Smoke Damage Cleaning & Smoke Deodorization
Fire smoke damage can be very difficult to clean and remove in your home, especially if you don’t have the proper training. At First Response Services, all our technicians have been certified by the IICRC Fire and Smoke Restoration course.
Smoke Damage Removal Process
Smoke removal is not easy, smoke can in the smallest spaces and crevices and cause damage you may not see on initial inspection. Smoke damage from a fire will get behind your cabinets, vanity, and even your wall outlet sockets. The only way to clean in these areas and remove the smoke odor is to remove the cabinets off the wall in order to get behind them and to use a specific technology to fog the space in order to deodorize those spaces unreachable by hand. Don’t attempt to clean your home yourself before consulting a smoke removal professional company, many times without the right expertise and tools, you can cause more harm than good.
Smoke Removal & Deodorization Services
Cleaning Personal Belongings
One of the most difficult items to do without professional help is to clean your fire smoke damaged contents. The smoke from the fire will permeate the material leaving an odor, leave oily soot behind causing damage to the surface or worse. It’s important to remember to have good documentation on all high dollar personal belongings for insurance purposes. When is comes to cleaning, leave it to the professionals.
What Happens When You Don’t Clean Smoke Damage
According to the IICRC, the longer you wait to clean the damage, the more in cost and damages you will incur.
Acid soot residues cause plastics to yellow; small appliances located close to the source of combustion discolor; highly porous materials (marble, alabaster) discolor permanently.
Acid residues stain grout in bathrooms; fiberglass bath fixtures may yellow; uncoated metals tarnish, counter tops may yellow; finishes on appliances, particularly refrigerators, may yellow; furniture finishes may discolor.
In time, acid residues cause painted walls to yellow permanently; metal corrodes, pits and rusts; wood furniture requires refinishing; vinyl flooring requires refinishing or replacement; clothing becomes soot stained; upholstery stains permanently.
Restoration costs escalate tremendously. Synthetic carpet fibers may yellow or discolor permanently; silver plate is corroded permanently; glass, crystal, china may require replacement due to severe etching and pitting caused by prolonged exposure to acid soot residues.
Smoke Damage Cleanup FAQs
Yes. Smoke penetrates into the smallest crevices — behind cabinets, inside wall outlets, under flooring — and leaves behind oily soot residue and persistent odors that require professional equipment and techniques to fully remove. Attempting to clean smoke damage without proper training can make the damage worse.
Our smoke damage services include: cleaning and deodorizing all structural surfaces, treating areas behind cabinets and inside walls using fogging technology, cleaning and restoring personal contents, HVAC cleaning to prevent odor recirculation, and complete deodorization of the entire property.
Unaddressed smoke residue continues to corrode and stain surfaces over time. The acidic nature of soot causes permanent damage to walls, ceilings, metals, and finishes. Lingering smoke odors also become increasingly difficult to remove the longer they are left untreated.
In many cases, yes. Our team specializes in content cleaning for smoke-damaged items. We recommend documenting all high-value belongings with photos for insurance purposes before any cleaning begins.
Yes. All First Response Services technicians are certified through the IICRC Fire and Smoke Restoration course.