Have you recently survived a residential fire? Recovering from such a tragedy is hellish for residents, given the consequences in the form of soot marks, mold, water damage, and the powerful burning smell lingering in the atmosphere.

The only way for homeowners to overcome this traumatic experience is by seeing their homes restored to their original state. The journey to restoration is time-consuming and demanding, requiring special tools, cleaning agents, and equipment to eliminate all reminders.

Since household residents are too overwhelmed and emotionally exhausted after such incidents, home recovery is best left in the hands of fire damage experts. There is a multitude of fire restoration companies, such as TheFireRestorationTeam.com Chicago, whose experts specialize in mold removal, water damage repair, deep-clean, and restoration of belongings.

Learn more about the most common causes of fire damage and the benefits of hiring experts for home recovery.

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The most common cause of residential fires is unquestionably cooking, as it accounts for almost fifty percent of these incidents. Leaving grease unsupervised once becoming overheated is likely to result in combustion since grease is a flammable substance. Therefore, homeowners are never supposed to let the food cook itself in oil while not being in the kitchen unless they want to find the place in flames. Outdoor barbeques should also be supervised at all times, particularly those placed on decks made from wood.

Heating appliances are another frequent cause of house fires, leading to combustion when getting in touch with fabric or other objects. For instance, heaters that run on fuel are believed to be the most hazardous, as it takes little for ignition to occur. Additionally, electrical heaters might result in a fire in the event of defective wiring, which is why homeowners should never leave these appliances running when heading outside.

Smoking is another common cause of residential fires, which happen when cigarette butts come in contact with carpets, rugs, and furniture pieces. It often happens for individuals to fall asleep with a cigarette in their hand and wake up in a house of flames. Hence, household residents are strongly advised to smoke outside, especially not in bed.

Similar to smoking, candles have the potential of triggering residential fires, particularly in the course of the Christmas and New Year’s Eve period. Even though candles are ideal for creating a romantic or festive atmosphere, these decorations can have a detrimental effect on the property and life of residents. Residents should be incredibly attentive by keeping candles at a fair distance from other items and fabrics, at least thirty centimeters. See this page for some safety tips about burning candles without causing an accident.

Furthermore, electrical fires are extremely common in households, triggered by defective wires and overloaded circuits. The consequences of these fires are usually fatal, as homeowners become aware of the threat once it’s too late to prevent the damage. In order to avoid the risk of such accidents, household residents should have electricians perform regular inspections of their electric systems and replace old wiring.

Since the Christmas season is approaching, residents are strongly recommended to keep an eye on their Christmas trees. Although not as common as the other causes, Christmas trees are prone to catching fire at the end of the season when they become overly dry. Therefore, homeowners should always plug out their Christmas lights when leaving the house or going to sleep.

Benefits of hiring fire restoration experts

Once the fire is extinguished, household members are usually left with a home they can no longer recognize. These accidents result in severe property damage that prevents residents from living in their houses until the place is recovered back to normal. Fortunately, fire restoration specialists are experts in restoring the damage from such incidents, as well as in mold removal and water damage mitigation.

An important benefit of hiring such technicians is being provided with a comprehensive inspection of your home. These professionals arrive on the spot within 24 hours following the incident and start by inspecting the property for damage. A home inspection is considered crucial for assessing the exact consequences in the form of smoke damage, furniture deterioration, ash, mold, etc. Once the inspection is completed, the technicians devise a restoration plan to repair, clean, and rebuild properties.

A burning smell is omnipresent in homes after being subjected to a fire and it lingers for months after the accident. Doors, walls, flooring, kitchen cabinets, and other furniture pieces tend to retain smoke, hence spreading a burning odor throughout the house. No resident is fond of this smell, particularly after going through a traumatic experience. It only serves as a reminder of the horror residents have survived.

Nevertheless, restoration technicians are trained in eliminating the burning smell from homes, making residents feel pleasant when setting foot in their houses again. These professionals use high-end air purifiers to minimize the smoke odor inside the place and improve air quality. Also, they make sure the carpeting and upholstery are cleaned with a HEPA vacuum cleaner for a better effect on eliminating the burning smell.

Given the huge amount of water used by firefighters to extinguish a residential fire, it’s no wonder houses and apartments are soaked after their intervention. The longer water is left to reside in the house, the greater the risk of mold and mildew growth. However, professional restoration technicians remove water from homes as soon as possible by using special equipment. For instance, they use wet vacuums, specially designed for removing liquids. They also use fans of high power and dehumidifiers to prevent moisture from lingering inside.

Once the drying process is finished, the restoration team moves on to soot removal. Soot damage isn’t easy to handle with regular cleaning products, which is why most residents fail to remove soot marks off their walls. Conversely, fire damage technicians are armed with special cleaning agents and tools to eliminate soot while not damaging the furniture, floors, and walls in the process. Check out the following link, https://homeguides.sfgate.com/rid-soot-marks-walls-27805.html, for some handy tips about getting rid of soot marks on walls.

Since ash is known to be acidic, it’s of vital importance for technicians to remove it promptly and efficiently. Otherwise, the walls will soon become yellowish and anything made from metal will corrode. In order to ensure no ash is left on the property, fire restoration experts even perform a deep-clean of the ventilation system.

Perhaps the greatest advantage of hiring such a restoration team is preserving your health. The presence of black ash traces is harmful to the health of residents, as ash contains lead. In turn, the longer residents are exposed to lead, the higher the chances of experiencing hypertension, kidney disease, brain swelling, hearing problems, etc.

In addition, the presence of black mold in the household is equally damaging to residents’ health. Long-term exposure to black mold affects the respiratory system and results in eye irritation, fatigue, rashes, coughing, splitting headaches, etc. Also, it’s believed to worsen the symptoms of asthma and allergies in household residents.

Final thoughts

After going through a residential fire, hire experts to recover property damage while you recover emotionally!