Puffbacks: When Furnaces Attack Your Eastham Home

11/7/2024 (Permalink)

Furnace puffbacks can cause more soot damage than you think. Professional cleaning is required to reduce permanent staining & odor. Call us!

As temperatures begin to drop, we are turning our furnaces back on again. When your furnace ignites, the risk of a puffback is high.

What is A Puffback?

 A puffback is when a boiler or furnace misfires, causing your home to fill with soot and smoke. These misfires are caused by unburned oils at the bottom of furnaces and boilers suddenly igniting. There are many telltale signs of an impending puffback to look out for. Also, you may have already been the victim of a puffback and don’t even know it. Be on the lookout for signs of a puffback and avoid its many hazards on both your house and your health.

The Warning Signs: 

One of the main signs of an impending puffback is soot-like residues around heating vents and fans. Also, finding dark residues around oil burning heaters may signal that your heater is on the verge of experiencing a puffback. Typically, someone’s first instinct when seeing these residues may be to scrub it away with soap and water, but this will only cause the damage to set in even further. The only effective way to clean up after a puffback is through professional smoke damage restoration. Through chemical treatment and use of the proper tools, a restoration company will be able to return your walls to their original appearance.

Signs a Puffback Already Occurred: 

Many people experience puffbacks and aren’t even aware of it. Ever notice black cobwebs around your furnace? If so, those aren’t cobwebs. Puffbacks create cobweb-like soot strings, making your home a dirty and hazardous mess. When left untreated, the “cobwebs” will continue to form, making any cleanup efforts more and more of a headache. Even though pure soot stains can be treated with the use of chemical sponges, puffback webs are far more labor intensive to clean up and will require professional remediation.

Soot damage will deteriorate objects and structure in your home, sometimes past the point of restoration. Plates and fine China will discolor, paint can be left permanently stained and electronic appliances can be irreversibly damaged. If you see the signs of an impending or prior puffback, get your furnace and oil-burning appliances serviced as soon as possible. In terms of cleaning up the destruction left by a puffback, trust SERVPRO® to get the job done right. Our IICRC certified crew specializes in smoke and fire damage restoration and will make your home look and feel as if a puffback never even happened.

Call SERVPRO of Mid-Outer Cape Cod anytime at 508-778-7378 to set up your free estimate. From Mashpee to Provincetown, we’re on alert 24/7 for your emergency restoration needs.