Fire Cleaning: Reclaiming Your Kitchen Once the Smoke is Gone

The kitchen is one of the busiest and unsurprisingly, one of the most dangerous rooms of the house. With fire, water and electronics in close proximity, the danger of an accident is always looming, especially when a certain degree of caution is not observed.

If, you are unfortunate enough to experience a kitchen fire, due to the nature of the kitchen, you will desire to have it back up and running as soon as possible. Here are a few tips to help you do the fire cleaning and reclaim the use of your kitchen as soon as possible:

Get the right protective gear

With the wrong gear, you will expose yourself to inhaling the soot, and may mess the dark substance all over the place. Plan to have protective clothing such as goggles, rubber gloves, and a facemask.

Clear the air first

Open all doors and windows, and switch fans if any are available. The cross currents generated by the fans will help in pushing out the smoke odors through the open windows. Remember to switch off the AC unit so that the contaminated air does not access the duct-work, and gain access to the entire house.

Clean the surfaces

Take your time to clean the surfaces thoroughly. You may need more than one cleaning run to end up with great results. Use the right cleaning agents and always remember to buff surfaces before letting them dry. If you don’t get good results with the initial cleaning, do another run until you get satisfactory results, and all signs of the fire are eliminated.

Clean the appliances, cabinets and drawers

Soot and smoke may access drawers, cabinets, and inside of the appliances during the fire. Take time to empty the drawers and the cabinets, throwing away all food that might have been contaminated by the smoke. The same should also be done for the appliances.

Freshen up the whole house

Lastly, clean any other affected room to ensure that the smoke or soot does not linger in the air. For the carpets and rugs, sprinkle baking soda on the surfaces before vacuuming to remove the smoke odor. You can also use artificial fresheners or place a bowl of vinegar in every room to clear any residual smoke odor.