Can you help guide us with post-fire cleaning ?
January 18, 2018 8:14 PM Subscribe
We had a fire and everything is heavily smoke damaged. What can we try to salvage on our own? What can we expect from cleaning companies? Difficulty level: 1-year old baby.
Over two weeks ago there was a fire in the apartment we're renting. One room was ruined by fire and the rest of the apartment has heavy smoke damage.
We've been in contact with a cleaning company through our insurance company who came and did a walkthrough. We've also called others for comparison but we're running into two issues. 1) It seems every company is inundated right now with other business due to the cold weather, and 2) we had a low coverage amount on our renters insurance policy--our company and other companies have told us that the job would likely exceed our limit, so assuming we only have that money to spend, it means they wouldn't make much money on the job. As a result, communication with our cleaning company has been infrequent and no progress has been made--our stuff has been sitting in a closed up, smoky apartment for 2.5 weeks.
The company we've been in contact with has basically told us not to think about what we want to get rid of, but to think about the few items from each room that we'd want to try to save. The rest we just get a dumpster I guess. We've already moved out and are planning on signing a lease elsewhere and moving in with basically nothing.
Our first question is what can we try to salvage on our own at this point? For example, what about kitchen items? Can glasses, mugs, plates, silverware, cooking utensils, etc etc be cleaned in a dishwasher? Should we toss anything electronic like the toaster or crockpot? Any general advice about things like clothes, furniture, electronics, luggage, tools, etc, would also be most appreciated.
The other question we have is can anyone give us any kind of ballpark estimate about professional cleaning costs? The companies we're talking to aren't being very specific right now so just hoping to get some kind of sense of what we're looking at. For example, what it might cost if we wanted to just get our living room furniture cleaned, or our dining room set. Or my wife's dresses dry cleaned. I know all these companies are different, there's different economies of scale, etc, but just ballpark. I think it would help give us an idea of what we should be even thinking about trying to save.
Also, we have a 1-year old, and we've been told already that all his stuff is gone, they won't even try to clean it. But we really want to err on the side of caution with everything else as well. How does this change things? Basically, how can we be cautious about potential toxins or carcinogens from the smoke but still be economical when making decisions about what to clean personally vs professionally?
Thank you for your help.
Over two weeks ago there was a fire in the apartment we're renting. One room was ruined by fire and the rest of the apartment has heavy smoke damage.
We've been in contact with a cleaning company through our insurance company who came and did a walkthrough. We've also called others for comparison but we're running into two issues. 1) It seems every company is inundated right now with other business due to the cold weather, and 2) we had a low coverage amount on our renters insurance policy--our company and other companies have told us that the job would likely exceed our limit, so assuming we only have that money to spend, it means they wouldn't make much money on the job. As a result, communication with our cleaning company has been infrequent and no progress has been made--our stuff has been sitting in a closed up, smoky apartment for 2.5 weeks.
The company we've been in contact with has basically told us not to think about what we want to get rid of, but to think about the few items from each room that we'd want to try to save. The rest we just get a dumpster I guess. We've already moved out and are planning on signing a lease elsewhere and moving in with basically nothing.
Our first question is what can we try to salvage on our own at this point? For example, what about kitchen items? Can glasses, mugs, plates, silverware, cooking utensils, etc etc be cleaned in a dishwasher? Should we toss anything electronic like the toaster or crockpot? Any general advice about things like clothes, furniture, electronics, luggage, tools, etc, would also be most appreciated.
The other question we have is can anyone give us any kind of ballpark estimate about professional cleaning costs? The companies we're talking to aren't being very specific right now so just hoping to get some kind of sense of what we're looking at. For example, what it might cost if we wanted to just get our living room furniture cleaned, or our dining room set. Or my wife's dresses dry cleaned. I know all these companies are different, there's different economies of scale, etc, but just ballpark. I think it would help give us an idea of what we should be even thinking about trying to save.
Also, we have a 1-year old, and we've been told already that all his stuff is gone, they won't even try to clean it. But we really want to err on the side of caution with everything else as well. How does this change things? Basically, how can we be cautious about potential toxins or carcinogens from the smoke but still be economical when making decisions about what to clean personally vs professionally?
Thank you for your help.
few items from each room that we'd want to try to save.
I lost everything in the fire*. But worked for place that did rebuilding/cleaning as a tech getting data off of computers and such. From my experience, its hard to give blanket advice - everyone has different priorities for rebuilding**.
To a large extent, you can do a lot of the cleaning. Hard surfaces (mugs, plates, etc.) clean easily. Drapes/rugs you can wash. Might take a few goes. Clothes can be dry cleaned or washed. Sofas/Matresses.... Honestly, for what it costs to rehab them, its almost better just to replace them. But tastes and such vary.
Fire tends to be harder on electronics than it looks like at first. The soot gets all over inside and causes heat dissipation problems and so on. So, getting new compters/Tivos/wifi-router etc. is probably a good idea, especially if they were running at the time. Your toaster and microwave and blender such are likely fine though might smell a bit.
It was about 10 years ago that I did this work. I couldn't tell you what costs were. And really, every job was different. Some people wanted to save the furniture, others the rugs they inherited from Grandma whoever.
Basically, have the pros tackle the stuff you want saved, but can't do yourself. Have your insurance replace stuff that was ruined irreparably. The rest, pick up and move on.
It's not easy, but you'll get there.
*among the things - a signed polaroid of me and Nirvana in OKC 1993. Kurt was making a funny face. It was my most favoritist prized possession of always forever. And its gone like tears in rain.
**you don't mention the reconstruction, so I didn't focus on that. Briefly, unless you know what you are doing, have the pros do it. It will pay off when it comes time to sell.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:15 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
I lost everything in the fire*. But worked for place that did rebuilding/cleaning as a tech getting data off of computers and such. From my experience, its hard to give blanket advice - everyone has different priorities for rebuilding**.
To a large extent, you can do a lot of the cleaning. Hard surfaces (mugs, plates, etc.) clean easily. Drapes/rugs you can wash. Might take a few goes. Clothes can be dry cleaned or washed. Sofas/Matresses.... Honestly, for what it costs to rehab them, its almost better just to replace them. But tastes and such vary.
Fire tends to be harder on electronics than it looks like at first. The soot gets all over inside and causes heat dissipation problems and so on. So, getting new compters/Tivos/wifi-router etc. is probably a good idea, especially if they were running at the time. Your toaster and microwave and blender such are likely fine though might smell a bit.
It was about 10 years ago that I did this work. I couldn't tell you what costs were. And really, every job was different. Some people wanted to save the furniture, others the rugs they inherited from Grandma whoever.
Basically, have the pros tackle the stuff you want saved, but can't do yourself. Have your insurance replace stuff that was ruined irreparably. The rest, pick up and move on.
It's not easy, but you'll get there.
*among the things - a signed polaroid of me and Nirvana in OKC 1993. Kurt was making a funny face. It was my most favoritist prized possession of always forever. And its gone like tears in rain.
**you don't mention the reconstruction, so I didn't focus on that. Briefly, unless you know what you are doing, have the pros do it. It will pay off when it comes time to sell.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:15 PM on January 18, 2018 [1 favorite]
Some of my clothes were recently in a fire and I was able to get the smell and soot out by washing hot with a cup of vinegar and air drying. I repeated that a few times and then washed and dried normally. Certain fabrics lost the smell faster than others.
posted by beyond_pink at 5:58 AM on January 19, 2018
posted by beyond_pink at 5:58 AM on January 19, 2018
Anything that is not absorbent and not plastic you can likely save: glass, ceramics, metal including utensils, etc. Anything that is absorbent goes: couch, mattresses, clothing, bags, etc. Plastic will retain smoke smells and you should plan to pitch it. However, for plastic items you want to try to save, soak them in a solution of water and baking soda for 12 hours, rinse, run through dishwasher and then have a sniff.
posted by DarlingBri at 7:57 AM on January 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by DarlingBri at 7:57 AM on January 19, 2018 [1 favorite]
Clothes-wise, a weird thing we discovered post-fire was that some garments that had been near the fire (in basement, not far from laundry) seemed fine, and did not smell after being washed, but had apparently been weakened by the heat and could be torn into strips with basically no effort. It is best to check for this before you decide to wear the garment out into the world.
posted by little cow make small moo at 8:52 AM on January 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
posted by little cow make small moo at 8:52 AM on January 22, 2018 [1 favorite]
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- I kept my toaster and it continued to work fine until last month or so, but it was already 70 years old so I think that was unrelated to the fire. Microwave was fine, the only thing I tossed was the electric kettle but that's because it was smashed to pieces by the firemen.
- Stuff I threw out without a second glance were my mattress and box spring, some pillows, and my futon couch, as I couldn't imagine the smell ever leaving them.
- I spent about 1k on dry cleaning (no insurance, alas) and everything came out fine, from ratty old sweaters to vintage couture to fur coats.
- I had professional cleaners in and went over the entire place myself both before and afterwards, and I was still finding sooty bits here and there over a year later. It is really hard to envision that literally every single surface of every piece of furniture in your home will need cleaning. Inside drawers and cabinets, the underside of tables, chairs, desks, etc.
- All of my electronics survived except for a bunch of old cellphones which were in a drawer by the hottest part of the fire; all their batteries exploded, which I did not notice until much later and it was very messy.
- I have no idea how much the cleaners cost as my landlord paid for all the repair and cleaning and reconstruction, my only responsibility was my own possessions.
- I didn't remember to think about cleaning my luggage until I moved out of that apartment about 7 months later, but none of it was stinky. However, the wheels on everything aside from one piece had melted.
If you have a yard or outdoor area somewhere either at the old place or the new place, and can drag some furniture outside to clean it, that will end up being miles better than cleaning it in place in the smoky messy ruined house. You won't recontaminate cleaned surfaces because you brushed against a wall and then the item you just cleaned. It's also easier to smell the relative cleanliness of something once it's far away from the fire stink and your nose has had time to rest.
posted by poffin boffin at 9:18 PM on January 18, 2018 [5 favorites]