How Do I Clean Smoke Damage?

If your home or commercial space has experienced a fire, it may have smoke damage like foul odors, soot, and yellowing surfaces. However, you can clean up smoke damage to restore your property and reduce the likelihood of experiencing adverse health effects, like respiratory conditions.

That’s why United Water Restoration Group of The Woodlands would like to cover 7 steps you can take to clean smoke damage and discuss how our experienced technicians can save your building from smoke damage in The Woodlands, Texas.

Wear Protective Gear

Be sure to wear protective gear like rubber gloves, goggles, and a face mask. These tools can protect you from adverse health effects that occur after spending time around smoke damage and cleaning chemicals. Wearing protective gear while you clean smoke damage will help prevent concerns that may arise from the foul odors left behind. 

Clean Fabrics Using Odor-Removing Chemicals

Use products with tri-sodium phosphate, a compound known for reducing odors in fabrics, to wash clothes, curtains, and other household items. Just make sure to follow the products’ instructions for safe and effective use. Using these chemicals while you clean smoke damage up can drastically help your process. 

Ventilate Your Space

Make sure you open all the windows in your space to bring in the fresh air. Open all the doors and set up fans to circulate air throughout the building. However, turn off your HVAC system to prevent spreading smoke damage elsewhere. While you clean smoke damage up, you should always have proper ventilation to help ensure your own safety. 

Do a Once-Over With Soot Cleaner & Dry-Cleaning Sponge

Get a dry-cleaning sponge and run it over walls, windows, ceilings, and other surfaces to get as much soot and other smoke damage off of your property. Then, use a soot cleaner to better clean areas of smoke damage in The Woodlands.

Scrub Walls With Soap

Go over the walls and other surfaces with fresh cloths or sponges, water, and mild soap to get spots you may have missed or stains that are harder to remove.

Clean Your Floors

Vacuum the carpets, rugs, and other soft floorings in your space, and sweep hard floors, too. This step helps remove surface-level soot and debris. Then, you can use flooring-specific cleaners to scrub carpets, hardwood flooring, linoleum, and others to give the areas a more thorough clean.

Trust the Experts

If cleaning up smoke damage in The Woodlands homes and commercial buildings is too big a task, call expert restoration professionals like United Water Restoration Group of The Woodlands, Texas. We can assess the damage, use commercial-grade cleaners and techniques, and quickly bring your space back to normal.

Call us at (281) 297-8500. Our lines are open 24/7 so we can connect you with an experienced technician as soon as possible.