in Nashville Homes After a Fire

5/14/2018 (Permalink)

Team SERVPRO Offers Thorough and Effective Remediation After a Fire

For every Nashville homeowner who suffered through a house fire, we have an immediate piece of advice. Do NOT turn on your heating and air system. Regardless of the size of the fire, some smoke and soot residues did find their way to your vents and ductwork. Turning on the system to try and rid your home of the smoke odors only spreads these residues throughout the ductwork and the entire home.
 
It is why every home needs vent cleaning after a fire in Nashville. SERVPRO restoration teams understand that the affecting residues might be small, but if they spread, that makes the task of returning each home much more difficult for us and costly to the homeowner.
 
One of our inspectors starts the process by removing the vent covers and examining the interior of the ductwork. If the fire was a small one and quickly extinguished, then it is very likely the residues are minor and do not extend too far past the vent entrance.
 
If this is the situation, our technicians begin cleaning by wiping down the affected vent covers and other surfaces. If the residue is a dry powder, they use a dry sponge to remove it. When the residue is sticky or very thick, SERVPRO technicians apply either water or a cleaning agent to the sponge to break it up and remove it.
 
If the residues have settled farther into the ducts, our teams use sponges and scrub brushes on telescoping arms to break them up. Next, they use commercial vacuums with wands and hoses to reach in and remove any residue the sponges could not pick up.
 
In a larger fire, the smoke may have deposited residue much father into the ductwork. When this happens, our restoration teams move to fog generating devices to clean every surface we cannot reach otherwise. Technicians mix a cleaning agent to place inside the fogger. As the device begins working, other team members ensure the other vents are sealed tight while another specialist activates a box fan to force the fog throughout the entire ductwork slowly.
 
Once they cover every surface, technicians uncover an exit point and increase the fan speed to force the fog and particles out of the ducts. They repeat the process until no more residue particles exit the system.
 
At SERVPRO of South Nashville, it is our goal to return your home to its pre-fire condition, so you and your family have a clean, safe environment. If you need our services, contact our office today at (615) 331-0200 to schedule a visit for an estimate.

Click here for more information on the city of Nashville.