Soot webs: what are they?

5/9/2022 (Permalink)

They aren't spider webs. These black webs are caused by soot after a fire occurs.

When we enter a home with fire damage, we see a lot of different things. Black dust on the tops of door frames and furniture, soot on AC registers and smoke damage on the ceilings. Something else very common we see is something called soot webs, or soot tags. 

Soot webs are black 'cob web' looking things. Most of the time, a home owner will think that the soot has attached itself to all of the dust webs and cob webs in their home, and they always say "I did not realize my house was so dusty!" No fear, it is not dust. 

Soot webs or tags form in areas of little circulation when synthetic or petroleum based sources burn. Soot particles follow the air into colder areas with lower circulation and concentrate in those areas. Since the soot occurs due to a combustion event, it makes the particles create long chains of soot. So do not worry! It is not dust or spider webs. It is just something fires leave behind, and is no issue for us to clean up. 

If your home or business suffers from fire damage, give us a call. Soot webs, smoke damage, water damage from sprinklers. We will take care of your property from start to finish.