A fire can lead to significant damage to any building. In some cases, fire damage impacts just certain areas of the building, but smoke damage can spread throughout it. When this happens, the smoke cleanup can be difficult to handle and costly to repair. Most home insurance plans will provide coverage for smoke damage if it is brought on by a covered claim. As a homeowner, you do everything you can to keep your home safe, but in situations like these, you can often rely on your home insurance to protect you from financial loss.

Cleaning Up After a Fire

When a homeowner suffers fire or smoke damage to his or her own, there is often a significant loss. You’ve lost belongings, furnishings, and even your place to live. Home insurance can help you overcome most of these instances. Some of the most expensive repairs will come in the form of clean up. This includes:

• Removing debris that cannot be saved (and paying for the disposal of it)
  
  
• Replacing the building components impacted by the smoke or other damage
  
  
• Restoring a healthy living space which often includes cleansing HVAC systems and removing particle buildup
  
  
• Sterilizing and refreshing any furnishings or other belongings salvageable to ensure they are safe to use in your home
  
  
• Covering the cost for ongoing repairs or smoke removal if it is not effective initially

When you suffer this type of significant damage to your home, you’ll need to file an initial claim with your home insurance provider immediately. Don’t attempt to clean up the mess on your own. Smoke damage doesn’t always involve a fire. In some cases, smoking embers can damage your home without much fire damage at all. Avoid cleaning this up until you speak to your home insurance provider. They will need to document the incident, what caused it, and what is necessary to get your home back into a healthy living condition.

In nearly all situations, homeowners will need to rely on their home insurance for this type of smoke damage cleanup. It’s important, then, to make sure your policy offers comprehensive support and a high claim limit to ensure you can recoup the losses for such a large and sometimes ongoing process.