Fire Damage Repair: How To Clean Up After A Grease Fire

While cleaning up after a grease fire is similar to a common fire, it does pose its own specific complications. Here are seven tips for cleaning up after a grease fire from our fire damage repair experts at Restoration of Greater Charlotte serving the Charlotte area. 

Vacuum Up Soot

The soot left behind by a fire is incredibly dirty and dangerous. Removing it is a critical step in the fire damage repair process. Soot easily spreads and stains. What’s more, inhaling soot particles is extremely dangerous. It has been known to cause conditions as serious as lung cancer. Thus vacuuming the soot should be done with caution and only when wearing the appropriate protective respiratory gear. 

Dry Clean Soot Stains

When cleaning soot stains, you should begin by wiping them down with a dry rag or sponge first. This should be able to remove the majority of soot stains in the kitchen. There will, however, likely be some stains left behind that need to be removed using moisture. 

Wet Clean Soot Stains

For the final step of removing soot stains, you should scrub with a wet sponge and soap designed to fight grease. Take care that you don’t scrub too vigorously, however, since doing so can cause the soot to scratch and damage the material it is on. 

Ventilate Your Kitchen

A grease fire is very intense and quick. As a result, it can quickly spread smoke throughout your kitchen and entire home. You will want to begin ventilating your home as soon as you can after a flood. To do this, open up all your doors and windows and use fans throughout the home to increase the natural air circulation. Also, you should avoid being in your home after the fire without respiratory protection since inhaling the smoke and soot is extremely hazardous. 

Prime and Paint Walls

Once the odor has been removed from the kitchen (and possibly the entire home), it’s important to recognize that the paint on the walls can absorb some of the smoky odor. To cover this up, you can prime and paint over the walls to trap in the odor. 

Polish or Refinish Wood

If the soot stain was minor, you have a good chance of being able to completely remove it. Once you’ve cleaned the stain, use a wood polish to bring back the luster of the wood and restore it to its former glory. 

Fire Damage Repair In Charlotte

In an ideal world, a grease fire is never something you have to deal with. Nonetheless, it’s always better to be overprepared than underprepared so should a grease fire ever happen in your home, we hope you find these tips helpful for putting it out. When it comes to restoring the damage from the fire, give us a call at Restoration 1 of Greater Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina. Our fire damage repair technicians will provide you with the assurance that you will receive the best quality fire damage repair care available.