Even the smallest of house fires can result in smoke damage to your home. Sometimes, if the damage doesn’t seem to be too bad, homeowners will avoid professional cleanup and think that they can easily handle the mess themselves. In some cases, this might be true. However, be careful not to skip any of the proper restoration steps, because hidden smoke damage can harm your health in a number of ways.
Respiratory danger. Smoke from a house fire contains a number of chemicals and pollutants, and they don’t just disappear when the smoke clears. Instead, those nasty substances are deposited all over your home. And every breath you take inside the house will expose you to a number of potentially toxic chemicals and particles left behind.
These can trigger illnesses within your sinuses and damage your lungs, which can cause further health problems later in life. And if any family members suffer from asthma or other breathing difficulties, they will be especially vulnerable to respiratory troubles due to smoke damage.
Skin problems. Those same toxic substances can cause irritation to the skin, and in some people can trigger allergic symptoms. You might suffer dryness that is not soothed by typical lotions, rashes, itching, and other skin problems from this exposure.
Eye irritation. And finally, anything in the air and anything that comes into contact with your skin can also be transferred to your eyes. The soot and chemicals deposited by smoke damage can irritate your eyes in the short term, and can sometimes cause long term damage.
Because of the wide range of health issues that can be triggered or exacerbated by smoke damage, we do recommend that you take the proper steps to clean up after a house fire. Don’t leave these things up to chance. Contact us about professional grade smoke damage restoration services, and we can help you restore your home while also protecting your health.
