Furnace Puffback Cleanup in Branford, Connecticut

11/25/2020 (Permalink)

Here you can see smoke and soot residue covering the walls and ceilings of this local Branford home after a puff back.

After a puff back occurs in your Branford, Connecticut home, every surface can be covered by oily soot and smoke residues.

While you may want to start cleaning yourself, you should wait for SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline to provide professional puffback cleanup services in Branford, CT. This is because improper cleaning will make the issue worse.

When you need puffback cleaning in Branford, CT, the smoke and soot damage team at SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline is Here to Help!

Call Today For Immediate Assistance - 800-734-3213

Puffback Cleanup Services in Branford, CT

• Smoke and Fire Damage Restoration Specialists

• Smoke Odor Removal

• We Work With All Insurance Companies

• We Handle The Insurance Process

• Free Estimates

While every soot cleanup project is unique and requires a specialized plan, SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline follows the same general process every time:

1. Perform inspection and damage assessment - Our Project Managers will walk through your property and explain the clean up and deodorization process in detail.
2. Set up equipment - SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline utilizes equipment like HEPA air scrubbers to filter particulates out of the air. This helps begin the odor removal process.
3. Soot removal from all surfaces - The team at SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline will clean every inch of your property with specialized equipment to ensure all soot and smoke residues are removed.
4. Restoration of fabrics - Soft goods such as furniture, clothing, or bedding may be salvageable when cleaned properly by a soot damage restoration company.
5. Air duct cleaning - This step is important and is overlooked when homeowners perform cleanup themselves. The air ducts are what spread soot and smoke particles across your entire home and will do it again if not cleaned. This step is also hugely important for removing smoke odors.
6. Needed restoration - Depending on the severity of your puff back, some items or areas of your home may not be able to be cleaned. Instead, these materials may have to be replaced. It is also possible that re-painting is necessary.

What is a Puffback?

A puff back is when unburned oil or gas ignites in the combustion chamber of your heating system, causing a misfire or explosion. This sends smoke and soot throughout your home through the ductwork.

Puffbacks can occur in both gas furnaces, oil furnaces, boilers, or even water heaters. However, these are more common in oil fired systems, simply because oil doesn't dissipate as easily as gas and is more likely to build up in the combustion chamber. Damage from puffbacks is also more severe in oil burning systems, as oil also produces more soot and smoke than gas when it combusts.

How Do Puffbacks Damage Your Branford, CT Property?

Puffbacks can occur in two different ways: In one large explosion, or in small, consistent misfires in your heating system. The large explosion will be quickly apparent across your home, suddenly causing smoke and black soot to cover every inch of your home.

On the other hand, the small, consistent misfires may not be noticed immediately. Rather, the soot and smoke won't be visible until it has built up for a while, likely first forming right outside heating vents and the baseboards of your home.

Regardless of whether a puffback is large or small, they similarly damage your home. 

Damages from furnace puffbacks include:

• A film of soot covering walls, ceilings, cabinets, floors, rugs, furniture, bedding, clothing, food, drapes, countertops, and more
• Soot and smoke particles may force you to throw out furniture or fabrics if they cannot be restored
• Damage to heating systems
• Risk of fire from disconnected or damaged flue vent connector
• Risk of carbon monoxide leak in building

Can You Perform Puff Back Cleaning Yourself?

You should not try to perform a puffback cleanup in Branford, CT yourself. You may want to clean the sticky, smelly, black soot and smoke from your walls and ceilings as soon as it happens, but this will only make your problem worse.

Puff back cleaning should always be performed by a professional soot cleaning service. When you try and clean smoke, soot, and odors from a puffback yourself, the following can occur:

• Scrubbing walls damaged by smoke and soot can embed it further into the drywall
• Using improper chemicals or cleaning solutions on soot damage can make it harder for professionals to clean it later, increasing time and cost of restoration
• Without the proper materials, equipment, or techniques - unwanted smoke odors will be left behind
• Smoke and soot particles will not be taken out of the air, continuing the problem over time
• Homeowners may throw away fabrics or soft materials that could've been salvaged by a professional fire and smoke restoration service

After a puff back in your Branford, CT home, take the following steps:

1. Call your homeowners insurance and file a claim.
2. Call your local HVAC repair service to have your heating system fixed before using it again.
3. Contact your local puff back cleaning service for proper smoke and soot cleanup as well as odor removal.

Need Puffback Cleanup in Branford, CT? Call SERVPRO For A Free Estimate!

SERVPRO of Branford/Shoreline accepts all insurance carriers and is open 24/7, 365 days a year to respond to your call. Whatever the disaster, we're ready to make it "Like it never even happened."