Anyone out there familiar with cleaning smoke damage caused by house fire? How about cigarette smoke damage?

I recieved a call today from a friend saying he might need my help cleaning the main floor of a smoke damaged house. Apparantly there was a small fire in the basement that caused alot of damage down there and some serious smoke damage throughout the house.

I am partial to the Benefect line of products because of their being greener than most. Although I don't do much smoke damage or restoration I recently did try their line of smoke and soot cleaner and it worked wonderfully for us in a home were the residents had smoked heavily for years (approx 20) without ever cleaning the walls or paneling. This product made quick time of the work.

http://www.benefect.com/usa/products/fire.htm

Thanks for the tip, T. I'll call the local janitorial supply stores and see if Benefect is available tommorrow!

it is not available everywhere, here is a list of links that you can get it thru. Look for the location nearest you to save on shipping.

http://www.benefect.com/usa/distribu...stributors.htm

We had this discussion an another message board. Out of respect for this board's policy I cannot post the link here but if you'd like email me at [email protected] and I can supply you with a link.

I know this is a little different than what most here are used to but I do Fire Restoration BUT I do it with Dry Ice Blasting. Very effective and fast...however it won't work on painted surfaces. The basis is you blast raw framing etc. As for removing soot/smoke damage from appliances/furniture etc. they will require another application as proposed above or disposed of...that smell is tough to remove!

yes Chebar, i am familiar with fire damage restoration. i have personally experience this situation.smoking affects the colour of walls. They left spots on the wall which looks dirty when see. Regular smoking also affect the environment of the home very much.They left harmfull germs which affect also those peoples who will not smoked.

I have to agree with the poster above who mentioned dry ice blasting. This is a fantastic application for it because you create no secondary waste. The pellets are co2 and sublimate on contact - gone. When the pellets hit the surface and sublimate, they shear off the top 1/32" or so of wood. Saw dust and soot go airborne and can then be sucked up by air scrubbers. Dry ice blast cleaning also has some benefit in removing the soot smell. These guys do dry ice blasting all over the USA, Greene Dry Ice Blasting

Yes, dry ice blasting is a very affective way of removing smoke/fire damage. According to this dry ice website, it can even take soot off of wood. The one thing to keep in mind is that it may get expensive. But dry ice blasting is a great way to restore after fire damage.

My company makes many fire damage repairs, and while it's always a good idea to contact professionals, here are some cleaning tips you can do in the meantime.

1. Roll up all of your oriental rugs to prevent them from being damaged further.
2. Discard all open food packages, as they could be contaminated.
3. If your electricity is off, clean out your fridge and freezer. Leave the doors open or place charcoal in the unit.
4. If any of your clothing needs fire damage repair, send them to a clothing company that specializes in treating smoke damage.
5. Clean Forrnica and chrome features in your kitchen and bathrooms to make sure that they aren't permanently tarnished. It's also a good idea to do this to porcelain bath fixtures to prevent any etching.
6. Change your air filter on your furnace if it uses forced hot air. To catch soot coming out of your air outlet, tape cheesecloth over the intake.
7. Open your windows and leave them open--best way to rid a house of odor.
8. Don't wait to contact help. The longer the fire damage sits, the harder it will be to get rid of.


Hope this helps! Good Luck!

One effective cleaner for fire and smoke damage is the Trisodium Phosphate (TSP), A chemical commonly used for cleaning exterior surfaces.

Smoke damage is quiet a serious problem to deal with. I suggest to get professional damage restoration help, because no matter how much you try to clean it from the surface, smoke is the type of thing that remains in carpets and property. Technically, after a fire, everything should be carried out from the property, inventoried, and cleaned before being used again. Otherwise the smoke will stay in furniture and ultimately effect your health. The whole area should be deodorized (for fire smoke or cigarette smoke) professionally. Also, if you have a carpet you definitely want to change it. Your air filter should also be changed and even clothing with heavy smoke should be sent out to a restoration dry cleaner. In the end though, I say get a fire/smoke damage restoration company to take care of your house, because incorrect cleaning can lead to soot residue and oil from hands can cause more damage. I can offer some good companies if you're interested. Good luck !

In what house cleaning solutions I can find that chemical? Or it is purchase as it self?

There is a carpet if anyone of the familiar is smoking there that is harmful for carpet and ess of that is dangerous for the carpet so be careful from smoking

As for removing soot/smoke damage from appliances/furniture etc. they will require another application as proposed above or disposed of.

Fire is a form of catastrophe that can start out so little and end up with massive amount of damage. It is therefore crucial for both home and business owners to set up some kind of protection to reduce their great loss in case this unlucky incident happens.

You must go to cleaning service provider and ask them what you should do to clean it. I didn’t see the position of your home that how much it affected by fire but according to me you have to paint it again or reconstruct it.

Fire damage restoration process can prove dangerous to us if done without the supervision of professionals. For cleaning up the place damaged by fire damage, we should always call professional for help instead of inviting more troubles. They have appropriate equipments to deal with the toxic smoke.

If you have recently been the victim of fire to your home or business, we can quickly remove smoke residues from exterior walls and interior beams, brick tile and concrete.
Dry Ice Blasting (CO2 cleaning) is a relatively new cleaning process using compressed air to accelerate frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice) pellets to a supersonic speed to impact and clean a surface that has been damaged by fire.
Dry ice blasting is the superior alternative to Media Blasting, Solvents, Water, Steam, Hand Cleaning, Chemicals and Abrasives. It is a non-abrasive, non-conductive and environmentally friendly alternative to traditional sand, soda and other abrasive blasting processes.