After a fire, several structural components must be rebuilt while some items must be discarded.
The following guide will look at what needs to be replaced after a house fire, what to throw away after smoke damage, and the reasons for replacing the highlighted damaged structural components and home items.
We will also discuss the best solution for your property after a fire.
Keep reading for the full details.
#1 Food and Kitchen Items
One of the most crucial items you should throw away after a fire is foodstuffs within the house. This includes open food packs, canned foods, beverages, alcohol, and any other edibles that may have been exposed to smoke and water damage.
Foods stored in plastic containers should also be discarded, as plastic releases many toxic chemicals when exposed to fire and smoke.
Overall, it’s unsafe to consume any edible material that remains after a fire. The extreme heat changes the composition of foods and may trigger the release of toxins. Throwing away the food and restocking is the safest course of action.
#2 Porous Home Items
Depending on the size of the fire, several personal and home items have to be replaced after the ordeal. This is especially true for porous materials that absorb smoke and water from fire extinguishers.
Such items include:
- Clothes, bedding, mattresses, pillows, rugs, towels, curtains, and upholstered furniture
- Opened cosmetics, including lotions, makeup, and deodorants
- Toiletries such as toothbrushes and shaving blades
- Medication
Clothes and other fabric items soak in smoke and water causing permanent stains, persistent odors, and mold damage.
Still, clothes and rugs that didn’t suffer any burns can be salvaged — however, you would need to get them cleaned professionally.
Cosmetics, medications, and toiletries should be discarded, as they hold contaminants caused by extreme heat and smoke.
#3 Structural Components
The structural integrity of your house is one of the most affected components after a fire.
Small fires may damage more sensitive components such as the home’s electrical wiring, plumbing, and HVAC system, while huge infernos damage everything, including beams, walls, and roof.
The following is a breakdown of how each component is affected and why it should be replaced:
- Electrical wiring: Heat can easily damage the wires that run across the house, even those within walls. This can lead to both immediate and future risks of electric faults and fires.
- Beams, walls, and roofing: Extreme heat weakens the walls and beams holding up your house. Inspect these components and replace any shaky structures and burnt roofs.
- Insulation and drywall: Even if there’s no visible damage to your drywall and insulation (internal wall structures), replacement may be necessary since they absorb smoke and water from extinguishers, leading to odors and toxins as well as mold growth.
- Plumbing system: Pipes running through your house are weakened and busted by extreme heat and need to be replaced.
- HVAC system: After a fire, smoke particles will likely be trapped within your HVAC system. Even if the HVAC system still works, replacement may still be required since the smoke and soot contaminants are a health risk.
#4 Electronic Appliances
Electronics and appliances, including TVs, computers, washing machines, and dryers, often have to be tossed out after a fire since high heat and smoke particles corrode the internal structures (wiring, motors, etc.)
TVs, laptops, and other items with screens are easily damaged by extreme heat causing partial or complete damage.
Furthermore, small kitchen appliances such as microwaves and coffee makers may absorb soot and smoke, making them unsafe to use even when they still work.
#5 Important Documents
One of the biggest inconveniences of a fire is the damage caused to key documents such as birth certificates, passports, identity papers, and insurance documents.
Such documents have to be replaced even if the damage is minor because they aren’t valid in this condition.
#6 Children’s Toys
Children’s items, especially toys, have to be replaced regardless of whether they have suffered visible damage or not. Discarding the items is necessary due to the following reasons:
- Most children’s toys are made of plastic which is known to absorb smoke and produce toxins when exposed to high temperatures.
- Stuffed animals absorb smoke and may become a health hazard.
- Children tend to put toys in their mouths which is particularly hazardous, especially when they have been exposed to a fire.
#7 Plastic Kitchen Items
Plastic materials used in food preparation or storage need to be thrown out after a fire whether they have visible damage or not.
Plastic absorbs smoke and produces toxins and carcinogens when exposed to the high temperatures of a house fire.
Using plastic kitchen items that have been exposed to fire can cause significant damage to your health in the future.
#8 Garage Items
Outdoor items such as grills, propane tanks, extinguisher cylinders, and lawn equipment can be affected by house fires in different ways:
- Outdoor grills: Intense fires weaken the metallic components of your barbecue grill, making it unsafe to use. Burnt plastic components of the grill may also contaminate the cooking surface, causing health risks.
- Propane tanks: Propane tanks that have been exposed to extreme heat are dangerous to keep around even if they seem intact.
- Fire extinguisher cylinders: A fire can damage the valves, hoses, and seals of an extinguisher cylinder. For dry chemical extinguishers, the powder inside can solidify inside, making it ineffective when used. As for foam and CO2-based cylinders, intense heat alters the chemical composition, reducing its effectiveness.
- Lawn equipment: High temperatures damage the motors, pistons, and spark plugs of your lawn mower, while soot may clog fuel lines and contaminate fuel.
Now you know what to do after your house burns down. But here is another important consideration.
The Easiest Solution After a House Fire
Throwing away and replacing damaged items after a fire is one of the biggest challenges for homeowners who’ve suffered fire damage — it is time-consuming, arduous, and expensive for the property owner.
However, you can avoid this stressful moment by selling your house as is to home-buying investors.
You get many benefits when you sell a fire-damaged house to real estate investors:
- Not having to pay for and manage pricey and time-consuming repairs or cleaning.
- Cash buyers don’t need a mortgage and don’t depend on a lender, unlike traditional buyers who need a mortgage and depend on a bank’s approval for financing. As a result, you can save yourself time and headache.
- Cash house investors buy houses fast and with less administrative bureaucracy.
- Investors cover closing costs, unlike most traditional buyers.
- You don’t have to wait through appraisals and inspections conducted by buyers, so you can save time.
- Realtors are not involved in a sale to a professional cash buyer, which means you can avoid paying high agent commission fees.
Still, you have to find reliable local cash buyers who specialize in fire-damaged properties.
Via our website, you have access to our nationwide network of pre-vetted and approved investors who buy fire-damaged homes fast, for cash, and ethically.
Our platform lets you receive cash offers from multiple local investors, so you can secure the best deal possible for your fire-damaged property.
That said, there are other ways you can sell a fire-damaged house which we’ve highlighted in our guide on how to sell a fire-damaged house.
We also have dedicated articles on the costs of repairing a fire-damaged house and how long it takes to rebuild a house after a fire.
