Rug Cleaning for Fire Damaged High-Quality Carpet and Upholstery

5/15/2022 (Permalink)

Protect your high-quality carpet and upholstery investment. For professional assistance after a fire, call us at (901) 382-0900, 24/7.

Rug Cleaning for High-Quality Carpet and Upholstery After a Fire

The highest-quality carpet and upholstery can show soiling over time, especially after experiencing fire damage. These pieces of functional decor can be priceless, timeless, and a large investment. Protect your investment by having your Persian rugs maintained by a professional service.

SERVPRO of East Memphis offers several cleaning options to match any type of carpet and upholstery:

• Bonnet Cleaning, a less aggressive method for short pile carpets
• Hot Water Extraction, a more in-depth cleaning method for all carpet types
• Deluxe Precondition and Rinse, to restore deeply soiled areas
• Showcase Premier Cleaning, the most thorough cleaning method in the industry
• Dry Cleaning, used when color-fastness is an issue

After a fire, more than carpets and upholstery are damaged. That is why, as cleaning professionals, we have equipment to clean varieties of surfaces and materials.

Cleaning vs. Replacing

Heat can burn flammable materials inside a structure, forcing removal and replacement of those materials, but the smoke coming from the blaze can also cause soils, soot residues, and intense aromas that are easier to restore. 

Our experienced and trained SERVPRO team knows that mitigating fire damage includes a variety of replacing, restoring, and cleaning techniques. Various fire residues adhere to each surface in your home differently, and we can help with it all.

Dry Smoke

Most fires go through stages of creating both wet and dry smoke. However, usually fires will have more of one type than the other. Dry smoke is created by fast-burning, oxygen-rich burns. Dry smoke is also usually created when organic materials like wood, paper, or natural fabrics burn.

Wet Smoke

Whether a fire produces a majority of wet or dry smoke depends on the amount of oxygen present, the combustion rate, and the type of substance that is burning. When the fire is starved of oxygen and burns at a lower temperature, it produces wet smoke. Wet smoke is also created when synthetic materials such as rubber or plastic burn. Wet smoke usually adheres strongly to surfaces and is difficult to remove. 

Cleaning Techniques

When our SERVPRO technicians work with hard surfaces, we can use water based-detergents and other wet cleaning methods. However, for porous surfaces, wet techniques could cause the soot to soak deeper into the material. Dry cleaning methods that use agitation can prove useful in these cases.

Dry Cleaning: Light Agitation

SERVPRO conducts the dry cleaning agitation technique with softer tools such as dusters or brushes. Special vacuums are also useful when removing some soot residues and using compressed air to blow off the soot.

Dry Cleaning: Medium Agitation

Residues that adhere to some of your contents and building surface materials could work better in medium agitation cleaning techniques. Dry sponges are an example of a medium agitation method, and they can be useful when removing soot residues from drywall. Dusting cloths or crumbling cleaners that work like a pencil eraser are also useful.

Future Preventative Maintenance

Carpets act as a filter, trapping dust, dirt, gases, animal hair, and other soils. All carpet manufacturers agree on actions you can take between carpet cleanings to increase the lifespan of your carpet.

IICRC states that 79% of soil in carpet is dry soil. Vacuuming is a key component to proper care and maintenance of carpet.

Preventative maintenance actions include: 

• Regular vacuuming
• Spot removal
• Pilating the carpet to prevent matting
• Moving furniture to change traffic patterns
• Using walk-off mats to limit the amount of soil tracked onto the carpet

SERVPRO has the necessary tools, techniques and knowledge to save your rugs after fire damage. Protect your high-quality carpet and upholstery investment. For professional assistance after a fire, call us at (901) 382-0900, 24/7.