How to Get Rid of the Smoke Smell After A Fire

According to a report by the NFPA, residential fires are a common occurrence in the US. Between 2013 and 2017, over 354,400 incidents of home fire took place. The incidents also resulted in $6.9 billion in property damage.

Fire incidents are not just life-threatening but also expensive to deal with. The effects of a fire incident on your belongings can linger on for weeks and even months. One of the major issues that homeowners deal with is the smoke smell that remains.

Here are a few ways you can deal with it:

Remove all the affected objects

This goes without saying. You need to be quick to remove all the rugs, furniture, cushions, blankets, fabric materials, curtains, and all other woven material. Send them to a professional cleaner and get them dry cleaned as soon as possible. Every fabric item in the room needs to be completely free of odor. Fabric works like a sponge when it comes to soaking smell.

Once the items have been thoroughly cleaned, keep them away from the home until the rest of the smoke particles have been eradicated.

Clean all the surfaces

This might come off as a surprise, but solid surfaces can retail smoke odor as well. These include your countertops, windowsills, screens, appliances, cabinets, doors, and walls. The floor needs to be washed as well. Give your home a detailed deep cleaning to eradicate the smell.

All you need is a bucket of warm water, some distilled vinegar, a teaspoon of cleaning solution. You can also use liquid dishwashing soap or shampoo. For any wooden surfaces, purchase a special cleaning solution formulated for wood. You can either mop the floor with the cleaning solution that you prepared or spray it onto the surfaces using a spray bottle. Rinse all the surfaces with fresh water and wipe them clean with a sponge or cloth.

When you’re washing the windows, make sure you focus on the window frames and sills. This is where the smoke residue binds. If the residue seems too stubborn, use a scrub.

Clean the carpets and upholstery

Smoke particles could be a lot more stubborn if they get deeply embedded in the carpet fibers. If your room has upholstery or carpets, the smell could take longer to go away. Just vacuuming the carpet or steam cleaning won’t be enough. Even home DIYs would only be effective for a few hours and the smell would eventually come back.

It’s recommended to leave the job to the experts. Professional carpet cleaners also know how to handle delicate and valuable silk upholstery without damaging it. They will use the hot water extraction method and appropriate cleaning solutions to prevent discoloration and will groom the fiber so they retain the original shape.

Service Master Colorado is offering fire and water damage repair services to help you deal with the aftermaths of a fire incident. We are also offering mold removal services across Steamboat. For more information, drop us a message.