Items You Need to Throw Away After A House Fire

10/19/2020 (Permalink)

Figuring out what you can keep after a fire in your home can be challenging.

When a fire starts in your home, it's affects can be far reaching. Smoke and soot can cover every item and surface in your home, high heat may have ruined many belongings, and the there may be fire damage to the structure. You'll likely want to be able to recover most of your personal belongings after a home fire - But before you can, you must know what can be salvaged and what items must be thrown away after a fire.

Items To Throw Away After A House Fire

After a fire, you should discard of any items that are burned, melted, or damaged by heat or flames. Always throw away the following items:

• Melted or stained plastics - Plastics pull in smoke and soot, causing them to stain and making them hard to clean.
• Non-perishable food items - Although these foods may be in cardboard boxes of metal cans, the high heat of the fire can cause the food to spoil and activate the growth of bacteria. The last thing you need after a fire in your home is to become sick from your food.
• Food left out or at room temperature - If the power had to be turned off, you'll likely have to throw out everything in your refrigerator. If you had any fruit, vegetables, or any other food left out on counters that were affected by heat or smoke, you should throw them away as well.
• Medicines or hygiene products - Inspect to see if these items were near high heat, chemicals, or shows signs of being damaged by the fire or smoke. If anything is warped or was open during the fire, do not keep it.
• Burned clothing and similar materials - There are times when it is possible to clean and keep textile items that were in a house fire by a professional textile restoration company. Do not attempt to clean them yourself, as the smoke, soot, and chemicals present may irritate your skin. Most textiles will also hold a strong smell after a fire.

What Can You Keep After A Fire?

Items that are hard and non-porous are the easiest to clean and keep after a fire. Common items that can be saved are:

• Glass
• Metal
• Hardwood floors (if not burned or sustaining extensive water damage from extinguishing the fire)