How to Clean Smoke Damage Safely in Coachella

The rule is simple: dry first, wet second, and never wipe soot with water. Soot is acidic and oily, and wiping it with a household cleaner smears it across the surface and drives it into paint and plaster, where it sets as a stain. The provider starts with dry-chemical sponges and HEPA vacuuming, which lift the soot without driving it in, and the wet pass comes only after the dry pass is done. This post explains what the dry pass is, what never to wipe, and when the job needs a provider with the right tools.

The second rule is just as simple: do not clean what you have not photographed. Photograph every room, every damaged item, and every surface, before anything is moved or cleaned, because the photographs are the record your insurer will read and the record the provider works from. A room that is cleaned before it is photographed is a room the claim cannot see, and a room the claim cannot see is a room the claim cannot pay for.

What Soot Is

Soot is the fine black residue a fire leaves behind, and it is not dust. It is acidic, it is oily, and it is made of particles so fine that they get into paint, plaster, fabric and metal. It eats into paint and plaster from the first hour, it corrodes metal, and it carries a smell that lingers long after the fire is out. The longer it sits, the deeper it goes, and the harder it is to remove.

Soot is also a health risk. The particles are fine enough to get into the lungs, and the room should stay closed until the dry pass is done. Children and people with breathing difficulties are the most vulnerable, and they should be kept well away from a soot room until it has been cleaned. The provider seals the room, runs the air scrubber, and works in protective equipment — not because the soot is dramatic, but because it is fine, acidic and persistent.

The soot from a fire is not one thing. A kitchen fire leaves a different soot from a wildfire, and a plastic fire leaves a different soot from a wood fire, and the provider tests the soot before deciding how to clean it. The test is what decides whether the surface can be cleaned or must be replaced, and the test is done on the first visit, before any cleaning starts.

Dry Methods First

The dry pass comes first: dry-chemical sponges, which lift the soot from the surface without water, and HEPA vacuuming, which pulls the fine particles out of the air and off the surface. The sponges are used in straight lines, not circles, and each pass lifts a layer of soot off the surface. The vacuuming follows, and the room is checked against the reference again.

The dry pass is slow, and it is the most important part of the job, because it is the part that stops the soot from setting as a stain. A surface that is wiped with water before the dry pass is a surface that will need replacing, and a surface that is dry-passed first can often be cleaned and kept. The provider will tell you what the dry pass found, and what the wet pass will need to do, before the wet pass starts.

Do not sweep soot, do not dust it, and do not run a household vacuum over it, because all of those spread fine particles into the air and drive them deeper into the surface. A household vacuum has no HEPA filter, and the fine particles pass straight through it and back into the room. The provider's HEPA vacuum traps the particles, and the dry-chemical sponges lift them without water. Those are the provider's tools, not household ones.

The Wet Pass

The wet pass follows the dry pass, and only after the dry pass is done. A detergent and water are used to lift what the dry pass left behind, and then the rinsing, and the room is checked against the reference again. The wet pass is done room by room, from the farthest smoke to the hearth, and each room is sealed once it is clean.

The wet pass is not a household clean. The detergent is chosen for the soot, the water is controlled so it does not soak the surface, and the rinsing is done so the soot does not resettle. A surface that is wiped with a household cleaner before the dry pass is a surface that will need replacing, and a surface that is wet-passed after the dry pass can often be cleaned and kept. The provider will tell you what the wet pass found, and what still needs to be done, before the next step starts.

The wet pass is also where the smell is dealt with. The soot carries the smell, and the smell lingers in walls, ceilings and ducts long after the soot is gone. The provider seals the room, runs the air scrubber, and treats the surfaces so the smell does not come back when the room warms up. The smell is the last thing to go, and it is the thing that tells you whether the job is done.

What Never to Wipe

Never wipe soot with water. Never wipe it with a household cleaner. Never sweep it, never dust it, and never run a household vacuum over it. Each of those spreads the soot, drives it into the surface, and makes it harder to remove. A surface that is wiped before the dry pass is a surface that will need replacing, and a surface that is dry-passed first can often be cleaned and kept.

Never switch the power back on, never turn on the air conditioning, and never use any electrical appliance that was in the fire, because soot is corrosive to circuits and a device that looks fine can fail weeks later. Never eat food that was exposed to smoke or firefighting water, and never drink from taps until the water supply has been checked. Never throw anything away without photographing it first. The cleaning starts when the provider arrives, and it starts with an assessment, not with a mop.

Never clean what you have not photographed. Photograph every room, every damaged item, and every surface, before anything is moved or cleaned, because the photographs are the record your insurer will read. A room that is cleaned before it is photographed is a room the claim cannot see, and a room the claim cannot see is a room the claim cannot pay for.

When the Job Needs a Provider

If the soot is on more than one surface, if it is in the ducts, if it is on electronics or upholstery, or if the room smells after you have cleaned it, the job needs a provider. The provider has the dry-chemical sponges, the HEPA vacuum, the air scrubber and the test kit, and the provider knows what the soot is and how to clean it. A small, light soot film on a single hard surface can sometimes be cleaned with a dry sponge — but if you are not sure, call, because a surface that is wiped wrong will need replacing.

Call (561) 566-7293 and describe the soot — where it is, how far it went, what the fire was, and whether the room smells. The provider will tell you whether the job needs a visit, and what the visit will cover, before any work starts. The provider will not quote a price over the phone, because a price without a walk-through would be a guess, but the provider will tell you what the dry pass is, what the wet pass is, and what the job needs.

The provider's job is not just to clean the soot. It is to make the record — the photographs, the inventory, the moisture readings — and to keep the room safe while the work is done. The provider seals the room, runs the air scrubber, and works in protective equipment, because the soot is fine, acidic and persistent, and the room should stay closed until the dry pass is done.

Cleaning Smoke Damage Safely, in Order

1. Photograph first — Photograph every room before anything is moved or cleaned, because the photographs are the record the insurer reads.
2. Dry pass — Dry-chemical sponges and HEPA vacuuming lift the soot without driving it into the surface.
3. Wet pass — A detergent and water follow the dry pass, and the room is checked against the reference again.
4. Seal the room — Each room is sealed once it is clean, so the soot does not resettle.
5. Check the smell — The smell is the last thing to go, and it is the thing that tells you whether the job is done.

Mistakes That Make Soot Harder to Remove

• Wiping soot with water or a household cleaner
• Sweeping or dusting soot, which spreads fine particles into the air
• Running a household vacuum over soot, which has no HEPA filter
• Cleaning before photographing the damage
• Turning on the air conditioning, which pushes soot through the ducts

For help with this in Coachella, see Smoke & Soot Cleanup in Coachella — or go back to the Coachella fire damage restoration home page.