Professional Cleanup Necessary After Cooking Fires
Even if you quickly control a Middletown home cooking blaze, clearing away the residues can be impossible. Restoration after fire damage is challenging because of the characteristics of the soot, how far it spreads from the ignition site in the kitchen, and the horrible odor it creates.
Protein-Based Soot Basics
Food ingredients exposed to excessive heat eventually dehydrate, breaking into tiny particles that mix with any nearby oil or grease. Heated past their smoking points, oils and grease become rancid. The combination of powdered food bits and grease becomes airborne on hot currents, swiftly spreading through the cooking areas and drifting far from the kitchen, depositing on surfaces in a transparent, varnish-like coating.
When trying to clean the brownish film clinging to the sides and bottoms of cooking pans, you learn these deposits do not come off in hot water and dish soap paired with "elbow grease" scrubbing. The protein soot spread after a kitchen fire acts precisely like this coating, complicating cooking fire damage restoration in Middletown. Removing these residues requires research-based interventions from trained technicians using specialized products, tools, and techniques.
Fire Damage Restoration Challenge Accepted
The team from LightSpeed of Orange County mastered the science of protein-based soot removal through coursework and hands-on training from the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC). We assess the kitchen and move through your home to locate other surfaces damaged by the residues. It is critical to address all the soot, even in far-flung rooms. The coating seems invisible but will discolor and break down building materials over time. Persistent malodors accompany the soot.
Protein-Based Soot Cleanup Elements
IICRC-trained LightSpeed crews will test various products for efficacy, trying cleaners and techniques in inconspicuous places before using the selected methodology throughout your home. We rely on:
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Chemical Action
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An oil-based solvent or emulsifier will break the bond between the damaged surface and the soot.
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Oil and detergent-based cleaners possess dual properties that disperse the oily residues by attracting the oil with one end of the cleaner's molecule (its hydrophobic property) and allowing the other water-attractive end of the molecule (its hydrophilic property) to surround and rinse away the residue.
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Agitation
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To enhance scrubbing, we add grit to cleaning solutions (creme pastes) and employ the judicious use of abrasive tools (scrapers, wire brushes, steel wool) or both.
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Managing agitation requires skilled and experienced IICRC-certified technicians to avoid scratching surfaces. The scrapes and scoring on a scoured pan illustrate the permanent surface damage vigorous DIY scrubbing causes.
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Heat
Adjusting the temperature assists cleaners in breaking up residues, but using heat around oily surfaces requires professional application and supervision.
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Dwell Time
Giving cleaning agents time to dissolve or emulsify the soot is essential but must be monitored by an expert to avoid damaging the underlying surface.
Deodorization
Thorough source removal cleaning is the first step in eliminating cooking fire odors. LightSpeed also relies on advanced neutralizing technologies, including oxidative treatments such as hydroxyl generation and thermal fogging. These interventions change the odor-bearing particles' chemical composition or replicate the fire's conditions to pair deodorizing particles with the stench-bearing dehydrated food and oils. We work on odor elimination until the smell dissipates completely, understanding that techniques might need several applications for success.
Call (845) 682-3828 after a kitchen blaze to schedule an assessment from Lightspeed Restoration of Orange County. We have the resources to deliver comprehensive kitchen fire damage restoration in Middletown.