Unused Furnaces can cause Fire Damage through Puff Back in Your Dallas Home

1/27/2018 (Permalink)

Avoid Smoke & Fire Damage from Puff-Backs in Dallas with an Annual Maintenance--SERVPRO Says

SERVPRO Suggests Annual Maintenance to Prevent Smoke and Fire Damage from Puff-Backs

The latest cold spells blanketing Dallas and other areas nationwide have forced people to fire up their furnaces. However, some of these did not receive regular maintenance before the cold weather began. This lack of upkeep can create problems for homeowners when they attempt to heat their homes.

When the furnace in your Dallas home malfunctions, it can easily cause fire damage throughout your home. Puff-back happens in older furnaces more often than in more recent models, but a lack of regular use can allow tiny leaks of oil fuel to accumulate in an unused furnace of any age.

The professionals at SERVPRO can help clean your home of the soot that spreads everywhere from a malfunctioning furnace. This soot comes from incomplete combustion of the oil and can pose risks to not only your home but also to your family. While a substantial portion of this remains in the air breathed in, it also adheres to walls, ceilings, vents, and the inside of ducts. Under certain conditions, the soot is electrically charged and creates spiderweb looking filaments in corners called soot tags. These are not "dust bunnies" or their relatives.  After replacing the furnace, having a team of IICRC-certified professionals clean your home helps to restore it "Like it never even happened."

Although soot eventually settles onto horizontal surfaces within your home, other surfaces, such as walls, can also hold particles that slowly waft into the air and create an odor. Aided by small devices that detect foreign particles, we can efficiently and rapidly clean everything contaminated by soot within your home.

While not the typical fire damage, puff-back can pose more risks to homeowners, who see the residue as only an ugly wall around a heat vent instead of a possible threat to health. To help protect your family members' respiratory health, we use air scrubbers to clean the air of loose soot particles. Soot may feel greasy but contains very abrasive particles that can damage your lungs at the cellular level.

SERVPRO of Northwest Dallas wants families in our community to live in safe, healthy homes. Please call us at (214) 361-7887 whenever you see signs of puff-back in your home. We can quickly clean away the soot that your furnace deposited in your home.

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