Restoring Killeen Homes to Their Former Glory: A Restoration Tale

Even the smallest of fires inside a home can lead to extensive damage because flames aren’t the only concern. Smoke and soot can impact even more areas than most homeowners realize. Not only does it lead to discoloration of building materials and contents, but it can also leave a pungent odor. 

For all of those reasons, homeowners must seek professional assistance to complete a fire damage restoration and cleanup. However, it can be tough to know where to turn when fires strike. Most people don’t have this experience often, so they usually don’t have a restoration crew in mind.

However, Texas Certified Restoration makes it easy for Killeen residents to restore their homes. They have plenty of experience with all sorts of fire damage cleanup. In fact, this particular case study highlights a recent project where they successfully completed a kitchen fire damage cleanup. Keep reading to see how their team of skilled restoration contractors was able to restore the property to its pre-loss condition. 

The Problem: Kitchen Fire Damage and Soot 

A Killeen, TX homeowner contacted Texas Certified Restoration to request a kitchen fire damage cleanup. Fortunately, the fire was able to be put out before it spread to other parts of the house, but there was still significant damage. Most of the fire damage centered around the stove where the fire broke out, but the smoke damage went beyond the kitchen.

As soon as Texas Certified Restoration arrived on the scene, they began to assess the situation to determine the most effective cleanup plan. Tracy, the owner of the restoration company, took the time to show the customer how much the smoke damage had spread. There was significant damage in two other rooms near the kitchen. Though the homeowner initially thought these rooms were fine, Tracy was able to show them that there were several other areas that needed attention. 

From there, Texas Certified Restoration was able to put together a crew to carry out the kitchen fire damage cleanup and soot removal. It took many people to get the job done, but Tracy was there to direct the crew the entire time so that the job would be done right.

The Kitchen Fire Damage Cleanup Process

Since the restoration crew has plenty of experience with fire damage and soot cleanup, they were able to develop a custom restoration process. For this particular project, the contractors were responsible for: 



• Packing the House
• Wiping Down Surfaces Covered in Soot
• Prepping the House for Painters
• Cleaning the Floors 

The Packout Process

Before the contractors could truly get into the fire damage cleanup, they had to remove the household contents. These items would need to be cleaned as well, but the team was only responsible for helping the homeowner get these items packed up and moved out of the way. 

In total, the large crew of restoration professionals packed up 85 small boxes and moved them into the home’s garage for temporary storage. Any of the larger furniture was moved into the garage as well. The items that would not fit were placed in the center of the room and covered with a plastic sheet to protect them during the cleanup process. 

Wiping Down the House

The next step in the kitchen fire damage cleanup and soot removal was to wipe down all of the affected surfaces. Even the areas that appeared to be clean left black residue on the sponges.

Texas Certified Restoration used special sponges that are designed to remove soot without water. The dry sponges have a chemical in them that allows them to easily collect soot from walls, ceilings, and other surfaces. In total, it took the crew nearly two boxes of the dry chem sponges to wipe down all of the affected areas in the house.

Prepping the House for Paint

Once the dry chem sponges had been used to remove the bulk of the soot, the contractors used wet towels to wipe down the surfaces again. They also took their time to make sure that the walls and ceilings were prepped and ready to be painted. The paint would be helpful in concealing any odors that may have been absorbed into the drywall.