What to do After A Puff Back — And how to avoid them

Regular maintenance and inspections are critical to keep your heating system running smoothly all season long. If your heating system is poorly ventilated, starts to clog or is not functioning correctly, your chances of experiencing a puff back when starting up or running your furnace are greatly increased.

While you may be more familiar with a car backfiring, a puff back occurs when an oil burner backfires and sends smoke, soot, and ash into your home or business. The amount of damage caused by a puff back can range from a minor inconvenience impacting just a boiler room to catastrophic damage of your whole structure, contents and appliances. Professional restoration is often needed to mitigate a puff back. American Restoration Solutions has the tools, equipment, and experience needed to tackle any size puff back. 

When do I need to call a mitigation company?

As soon as you suspect small chronic puff-backs or suffer one large event, call an emergency mitigation company like American Restoration Solutions as soon as possible. DON’T TRY TO CLEAN UP YOURSELF! Soot from a puff back can cover walls, ceilings, cabinets, clothing, carpets, furniture, bedding, drapes and everything else in your home or business in a thin film. Smoky streaks can occur on walls while fabrics can become black, smelly, and sticky. As soot from a puff back is mixed with oil, it can also be very challenging to clean. American Restoration Solutions uses specially formulated soot sponges designed to trap the oil, while most consumer grade products just end up smearing the oil instead of cleaning it. After a puff back the air may also contain toxic particles requiring the use of HEPA air scrubbers to remove particulate from the air. A puff back that occurs in a forced-air heating system is typically the most damaging, as the extensive ductwork allows soot to travel throughout the entire structure.

What Caused My Puff Back?

When a boiler or heating system is not running efficiently, unburnt fuel accumulates in or around the combustion chamber. When enough unburnt fuel accumulates, it can ignite and cause an explosion or misfire inside the furnace. This backfire, called a “puff back,” forces soot and smoke out of the exhaust system and into the dwelling. Puff backs can occur in oil or gas-fired boilers, furnaces, or water heaters. They are most likely to occur in oil-fired heating appliances because gas does not accumulate the same way. Oil puff backs are often the most damaging because oil creates more soot than gas.

One and Done?

Not all puff backs are the same. A puff back may be a single large explosion sending massive amounts of built-up soot and smoke into a structure, or be a series of smaller chronic puff backs that occur every time burner ignition occurs. These chronic puff backs can still cause soot to accumulate in vents and filters, on ceilings, baseboards or carpets as well as lower the overall air quality in the structure.

What to Do If a Puff Back Happens

If you experience a puff back, immediately turn off the heating system to prevent further damage if able. Open all windows if there is a large amount of smoke or exit the premises if unable to open the windows. If there is a risk of fire or carbon monoxide call emergency services. Once the building is safe, call an emergency mitigation company like American Restoration Solutions. We’ll arrive on the scene ASAP and work with your insurance company to minimize any out of pocket costs.