Cures for Smoke Damage

Smoke can cause just as much damage as flames during a fire.smoke 05 image by Dragan Saponjic from Fotolia.com

A fire can be a devastating event, but when the flames have faded, it can be the smoke that causes the most damage. Even with proper cleaning, textiles and fabrics can maintain smoke damage and odor for months after you've forgotten the flames. There are a number of products and techniques you can use to freshen your area and to leave the memory of the fire behind.

Fresh Air

It may seem like a simple solution, but circulating fresh air through the area that was damaged by fire can make a world of difference when it comes to smoke damage. Even just opening the windows and doors in the area will help remove lingering haze and smell from smoke.

Do your best to get fresh air circulating through the whole area. Install window fans, some blowing in and some blowing out, so that there is a constant flow of stale air out and fresh air in. If you can run any exterior vents, like the fan in your bathroom or opening in a heating or cooling system, this can be even more effective in removing the stale air.

Remember to clean the vents, filters or fans often while clearing out smoke damage. There will still be a lot of soot in the air, and this will build up on fans and filters that are circulating the air. Check your fans and filters every few hours to make sure they are not blocked by dirt and soot.

Whenever you step on a carpet, you release small amounts of dirt, dust and other contaminants that hide within. In terms of smoke damage, the residue of soot and smoke can remain in carpets for a long time, and the smell will linger and spread every time you step onto the carpeted area.

Even if you have repairs or professional restoration done, shampoo your carpets at the beginning of your cleanup process. According to the Disaster Handbook published by the University of Florida, having carpets cleaned twice--before and after repairs and restoration--will be more effective in removing smoke odor and residue from the area. When you have cleaned the carpet once, cover it with plastic or another form of protection during other cleaning activities, and then shampoo it again to remove any other buildup that has formed from the other cleaning process.

Even if you wash textiles like clothing and curtains a dozen times, you may never be rid of the smoke odor unless you take steps to deodorize the materials. A pretreatment before wash can be the key component in ridding yourself of that smoky smell.

Soak your textiles overnight in a mixture of warm water and dishwashing detergent. If you are dealing with white fabrics, adding bleach to the mix will help in the cleaning process. This pretreatment helps to force residual smoke and soot out of the fibers of the textiles, eliminating any lingering odors. Wash your textiles as usual five or six times after the pretreatment for full cleaning and deodorizing.

One of the most obvious results of fire damage is soot, which stains nearly every surface in the area of a fire. Pretreating and washing textiles and carpets will remove soot there, but your solid areas also will be stained. Alcohol is best for treating these areas.

Chemical cleaners like rubbing alcohol or paint thinner will dissolve the compounds in soot and make it easier to remove. Remember that these chemical cleaners give off fumes, so always ventilate the area well. Scrub with a sponge dampened in chemical cleaner to remove these unsightly stains. Never use a water-based cleaner on soot stains, as water can make the stain bleed deeper into the surface.