Fires can happen at any time. Most house fires start in the kitchen. Preparing a meal takes concentration. Steps include the following: gathering all the ingredients, preparing all the measurements and assembling all the pots and pans. This takes up much of your attention but you must also focus on keeping an eye on what you’re cooking and being careful not to leave it unattended. It is easy to get distracted. You check your phone and all of a sudden grease splashes onto the burner and begins to spread. After a bit of a struggle, you manage to put it out. Luckily no one was hurt, however your dinner was ruined and you’re stuck having to deal with kitchen fire cleanup.

Most common causes of kitchen fires

Food, grease and fire can be a dangerous combination.  However, they are not the only threat to your safety. There are usually more electrical outlets, appliances, and likelihoods for electrical fires in kitchens than any other room in your house. Faulty wiring, leaving food unattended, food or food residue in the oven, a faulty refrigerator, blender, or any other kitchen appliance; these can all produce dangerous situations that can result in kitchen fires.

Cleaning up fire and smoke residues

Depending on the extent of your fire you could end up with black soot on cupboards and even on the ceiling. You may have burnt grease scattered throughout your kitchen and a choking odor of smoke throughout your entire house. All this can be extremely tough to clean up and you must remember kitchen fires can leave several types of residues all of which need to be addressed differently. Here are the types:

• Natural materials including paper, wood or natural fabrics.
• Protein elements including charred food and grease
• Synthetic materials such as plastics including spatulas or other cooking utensils (and if your microwave was in the line of fire).

Knowing the source and materials involved in the incident will help you map out the best kitchen fire cleanup strategy.

Finding the right cleaning products

Trisodium Phosphate – combined with water, this cleans up sticky soot residue avoiding use on ceramic or chrome. Make sure you wear gloves when using this product.
Degreasers – while these aren’t as strong as TSP, they can help with soot film (make sure you check to see if it’s right for what you’re cleaning)
Dry Soot Sponges – these can successfully clean all surfaces including fabric. They are designed for use without water or liquid cleaning products, but you should completely rinse them between uses.

Hiring a professional for kitchen fire cleanup

While these tips can be helpful if your problem is small, it might be better to call in a professional for bigger jobs.  Odorous smoke particles can travel through air ducts and get into places you might not think of looking, let alone cleaning. Soil-Away Cleaning and Restoration is an IICRC certified company who has been helping homeowners such as you with these tough kitchen fire cleanup projects for over 25 years. They know where to look and how to get to those areas to remove soot and odor. Restore your home after a fire by calling Soil-Away at (603) 641-6555.
Written by E. Aceves