The first thing you can do to reduce the smoke smell in your property is to provide plenty of ventilation. Start by opening all your windows and doors to let in as much fresh air as possible. This simple step helps to push the smoky air out and bring fresh air in, diluting the odor.

To enhance this technique, strategically place fans around your property to circulate the air. Position fans in corners of rooms and aim them toward open windows and doors. This setup encourages the smoke odor to be pushed outside more effectively.

For an even more powerful solution, you can use air movers from our Fire & Smoke Restoration Combo Pack. Air movers like the Zeus 900 or Zeus Extreme are designed to move large volumes of air, significantly speeding up the ventilation process.

Air scrubbers such as the PuriCare S2, Pro 970, or MAX 970, on the other hand, filter out smoke particles, odors, and other pollutants, ensuring the air inside your property is not only fresh but also clean and healthy. Combining open windows, standard fans, and the Fire & Smoke Combo Pack creates a robust airflow system that rapidly reduces the smoke smell in your home.

Fabrics, carpets, and upholstery are some of the biggest culprits for retaining smoke odor in your home or business after a fire. Fortunately, there are a few things you can do to eliminate trapped smoke smells:

Fabrics: Start by removing, washing, and drying all fabric items according to their care instructions. This includes Clothes, Cushion covers, Sofa covers, SheetsDuvets, Rugs, and Blankets. Make sure you don’t reintroduce these clean items into your home until you have eliminated other sources of smoke odor, as they can reabsorb the smells.

Carpets: Smoke particles can penetrate deep into carpet fibers. One effective method for removing the odor is to sprinkle baking powder generously over your carpets and leave it to sit overnight. The next day, thoroughly vacuum the carpets with a vacuum cleaner that uses a HEPA filter to prevent the smoke particles from escaping back into the room. Steam cleaning your carpets is also an effective option. However, if neither of these methods works, it might be beneficial to consult an odor removal specialist.

Upholstery: For upholstery, remove any covers and wash them as you did with the fabrics. If this is not possible, try the baking powder method, letting it sit overnight and then vacuuming it up.Steaming certain types of upholstery is another option, though be cautious with delicate materials like leather.

Smoke particles can settle on all surfaces in your property, including walls, floors, cabinets, countertops, tables, appliances, light fixtures, and windows. Thoroughly cleaning these surfaces is crucial to removing lingering smoke odor.

The cleaning solution you use will vary depending on the surface. Generally, a mixture of dish soap, white vinegar, and warm water works well for most surfaces. For specific surfaces, you may need to use specialized cleaning products.

You may need to repaint the walls, as paint can retain smoke particles. Use special cleaning products that contain ammonia or glycol to wash the walls before repainting.

Smoke odor can become trapped in wall cavities, an area often neglected during general cleaning. Unfortunately, standard cleaning methods are insufficient to remove smoke odor from these hidden spaces. In such cases, you will require a smoke specialist.

Professional odor removal techniques include:

Wet Fogging: A cold fogger sprays very fine particles of a disinfectant and deodorizing solution onto affected surfaces, effectively removing odors.
Thermal Fogging: This method is similar to wet fogging but uses a dry fog to simulate the smoke’s journey through the building, deodorizing surfaces as it goes.

Sealing: You can use a specialist sealant to seal in the odor in places that are not accessible, such as voids.

Ozone Treatments: Ozone is highly effective for removing trapped smoke odors. The reactive ozone molecule (O3) breaks down odor-causing particles, eliminating the smell.