Fire is one of the worst disasters you can ever imagine having in your home. If not contained, it will not only destroy your household items, but may also weaken the structural components of your home, which may cause your entire home to be condemned as unfit for human occupation by the authorities. However, it becomes even sadder when life is lost or someone gets caught up in the smoke and flames. But if the fire is contained, serious restoration is always anticipated, and this includes removing the smoke smell from your house and household items. Read below to find out the best way to deal with the stubborn smells after the fire is gone.
One of the best tips for dealing with the smell of smoke after a fire is to act immediately once the fire is contained, because the longer you delay, the more difficult it will be for you to get rid of the smell. Therefore, once the fire is contained, the very first step of action is to let fresh air into the room by opening all the doors and the windows. If you have fans in the house, position them near windows or doorways so that they can pull in clean air to circulate in the house and expel the dirty air in the process. Ventilating your house is one of the best natural and efficient ways to help get rid of the smoke smell after a fire.
You will have a lot of cleaning to do following a fire, and one of them will involve cleaning curtains, rugs, clothes, decorative cushions, blankets, and any other piece of fabric that may have been present in the affected areas. Whenever fabrics are exposed to smoke, it takes a long time for the smell to go away, but you can hasten the process by simply taking them out in to a well-aerated spaces or washing them before resuming normal use.
Removing the smell of smoke from carpets is one of the most difficult things you will have to do after a fire incident in your home. The simple reason for this is because smoke particles have a way of embedding themselves into the carpet fabric, and will not come up with the normal carpet cleaning methods you are accustomed to. A good treatment to eliminate the odor would be to sprinkle the carpets with baking powder and let the baking powder sit on the carpet undisturbed overnight. Then vacuum clean the carpet the following morning until all the baking soda is removed. The baking soda works by neutralizing the smoke particles that might have gotten embedded in the fibers of the carpet. If this doesn’t give you the results you want, then you should consider calling for odor removal services, especially if you have an expensive piece of rug.
All furniture covered with fabric should be removed from the house and placed outside in a well-aerated place. If the smoke smell still persists after being outside for a few hours, consider sprinkling baking soda over each piece and allowing the baking soda to stay on the pieces for several hours. Before taking the furniture back into the house, use the soft brush attachment of the vacuum cleaner to wipe off the baking soda completely to leave the furniture smelling fresh once again.
Washing the window panes will not just help to get rid of smoke particles that might have gotten stuck on them, but it will also help to restore their shine and transparency after the fire. But while you wash the panes, you should also pay a lot of attention to the sills, frames, grills, and blinds. The smoke residue will usually find their way to these places, and if not removed, they will continue irritating the occupants of the house. In cleaning these areas, it is highly recommended that you use a solution of hot water and white vinegar on the blinds. The same treatment should also be done to the window screens as well.
While you clean the carpets and fabrics, don’t forget that you also need to thoroughly wash all the solid surfaces in places affected by the fire. This can sometimes be tedious and it will be easier and cheaper if you call for smoke odor removal in Montreal services to help you out. However, if you insist on going at it alone, then here is what you must do-: make a solution of warm water, dish soap, and white vinegar and use it to wipe all the solid surfaces in the affected areas. These surfaces include-: walls, floors, ceiling, baseboards, door frames, furniture pieces, shelves, cabinets, and any other surface in the room where smoke particles are likely to settle on. The same should also be done to light fixtures such as bulbs, chandeliers, and switches.
While cleaning the solid surfaces, this is also the time to clean the appliances with the same solution as well. Appliances such as freezers, refrigerator, microwave, cookers, etc. can hide smoke particles which will still continue giving off a bad odor days after the fire is gone. Simply use a piece of a soft cloth and the vinegar solution to wipe clean such appliances.
Finally, you must also take care of your HVAC system. Smoke particles can penetrate the ductwork and linger within the ventilation system for long. This will, in turn, affect the air quality of the home. You should consider changing the filters as soon as possible. It is also highly recommended that you call for a professional to inspect the entire system to check if the fire did any damage. In most cases, when you call for professional emergency cleaning in Montreal to help deal with the fire and smoke cleaning, they will also check the HVAC system and advise you if there will be any repairs or replacements needed.
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