When you experience a fire in your house, it is indeed a traumatic and overwhelming experience. Not only does it leave behind significant property damage, but it also makes it a mental and physical risk. Thus, if your New York home was affected by fire damage, you need to go through the aftermath and determine the items you must discard immediately. This is necessary to ensure the family members’ safety and a decluttered environment. So, here we have listed the items you must throw away immediately after a fire.
1. Food and Beverages
If any food item in your house has been exposed to heat, smoke, fire, or any kind of chemicals used by firefighters, then you have to discard it immediately. You must also count every perishable and non-perishable item, including those that can activate bacterial growth due to temperature change. These include sealed and canned items. Most importantly, the chemicals used to extinguish a fire would contaminate every food item in the house, making them poisonous.
2. Medicines and Cosmetics
As part of fire damage cleanup, you have to eliminate the cosmetics and medications present in your house, as smoke and heat can alter their chemical composition, making them either unusable or potentially harmful. You might find that these items are undamaged, but they have still become ineffective due to the high temperature of the fire. Moreover, you can also consult with any healthcare provider about the discarding process.
3. Electrical Equipment
You must also discard the appliances, entertainment system, or any electrical devices exposed to the fire as you cannot use them post-fire due to their significant hazardous element. There can be internal component damage that is not visible or damage in the wiring, leading to malfunctioning or even igniting a new fire. So, if you want to reuse them, you must get them checked by a professional electrician, and only after getting up clean chit can you keep them.
4. Burned Clothing and Textiles
You must not wear any clothes that have been exposed to the high temperature of the fire or the chemical used to extinguish it. Otherwise, it can cause skin irritation or even respiratory issues. So, discard the clothing, bedding, drapes, and rugs that might have absorbed the soot and chemicals. You must thoroughly check every item and discard the burned textile or the heavily damaged fabric, which poses health risks.
5. Plastic Items
It is evident that any plastic material exposed to high temperatures will release toxic substances. If you have any plastic items in your house, then you might find them melted or wrapped due to the fire, making them unsafe for use and also counted among potential health hazards.
Summing it Up
You might find that there are also multiple items made of fabric and plastic used by children, such as toy car seats, which absorb harmful substances due to fires. So, to ensure the safety of your children, you have to discard them. Most importantly, you must consult with fire-ssdamaged restoration professionals at zicklincontracting.coms, who can help you deal with potentially hazardous substances and help with complex cleanup and restoration.