Moving to a new house should be an exciting experience that changes your life for the better. Unfortunately, you may find that you have developed problems breathing in your new home. There is a strong chance that hidden or ignored smoke damage may be affecting your health. Here's how to check for this problem and fix it.
Smoke Damage Can Cause Health Problems
Smoke damage to a home can caused burned debris that is hard or nearly impossible to see. When this happens, the debris may lay on your carpet, in cul de sacs, or end up floating through the air. Breathing in these dangerous materials could cause serious breathing problems and even lead to actual lung damage. In many cases, this damage may be permanent.
That's a big reason that so many professionals have tried to get homeowners to carefully manage smoke damage and fire damage in their homes. However, some home sellers may have tried to hide this damage to prevent a loss of property values. In this instance, you may have bought a dangerous home that is negatively impacting your health.
Signs Smoke Damage Was Hidden In Your Building
Most of the time, smoke damage is fixed right away in a home or a building. However, some owners may have decided to either ignore it or hide it. For example, they may have simply painted over smoke damaged areas and left all of the dangerous elements trapped in the paint. Even worse, they may have done little cleanup of the carpet or other contaminated areas.
As a result, you need to take steps to check your home for smoke damage. Burned areas, charred remains, and a burned smell are all common signs of this problem. You may also want to check public records to see if a fire hit your building. Most city governments will let you do this for free or for a very small fee.
Getting This Problem Fixed
Hidden smoke damage in a home must be fixed as soon as possible. This is particularly true if you continue to suffer from serious respiratory problems that you didn't have before you moved into the home. Some people may be able to do DIY repairs on smoke damage if it is easy to spot. However, hidden smoke damage may be tougher to find.
That's why it is important to contact professionals and have them do repairs for you. Typically, the cost of inspecting your home and repairing smoke damage will range from around $800 to nearly $100,000. Thankfully, the typical average is closer to $11,000 or so. While this isn't cheap, it is the right step to take for your respiratory health.
While it may not be cheap, getting your home's hidden smoke damage repaired is a great step towards eliminating your dangerous respiratory diseases. A professional can inspect your home, spot where the damage occurred, and take steps to ensure all smoke-damaged items are removed from your home. For more information, contact a business such as Magic Touch Carpet Cleaning.