Cleaning Kitchen Cabinets after Fire Damage

6/30/2020 (Permalink)

A Fire In Your  Home Can Lead To a Variety Of Problems You Will Face

If your home suffers a kitchen fire, you are not alone. Research confirms that approximately 44 percent of home fires begin in the kitchen. An accidental bump of a pan or drips of grease or oil over the side can raise a ball of fire. Cotton towels or potholders too near a gas flame or touching an electric burner can be the ignition. Food neglected or forgotten, desirable browning turning to blackening in a saute pan or oven, are other risks that can transform your cheerful kitchen into a sooty, smelly mess. 

A Special Type of Residue

The soot created is particularly challenging for restorers. The visible surfaces of your wooden kitchen cabinets can be covered entirely in the protein-based soot, which is dehydrated residues of meats, oils and grease, and other foods. Although the coating appears nearly transparent, it is a significant issue, challenging to remove because it clings tenaciously, almost becoming one with the cabinets. The smell is pungent and distasteful, persistently present until removal of all the residue.

Wooden Cabinet Cleaning Steps

SERVPRO follows the restoration industry’s best practices when resolving fire damage to kitchen cabinets. Our crew trains to the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification (IICRC) specifications, an international standards-setting organization. Our technicians might use all or some of the following strategies.

Soot Removal Techniques -- Prepping for Cleaning

• Remove loose debris with a vacuum, holding the tool slightly above surfaces to prevent forcing particles into the wood.

• Use a dry chemical sponge to remove embedded soot, taking care not to grind residues into wood fibers.

• Wipe all wood surfaces with a clean towel or cloth dampened with a proprietary cleaning or prepping solution selected after pretesting.

• Consider the use of 0000-grade steel wool to dislodge the varnish-like protein-based residue, always working in the direction of the wood grain.

Cleaning Techniques

• Use fine-grit sandpaper to reduce charring and remove burn and soot stains.

• Wipe with a tack cloth after sanding.

• Apply SERVPRO’s cream wood restoration polish and permit a brief dwell time to loosen soiling.

• Work the polish into the cabinets, following the wood grain. We monitor and undesired damage to the surface as we work, adding additional cream to cushion if needed.

• Remove excess cream polish with a clean, soft towel. Buff to return to the pre-existing finish.

Trust SERVPRO of Texarkana to assess and plan appropriately when a kitchen fire damages wooden cabinets. As soon as the scene is cleared for cleaning, call us at (903) 832-4400 for an evaluation and implementation of a proven recovery agenda.