If the furniture in a home that
survives a fire it is likely to be both fire and smoke damaged.
Often homeowners assume that this furniture is not salvageable
and they discard it. This is not always the case with fire and
smoke damaged furniture. Many times it is possible to restore
the furniture. If the furniture in question is valuable or has
sentimental value there is hope that it can be salvaged.
When fire has damaged your home and belongings report the fire
to your homeowner's insurance agent right away to start a claim.
Take pictures of all the damage and have the insurance agent
come out to survey the damage as well. If the fire damaged
furniture is of value call a professional fire restoration
company to do the restoration. They will know how to remove
scorching, soot, and smoke smell from the valuable pieces. They
should also be able to advise you as to how best to restore
other pieces of furniture yourself.
Remove the furniture from the fire damaged house. If it also
suffered water damage from putting out the fire let it dry
completely. Start by removing the soot from the furniture. To do
this take denatured alcohol or paint thinner and dampen a rough
surfaced cloth with it. Rub the surface of the furniture with
the cloth a little at a time to remove the soot. After all the
soot is rubbed off, wipe the surface again with a clean wet
cloth. Dry the furniture with a clean dry cloth. When the
furniture has been thoroughly dried it can be polished with bees
wax using a soft lint free cloth. If the furniture had only
suffered from soot damage this should have restored it.
Furniture that is soot and fire damaged needs to have more work
done to it. After removing the soot using the method described
above the areas that have been scorched need to be dealt with.
Take sand paper and rub the scorched areas until the burn stains
are gone. Wipe the furniture down with a cloth dampened with
paint thinner to remove ant dust and residue. When the furniture
is dry it can be refinished with polyurethane. This should go a
long way to restoring the furniture back to a usable condition.
If the furniture has been badly scorched it is better to discard
it and buy new furniture. If your homeowners insurance covers
the cost of restoring your most precious furniture then have a
professional do this work as they will have the knowledge to do
the job well.
Ask your insurance agent to recommend a good furniture
restoration company. See that the company is licensed and
insured. Check with the Better Business Bureau to make sure
there are no complaints about the company. Ask for references
and check them carefully to be sure that other customers have
been pleased with the quality of the company's work. Hire the
specialists if at all possible because they will be equipped to
do the restoration better than the homeowner. This will also be
a speedier way to have the fire damaged furniture restored to
its former beauty. |
