Have to go look at a house that had a minor puff back - lite soot on the carpet from the heating unit. Was thinking of using encap on this (carpet is almost new) - any thoughts?

Prespray with punch,then rinse extract

Vacuum,Vacuum,Vacuum,Vacuum,Vacuum, and encap should clean it. If you have one, I would run a cotton bonnet over it to make sure it doesn't come out black. If you're not satisfied with the results then I would HWE. Run a white towel over the upholstery and show the homeowner that it needs to be cleaned also. When I cleaned soot, I only had HWE but that was quite a while ago.

Don't know if you are doing the whole house as an insurance job, but puff backs are covered under homeowners insurance. The upholstery will have soot on it also. Everything gets black on furnace blowbacks. The people will have to get their oil furnace cleaned and serviced by their local oil company. Look at the walls and you will notice small black circles which are the nails in the studs. Flat painted surface only can be cleaned using dry-chem sponges. Glossy painted surfaces cleaned with a good wall cleaner. Depending on the size of the house and amount of carpets & upholstery these jobs can bring you $1,500 to over $2,300 for a couple days of work.

Thanks Charles - the oil company is paying as they improperly seviced the furnace (3 times!). I am bringing a chem sponge to check the walls. I will also check the furniture as well. I was planning on doing lots of vacuuming with my windsor then encaping using a floor machine with a white pad maybe and a bonnet.
I ahve been doing lots of area rug clenaing lately for a dry cleaner that does puff back clean ups - rugs are nasty but the results sre great!

These jobs keep us alive during the winter, and they are great!!

We use encap 80% of the time. Usually if it is light, encap will solve the problem. Vacuuming is important, even if the furniture doesn't look dirty, vac it any way.

They should have a restoration company to clean up the house, contents, etc. (unless a rental). If they do come in, make sure you don't loose the carpets & furniture to them.

Also, take it as an opportunity to meet a restoration company. The guys i work for contract me out to do the carpets & furniture cause they don't want to bother. It has enabled us to have a steady income through winter time.

We chage a little less than what the insurance pays the restoration company, so they get a little kick back for the referal.

Actually,most insurance companies, as well as homeowners would rather deal with 1 company only.Cleaning up post smoke and soot isn't hard at all...more like a masculine maid kind of thing.

If you are able to take care of the whole thing,as you know, you're not leaving money on the table as well as having a more desirable "product" for the one who writes the checks.