How To Clean Electronics After Smoke Damage

5/6/2021 (Permalink)

Smoke damage in Weldon Spring, MO.

When you have an electrical fire at your business, you might think that cleaning up burned items is the end of it. Unfortunately, this is not true. Smoke can be worse than fire when it comes to your electronics.

Types of Smoke Damage

There are three basic types of smoke damage. These are:

Soot - This acidic substance coats the outside and inside of most electronics. It can shorten the life of your wiring considerably.
Magnetics - Smoke carries a mild electrical charge. This charge can short any electronics that are on during the fire.
Film - Smoke leaves behind a black film on everything that it gets near. This can cause your electronics to overheat if you turn them on before cleaning them.

Each of these types can cost you thousands of dollars if you do not properly clean your electronics after a fire, even if they look undamaged at first.

When To Call In Professionals
Cleaning electronics often requires taking them apart and cleaning individual wires and components. If you are not comfortable doing this, call in a professional cleanup company in Weldon Spring, MO. They might even perform this service as part of an overall electrical fire cleaning.

What You Can Do
Although it is not recommended that you clean major appliances, television sets or electrical panels, there are some things that you can do to make it easier for the professionals. The first thing you do unplug everything. This will allow any residual charge inside the item to dissipate. Small items can be taken apart and wiped down but larger more expensive items require a bit more.
For computer cleanup, take off the case and inspect the inside. If you are comfortable, remove the hard drive and take the data off it by hooking it to an undamaged system. If you are not, a computer expert can help you with this. Be sure to tell them the computer was damaged in a fire.
An electrical fire, like any fire, can be dealt with. All you need to do is make sure that your electronics are properly cleaned and serviced to get them back in working order.