Smoke damage can be caused by the smoke’s gases or the soot it leaves behind˳ Depending on the extent of the damage and the type, different cleaning and restoration techniques must be implemented to properly clean the mess˳ When smoke damages books, photos, or important paper documents, the process to restore them can be especially difficult because of the fragility of these items˳
Smoke Types
Smoke damages can be categorized into three general types: wet, dry, and fuel oil soot˳
Wet Smoke
Wet smoke is a low-heat, smoldering type of smoke that leads to sticky residue˳ This smoke damage has the potential to warp books and documents˳
Dry Smoke
Dry smoke is a created by high temperature, fast-burning fires˳ It is especially damaging to older, more fragile books˳
Fuel Oil Soot
Fuel oil soot occurs when furnaces and other heat sources give off gritty puffs of soot˳ This kind of smoke acts as an abrasive on paper items like books and archive documents˳
Smoke follows a general pattern for movement and destruction˳ It moves to the top floors of buildings˳ It is attracted to cool areas and easily moves through plumbing and ventilation systems˳
How Damage Occurs
Smoke damages books and documents by staining exposed surfaces, mainly covers and paper edges˳ Damages to these items will depend on the quality, age, and condition of the documents affected˳ It will also depend on how well the items were stored prior to encountering the smoke˳ Most home and business owners keep books on shelves˳ Therefore the damage occurs mostly on the outer bindings and the top edges˳ Properly stacked books and documents will actually protect each other from intense smoke and soot damage˳ Keeping book shelves and desks away from the ventilation ducts or pipe work will also reduce the likelihood of smoke damage˳
Restoration and Cleaning
Regardless of how much damage your books or documents have received, it is important to take extreme care when handling them˳ Books may not seem to have experienced much damage, but smoke, especially dry smoke, can ruin book bindings and make pages very brittle˳ Never handle damaged books by their pages – otherwise, increased “fingerprint” damage can occur˳
You can clean most mildly damaged books by wiping the covers and paper edges with a dry sponge˳ This removes residue and prevents soot and ash from continuing to stain your books over time˳ However, you must be sure that you clean these items in a low humidity environment otherwise the moisture in the air can collect on the paper and cause further damage˳
If your books, photos, or documents have experienced moderate to heavy smoke damage, you should seek out a professional book and document restoration specialist˳ Restoration companies have a number of state-of-the-art cleaning techniques they can employ to recover your damaged books˳ Many companies have sanding techniques to remove stubborn soot stains on page edges and employ a deodorizing technique to remove smoky odors˳ Other professionals will use ozone gas chambers to remove stains and safely deodorize documents˳
Smoke is a lesser known damager of home and business materials˳ It can, however, be the most damaging because it is harder to assess the extent of the damage until it is often times too late˳ By properly employing strategic storage techniques and proper material handling practices you can greatly reduce the potential for smoke damage in the event of a disaster or emergency˳
Source by https://ezinearticles˳com/?Smoke-Damage-Book-and-Document-Clean-Up&id=1641637
