Odors from smoke and soot infiltrate porous materials such as textiles and wood. These odors can linger in the air long after a home fire is extinguished. It’s a nightmare for many homeowners to live in a home that continuously emits foul stenches. Removing such odors without a professional can be frustrating and time-consuming.
Tip Top Restoration of Bakersfield is proud to be the area’s local fire damage and water damage restoration company. We’re firm believers that the job is not finished until every aspect is addressed and remediated, including addressing odor concerns.
Odors occur as a result of various sources. These can include chemicals, gases, or physical particles. Any debris contaminated with odor-causing residue will continue to emit unpleasant smells into the room, so locating the source of an odor and completely rmoving it is crucial to fully eliminating foul odors in the home.
Technicians implement a combination of processes and products when addressing odor concerns in the home. When Tip Top Restoration of Bakersfield is remediating your odor problem, some of the techniques and processes you may see them utilize include:
- Pairing agents are chemicals that bind to odor particles. These agents can be highly absorptive (humectant), which causes odor particles to precipitate onto surfaces where they can be cleaned up; or they can be counteractant in which they change odor-causing properties or destroy them when they bind to odor particles.
- Filtration agents filter and collect odors. Absorption and adsorption are the different ways these filtration agents work in filtering odor gases from air passing by or through the agent.
- Disinfectants and sanitizers, which kill odor-causing bacteria and fungi.
- Enzyme digesters are used to combat organic or protein-based odors by using enzymes to break down organic molecules. Many are familiar with their effectiveness against odors caused by pet urine.
- Air purification filters, which use an electric grid to kill airborne microorganisms as they pass through.
- Ozone and hydroxyl generators produce ozone gas or hydroxyl radicals. The oxidation process (combining a material with oxygen) can permanently destroy some odors.
- Masking agents, which are high quality air fresheners. These help to mask unpleasant odors while the full deodorization process takes place.
Detecting and removing the source of the odor is the most important first step. Removing as much of the odor source as possible speeds up the process to fully eliminate the foul smell. Surfaces are thoroughly cleaned for effective deodorization, as small particles of odor-producing residue can continue to generate odors if not properly removed.
Deodorizers are distributed to surfaces in a similar manner to the original conditions which caused the odor penetration. For example, deodorizing fogs are often the most effective method to combat odors created by smoke and fire damage. Surfaces that are exposed to disagreeable odors are sealed. In some cases, sealing may be the solution to resolve an odor problem. Depending on the source of the odor and its severity, removing an odor from the home can require anywhere from 1-3 treatments, with each treatment ranging from 15 minutes to 2 hours.
Insurance claims for fire damage or sewage backups will typically cover odor removal. If microbial growth is the source of the odor, mold remediation and removal may or may not be covered by an insurance policy. Thoroughly reviewing your policy with your agent can help you determine the best course of action for repairing and restoring your home while maintaining your peace of mind.
Tip Top Restoration of Bakersfield’s experts understand the frustration of persistent odors. Our teams are available 24/7, so you can rest assured that when you need odor removal services, a local team is just a phone call away!
