What Can SERVPRO do to Retain the Character of a Dining Room after Fire Damage?

10/22/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO will bring new life back to your dining room after a fire incident. Call us today at (850) 863-2552 for assistance.

Mary Esther Homeowners Need an Understanding Restoration Team.

Dining rooms are great for formal occasions, such as throwing a dinner party or entertaining guests. A dining room can be a valuable addition to a Mary Esther home, providing class, elegance, and a place to show off your skills as a host. They also often have sentimentally significant items such as beautiful dishware and carefully chosen décor.

If you suffer fire damage to your Mary Esther home's dining room, it can feel devastating. Of course, you do not want to replace all your belongings unless it is unavoidable. Not only does replacing items cost money, but many of them have memories attached that you do not want to lose. That is why you need a cleanup crew like SERVPRO – we always try to restore items rather than replace them if we can. We train our team to be aware of fire damage's emotional impact and the stress of seeing your belongings damaged. Our teams understand how difficult the aftermath of a blaze can be, and we are here to make it easier for you.

Can you protect your dining room from fire damage?

Prevention is always better than remediation. There are several steps you can take to protect your dining room:

• If you must use candles on the table, keep them away from anything flammable, and never leave them unattended
• If possible, switch to LED candles and lanterns, which look as good but are much safer
• Keep warming trays away from flammable material, and make sure cords and plugs are in good condition
• Do not let drapes or table cloths cover heaters

Pay attention to the kitchen too – many home fires start there. Do not leave hot pans of food unattended, and be mindful of fire hazards such as frayed or trailing wires. Keep pets and small children away from stoves, appliances, hot food, and trailing tablecloths. 

What happens when SERVPRO arrives?

The first step is a thorough assessment of your dining room and the fire damage. We create a cleaning plan and discuss it with you before we begin. We also take inventory of your belongings and note down what we can save, what we cannot keep, and what needs further consideration before we make a decision. 

We make the area safe before cleaning commences. This might include:

• Pumping away excess water from firefighting
• Boarding up the windows
• Putting a tarp on the roof
• Setting up a safe electricity supply for our equipment

When the area is secure, we commence cleanup.

Is it possible to save drapes and blinds?

SERVPRO of Fort Walton Beach offers a range of cleaning options for drapes and blinds:

• Hot water extraction and dry cleaning are both effective on soot-damaged drapes
• Ultrasonic cleaning is ideal for Venetian blinds
• Individual blind slats can be taken down and wet-cleaned, followed by dry vacuuming

We can combine cleaning methods to find the best one for the situation. Our technicians thoroughly test each material before cleaning to ensure the chosen cleaning method is safe for the item at hand.

What about carpets and rugs?

We use a range of cleaning chemicals and extractors to tackle smoke-damaged floor coverings. We start by testing the fibers to determine which cleaning method is safest for each kind and to ensure the color will not run. We can also clean sooty residues from wooden or marble floors.

In the event of needing to replace the carpets, we can arrange for the new ones to be fitted.

Should you toss out dishware and crystal?

Dishware is sensitive to heat and often fares poorly during a fire. However, do not despair. Our technicians know how to examine dishware for tiny signs of stress fractures, many of which only become visible during the cleaning process. We can use powerful detergents and even ultrasonic cleaning to restore dishware.

Crystal items such as vases, decanters, and candelabras, are incredibly fragile. Smoke residue can cause surface etching, while detergents and cleaning machines can damage the metallic trims and decorative accents. We clean all crystalware by hand and examine it thoroughly for signs of damage.

How about table decorations?

As well as crystal items, you might be concerned about tablecloths, napkins, and even dried flower arrangements. We can brush, vacuum, and launder linens and apply spot cleaners to stubborn stains. We can even clean dried flower arrangements with gentle brushing, compressed air, and by gently shaking them in a bag with some salt.

Is it possible to restore wallpaper and paint?

It is possible to use dry and wet cleaning to remove soot residue from the walls in some cases. If the paper is too fire-damaged or the paint is stained beyond repair, we will supervise re-hanging and re-painting.

For help rescuing your dining room after fire damage, call SERVPRO of Fort Walton Beach at (850) 863-2552.