Stages of cleaning an apartment after a fire on your own
A fire in a room leads to devastating consequences: it destroys valuables, leaves traces of soot and an acrid smell of burning. More than half of fire victims try to clean their apartments after a fire on their own. Of course, it is easier and more reliable to entrust the work to specialists from cleaning organizations, but their services are not cheap.
What things will be needed for cleaning?
Staying indoors after a fire is unsafe for health. There are caustic particles of soot and synthetic resins in the air, which can settle in the lungs and irritate the mucous membranes of the eyes and internal organs. Therefore, cleaning your apartment yourself will require you to prepare protective equipment.
You will need the following things:
- old closed clothing made of thick fabric (you will have to throw it away after cleaning);
- respiratory mask;
- protective glasses;
- gloves;
- headscarf;
- shoes with thick soles.
Now you need to prepare cleaning products and tools. Cleaning up after fires is different from normal cleanup. You will have to treat not only floors, but also walls, ceilings, and furniture.
The minimum cleaning kit includes:
- broom;
- scoop;
- garbage bags;
- tray;
- vacuum cleaner;
- film;
- dry rags - from 10 pieces;
- metal brush;
- putty knife;
- roller;
- impregnated sponges (Coral, Spiro Pads, Svinto) – from 5 pieces;
Impregnation of sponges includes anionic and amphoteric surfactants and glycerin.When cleaning after a fire, do not use a lot of water so as not to smear soot on the walls and furniture. It is enough to slightly moisten impregnated sponges before cleaning.
Another option for removing soot marks is a melamine sponge (made from melamine resin). It erases dirt like an eraser and does not require the use of water.
You can find impregnated sponges and melamine sponges in household chemical stores, construction hypermarkets or on the Internet.
Cleaning things
Housing restoration efforts should begin by clearing the premises of things that were damaged during the fire.
- Throw away items that cannot be recovered. Most likely, you will have to get rid of the books because they retain a burning smell for several years.
- Ventilate upholstered furniture and carpets.
- Throw curtains, curtains, bed linen, and clothes into the washing machine. If a burning smell remains on your items after washing, take them to the dry cleaner.
- Using a broom, scrape up any shards and pieces of damaged items from the floor and place them in a trash bag.
- Carefully remove cracked glass from window frames and doorways.
- Remove food from the refrigerator, unplug the appliance, and leave it open.
- Remove surviving plants from the room and wipe their leaves with a damp cloth.
- Change the ventilation filter and place two layers of gauze on the outlet grilles.
If some things are soldered to the floor covering, you cannot do without the help of professionals. You should also not attempt to clean lighting fixtures yourself.
Dry cleaning
Many fire victims make the grave mistake of starting cleaning by wiping contaminated surfaces with wet rags and a soapy mixture.After a fire, tiny particles settle on the walls, floors and furniture. Exposure to moisture causes pores to expand. As a result, the soot is “sealed” several millimeters into various surfaces.
Never do wet cleaning before dry cleaning. Otherwise, it will be impossible to wash off the soot later.
Dry cleaning includes the following steps:
- Open all windows and doors to create a draft in the room, or turn on the air conditioning system.
- Use a broom to remove accumulated soot and soot from the floor. Then use a vacuum cleaner.
- Cover the floor with film, securing it with tape.
- Take a spatula and remove the burnt wallpaper.
- Go over the walls and ceiling with a vacuum cleaner. Remove any remaining soot with a stiff wire brush. Do not smear the soot on the surface, but knock it down from top to bottom with sharp movements.
- Wipe walls and furniture frames with impregnated sponges or melamine sponges.
Wet cleaning
Now it's time to wash the floor, ceiling and walls. If you have the opportunity, first go over the surfaces with a steam generator or a washing vacuum cleaner.
Rags should be damp, not wet. Soot is cleaned from the walls with sharp movements from top to bottom. Heavy dirt can be removed with a wire brush dipped in water. Wooden furniture should only be wiped with rags or sponges.
Suitable aqueous solutions for cleaning:
- half a piece of laundry soap per 3 liters of water;
- solution with added dishwashing liquid;
- 4 tablespoons of baking soda per liter of water.
You can also purchase special cleaning products after a fire at a household chemical store or order online.
- "Sanaklin Active 302"
Cleans soot and soot from walls and disinfects.Suitable for use in a steam generator. The active ingredient is chlorine. To wash walls after a fire, dilute 300 ml of the product in 10 liters of water.
- "Bars P"
Designed for cleaning hard surfaces from soot and smoke tar. Does not contain chlorine. 500-1000 ml of product are diluted in 10 liters of water. "Bars P" is used in their work by specialists from cleaning organizations, but you can also order it on the website of the manufacturer - the company "Khimitex".
- Syntilor Fuoco
An alkaline product that not only cleans dirty surfaces, but also eliminates the burning smell. Apply to the burnt area for 5 minutes and then wash off with water.
Air purification
Toxic fumes indoors are the biggest problem for fire victims. If cleaning after a fire allows you to somehow bring the home into a presentable form and prepare it for repairs, then the burning smell usually remains for 6-12 months.
Wet cleaning has a short-term effect, and soon the stench returns. The fact is that particles of soot and resins are embedded in the structure of the floor covering and furniture, and then gradually released.
There are several ways to get rid of burning smell, and it is advisable to use them all together.
- Ventilation of the room
In summer, windows should remain open 24 hours a day. However, they must be closed when it rains.
- Condensate
Fill the bathtub and all sinks in the house with hot water. After an hour, return to the apartment and wipe the droplets from the walls and furniture with dry rags.
- Vinegar solution
This product absorbs unpleasant odors. Pour 0.5 liters of 9% vinegar into a 5-liter saucepan with boiling water. You can also add 1 tablespoon of ammonia. Leave the apartment for an hour. Then go back and empty the solution into the sink.
- Aromas of plants and flowers
They only help to kill the burning smell, but do not eliminate it completely. The brightest and sharpest aromas are from the herbs of mint, sage and wormwood, as well as essential oils of lemon, bergamot, tea tree, eucalyptus, geranium, and lavender.
These products also disinfect indoor air and prevent the formation of mold and mildew, which often appear in an apartment after extinguishing a fire with water.
- Steam cleaner
Walk the device over the walls and furniture. This will help get rid of the burning smell for 1-2 days.
When you can't do without cleaning services
Unfortunately, sometimes the fire engulfs the entire apartment. The walls turn out to be black and charred, electrical appliances are damaged, and the smell of burning is such that it is impossible to stay in the home. In this case, it is better to find funds and seek help from cleaning specialists.
The cost of services depends on the following factors:
- the area of the contaminated territory (the price per 1 square meter is on average 500 rubles);
- region of residence (the services of metropolitan specialists are more expensive);
- the need to use special equipment and chemicals.
Dry cleaning and restoration of damaged items, dismantling of window frames and doors are paid separately.
“Soft blasting” and ozonation techniques can completely rid a room of the burning smell. You can resort to such services of cleaning organizations a little later if the stench persists for more than 12 months.
Conclusion
Thus, cleaning apartments after a fire is a responsible and complex undertaking. Dry cleaning should be carried out as soon as possible, otherwise caustic particles will remain on the surfaces for a long time and will emit a burning smell.When wet cleaning, you need to be careful not to smear soot on the walls. The presence of large-scale pollution and destruction requires the help of specialists.