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How to Get Rid of Smoke Damage on Your Walls and Floors

Fri 15 May 2009 - 08:36

How to Get Rid of Smoke Damage on Your Walls and Floors
By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Gary_Kent_Hamilton]Gary Kent Hamilton

Was your home in Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama or North Carolina damaged by smoke because of a fire in your house? Well, you can hire a smoke restoration expert to fix the damage, and if your insurance will cover it, this is the best way to go. Or, you can clean most of the damage from smoke up yourself with these tips!

Smoke and soot can get into your carpeting and stain it, as well as cause smoke odors to keep coming back for years if you do not properly clean the carpets. The best way to clean the carpets, if you can, is to remove them from the floor and take them outside. First, spray the carpet with a high pressure hose to get the soot out. Next, using a sponge and a professional quality brand of carpet shampoo, scrub the carpet in small sections. If the stains are in the carpet really deep, you can use a brush with stiff bristles to get out the stains.

Once the carpet is clean, rinse it out well. Finally, it is important to get the carpet dry as quickly as you can, to prevent more damage to it. You can do this by laying the carpet down flat in a warm, dry place. It is better if you can dry the carpets with a fan. Many places rent fans specifically designed for this, and it is not expensive. You will want to make sure that the carpet is dry all the way through and not just on the surface. If you have hardwood floors, you will probably have to strip and refinish them if the fire has damaged them.

If your walls have been damaged by the smoke, then you may be able to clean the soot off, or you may just have to repaint them. If you had wallpaper, sometimes you will be able to scrub off the soot with a gentle cleanser, but most of the time, you will have to actually take off the wallpaper completely. If your walls were painted with semi-gloss or satin paint, then it should be easy to scrub off the soot using a combination of warm water and tsp (trisodium hosphate; a cleaner available at hardware stores). Scrub the wall in small sections using a solution of a gallon of warm water and a tablespoon of tsp. Then, wipe off the walls with clean, warm water.

Gary Kent Hamilton is the SEO Expert for Right Way Contracting and Restoration Services - a leading nationwide specializing in 24/7 emergency service [http://www.rightwaycontracting.com]water damage restoration, water damage repair, [http://www.rightwaycontracting.com]flood damage repair, fire and smoke damage restoration and crime scene clean up company.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gary_Kent_Hamilton http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Get-Rid-of-Smoke-Damage-on-Your-Walls-and-Floors&id=2340980


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