Restore don’t Replace

6/21/2018 (Permalink)

How to Save Your Heirlooms and Beloved Memories

When your home has been damaged by water, often your belongings can be restored without the need to be replaced. You may have very valuable items, even photos, that are in need of restoration that you may have the urge to toss out and replace. It is a very emotional time when people are separated from the fondest memories they hold, including photos of loved ones, antiques and relics from travel. The attachment can be very intense, and water damage may feel devastating.

With the proper planned strategy, you can greatly reduce the likelihood of having to replace your belongings. Taking the appropriate measures to protect your valuables is the key to restoring not replacing them if your home is damaged by water or fire. Sometimes smoke damage can make valuable items look like there is no hope but there is. There are many ways that clothing, furniture and even photos can be restored without being replaced.

Speed is the key to protecting those things that you love but protecting them before something terrible happens is even more important. There are many ways that you can prevent your beloved artifacts from being exposed to the brunt of damage. If you run your own business, it’s also important that you take special care to protect and back up your business files somewhere away from any damage.

How can your furniture be restored after a small fire when they were exposed to smoke damage?

Since most furniture is wood it can easily soak in soot and odors from the smoke. It’s intoxicating to be around. Because furniture can be so unique, each type of furniture may require a unique cleansing and restoration protocol.

For example, on a finished piece of wood there is a layer of flammable varnish. Most furniture will have this protective coating. Sometimes a simply cleaning agent can remove the soot, but the odor is a different story. Some furniture never looses the smell. But, if your valuable heirloom belonged to an ancestor or holds a special meaning to you, the smell can be tolerated in exchange for the item staying with you.

Unfinished wood is a bit different and is more likely to sustain damage by smoke and soon. It’s not well protected at all and its vulnerable porous make-up will allow it to just soak in the odor and soot. The inside of drawers is usually unfinished wood, for example. If you have this type of furniture, just know that this may be the case where you need to replace the piece with something new.

A good restoration specialist will come to your assistance quickly to give you an honest estimate of what it will take to get your furniture back to the state it was before the damage occurred, as if it never even happened. So, before you go out and start to file insurance claims for your valuables, turn to a professional restoration team to get in there and get your belongings saved for you.