Month: September 2021

Fire damage restoration is the only way to completely address a fire and its aftermath. Whenever a property goes up in flames–whether it’s minor or major damage–there will be lingering effects. Water used to put the flames out can combine with smoke, soot, and the contents of your structure. The result is a toxic mix of hazardous damages that make the property dangerous to occupy. 

Unfortunately, the need for fire damage restoration is quite common. Soil-Away’s specialists have seen enough fire cases to know that there are commonalities between every scenario. Call the damage restoration experts at Soil-Away today for a consultation – 603-641-6555.

Fire Damage Restoration for A Space Heater-Related Fire

One of the most common reasons for fires is space heaters. These small but powerful devices easily blend in with other appliances. We forget they are there during the hustle and bustle of everyday life. However, leaving a space heater on can lead to terrible consequences. Firefighters cite space heaters as a major cause for fire damage in homes and offices. Despite the boasts of the manufacturers regarding their safety, leaving them powered up unattended can lead to destructive blazes. One reason this occurs so often is because we overlook them.

In the event of a space heater-related fire, Soil-Away can mitigate any damages and restore your belongings to pre-fire conditions. Following the water needed to extinguish the flames, our truck-mounted extraction units can remove any standing water. In addition, our team uses powerful HEPA air scrubbers, air movers, industrial fans, and dehumidifiers to remove excessive moisture and humidity from the premises. These thorough tactics can help prevent black mold or other biohazards from developing in your surroundings.

Cooking Accidents

As another common reason for fires, cooking accidents can happen within seconds. Before you know it, your kitchen wall might be marked with soot. Heavy smoke will linger behind, contaminating everything, including your foundations and cabinets. A kitchen fire is no joke, often causing extensive damage before being put out. Once this occurs, you’ll need to retain Soil-Away’s restoration services.

Our experts will use special hydrometers and other moisture detectors to find any hidden pockets of moisture within walls or under flooring. Any walls or flooring that are beyond repair will be disposed of. In turn, we can salvage belongings by way of a strict cleaning process, which completely eliminates the fire smell and soot spots. Once everything is processed, all salvaged and restored contents will be brought back onto the premises. This process includes a post-inspection to evaluate the results of our restoration.

Aggressive Storms

A high-level storm can be responsible for creating or spreading fires. Your property, no matter when it was originally built, can suffer from water, lightning, and wind damage. All three can create electrical shorts when walls or foundations are hit with enough force. An aggressive storm spreads fire across a property, which means soot and smoke will overtake every structure in the nearby area. While you can take some precautions to avoid heavy storm damage, it is impossible to protect everything 100%. Storms are obviously chaotic and unpredictable. A freak accident is just that, which means you need a follow-up plan to address the aftermath. 

Fire Damage Restoration with Soil-Away

Soil-Away offers commercial loss restoration, including solutions for damaged appliances, fixtures, carpets, floors, and other surviving contents. The goal is to return your items back to a quality at least equal to or better than pre-loss conditions. At Soil-Away, we also have experts for mold removal, remediation and prevention, HVAC duct cleaning, and other specialized areas. Call us at (603) 641-6555 or visit our website today if you have experienced fire damage.

Mold remediation is key to salvaging any soft goods in the aftermath of a flood. When a basement floods, the lifespan of your submerged belongings ticks away, and every second can make the difference between saving those items and tossing them in the garbage. Without the proper response, submerged belongings like stuffed animals, sports equipment, and backpacks will not have a high chance of survival. Professional remediation is the best way to properly clean the toxicity from your prized possessions.

While flooding is generally associated with total destruction, innovations in the field of mold remediation have led to more effective means for salvaging affected items. For example, dehumidifiers have increased the chance of restoration for textiles and soft contents. Basement flooding can be quite disastrous, with low success rates of restoration. However, Soil-Away has perfected soft goods restoration by following the important steps of removal and sanitation. In the event of flooding, the Esporta Wash System can sanitize soft contents from water damage or mold.

Restoring Textiles and Soft Contents

Better restoration of textiles and soft contents depends on factors such as odor, spot and bacteria removal. Soft goods like heavy clothing, camping gear, and regular bedding accessories can be salvaged by using efficient technology, like the Esporta iS4000 Wash System.

With the iS4000, jobs require 35% less water consumption than e traditional laundry methods. The Esporta is not as wasteful, making the restoration more successful. Financial and mental costs can add up whenever sentimental belongings are lost in flooding. The aftermath of such disasters is a prime period for mold to set in, which means you need to make a decision sooner rather than later. Soil-Away uses a fully-integrated closed system, with hardware (the machine), detergents, and software (the recipes) to achieve the cleanest job possible. 

The Esporta can save your child’s teddy bears and blankets. We can remove the majority of mold and mildew, without any lingering odors or spots. We aim to sanitize items to a food-grade safe. 

Mold Remediation for Sports Equipment

In the flooding scenario, sports uniforms and equipment are often vulnerable due to how they’re stored. After all, these items are typically put away seasonally, and basements are an ideal place to put them out of sight. However, a basement flood will expose them to bacterial elements, often penetrating foam and fabric, which makes removal very difficult. While traditional washing applications use components from various vendors (detergents) to remove bacteria on a physical level without scientific or laboratory considerations, our specialists use the Esporta Wash System to make a complete post-flood recovery. 

The chance of success is high that we can sanitize soft contents to a food-grade safety level. This eliminates excessive mold from your hockey pads, sneakers, and baseball gloves. We provide effective cleaning, freshening, and disinfection of the belongings you care about most. When possible, we have a 24-hour turnaround timetable on emergency and sentimental items. On top of saving the items, this speed also leads to faster claim settlements. We work hard to organize what is salvageable and what isn’t.

For example, we inventory, document, and dispose of any items that are too far gone. This removes the task from your list of responsibilities so you can begin rebuilding from a serious situation. Our mold remediation team will meet your timeline head-on. Once you regain your belongings, you can start to rebuild. We offer a thorough investigation and removal of all traces of mold. 

Soil-Away Erases Mold and Bacteria

Your belongings each have their own value, both sentimental and actual. Our goal is to help restore each one so you don’t have to associate them with something as terrible as a flooded basement. This is one mess that Soil-Away’s Esporta-certified operators can help you remedy. We have saved clients millions of dollars in replacement costs and erased the damage from just as many personal belongings. Our storm damage restoration, biohazard remediation, and furniture/carpet cleaning are top-notch services. Call us at (603) 641-6555 or visit our website for more information. 

You know what soot damage looks like. We have all seen nightly news reports of buildings that caught fire, with towers of smoke and wet interiors. Soot leaves dark physical markings, but it also works as an airborne pollutant due to microscopic particles floating around. In the wake of a fire, soot claims its territory, which means it takes an expert service to remove it.

Debris and soot go hand-in-hand in a figurative sense. You cannot have a clean and safe environment with either around, and leaving both unattended only leads to more damage. Delay just makes the problems worse. Contact Soil-Away when you have difficult-to-remove soot damage. Our leading-edge technology, proven restoration techniques, and industrial-grade cleaning products will guarantee quality results in less time than you might expect.

Soot Versus HEPA Vacuums

Generally speaking, property post-fire needs a lot of attention because the removal takes several layers of work. After all, it’s likely that debris and soot have contaminated both the interior and exterior of the property, which complicates matters. 

In the event of a fire, it is commonplace for the HVAC duct system to be contaminated by airborne pollutants like residual soot, dust, and the beginnings of mold. When the goal is to restore a clean and healthy environment, Soil-Away’s technicians use HEPA vacuums and filtration systems to clean every affected area. For the air duct system, we thoroughly remove those airborne pollutants from the property.

In addition, we clean any salvageable items. This includes regular appliances, fixtures, carpets, flooring, and other surviving contents. During this cleaning process, we can restore each item to pre-loss conditions. We make sure your belongings are up to code and thoroughly sanitized and deodorized.

Smoke and Odors

After the fire is out, the smoke residue and other odors cling to every surface. Soot is difficult to remove because it’s only the beginning of the clean-up. That’s why we thoroughly follow the appropriate cleaning steps to remove all traces. You don’t want lingering odors to irritate you.

Over the years, we developed and perfected our techniques. This is because every scenario is a bit different in scope. For example, a small, confined fire will have a concentrated dose of soot, which makes it more difficult to remove. A large structural blaze will leave behind a pervasive smoky odor that tends to spread into unseen nooks, which means the approach needs to be more investigative. Regardless of the details, Soil-Away is certified and equipped to remediate the noxious odors from materials and contents, large or small.

Our employees are certified by the IICRC. We are NH’s first operator of the Esporta Wash System. Several team members work efficiently and safely to restore your contents. Our goal is to return your belongings and structures back to a quality at least equal to or better than pre-loss conditions.

Side Effects of Soot Damage

Damaged structural and flooring components often must be replaced with fresh materials because soot often comes packaged with side effects, such as moisture pockets that work as a breeding ground for mold and toxic particles. Historically, mold can settle in places where there is plenty of oxygen, excess moisture, and an untreated organic surface. In the wake of a fire, pipes are covered in soot and leak in hidden places. Removal only comes with a thorough sweep of the property. Soot is difficult to remove because contaminants can hide inside walls and go undetected for some time.

Pre-Loss Conditions Despite Soot Damage 

Soil-Away works with insurance carriers, property management companies, major corporations, and homeowners to restore everything to pre-loss conditions. While fires can cause costly losses for commercial property owners, our team can mitigate damages, clean up the disaster, and restore your facility despite soot contamination. We use state-of-the-art technology and methods to help you overcome soot damage.

Defeating Soot Damage with Soil-Away

Any unsalvageable soot-contaminated items will be removed and immediately, inventoried, and properly disposed of. We’ll use a HEPA vacuum to remove unwanted contaminants from the area. We also use HEPA sanding and dry-ice blasting to help remove any signs of mold or soot damage. Once we complete removal and sanitation, we dry the area with large fans and dehumidifiers. Soil-Away Cleaning and Restoration Services is one of the largest independent cleaning and restoration companies in New England. We have experts ready to respond to your needs at any time, day or night. Call us now at (603) 641-6555.