Smoke damage nearly always occurs after a house fire – but it doesn’t all happen at once. In fact, smoke particles can continue doing damage to your home and your belongings long after the fire’s been put out by professionals.

Here’s how smoke damage works – and why you need to call a fire and smoke damage remediation specialist as soon as possible after a house fire.

The Anatomy of Smoke Damage After a Fire

Once the fire is put out, smoke particles still remain in your home. Here’s how it happens.

Minutes After the Fire Starts

Minutes after the fire starts, smoke starts to settle around your home. It can get sucked up in air vents, too, which means it can land far from the fire. When it settles, it turns into soot. Soot can discolor porous materials, and the discoloration is usually permanent.

Hours After the Fire is Out

Soot can tarnish metal, corrode it and cause pitting. It can even get inside your appliances and electronics, doing damage minute-by-minute. The stains on walls and in clothing, furniture and other fabrics become permanent. It turns fiberglass yellow, which is permanent, and the grout between your tiles becomes permanently discolored.

Days After the Fire is Out

Days later, smoke particles begin to cause permanent yellowing in carpet – and it becomes impossible to remove smoke odors from other fabrics, too. If it’s on silver, the silver is irreparably corroded; it also begins to etch glass, china and crystal.

It’s imperative that you get in touch with a fire and smoke damage restoration expert immediately after a fire to mitigate all these problems – we may be able to help salvage your home and belongings if you get in touch with us quickly enough.

Do You Need a Disaster Remediation Expert in Washtenaw County?

Check out our services and call 734-352-9183 for your free disaster remediation quote today. We offer: