What Is Soot And Why Is It Dangerous?

12/17/2020 (Permalink)

After a fire has blazed, soot often rests in the fire’s aftermath. Soot is a black residue of fine particles that appears after a fire burns and a carbon-filled material like wood, coal, oil, or other fuel is burned incompletely. All combustion sources can yield soot, and it often lingers in the air for a while after a fire has burned as well as disperses around the scene of a fire, accumulating on pretty much every surface available in a fine layer. 

Soot often can be distinguished by looking for black residue on items after a fire occurs, but soot particles are even smaller than dust, which means that not all of it is visible to the naked eye. Soot’s prevalence and pervasiveness after a fire can have serious implications for your health and home, which is why it’s incredibly important to hire a team of professionals to clean up soot after a fire occurs.

Soot contamination also can stain materials in your home, causing the odor to stick around long after the time of a fire. Soot’s foul-smelling odors resemble fire and smoke smells, and its lingering presence ensures that its odor stays while it does, too. Particles from soot are also shown to corrode metal in electronic devices, making your property at risk for damage from it.  

All in all, soot decreases the level of air quality at your property and may put you or others at risk.

Don’t let soot take advantage of your health and property--make sure professionals clean it up and restore your property to its previous state for your well-being! The SERVPRO of Belle Meade/West Nashville team has fire damage restoration experts who will remove every trace of soot from your home, restoring it to its pre-fire condition. Call us at (615) 242-9391 today for help removing soot from your residential or commercial property.