If you have suffered a burned house one of your biggest concerns should be breathing soot after a house fire.
That’s because breathing soot can be very bad for your health. Let’s take a closer look at soot, what it is and how it can affect you.
What is soot?
Soot is that black powdery or flaky substance that is formed during a fire. It consists mainly of amorphous carbon and technically represents the incomplete burning of organic matter.
Amorphous carbon, by the way, is carbon that does not have what is called long-range crystalline order.
So why is soot dangerous?
Because it contains harmful chemicals, gases and other particles from whatever was burned. These chemicals can then go inside your body via inhalation or by being absorbed through your skin.
These substances can then cause all sorts of health issues, which is a subject we will discuss more in a moment.
Where is soot found?
After a house fire, soot can be in all sorts of hard to find locations – including in the air ducts, behind walls, under furniture and appliances, under flooring and in many more places.
If you don’t get rid of all the soot you, or whoever is staying in the house, could unknowingly breathe in the harmful chemicals and gases being emitted by the soot.
What can breathing soot after a house fire do to my health?
Unfortunately, it can do a lot. Breathing soot after a house fire can lead to respiratory issues. You can begin to experience breathing problems as well as sinus and lung issues and much more.
For example, you may find yourself coughing more and being short of breath when doing even non-intensive activities.
Another way soot can harm your health is by causing skin irritation. You could, for example, develop a red, itchy rash that causes you great discomfort.
One more way soot can harm your health is through eye irritation. You may develop itchy, red, watery eyes that feel like they are burning all the time.
The discomfort from your irritated eyes can then cause you to have difficulty seeing or even difficulty sleeping.
What is the best way to get rid of soot?
The process starts with hiring a professional company that is experienced in removing soot and smoke damage.
Experienced professionals know where to look to find soot and how to clean it up and get rid of it in a safe manner.
You don’t want to handle soot yourself as it can be very toxic. Leave it to the professionals.
You can also rest more comfortable knowing that professionals are more apt to get rid of all the soot in a fire-damaged house as opposed to missing some, which could then harm the health of those staying in the burned home.
Is soot removal expensive?
Unfortunately, yes it is going to cost you to get rid of soot. But, honestly, the peace of mind gained by having soot professionally removed is worth it to many.
Without professional soot removal, you could be left wondering if all the soot has been identified and removed and not being sure could lead to stress.
Stress is also bad for your health and can lead to a number of issues, such as high blood pressure, heart problems, high cholesterol and more.
By the way soot removal is usually covered by homeowner insurance policies. These policies typically cover the cost to replace or repair any items in a home that have been damaged by fire, smoke, soot, ash and more fire byproducts.
Not sure you want to live with the possibility of soot being in a home?
Many owners of fire-damaged houses make the same decision. These homeowners choose to sell their fire-damaged house instead of live with the stress of not being sure whether all the soot has been removed.
One great way to sell your home is to sell it to We Buy Fire Damaged Houses. The reason this is a great way to sell a fire-damaged house is because you don’t have to make any repairs yourself.
That’s right, you won’t have to worry about soot at all. You can sell your house in “as is” condition. Then the professionals at We Buy Fire Damaged Houses will take on the responsibility of soot removal and fire damage repairs.
By using this sales method, you can skip the whole repair process, which can often be stressful and filled with delays and budget overruns.
When you sell to We Buy Fire Damaged Houses you also receive a cash payment fast.
That makes this way of selling a burned house a great way to move on quickly from such a traumatic event and get on with the rest of your life.
Combine your insurance settlement with a great sales price from We Buy Fire Damaged Houses and you could have the money you need to buy a great house in a great neighborhood.
Plus, it would most likely be a house that has no soot that may harm your health or the health of your loved ones.
That’s why if you decide not to rebuild a fire-damaged house, you should contact We Buy Fire Damaged Houses as fast as possible.
To rebuild or not?
At We Buy Fire Damaged Houses, we understand that many homeowners do decide to rebuild after a fire and that’s understandable considering the memories that were likely created in their home prior to the house fire.
We also understand that many homeowners don’t want to go through the stress of repairing a fire damaged house or living in a repaired house that has suffered a fire with a big reason being the risk of breathing soot after a house fire.
Please keep in mind that if you decide to avoid the cost, stress and frustration that can accompany repairing a burned house, We Buy Fire Damaged Houses buys a wide range of houses that have been damaged by fire.
To learn more about We Buy Fire Damaged Houses and to see if we are interested in buying your fire damaged home for a great price, fill out the short form below.
Again when you work with We Buy Fire Damaged Houses you won’t have to worry about soot or smoke damage removal and about breathing soot after a house fire.
Instead you can focus on moving to the next phase of your life.