Baking soda is a versatile cleaner that also doubles as a soot remover. Clean soot off walls and wood by gently rubbing baking soda into the surfaces with a soft sponge or microfiber cloth. Allow it to sit for a few minutes before wiping cleaning with a damp cloth.
You can use commercial soot / smoke remover (follow the manufacturer's directions), rubbing alcohol, white vinegar or paint thinner. Soak the rag in your preferred cleaner, and wipe the walls throughout the damaged room.
Vinegar helps remove nicotine residue as well as odor. Whip up a cleaner with one part vinegar and eight parts water, then wipe the piece down with a soft cloth dipped in the solution. Wring out most of the water and immediately wipe the wood dry afterward to avoid damaging the wood.
Applying paint directly over top of the remaining stains or odor will not cover them up. You'll need to apply a good, solvent-based stain-blocking primer to prevent them from bleeding through the paint. You may be able to get by with a product such as Zinsser's Cover Stain, which is an oil-based stain-blocking primer.
To remove soot and smoke from walls, furniture and floors, use a mild soap or detergent or mix together 4 to 6 tbsp. tri-sodium phosphate and 1 cup household cleaner or chlorine bleach to every gallon of warm water. Wear rubber gloves. Be sure to rinse surfaces with clear warm water and dry thoroughly.
To get rid of smoke odors on unfinished wood surfaces, spray a light mist of OdoBan® Disinfectant and Odor Eliminator over these surfaces. Coat each unfinished wood surface with OdoBan®, but take care not to flood or oversaturate the unfinished wood surface.
Wet a scrubbing pad and squirt on a few drops of a cleanser with orange oil, which helps cut through smoke marks and grease. Use medium pressure to scrub away the smoke marks. Wipe the cabinets with a moistened rag as you work to clean away the residue. Reapply the cleanser frequently.
Some of the easiest to notice signs of smoke damage are: A smoky smell in clothing, furniture, or anywhere in the home hours or days after the fire has been put out. Yellowing paint or on countertops. Visible soot on walls or surfaces.
Fill as many bowls as there are drawers or cabinets in your piece of wood furniture. Fill each bowl with baking soda, place it inside and close the drawer or cabinet. Check the furniture every day; the baking soda might have to sit there for at least a week before the smell subsides or fades away.
OdoBan eliminates odors at the source, and can help you get rid of smoke smell once and for all! To get started, here's what you'll need: OdoBan Disinfectant and Odor Eliminator Multi-Purpose Concentrate.
Make a solution containing 1/2 gallon white vinegar and 1/2 gallon hot water. Wash the wood surface with the deodorizing solution. Do not rinse the vinegar solution off after washing -- just wipe the wood surface dry with a clean cloth.
Trisodium phosphate (TSP) is regarded as the best product for removing soot. If it is not available in your area, there are similar soot removers that are phosphate-free (TSP-PF) You can also create a mixture of water and a dishwashing liquid that contains a degreaser.
A Magic Eraser (or its generic equivalent) is a great way to remove soot stains from hard surfaces like cabinets, ceilings, and walls.
To do this, create a paste of either baking soda or cream of tartar mixed with a small amount of water. Apply it to the remaining soot and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. Then scrub with a firm toothbrush or small scrub brush and rinse.
Priming. Even with non-smoke damaged walls, you need to put a primer down before painting. For smoke-damaged walls, you need to make sure that there are no more stains on the walls before applying primer. Double-check to make sure your walls are completely clean, then begin priming.
Mix 1 teaspoon of mild liquid dish detergent and 1 cup of warm water. Moisten an absorbent white cloth with the mild detergent solution and add 5 drops of white distilled vinegar. Place the cloth on the smoke stain until it's gone. Rinse with lukewarm water and wash as usual.
Shellac is the best primer for smoke damage. It will mitigate all of the issues that a traditional oil primer cause. Shellac dries fast, blocks odor, adheres to various surfaces, and the odor dissipates quickly. We recommend applying two coats of Bin Shellac primer for all minor to mid-smoke damaged surfaces.
Fill a bucket with 1 gallon of hot water, add 2 tablespoons of gum turpentine and 4 tablespoons of boiled linseed oil. These will remove strong smoke smell as well as food smell, mold smell and more.
Wood furniture is very resilient to fire damage. As long as it's not burned, you can clean smoke smells out of wood furniture with oil soap. Add a quarter cup of oil soap to a gallon of water and gently scrub the wood with a soft rag. Then wipe the furniture dry and air it out in your yard for a few hours.
It is especially detrimental to fabric items and furniture. Soot and smoke particles can also impact porous materials like wood or clothing or even erode materials like metal if left for too long without getting the damaged items cleaned by a professional.