Who to Call for Smoke Damage

Picking up the pieces after a house fire can be a stressful and challenging process, but it’s important that you take action quickly to prevent further damage to your home and to protect your health. The best professional to hire to deal with smoke damage is a smoke restoration company. These pros have specialized experience and equipment to remove stubborn smoke odors and stains and bring your living space back to normal.

Benefits of Hiring a Smoke Restoration Company After a House Fire

Hiring a smoke restoration company near you following a house fire offers a number of benefits that you won’t get from other professionals.

• Thorough inspection: Professional smoke remediation specialists will start their work with a thorough inspection of the entire home, looking for signs of smoke and ash damage. They have specific experience in identifying smoke damage, so they’re more likely to catch things like damaged structural components than other pros.

• Comprehensive work: Smoke damage restoration specialists can tackle every portion of the job and treat different types of smoke damage, from the initial inspection to removing odors and even replacing damaged materials. You’d otherwise have to hire multiple professionals to get that kind of work done.

• They work quickly: Smoke damage specialists are used to working on tight schedules following dire damage, so they’re likely to be able to get to your project more quickly than a general contractor or handyperson. This expediency is especially important for house fire restoration when insurance companies are involved.

• They’re familiar with insurance companies: If your home has smoke damage following a fire resulting from a covered incident, your homeowners insurance policy likely includes smoke damage remediation. Smoke damage restoration pros work with insurance companies often, so they can often help expedite the approval process and ensure your provider has all the documentation they need at every step of the way.

Can I Hire a Handyperson to Get Rid of Smoke Damage?

While a local handyperson may advertise that they offer smoke damage restoration services, they likely don’t have the same tools and training as full smoke remediation crews. For your safety, it’s always best to work with fire damage specialists. Not only are specialists more likely to have the tools and experience to remove stubborn smoke odors, but they’re also better trained to find hidden structural damage that could be an issue down the road.

How Do Pros Get Rid of Smoke Damage?

The smoke damage restoration process begins by removing ash and any materials that are damaged beyond repair. Next, your pro will replace materials like drywall, flooring, and trim that aren’t salvageable. They’ll then seal your HVAC ducts to prevent the soot and odors from spreading through your home and clean soot and visible smoke damage in your living space. They’ll then make necessary HVAC repairs or replacements.

Smoke odors are persistent and may require multiple treatments to eradicate. Professionals often carry out ozone smoke removal to break down odor-causing debris and residue in your home. They may schedule additional ozone treatments and deep cleanings in the future to ensure they get rid of smells and smoke stains.

How Much Does Smoke Damage Restoration Cost?

Smoke damage restoration costs an average of $4,000, but prices can range from $250 up to $10,000 or more, depending on the extent of the damage and the methods your pro needs to use to correct the problem. Remediating smoke damage after a small kitchen fire is considerably more affordable than a fire that damages an entire home.

Aside from smoke remediation, some areas of fire damage restoration may include the following:

• Water damage

• Soot removal

• Damaged item removal

• Duct cleaning

• Furniture deodorizing

• Thermal fogging

• Ozone treatment

DIY vs. Hiring a Pro for Smoke Damage Restoration

You should always hire a professional fire damage restoration company after a fire. Most homeowners insurance policies cover the cost if the fire is caused by a covered event, so it should not come at any cost to you beyond your deductible. Even considering your deductible, hiring a pro is well worth the money.

Professionals have the necessary tools and experience to do a thorough inspection and clear all of the damage in your home at a much faster pace than homeowners. DIYing smoke remediation means you might not do as thorough of a job and leave your home susceptible to further damage or expose your family to health problems. Your best option is to relocate after smoke damage and let the professionals handle the remediation.

Further, if you’re thinking about hiring a smoke restoration company, that means you and your family have clearly just undergone a traumatic event. Take this time to focus on your mental health (and your long list of other tasks you likely have) and let the pros handle the fire damage restoration process.

Extent of Fire or Smoke Damage from Household Fire

Not all fires cause total destruction, and the amount of damage impacts how much you’ll pay for restoration. The largest portion of restoration projects (33.9%) involves smoke damage but little to no fire damage. Only about 10% of fire restoration projects focus on repairing structures that have burned down completely.