The Dos and Don’ts of Dealing With Puffback Damage

4/21/2020 (Permalink)

Puffback damage in Retreat, NC

Take These Four Steps

Following a furnace puffback, you may have the foresight to call a repair person to fix the malfunctioning heating system. However, like many building owners, you may attempt to clean up the puffback damage yourself or to have your building maintenance person do it for you. Neither option is a good idea, as trying to DIY smoke damage of any kind can do more harm than good. So, what should you do? Take these four steps:

1. Assess the damage.
   
2. Report the damage to your insurance company.
   
3. Contact an HVAC repair person.
   
4. Call a Retreat, NC, fire damage remediation specialist.
   
   

Assess Potential Damage
An oil furnace mishap can range in severity and can be minor or major. Before you contact your insurance company, assess the puffback damage to determine the extent of the issue. If you’re lucky, the damage will be localized to the area where the furnace sits. If the problem is bad, however, the soot could be all over your home, including your closet interiors, furniture, and even clothing.
Survey the damage and take pictures so that when it comes time to report the damage to your insurer, the agent can accurately estimate how much it will cost to remediate it. Only after you contact your insurer should you call an HVAC repair person to report the furnace puffback and request that a technician come in to make the repair.

Contact a Remediation Specialist
You may wonder why you cannot clean up the puffback damage on your own. To answer this, you must understand the nature of soot. Soot is not like dust or another fine, powdery substance. It is sticky, black and resilient. These traits make it extremely difficult to clean up, even with a significant amount of elbow grease.
A smoke damage remediation professional in Retreat, NC, has the tools and techniques necessary to clean your home of the tough residue and prepare it for additional remediation efforts. Depending on the extent of damage, additional repair or restoration may be necessary to restore your building to pre-furnace puffback condition.