Salvage Hints
Overview
Professional fire and water damage restoration businesses may be a good source of cleaning and restoration of your personal belongings. Companies offering this service can be located in the phone directory.
Clothing
Smoke odor and soot can sometimes be washed from clothing. The following formula will often work for clothing that can be bleached:
- 4 to 6 teaspoons trisodium phosphate (can be purchased in paint stores)
- 1 cup Lysol or any household chlorine bleach
- 1 gallon warm water
- Mix well, add clothes, rinse with clean water, dry well
Mildew
To remove mildew, wash the fresh stain with soap and water; rinse and dry in the sun. If the stain isn't gone, use lemon juice and salt, or a diluted solution of household chlorine bleach.
An effective way to remove mildew from clothing is to wash the fresh stain with soap and warm water, rinse, and then dry in the sun. If the stain has not disappeared, use lemon juice and salt or a diluted solution of household chlorine bleach.
Cooking Utensils
Your pots, pans, flatware, etc, should be washed with soapy water, rinsed and then polished with a fine-powdered cleaner. You can polish copper and brass with special polish, salt sprinkled on a piece of lemon, or salt sprinkled on a cloth saturated with vinegar.
Leather
Wipe your leather goods with a damp cloth, then with a dry cloth. Stuff your purses and shoes with newspapers to retain their shape. Leave your suitcases open.
Leather goods should be dried away from heat and sun. When leather goods are dry, clean with saddle soap. You can use steel wool or a suede brush on suede. Rinse leather and suede jackets in cold water and dry away from heat and sun.
Books
Books can be dried by placing them on end with pages separated. Then they should be piled and pressed to prevent the pages from crinkling. Alternating drying and pressing will help prevent mildew until the books are thoroughly dry.
If your books are very damp, sprinkle cornstarch or talc between the pages, leave for several hours, then brush off. A fan turned on the books will help them dry.
Photographs
Preserving damaged photographs is often very important to victims of fires, floods and other disasters. If photographs are not burned they can usually be saved. Never try to peel apart photographs that have stuck together. Always remember that photographs were originally developed in water solutions and then washed.
Soak the photos in clear, clean water and rinse carefully and thoroughly and let stuck photographs separate on their own. If they stay damp they can be damaged by mold. If you have quantities of wet photos, wrap them in plastic wrap and freeze them, then thaw them and wash them a few at a time. After washing the photos, dry them image side up on a smooth hard surface like a glass table or kitchen counter.