HELP! Has Anyone ever gotten a PUFFBACK from the heating system?

[flakypuff]

My fire alarm went off in the middle of the night. When we searched the house the smell in the basement was pretty bad. There was a cloud of black smoke. The people came from the oil company to restart the burner and they said it was a Puff Back... The basement is a mess. There is a black soot all over!!! Everything! Toys, decorations, fitness stuff, kids computer My husband said we would spend this weekend cleaning it. I was cleaning house today and there is a Black kind of dust!!! I have glass top tables and I can't get them clean they are all smeared and black on the cloth. I did notice the kids socks were really dirty at the bottom but didnt make the connection. Could the black dust have come up from the basement???? My DH is afraid if we call the insurance it will make a Black Mark on us He said we will just do a real good cleaning but even the small amount I washed on the wall looks awful! It is all dirty I know this may not be the place to post this but here is were my friends are and I need some help!!!!!!

 

[flakypuff]

Does anyone know What kind of cleaner I can use???

 

[steen995]

I really think you should call your insurance company. It might be best to get a professional cleaner in there.

 

[dandave]

I'm not recommending the following business. They just happened to come up in my search for info. They explain Puff Back to require serious clean-up:

http://www.damagerx.com/services/puffback.cfm

http://dwp.bigplanet.com/contractor1/puffbackdamage/

It seems that it would be a very good idea to have your furnace, it's ducts, and all connections inspected. Apparently the blast could have disconnected things:

"The blast can also knock the flue pipe down. Once the burner door is opened or the flue pipe is down, the burner room and the entire basement rapidly fill up with smoke. If the door is not blown open and the ductwork is not blown down, most of the smoke is channeled up and out the chimney."

http://www.chiefmontagna.com/Articles/Oil Burner Article.htm

 

[tinkarooni]

I am a claims adjuster and I have seen this lots of times. Yes, it could have easily come through your ducts and into the upper levels of your home. This is something that can possibly be covered by insurance depending on your policy. While it seems easy enough that you would just clean it up, the oily soot that comes form a puff back is not like ordinary household dust. Depending on what type of paint you have on your walls and how bac the soot is you may need to paint some of the more sooty rooms. Keep in mind too that if you make it worse and than decide to call your insurance company they might give you a hard time. This type of cleaning is best done by the professionals but if you want to do it yourself try calling a local cleaning company, try looking under insurance restoration contractors and see if you can purchase their cleaning supplies. We have a company called Servicemaster (franchise) who sells their supplies at retail cost. Unfortunately I can not tell you the name of what they use but maybe an internet search could assist you. Good Luck!

 

[SplshMtn99]

I worked at an insurance agency for 12 yrs until very recently.

DON'T TRY TO CLEAN IT YOURSELF. You'll track it everywhere & make everything worse.

Call your insurance agent right away. It's covered subject to deductible.
They will send someone like ServiceMaster or ServePro out. A restoration company....and your home will be sparkling clean when done.

Or if you prefer, call them yourself......but be prepared for $$$$$.

I would file the claim in a heartbeat. Assuming you haven't filed 1 or more claims already in the past 3 yrs. This is a large claim -- I would file no matter what. If next type of claim is small, eat it yourself.

ETA: I had a customer have one right before Christmas once....dust was even on the christmas tree ornaments. She was in tears because she was hosting Christmas. She called later to say how happy she was with how it was all cleaned up. She had another puffback a couple of years later.... I think she just wanted her house cleaned again. just kidding.

So, look on the bright side...... your spring cleaning will be all done for you! good luck

 

[chipmunkfan]

I used to clean oil heaters a few years ago and I know the black soot can go everywhere because its so fine. I would do what others had suggested and just call your insurance company. For the future...make sure you get your heater cleaned every year and check it every once it a while for signs of the soot around the heater. However, if you just had your heater cleaned than your service person made some wrong adjustments....

 

[lucas]

So sorry to hear about the mess!

 

[imageid]

What a mess!! I have no advice, just P & PD 4U!

 

[CheapMom]

Yes- we have had a similar situation- call your insurance company- they hired Service Master to come out and clean everything in the house. Dry cleaners had to clean all our clothes and drapes, people came to clean our electronics. We eventually had to have most rooms repainted. We had to throw a lot of stuff away. It was a like a greasy charcoal film over everything- -
Our happened slowly over a few days- it was a disgusting mess- Sorry it happened to you.

 

[TiggerStac]

We had one at our house, about 5 years ago. We put a claim in with our insurance co and all we had was our deductible. Service pro came out and cleaned everything, they were wonderful!! When they came out to do the estimate, she had some sponge thing that she ran on the wall and it took off the soot..it was nasty. And my walls are an offwhite. I really couldn't see it, but when she took it off...
They cleaned everything, even had our comforters, etc cleaned. I have a lot of Disney Collectibles (artwork, etc) that I had cleaned. They knew how to handle them. It was the best cleaning my house has ever had...

 

[ohiomom28]

Do you have your oil furnace serviced every year? I am a dispatcher for a HVAC company and thats what we recommend. This happened recently to one customer and they needed a new furnace. I would have someone check it and have the oil filter and oil nozzle replaced.