How To Clean Your Floors After A Fire
Your floors may not be your biggest concern after a fire. But, if you walk on smoke stains and soot, they will set in. We will show you how to clean your floors after a fire, from what cleaners to use to when to replace them after fire damage.
How To Clean Your Floors After A Fire
You should clean up the area as soon as you can, but wait until the firefighters arrive to do so. You should also ensure that you are wearing the correct protective gear. These include thick boots, long sleeves, long pants, long sleeves and work gloves. Even though they are not required, elbow and knee pads can make cleanup easier. You can skip steps 1 and 2 if you did not use a fire extinguisher, or call the fire department to put the fire out.
1. Take Out Water
You must deal with any water damage to your floor from firefighting efforts before you can clean it. To soak up water, blankets or towels can be used. To get rid of more than one inch of water, you can either use a vacuum shop vacuum or a pump. Avoid rubbing towels and blankets around with your sponge during cleaning. Stains can be caused by rubbing sooty towels or blankets around in the floodwater. Instead, lay them on top of the water and let it soak in. Next, gently lift the soaked items up and squeeze them out. Continue this process until all of the water has evaporated.
2. Dry The Floor
Dry the flooring after the water has dried. High-volume fans or drying dehumidifiers are best for drying the flooring quickly. These are available from more equipment rental companies. They dry floors faster than ordinary household fans and reduce the chance of mold.
Smaller areas can be dried with one fan and one dehumidifier in one day. Larger areas might need four to five fans. You can ask the equipment rental company to help you determine how much gear is needed based on the extent of the damage.
3. Get Rid Of Soot And Other Debris
After drying the area, you can clean your floors with a shop vacuum. Avoid pressing the hose against the floor. You will cause the stain to become more difficult to clean. You should always start at the edges of the room, and work your way towards the center. This will prevent the stain from settling as you move along the flooring. Make sure to inspect under furniture and appliances for any fire stains. Before you begin cleaning the floors after a fire, make sure to empty out all of your rooms. You might consider replacing large areas of your floor that are charred, burned or melted. You can skip to step six if you are planning on completely refinishing or replacing your floors.
4. Clear Fire Stain Floors
Next, clean up the fire stains. To a gallon warm water, add four tablespoons liquid dish soap. Use a soft sponge, rag, or cloth to gently scrub the floors. To avoid streaks and scratches on hardwood floors, use a grain brush to scrub the flooring. Use small circular motions when cleaning vinyl flooring. This will allow you to clean grout and crevices. You may have to scrub your hardwood floors several times because soot can leave a sticky residue. You should always use liquid dish soap, but it may be necessary to clean it with oil soap. Vinyl flooring should be cleaned regularly. Also, you need to inspect for any burned or melted areas that may need to replaced. Vinyl tile is easier to replace than rolled vinyl flooring. Glass tiles, whether sealed or glazed, are impervious to soot stains. You can easily clean them with liquid dish soap. Unglazed tiles, however, absorb stains easily. Instead of using a sponge or rag to clean them, you can use a soft scrubbrush. To get into the tile’s grain, scrub in small circular motions. To check if soap suds are gone, wipe them off with a damp, clean rag.
5. Use Clean Water To Rinse Your Floors
You should rinse your floors with water after removing the fire stains. You will need a bucket of water, a mop or a rag to clean the floors.
Clean the floor by moving across it, removing all soap and soot. Make sure to use a rag or mop often and change the water if it becomes murky.
6. Replacing Or Repairing Damaged Flooring
You might be able replace damaged pieces of vinyl or laminate flooring if the fire has damaged it. You can easily pop out laminate flooring to replace fire stained boards. Vinyl flooring can be removed and replaced with damaged tiles. You must sand hardwood floors to remove charring and stains. You can sand only a section of the floor, but it is best to refinish the whole floor. You can replace individual tiles on tile floors. It’s not always possible to replace them all. It may be necessary to replace entire floors or sections.
7. Polish Or Refinish Flooring
You should also polish or refinish your flooring. To restore the luster of vinyl and tile floors, you can use a general-purpose polish.
Oil soap can be used to clean hardwood floors. After drying, let them dry. Use a tackcloth to remove dirt and dust, before applying a hardwood polish.
Get Fire Cleanup Services Now
911 Restoration of Iredell County can help you clean up floors from a fire, or repair damage to your home. We have restoration experts across the country and offer a 24-hour service with a 45 minute response time to minimize damage and lower repair costs. Call 704-519-2331 now for a free visual estimate for fire restoration services in your area.
