Things To Throw Away After a Fire

6/16/2022 (Permalink)

Fires in your home are always a traumatic and overwhelming experience. Once the fire department leaves and it’s time for cleanup to begin, it can sometimes be difficult to know what items are okay to keep or can be salvaged, and what items should be thrown away. Here are some things that should always be thrown away and replaced.

Cosmetics – Heat can alter the composition of the makeup and melt or damage the containers that they come in. In addition, soot, ash, or fire extinguishing chemicals can make their way into the cosmetics and then onto your skin if you use them.

Medicine – Similarly to cosmetics the heat can alter the composition of the medications and change their effectiveness or have potentially harmful effects. It’s also possible for the soot and ash to get inside the bottles and you don’t want to ingest these should they get on your medications.

Perishable food – All perishable foods should be thrown away.  It is possible that things in your fridge or freezer are okay, but if there is any evidence that the power was lost or if the room affected was the kitchen those should be thrown away as well.

Non-Perishable food – Despite the fact that non perishables typically are in containers like aluminum cans it is still possible that they can be ruined if exposed to a fire. The heat can cause bacteria to grow or damage the cans, and soot/smoke can still penetrate the can and spoil the foods. If there are any signs that your non-perishables were exposed to heat or smoke, they should be thrown out.

Charred clothing, bedding, upholstery – Any of these items that are visually burned are unfortunately not salvageable. Despite cleaning them it may not be possible to completely remove any odors or contaminants from the items.

Furniture and mattresses – Smoke and soot can easily penetrate soft and porous items like these and they are very difficult to clean completely.  It can be nearly impossible to remove smoke odors from furniture and beds, and thus it’s best to just get rid of them.

If you experience a fire in your home, our team is IICRC certified in fire damage restoration and can help walk you through your affected items to help you decide what can and cannot be salvaged. SERVPRO of Richmond and SERVPRO of Henrico is available 24/7, 365 days a year for all of your emergency fire damage needs.