Redding Homeowners Appreciate When SERVPRO Rescues Their Fire-Damaged Furnishings

1/6/2020 (Permalink)

SERVPRO Restores Fire Damaged Content in Redding Area Homes

Actions from SERVPRO Help Save Wooden Items Affected By a Damaging Fire Incident in Redding

A fire that affected the ground floor sections of a Redding home was stopped before causing significant damages. When the homeowner called SERVPRO to clean up and restore the damaged areas, there were clear indicators that she wanted her wooden furniture items restored.

Restoring wooden items after fire damage incidents in Redding is possible under certain circumstances, so our SERVPRO technicians first scoped the loss site before making any commitment. Scoping would help establish the type of finishes on the materials and the extent of the damage.

The type of finish an item dictates the types of cleaning procedures that can be used successfully to remove residues from its surface. At the Redding home, many of the items had a varnish finish so we could wipe off residues or use mild, wet cleaning processes. However, the interior sections of cabinets and bottom parts of drawers would require other procedures because of the unfinished wood. The texture of such surfaces is rough, inhibiting cleaning processes such as wiping off residues. The open pores also allow residues to penetrate beyond the surface. However, our technicians easily overcame these challenges by using dry cleaning sponges and denatured alcohol to remove all traces of residues.

For items close to the source of the fire, the damage was more than just the residue deposit. The heat had scorched some parts of these items while others were stained with soot. However, there was no blistering, so it was still possible to restore the items without needing to refinish them. For these areas, our technicians used a semi-refinishing approach by applying a solvent-based cleaner to remove the ultrathin top layer of the finish. We also had to agitate the areas to get the desired results. Extra-fine steel wool, grade 0000, helped add the necessary coarseness to the agitation process without damaging the finishes.

Saving contents helps reduce the restoration cost and preserves items with sentimental value. Call SERVPRO of Danbury / Ridgefield at (203) 791-0920 to help salvage your contents from the effects of an incident, "Like it never even happened."