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How to Salvage a Smoke Damaged House

Contributor
By eHow Contributing Writer
(2 Ratings)

Although fire can cause a great deal of damage to a house, smoke and water damage can create damage in areas that the fire didn't touch. When you're faced with smoke damage, you'll need to decide how to salvage your home. If you're able to, you should hire a restoration expert to help you decide what can be salvaged and how to go about it.

Difficulty: Challenging
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Check with your insurance company about your policy, what is covered and whether they recommend a professional fire restorer. Even if your insurance doesn't cover a professional restorer you may want to consider hiring one yourself. Generally, they'll be better able to get the soot and odor out of your home easier than you will on your own.

  2. Step 2

    Hire a professional fire restorer who has experience in handling a situation like yours. Most services will help you determine what can be saved and provide you with an estimate of what will need to be done. They'll also help you avoid further damage to various parts of your home that can be salvaged.

  3. Step 3

    Remove as much of the odor source as you can. This means that you may need to replace drywall, boards, ceiling tiles and other structural elements to get the main source of the odor out. You'll want to do this before trying chemical processes or paints.

  4. Step 4

    Replace all insulation in your home if it has absorbed any smoke odor. It's very difficult to impossible to get the smell out of insulation so you'll be better off tearing it out and replacing it later once you've done other recommended treatments.

  5. Step 5

    Have a professional use a thermal fogging or other treatment in order to get the smoke odor out of your walls. With the heat of the fire, pores in your walls open and let smoke and odor in. As the house cools, the pores close back up trapping the odor. If you don't get the smell out, you'll notice it from time to time, particularly when it's damp outside.

  6. Step 6

    Chemically seal your heating and cooling ducts to trap smoke odors. Smoke often gets trapped in vents and ducts. Sealing the odors to the ducts will prevent it from filtering through the air later.

  7. Step 7

    Use paint sealing products like Kilz to seal the areas that you can, such as joists, rafters and studs. These products will seal the odor in so that you won't find it in the air later on. The process can be costly and time consuming if you do it yourself.

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