Post #223452 by Chip and Andy on Mon, Mar 27, 2006 7:33 PM

My sympathies and best wishes. What I would give for some of the things I lost in a house fire in my past.

In my (limited) experience I think your hardest battle is going to be between the insurance and cleaning company. What i recommend is that you talk to the cleaning/removal company and find out what they want to 'total' and see if you can have it left in place. That way you can at least have it for a future go at a proper cleaning. The company that the insurance is going to send in is there simply to clean what they can easily and ditch the rest.

As to the smell that is going to be in everything.... That one is tough. Some things, like bamboo and other pourus objects, you may just have to mask the smell as best as you can. Sealing them again (and again, and again) will help but never really stop it. Bamboo Ben can tell you more and better on the wood bits. As to any fabrics, save yourself the greif and get rid of them. They never quite come back to color and always have the soot smell. Especially bar stools and chair covers.

The one thing I can offer in the way of ideas is kind of old fashioned and that is to lay things out in the sun. Clean what you can with some good soap and water, or whatever is appropriate for the material you are cleaning, and then lay the item out in the sun for a day to dry. The sun will help dry them and do a bit of bleaching on the item if it is discolored.

Best of luck and keep us posted. If there is anything Andy and I can do to help, let us know.