Items That Must Be Discarded
- Food items: All food exposed to smoke, heat, or firefighting chemicals must be discarded. Contamination is not always visible.
- Medications and cosmetics: Become unsafe after smoke exposure; chemical contamination can alter effectiveness and safety
- Heavily charred furniture: Structural integrity is compromised; health hazards from embedded soot and chemicals
- Mattresses and upholstered furniture: Porous materials absorb smoke deeply; cannot be effectively cleaned
- Paper products: Documents, books, and paper items exposed to water and smoke typically cannot be salvaged
Items That May Be Restorable
- Hard-surface furniture (wood, metal) with surface soot damage
- Electronics (with professional cleaning and testing)
- Clothing and textiles (with specialized cleaning)
- Photos and documents (with professional document restoration)
- Artwork (with professional art restoration)
Assessment Criteria
Professional restoration companies evaluate each item based on health safety (can it be made safe?), restoration cost vs. replacement value (is it economically feasible?), and structural integrity (is it safe to use after restoration?). We provide detailed content inventories for insurance claims, documenting both salvageable and non-salvageable items.