How Fire Pits Damage Patios And How To Prevent It

CONTENTS

• Are fire pits safe?
• Do fire pits damage a patio?
• What to do if a fire pit has damaged your patio
• Risks of cleaning up a fire-damaged patio
• Get in touch

Fire pits can be a great addition to your patio, but owning one comes with individual hazards you should be aware of. Fire damage can be just as lethal on an exterior structure as it is indoors, posing a structural and health risk.

Here at ICE Cleaning, our thorough and effective fire damage cleaning services can remove all traces of soot from your patio. Our technicians can use industrial-grade solutions with our modern equipment that will achieve a complete restoration of your patio.

Read on to learn more about how fire pits could damage your patio and how you can prevent it.

Are fire pits safe?

If used cautiously and responsibly, you will likely enjoy your fire pit without incident. However, over time a natural accumulation of soot and repeated heat will damage the surface of your patio.

A poorly built pit and careless behaviour can also lead directly to a fire, which may spread to the exterior of your home and destroy your patio.

It could also cause serious harm to yourself or anyone nearby if not used safely. You must take the following precautions to ensure your fire pit is as safe as possible:

• Ensure a fire extinguisher is always nearby
• Do not ignite or use a fire pit if intoxicated
• Do not clean the pit until it has had time to cool down
• Use fire pit tools if you must interact with it
• Remain a safe distance from the fire
• Avoid wearing flammable clothing like nylon or polyester
• Do not light in windy conditions
• Use a safety screen
• Do not spray or pour any flammable liquids or sprays into the fire

Do fire pits damage a patio?

Even heat-resistant materials like stone, brick, and concrete become damaged by a fire pit over time. With constant exposure to high temperatures, the hard materials begin to dehydrate and could lead to cracking or expanding.

The surface colour may change due to smoke damage or spalling, where the material breaks away into small pieces.

If you have a wood-burner fire pit, you will need to use cured or well-dried wood when using your fire pit. This reduces the amount of thick smoke that comes out of the fire, preventing any hot vapours or soot damage from occurring.

If smoke damage spreads across your patio, this could result in structural damage where the porous materials of your home will become stained and might warp some fixtures like doors and windows.

Large amounts of smoke may also cause health problems to anyone nearby, and the smoke odours could cling to your clothing and hair.

What to do if a fire pit has damaged your patio

When your patio has been impacted by fire damage, including discolouration, or becoming coated in soot, you should call fire restoration services immediately. More intensive cleaning might be required if a fire broke out on the patio. 

If smoke entered your home through an open door or window, smoke odour removal services may be necessary to remove all the soot for your safety. In the meantime, you should ventilate your house and avoid using your fire pit.

If you notice a build-up of soot around your fire pit or signs of cracking and crumbling in the surface of your patio, you will need to bring in professional cleaners. Fire restoration services or stone and brick cleaning services can do this for you. You must not try to clean fire damage yourself.

Risks of cleaning up a fire-damaged patio

By cleaning fire damage yourself, you may make it worse and accelerate the deterioration of your patio. Without the specialist equipment that fire damage cleaners have access to, you cannot clean the affected areas or remove the odour.

Fire damage can create a dangerous environment if left alone on your patio. When fire damage leaves behind an accumulation of soot, you might touch or inhale toxins like tar, asbestos, and carbon monoxide. If you try to clean soot yourself, you may be at risk of:

• Respiratory irritation and illnesses
• Triggering asthma attacks
• Bronchitis
• Coronary heart disease
• Cancer

Get in touch

ICE Cleaning’s experts can thoroughly restore your patio with our fire cleaning services. Our expert technicians are available 24/7, including bank holidays. We will utilise the best solutions and tools suited to your patio’s needs and can effectively remove all traces of harmful fire damage.

If you have any questions about our industrial cleaning solutions, talk to our customer service team at 0208 066 0360 or send an inquiry to enquiries@icecleaning.co.uk.