Noticeable Smoke Damage in East Dallas Homes

11/16/2022 (Permalink)

Smoke Damage in this East Dallas home was saved from future smoke damage.

East Dallas homes are not invisible when it comes to fires and especially areas like Balch Springs after the neighborhood fire that occurred a couple of months ago. 

1. DIRTY WALLS OR CEILINGS

Sometimes, fire and smoke damage is hard to find. However, sometimes it’s very obvious! If you know exactly where the fire or smoke originated, check the walls and ceilings in that area. Hot air raises and unless a breeze adjusted its course, the smoke would go straight up. Such residue is easy to see on light walls, but may be harder to see on dark walls.

2. OUTER WALLS AND WINDOWS

That hot air we mentioned can still go in some unexpected directions. For example, cold air moving below hot air can move the smoke to your outside windows and walls. This is actually one of the most common ways that fire and smoke damage travels. Even if the fire was contained in the dead center of a room, it is worth checking all of the exterior walls and windows for hidden smoke residue. Obviously, such residue is easier to see during the day, so we recommend waiting until morning to make your inspection.

3. BLINDS AND DRAPES

Smoke has an annoying way of finding the cooler areas in your house. That’s one of the reasons that it often ends up behind your blinds and drapes. The area directly behind blinds and drapes is cooler than the rest of the room. This means smoke is likely to rest here, and you may not notice because the residue is invisible from the front. Areas such as this may absorb even if no one has smoked in the room for some time!

4. DRAWERS AND CLOSETS

So far, we have focused on exposed areas. And if you look hard enough, you can see a clear path that the smoke made to get there. One unexpected area for smoke damage is your drawers and closets. The reason smoke ends up here has everything to do with physics. The heat from a fire excites various molecules and sends them floating through the air. In cooler areas though, the molecules fall down. Seemingly-enclosed areas are usually the coolest areas in a room, making them a natural target for the smoke.