Removing Smoke Odor From Your Home

5/21/2018 (Permalink)

Need help dealing with smoke odor in your home? Perhaps you had a small fire in your kitchen and you are now left with a smokey smell inside your home.  In this blog we will address the main points you need to know in effectively dealing with and eliminating smoke odor.

To begin every situation will be different depending on the severity of the fire damage incident, the bigger and hotter the fire the more difficult it will be in removing smoke odor as higher temperatures cause the pores of materials to open up more and thus absorbing more of the smoke odor. However, proper smoke odor removal will entail a combination of tactics including cleaning, deodorizing, and sealing of materials.

The 4 steps to removing smoke odor in your home are:

Step 1 – Remove any and all burnt materials from your home (or area you are trying to rid smoke smell from). As long as the source of the smell (in this case burnt materials) is present, you will have a difficult time removing the smokey odor. If burnt areas or items can't be removed  (such as structural materials) then you may need to apply a sealant to the area which  will lock in the odor.

Step 2 – Install an AFD (Air Filtration Device) unit with carbon activated filters. An AFD unit with a HEPA filter is not enough, and will not be efficient at removing smoke odors. Make sure you are equipping the AFD unit with carbon filters as these are what  will absorb and trap the gases and odor.

Step 3- Clean all affected areas. This means all areas near and around the fire incident, including the actual area the fire took place in (do not use any water or wet cleaning in this step). In this process you want to get rid of all surface soot and dusts, depending on the type you could vacuum some of it away. After you have tried vacuuming the larger particles you should then do some dry-chem sponge cleaning (you should be able to pick up these up at your local Home-Depot). The sponge will absorb remaining soot and smoke (working as an eraser) as opposed to smearing them, which is what wet cleaning would do.

Step 4 – Spray Deodorizers to all smoke affected areas.  In this step the aim is to re penetrate the surface pores of affected areas with a deodorizing agent. You should use a deodorizing agent geared towards smoke damage. Next, follow the instructions on how to mix the chemical. Using a spray bottle to deodorize all surfaces including walls and carpets (obviously do not spray it on water sensitive areas like electronics etc.) Let the solution sit and soak while it does its job. As the chemical dries you should be able to assess the situation and see if the smell is gone or if it needs another  application. If this is not working effectively then it is likely because the fire was of a larger size and or higher heat, which may require a thermal fogging treatment. Thermal fogging replicates the heat like attributes of the fire which opens up the pores of building materials even more, however this should be reserved for the professionals.

There you have it, the 4 steps in dealing with smoke odors in your home. These steps should work well in a situation where the severity of the smoke smell is low-medium. Again, for severe jobs you should be contracting a local fire restoration company to take over the job and restore your home to its preloss condition.

Fire/Smoke Damage in your home or business? Contact the professionals here at SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County today to speak to a Mitigation specialists. 502.241.6861

SERVPRO of Oldham/Shelby County also proudly serves Spencer, Henry and Trimble counties.