What You Need to Do After a House Fire

According to the National Fire Protection Association, there were 369,500 house fires in 2013. This means a lot of people had to find a restoration contractor in Billings, MT, and other parts of the country. What follows are a few steps you should and should not take after a fire.

Steps to Take

Before you go into your home, you have to assess the safety of the situation. If it isn’t advisable for you to be in the house, you should not be in there. Once it is safe enough for you to enter your home, you can:

Tape cheesecloth over air registries to assist filtration of air.

  • Limit embedding soot particles into carpets by placing clean towels or old, clean linens on rugs and carpet areas.
  • Try to save your plants by washing both sides of the leaves.
  • Use petroleum jelly to protect and clean any chrome fixtures in your house.

Most fire damage in Billings will require the work of a restoration professional. However, the above steps can be taken to prep the area.

Steps to Avoid

You can do some cleaning on your own, but you cannot do everything. You will need an expert of restoration in Billings. Consider these tips:

Don’t send your clothes to an ordinary dry cleaner because he or she may not know how to properly rid your clothes of smoke.

  • Don’t clean electrical appliances on your own because a technician will be able to better assess the usefulness and safety of cleaning the appliances.
  • Don’t shampoo carpet or upholstery or wash your walls without an expert because you may end up staining the walls or furniture irreparably.

Try to avoid doing too much because you don’t want to cause more harm than good.

Talk to a Professional

 

Call a fire damage specialist to get help right away and better assess your situation. A restoration contractor in Billings, MT, will be able to help you get back to normal after disaster strikes.