Interesting Soot and Smoke Tidbits

12/29/2021 (Permalink)

These soot webs are the product of wet smoke in a Spooner home.

Smoke and soot are very invasive and can penetrate virtually any cavity within your home, causing hidden damage and odor. Our smoke damage expertise and experience allow us to inspect and accurately assess the extent of the damage to develop a comprehensive plan of action.  

Soot

• Soot is basically a blanket of tiny molecules from contents and materials that burned in a fire.
• Soot is toxic. In a house fire, many of the contents are made up of materials such as plastic, metals and wood. These materials are safe when they are in their original form but when they are broken down to the molecular level by the fire, they can become carcinogenic.
• Another interesting fact about soot is its ability to form soot webs. The high temperatures from the fire allow the molecules to stick together and create a chainlike structure that looks like cobwebs. You should not attempt to clean soot webs yourself.

Smoke

• There are two types of smoke damage: wet smoke damage and dry smoke damage.
  • Wet smoke damage usually comes from burned plastics and rubbers. This type of smoke is typically very smelly and leaves behind a sticky texture which is much more difficult to clean. SERVPRO of Hayward can handle it though!
  • Dry smoke damage is produced by paper, wood and other fast burning, high temperature materials. This type of smoke damage is much easier to clean because it is not sticky like wet smoke damage.
• Protein smoke results from materials evaporating instead of burning. This type of smoke is virtually invisible but has a very pungent odor. It will cause the most discoloration of paints and varnishes.

If you have any questions about smoke or soot damage, give SERVPRO of Hayward a call at 715-634-0699.