QUESTION FROM Seattle house owner

Our furnace backed up/got clogged while we were out, and when we returned, there was soot and smoke EVERYWHERE. We shut off the furnace, and a professional will come fix the problem, but what do we do meanwhile to help clean out the house? We will have carpet cleaners and maids come out, but is the residue toxic or carcinogenic?

ANSWER FROM POLICY-Wizard™

Dear "Seattle house owner":

Sorry to hear about your furnace problem. What a mess.

Regarding your question about the toxicity of the soot that is now throughout your house, unfortunately, this is beyond our expertise.

However, what I might suggest is that you contact your insurance company and ask them for a recommendation for a list of specialists in this area (typically their policies are not to recommend any one in particular, but they should have a list of preferred professionals). A home insurance company of course deals with this kind of problem all of the time, and I personally had a similar situation to yours, and found my insurance company to be very helpful in finding an expert.

Hope this is helpful.
Home-Wizard.com