Hello AT,
Recently, friends of ours fell victim to an apartment fire. Their apartment isn't totally destroyed, but it is seriously smoke & water damaged.
Their insurance company has contracted with a cleaning company, but they are interested in exploring other options...
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There is a lot of built-in cabinetry and tilework in their apartment. Lingering smoke smell after the cleaning is a big worry, and quite frankly - is not an option.
Have any of your readers had experience with cleaners who come in after a fire? If so, we would love to know.
Thanks -Chris
Dear Chris,
When we were in high school our house caught on fire and everything was smoke and water damaged. It was awful. No one was home (my brother and I were in boarding school), but our mother came home to find a policeman standing in front of her axe-butchered front door and fire blackened house, who asked her is she was Mrs. Ryan. When she said she was, he thanked her and politely walked away. His job was to wait until the owner returned.
Not much more help came after that until she got the paperwork finished with the insurance company and hired a cleaning company and a contractor. She lived with friends and in a rented apartment for over two years. But that is all another story.
To answer your question, we don't know of any other option other than cleaning what you can and throwing the rest out. Smoke damage is very very pernicious. We were able to keep books (the bindings are still very dark), furniture and some personal items. All clothing, bedding, cabinetry and even wallpaper all had to go out.
This may not be much help, and we would LOVE to hear any other more hopeful options that folks may have. The one good thing that came out of all this was that it forced our family to purge a great, great deal and my mother then completely redid the house afterwards, making over the home that had suited a family with small children and suited her life then and for the future.
Aside from the heartache of cleaning and rebuilding, it is to this day, sort of a gift in disguise.
My parents had a fire in their home a few years ago. The insurance paid for a specialty cleaning company to pack up everything, clean it and return it. Clothes and household items were de-smoked, furniture deep cleaned, walls sealed. The cleaners took care of everything.
Although it was a tragic and stressful time, one of the bright spots was that their antique furniture came back with looking better than ever, carefully restored and glowing like new.
First of all: talk to your insurance rep. If you don't have insurance, you're being foolish. Insurance isn't so much for loss and damage as it covers you for liability for a myriad reasons. I am amazed at the number of renters who do not carry insurance. Your rep will guide you regarding the catastrophe.
I believe it depends on how seriously damaged it was and the cleaners hired. My parents home was damaged twice by smoke (once due to a contractor's carelessness), but not water. The insurance company sent in cleaners who cleaned and scrubbed everything, drapes, carpet, upholstery, walls, clothing washed or drycleaned. Most walls still needed some repainting. There was virtually no lingering odor from the smoke. But again it depends on the amount of damage beyond the smoke.
the odor can be sealed by using a primer like Kilz. Industrial cleaners also use ozone generators to remove odors after a fire. I would be more concerned with the threat of mold growth than the lingering smell of smoke...
The cleaning company your insurance carrier contracted with -- they normally handle disaster restoration, right? I mean, we're not talking Merry Maids, but something more like Service Master?
As long as the company handles restoration routinely and is itself reputable, that's what you need. Restoration companies are *the* specialists in post-fire clean-up, so there isn't really a better option to explore, unless you have doubts about the specific company hired.
there was a fire in the apt. above mine 10 years ago. i had extensive water + smoke damage and everything smelled horribly smoky. luckily i had an inexpensive renter's policy and everything was covered.
the insurance company paid for all of my clothes to be ozone cleaned. (okay, today i would be more concerned with the effects of this but hey, i was young back then. anyway, the smell completely went away.) they installed a de-humidifier. they reimbursed me for all living expenses while i was forced out of my place for a few weeks. they reimbursed me for damaged items.
so definitely get renter's insurance!
I just wanted to say that I love the burning house graphic!
I had a small kitchen fire in my UES apartment. At that time, I was renting and had renter's insurance. The stove/microwave and surrounding cabinets were total loss, but the rest of the apartment was just smoke and water damaged.
One call to the insurance company brought an agent over who quickly helped organize all clothes and fabric items going off to a fire restoration specialist (I suspect it just all got dry cleaned). Another co. came by to clean everything up Then after the floor dried, another co. came by to fix the now warped wood floor. Finally, new appliances and replacement cupboards came.
Pretty good investment of $200 per year.
If you don't have insurance, there is probably a listing under Fire Restoration somewhere, but as I mentioned, my insurance agent organized absolutely everything.
My family had a car fire and most of the house was smoke damaged. The insurance and cleaning company took care of it. When they dropped everything off there were things missing and some things were damaged. We felt violated.
Please make sure you have a detailed list of all the things leaving your home! We still are not certain if items are simply misplaced or were been taken by the cleaning crew. ('clean-up crew' more like it)
wende's right... well, *almost* right!
The company is ServePro, which is indeed part of the ServiceMaster group of companies.
Also, try the good old Yellow Pages... I believe "Disaster Recovery."