Chandler, AZ – Cleaning Smoke-Damaged Electronics After a Fire Accident

Are you sure your electronic items are totally safe after a recent fire incident? Read this article to learn why professional cleaning is important.

When a fire breaks out inside a home or office, it can break everything apart, including electronic items such as computers and appliances. While the fire itself can cause significant harm to your belongings, the smoke and soot that continue to linger around your property after the flames have been put out can also prove disastrous for electronic and other items sitting around. To salvage your electronics, you’ll need to treat the smoke and soot on time.

How Smoke and Soot Damage Electronics

When smoke makes its way into the electronics and reaches their interior components, it leaves behind a black film, which acts as an insulator for the device, making it more susceptible to overheating. Electronics that are prone to overheating have more chances of failure from the very beginning and thus, have a short lifespan.

Besides, when smoke penetrates into an electronic item, it can cause the device to short circuit due to the magnetic charge, turning the item into a potential fire hazard.

When it comes to fire damage, you can’t ignore the harm caused by soot. As a result of incomplete combustion, a black residue called soot is formed on the outside or inside of the items. What makes it dangerous is their acidity. When soot covers your electronics internally or externally, its acidity causes the items to discolor and deteriorate, reducing their durability.

How to Salvage Your Electronics From Smoke and Soot

Before anything else, unplug the electronic item or appliance and turn them off. If you try to use them before they are professionally cleaned, the damages will become permanent and there might even be a short circuit.

In the case of electronics with some form of memory or storage, do whatever you can to save the data. For instance, in the case of a computer, remove the hard drive and transfer the data into another system.

Next, check the warranty records for the smoke-damaged electronic items. Fire and smoke related damages might be covered by their warranty until a defined time-period.

If warranty can’t help, call a restoration professional to clean the smoke-damaged electronics before it’s too late. Do not attempt to clean the smoke and soot on your own. Since the damages may not even be visible from the outside, you may not even be able to detect them. Plus, without proper training and equipment, you might end up making things worse for your electronics.

Professionals, on the other hand, are experts at saving smoke damaged electronics. Whether it’s about saving a computer or any other electronic product, they possess the expertise and tools to do the job.

They’re experienced at opening and inspecting the vital electronic components, identifying soot, damaged areas, and corrosion. Hence, it’s always safer to leave your important possessions in reliable hands.

If you have experienced fire damage and are looking to hire professionals for restoration, reach out to S.T.O.P.