How to Get Smoke Smell Out of House After a Fire
Eliminating the lingering effects of smoke damage with tips from the experts at ServiceMaster Restore.
Going through a fire is stressful. Fires can cause extensive damage throughout your home or property, which requires the help of professionals to restore.
In addition to repairing items burnt, soot-covered, or damaged by water from firefighting efforts, there’s also the question of how to remove the smoke smell from the house. The smell of soot or smoke can linger well after a fire, causing unwanted discomfort or damage to you and your family.
This comprehensive guide will walk you through removing smoke odours from your home. We’ve included immediate steps, deep cleaning suggestions, and odour-neutralisation recommendations.
4 Immediate Steps to Get Rid of Fire Smoke Smell
- Ensure the Fire is Completely Extinguished: This might seem obvious, but it’s crucial. Never attempt to clean or ventilate until you’re sure the fire is out and any investigations are complete.
- Ventilate (When Safe): Once it’s safe, open windows and doors to circulate fresh air. Use fans to exhaust smoky air outwards, not just within the house.
- Contact Your Insurance Company: Notify your insurance provider as soon as possible to begin the claims process.
- Assess the Damage: Carefully evaluate the extent of the smoke damage. This will help determine whether you can handle the cleanup or need professional smoke odour cleaning.
How to Clean and Deodorise to Remove Smoke Smell
Essentially, everything in a home affected by fire smoke needs to be cleaned.
Some items may only require thorough airing to remove the smoke smell. However, most items, such as carpeting, rugs, curtains, upholstery, and clothing, will need a thorough cleaning and possible sanitisation.
While special tools and techniques used by professionals will be more effective, you can still take some steps to mitigate the damage caused by the smoke odour from items.
We’ll break it down by material type:
Cleaning Fabrics (Clothing, Bedding, Curtains, etc.)
- Wash Everything Washable. Use a high-quality detergent and add a laundry booster designed for odour removal. Don’t forget often-overlooked items like pet bedding, stuffed animals, and even decorative pillows.
- Dry Clean Delicate Items. Take delicate fabrics to a professional dry cleaner, and be sure to tell them about the smoke damage.
- Dealing with Oily Soot. If your fabrics have oily soot, avoid using your washing machine, as it can clog. Instead, try taking them to a dry cleaner.
- Storing Clean Materials. After cleaning, store items away from the affected area to prevent re-contamination.
Cleaning Hard Surfaces (Walls, Ceilings, Woodwork, etc.)
- Wipe Down Everything. Use mild detergent and water to clean all hard surfaces, including painted surfaces, baseboards, doors, window frames/sills, and the outside and interiors of all cabinets and drawers.
Pro-Tip:
- Act quickly. The acidic soot can cause metallic surfaces to corrode or rust within hours. Likewise, hard surfaces such as wood, wallpaper, drywall, or paint may start to discolour if soot is not removed shortly after damage. Remove soot as soon as possible to avoid hard-to-remove stains or odours.
Cleaning Carpets and Upholstery
- Vacuum carpets and upholstery with a HEPA-filtered vacuum. Avoid using an upright vacuum with a beater bar on upholstery, as this can push soot deeper into the fibres. Use a brush attachment and vacuum gently.
- Spot Cleaning. For smaller areas, try spot cleaning with a specialised smoke odour remover. Test the cleaner in an inconspicuous area first.
- Professional Cleaning. For heavy smoke damage or if DIY methods are ineffective, consider hiring a professional smoke odour removal company.
Pro-Tips:
- Upright Vacuums. Avoid vacuuming curtains or upholstery if you’re using an upright vacuum. The brushes can cause soot to go deeper into the material, resulting in more damage. Using the right equipment to remove the soot is important.
- What to Do with Smoke-Damaged Wood Furniture. When cleaning, keep smoke-damaged wood furniture away from your carpet. The cleaning solutions may leak and cause carpet stains unless there is a protective barrier between the two.
Cleaning Hidden Areas (Drawers, Wardrobes, Light Fixtures, etc.)
Smoke can infiltrate even the smallest spaces. Empty and clean drawers and wardrobes thoroughly. Also, remember to clean light fixtures, behind appliances, and other often-overlooked areas.
Here are several tips for cleaning the hidden areas:
- Drawers and Wardrobes. Empty them, wipe down all surfaces with a mild detergent, and leave them open to air out.
- Light Fixtures. Wash removable covers and shades, wipe down bulbs and fixtures, and consider replacing bulbs with persistent odours.
- Behind Appliances. Pull out appliances, vacuum, and wipe down surfaces.
- Empty and wipe down all interior surfaces.
- Under Furniture. Move furniture, vacuum, and clean underneath.
Odour Neutralisation Recommendations
- Bicarbonate of Soda. Place bowls of bicarb around the house. Sprinkle it on carpets, let it sit, and then vacuum it up.
- Activated Charcoal. Activated charcoal is another excellent odour absorber. Use charcoal bags or filters.
- Place bowls of white vinegar around the house or simmer vinegar on the stovetop (just be careful not to burn it!).
- Air Purifiers. A good quality air purifier with a HEPA filter and an activated carbon filter can help remove smoke particles and odours from the air.
Note: These products may not be as effective at removing the smoke smell alone, but could help areas that weren’t as directly affected by the fire smoke.
Factors That Affect Smoke Odour Removal
Removing smoke odours from your home or property after a fire can seem straightforward. However, the amount of time needed to do so will depend on various factors.
These factors include:
- Type of Soot. There are two types of soot: dry and oily. Dry soot is easier to clean and can be handled with a sponge and a low-alkaline detergent. Oily soot requires special techniques and equipment to be safely removed from your home. If you’re unsure, it’s time to get help from a professional to ensure that your home and belongings aren’t damaged.
- Size of the Fire-damaged Area. If the affected area is small, the amount of effort needed to eliminate smoke smells will often be lower when compared to a large building with multiple rooms.
- Size of the Fire. A larger fire can cause more damage, which will, in turn, lead to more potential for smoke odour throughout your property.
- Time Delay After Fire. The longer you wait, the worse the smoke damage will get. Even if the damage seems minimal, most materials at home can start to yellow, discolour, rust, or corrode due to the impact of acidic soot or smoke particles. Treating them as soon as possible can improve your chances of reducing the need for more care.
- Types of Materials Burned. Materials throughout your home react differently to soot and smoke molecules. Porous hard surfaces such as drywall, wallpaper, wood, and paint can become discoloured and permanently stained unless treated quickly. Acidic soot from a fire may also cause metallic surfaces to start rusting and corroding. Even cleaning your furniture may be damaging. Cleaning chemicals may seep into your carpet as it dries, carrying soot and smoke molecules that can cause stains.
- Fire smoke infiltrates all areas of a home. It can seep into carpeting, furniture, clothing, draperies, books and even woodwork. Removing fire smoke smell from a home is a process best left to the professionals with the expertise, specialised equipment, and ability to work safely within your home without causing further damage.
Need Professional Smoke Odour Removal? We Can Help.
Call us if you’d like to trust your smoke-smell removal to the pros. After your home is affected by smoke, contact ServiceMaster Restore for smoke odour removal services that will restore it to normal.
Our team will work with you to ensure that your salvageable belongings are restored and that your home is free from smoke odours. We will also inspect your property after fire damage to ensure no extensive damage results in costly repairs down the road.
The experts at ServiceMaster Restore are standing by to help you remove unwanted odours from your home or office. Find your nearest experts or call 0800 021 3970 in a crisis to see how we can help you today.
