Fire can cause severe damage to your home or business. Even if your house survives the fire and is extinguished by the fire department, the water damage to your home will be severe.
With a large amount of smoke, soot, and water that will accumulate throughout your home, it is a good idea to contact a professional for help. Exactly how soon do you need to call for water and fire cleanup after a fire? Should you wait for your insurance company to tell you when to call? Follow along as we answer those questions and more.
Recovering Property
Water is one of the world’s best liquids to break down any material. Just look at million-year-old rocks that have been cut through simply with water. Water is a natural solvent, and anything it touches will begin to break down if not dried quickly. Mold and mildew are part of the breakdown process and will arrive in just a few hours or days when moisture in your home is left unattended.
After a fire, soot, smoke, and water will destroy most of your property if they are not removed quickly.
Health Dangers
Your family’s health is of the utmost importance to you. Fire releases toxic chemicals in the burned material that are carried away by the smoke and soot of the fire. This means all of these elements are taken from the area burned and transferred throughout your home.
Water is similar in that it runs into the baseboards and other hidden areas of your home, and without daylight, mold will multiply and can cause long-term health issues.
Contacting a Restoration Company
With the information presented, the time to call a fire or water restoration company after your home disaster immediately. Give your insurance company a call right away and ask for permission for a restoration company to come right away.
If there is an issue with your insurance company needing more time, take the time to call your own restoration company. A few hours makes a large amount of difference in protecting what is left of your home and your family’s future health.
What To Do Until Help Arrives
The first thing to understand is that if the home is not safe to enter, do not go in. Most restoration companies work on emergency bases and are used to being called out at all hours of the day and night. If it will be a few hours before they arrive, however, there are some things you can do.
An important step is to find any important property like heirlooms that have been damaged and have them separated from the rest. This gives the experts a priority of reclaim instead of going through each item one at a time. Time is of the essence, and as soon as you can have your most preferred property restored, the better off you and your family will be.