Holmdel Home Smells after a House Fire? No Worries, SERVPRO Has the Skilled Technicians and the Gear for Abatement

11/12/2019 (Permalink)

When the Red Fire Truck Leaves the Fire Damaged Holmdel Home--The SERVPRO Green Fleet Arrives

Why SERVPRO Uses a Selection of Smoke Odor Removal Equipment After Fire Damage in Holmdel

The odors a fire leaves behind in your Holmdel home can be tough to remove. Even after our team of talented technicians work hard to remove all the visible signs of heat and soot on surfaces, the lingering smells make it impossible to forget the fear and worry you and your family experienced when the flames swept through. Deep cleaning and debris removal do not always eliminate the malodors, why we cycle through various types of equipment to find a solution.

Odor Removal Is a Process

Determining the source of odors caused by fire damage to your Holmdel home is not a straightforward task. We toil until we are satisfied we have cleared away all the debris and residues possible. Any odor remaining is why we need to focus on the tiny particles of soot that are still airborne or settled in cracks and crevices. The solids in smoke are incompletely combusted materials, and they can hold on to the stench conventional cleaning cannot remove.

Fogging Machines

Our technicians use an Ultra Low Volume (ULV) mister for “wet” fogging. Water-based deodorants are atomized into a fine mist, creating a deodorant fog of particles 20 to 60 microns in size. They are small enough to penetrate spaces where the tiny odor-bearing solids settle. ULV misters are employed in HVAC system deodorization and in covering inaccessible areas like attics and crawl spaces. Thermal foggers work by recreating the conditions experienced during the fire, combusting solvent foggers work or petroleum-based deodorizer. The minute particles generated pair with odor-bearing molecules, causing a chemical reaction that eliminates rather than masks the smells. The success of these methods is why SERVPRO tries these options in many cases.

Ozone Generators and Photocatalytic Oxidizers

Ozone machines create an unstable gas that reacts with the odor-carrying molecules to oxidize them, removing the odor. Pets and inhabitants need to vacate the premises during the treatment. Photocatalytic oxidizers, also knowns as hydroxyl generators, use UV rays to produce hydroxyl radicals to break the odor-bearing bits into water and carbon dioxide. Advanced training is why SERVPRO technicians can explain how this process is safer to use in the presence of humans and animals.

Air Scrubbers and Ventilation Equipment

Negative pressure air scrubbers pull contaminated air through HEPA filters, removing malodorous particles. High-velocity air movers create a flow of 1000 to 3000 cubic feet of air per minute, clearing odors, fumes, and vapors. Airborne residues and vapors are why SERVPRO uses air movers after thermal fogging, exchanging the air 40 or more times to ensure air quality is optimized.

Our commitment to the science of odor removal is why SERVPRO of Aberdeen / Holmdel employs the above equipment and other strategies to remove the smells that persist after fire damage. Call us at (732) 290-3170 for a fire recovery consultation, including an odor removal plan.