How Smoke Damage Can Affect Your Business In Greenville, South Carolina

By Author: ServiceMaster Upstate
Total Articles: 54
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Fire incidents can cause small to large-scale damages to your business. Like any other type of damage, fire damage needs prompt action to prevent more serious consequences from occurring. One such problem that may stem after a fire has been put out is smoke damage. When left unattended, smoke can lead to lasting effects that can extend beyond surface damage. Smoke and soot have complex compositions and are highly acidic, resulting to harm in any material.

That said, it is therefore important to secure the services of a trusted fire damage restoration company, such as ServiceMaster of the Upstate, to handle a time-sensitive process like smoke damage repair. Read about the effects of smoke damage to your business, especially if cleanup is delayed.

Smoke Damage Timeline

• Minutes: Walls and items made with porous materials, plastic and marble can be stained yellow by soot and smoke.

• Hours: As mentioned, smoke and soot are highly acidic, tarnishing or staining metal objects, grout, and other materials.

• Days: If smoke damage isn't attended to for days, the yellow stain on walls ...
... may become permanent. Corrosion or rusting can occur in metallic objects, and wooden furniture may be destroyed. Fabrics, flooring, and upholstery will need a replacement.

• Weeks: Within weeks, soot will permeate through materials, causing permanent corrosion and the release of toxic fumes. Disposal of electronic equipment, furniture, and office supplies exposed to smoke will have to be performed.

What to Do After the Fire is Out

• After the fire has been put out and everyone has been declared safe, the cleanup and restoration process will commence. There is a need to immediately file for a smoke damage insurance claim with the company's insurance provider.

• After a claim has been filed, contact a trusted restoration company like ServiceMaster of the Upstate for smoke damage repair and cleanup. Our trained technicians will perform assessment and evaluation, create a comprehensive remediation plan, clean and restore items using specialized equipment and cleaning agents, and seal surfaces to prevent the risk of recontamination.

Reducing Smoke Odors Inside a Building

Before the professionals arrive, there are some steps that you can take to help minimize the damage that your business will incur. Once it's safe to enter the affected area, you can help minimize the smell of smoke by performing the following:

• Air out the building by opening all doors and windows, if the temperature is above 60 degrees.
• If your furnace uses forced air, replace the air filters.
• To capture loose soot suspended in the air, tape cheesecloth over returns and supply registers.

Dos and Don'ts When Reducing Smoke Odors

• Do not touch anything with your bare hands. Extensive damage can be caused by the oils from your skin, which can permeate through items like woodwork, upholstery and walls.
• Do not attempt to wash yellowed or damaged walls. Soot residue could be compounded by wrong and improper cleaning methods, so it's best to leave the cleaning to the experts.

Get Fire Damage Restoration at ServiceMaster of the Upstate of South Carolina

Experiencing a fire in your business or commercial building can be devastating, which is why ServiceMaster of the Upstate is here to help. Since 2008, we have been helping commercial businesses in Greenville, South Carolina recover from fire incidents with our wide range of fire damage restoration services, such as content cleaning and restoration, soot, odor, and smoke damage removal, and board-up and pack out with storage.

ServiceMaster of the Upstate has personnel that will engage with your insurance company and provide the right equipment that will timely redeem any fire- incurred damage both efficiently and effectively. Our IICRC-certified firm has a team of licensed and fully bonded technicians who are qualified to deliver property damage restoration, repair and cleanup services in South Carolina using top-tier cleaning equipment and solutions.

Contact ServiceMaster of the Upstate at (864) 310-7891 or connect with us online to schedule an appointment. Our Emergency Response Team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year to answer your calls. We service clients in Greenville, Saluda, Spartanburg, Newberry, and Laurens, South Carolina.