A fire can be a terrible and devastating incident to occur to your home or business. It is hard to stop a fire once it starts and the damage it can cause is exponential. Even the smallest fires can be disastrous. What many do not consider, however, is what the smoke does to other parts of the building.
As the smoke travels throughout the ventilation system, it coats every surface in reach with what is known as soot. So, what is soot exactly? It is a powdery, slick substance that sticks onto and discolors surfaces and objects throughout your home. This may sound like it is just an inconvenient cleaning additur to your preexisting issue, but I assure you that it can pose much more danger than meets the eye.
Soot damage can be detrimental to one’s health if not taken care of in a timely and proper fashion. Soot can easily enter your body through the air and over time, will cause respiratory issues, illnesses, possibly cancer, or even death. Due to all of these conditions, the aftermath of a fire of any size is not to be taken lightly.
Common Causes of Soot Damage
Here are some ways that soot buildup can occur in your home or business:
1.) Poor fireplace ventilation
The fireplace is a huge cause of any house fire, and it is important to know about the mechanics of the fireplace, such as the flue damper, which opens and closes the passageway of smoke, is an important item to know about because this will let the smoke out of your home.
2.) Excessive candle usage
It is pretty obvious but must be said. It’s just a smaller fire, but constant usage and using an abundance of them will cause soot buildup over time.
3.) Broken Appliances
If an appliance such as your furnace is defective, then it will begin to emit smoke. You may not even know it for quite some time.
Soot puffbacks, also called furnace puffbacks are caused by excess fuel in the burner chamber of your furnace. Puffbacks most often occur when you turn your heat on for the first time after a long period of disuse. Soot puffbacks are a leading cause of soot damage during the fall and winter seasons.
4.) Cigarette/Plant Matter Usage
Any sort of smoking in the house that causes actual combustion (burning) will cause a soot buildup in your home, and it will be especially prominent with the usage of cigarettes.
5.) High Temp. Cooking
If you spend a lot of time cooking in the kitchen and are not using the ventilation system or opening your windows you are exposing both yourself and your home to large amounts of smoke and soot.
6.) Nearby facilities
Nearby companies or factories with large machinery emit smoke out into the air. The soot from that can reach to your home and affect you.
7.) Vehicle Exhaust Emissions
If you leave your car on in your garage for long periods of time, the fuel that is being burned to stay on will start to travel within your garage and into your home.
Does Homeowners Insurance Cover Soot Damage?
Most of these incidents are covered, but with like any peril, there are always certain circumstances that may occur which could change that. If your home or business has smoke, soot, or fire damage, contact Performance Adjusting so we can get that cleaned up and get you the money you deserve from your incident.
