Smoke Damage Cleaning & Smoke Deodorization

Smoke Damage Cleaning & Smoke Odor Removal

Cleaning smoke damage and soot in your home are not easy and without the right tools and knowledge, you can actually cause more damage. During a fire, even a small fire in one room, smoke can fill up your entire home. Smoke gets everywhere from behind cabinets, light sockets, HVAC system, can stain your walls and even create smoke chains in the corners of your walls and ceilings.

Soot is difficult to clean and should only be trusted by a properly certified restoration professional. Soot is typically oily and can damage furniture, walls, clothing and more if not treated properly.

What’s The Difference Between Soot and Smoke?

Soot is made up of tiny black particles that were created as a result of the incomplete combustion of wood, oil coal, or other fossil fuels. After a house fire, soot can spread throughout the whole home, staining walls, flooring, furniture, and other surfaces with the oily, sticky substance. Soot is also very acidic and can cause poor air quality inside the home if not removed quickly.

Smoke is a very fine vapor that can be seen with the human eye and is produced as a result of a fire or other burning matter. The chemicals in the smoke can vary depending on the type of material that is burning. Smoke can cause irritation to the eyes, nose, and throat even if exposure is short lived. 

Smoke Smell Removal

Removing the smell can be a tricky thing after a home fire if you don’t know what you’re doing. First Restoration Services employees certified fire smoke restoration professionals for all our fire smoke cleaning removal jobs. We have the experience and the correct tools to get the job completed correctly the first time. Sometimes a homeowner will consider a general contractor/builder they are familiar with for the fire damage cleanup. However, the smoke smell removal is a process they (builder/contractor) have never gone through before and don’t have any previous job experience. As a homeowner, the last thing you want to do is hire a contractor to repair and clean your home after a fire only for it to still smell like smoke.

Types of Smoke Damage

Every fire is different, thus, creating different damages and leaving behind different types of smoke residues. Depending on the material that is burning will identify what residue is left behind after the fire has been extinguished.  Each residue will require a different cleaning method to fully remove stains and lingering odors.

Dry Smoke

Dry smoke is caused by hot, fast-burning fires involving wood or paper and will leave behind a powdery, dry residue. The surface residue is easy to clean because it can simply be wiped away from the surface. However, is the smoke has left residue in porous materials or in the cracks of different surfaces it will be much more difficult to remove and will leave a lingering odor behind.

Wet Smoke 

Wet smoke is most commonly caused by the burning of synthetic products like rubber, plastic, and synthetic fabrics. These materials will burn at a low temperature and leave a thin, sticky residue behind as well as a pungent odor. 

Fire Extinguisher 

There are several different brands and types of fire extinguishers, however, the most common is a dry chemical extinguisher. This particular fire extinguisher is made up of different chemicals including mono-ammonium phosphate, sodium bicarbonate, and potassium. This combination of chemicals will leave a fine powder all over the area where sprayed and if not cleaned up quickly the residue will quickly begin to corrode the underlying surface.

Oil Smoke

When any kind of oil is burned a dark residue will be left behind, staining any surface it comes in contact with. The residue will leave a strong, pungent odor throughout the property, and the most efficient solution for cleanup is a degreasing cleaner.

The Smoke Soot Cleanup and Odor Removal Process

When working with any kind of smoke damage it’s important to act quickly to reduce the number of damages to the property. In only a few minutes after a fire, the soot will begin to discolor plastics, appliances, and porous materials like marble. After a few hours, the damages will worsen and the soot residues will stain grout, fiberglass, and unfinished metals will begin to tarnish. To read more about how quickly soot and smoke residues can further deteriorate a property, click HERE.

Once on-site, our technicians will perform an inspection of the damages and identify any unsafe structural damages, then will create a cleanup plan. Every fire is different, so cleaning solutions may vary, but for the most part, our smoke removal experts will follow this method: 

1. Remove The Odor Source. To remove the source of the odor, the team will remove all items that cannot be salvaged and will take salvageable items off-site to clean and deodorize. Completion of this step will remove most of the odors, but further cleaning will be utilized.
2. Interior and Exterior Cleaning. Once all items are removed from the home, the team will work on cleaning the interior and exterior damages of the home. The technicians will use a detergent made specifically used for soot and smoke removal and will clean the surfaces until there are no remaining residues.
3. Odor Counteractant. To ensure there are no traces of smoke odors left behind our teams will use an odor counteractant to remove as much of the smell as possible. This process will include using an thermal fodder and an ozone treatment. 
4. Sealing Affected Area. The final step in the deodorization process is sealing all affected areas to ensure no smoke odors are emitted in the future. As time goes by and season change, wood will expand when warmer weather arrives which can cause smoke odors to emit from the porous material. We ensure this does not happen by applying a sealant to all affected areas.

Why Choose A Professional Smoke Damage and Deodorization Company? 

Smoke damage cleanup and deodorization can be quite daunting and time-consuming. Also, if the right equipment is not used and the proper protocol is not followed, the odors and smoke residues will remain in the home. It’s important to call a professional for properly and efficiently remove smoke residues and smoke odors. 

At First Restoration Services, we know the emotional trauma that comes along with a fire, and we are here to make the process easy and seamless. Our technicians are trained and certified smoke damage removal and deodorization experts and are the best in the industry.