Soot Damage Health Risks in Coachella, CA

Soot is fine, acidic and persistent, and the particles are small enough to get into the lungs. The room should stay closed until the dry pass is done, and children and people with breathing difficulties should be kept well away from a soot room until it has been cleaned. This post explains what soot is, who it affects most, and what to do — and what not to do — when a room is covered in soot.

The second thing to understand is that soot is not dust, and it is not dirt. It is the fine black residue a fire leaves behind, and it is acidic, oily and 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.

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.

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.

Soot is also a health risk, and that is what this post is about. The particles are fine enough to get into the lungs, and the room should stay closed until the dry pass is done. 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.

Who It Affects Most

Children are more vulnerable than adults, because their lungs are smaller and they breathe faster, and they should be kept well away from a soot room until it has been cleaned. People with breathing difficulties — asthma, chronic bronchitis, emphysema — are more vulnerable too, and the fine particles can irritate the airways and make breathing harder. Older people and people with heart conditions are more vulnerable as well, and they should not enter a soot room.

Pets are more vulnerable still, because they are closer to the floor where the particles settle, and because they groom themselves and swallow what they lick off their fur. A pet that was in the house during the fire should be checked by a vet, and a pet should not be allowed back into a soot room until it has been cleaned. The provider will tell you when the room is safe, and the provider will not say so until the dry pass is done and the readings are normal.

Anyone who enters a soot room should wear a mask and gloves, and should not stay in the room longer than necessary. The mask should be a proper respirator, not a cloth mask, because the particles are fine enough to pass through cloth. The gloves protect the skin, because soot is acidic and can irritate it. The provider works in protective equipment, and the provider will tell you what to wear and how long to stay.

What Soot Does to a Home

Soot eats into paint and plaster from the first hour, and the longer it sits, the deeper it goes. A surface that is dry-passed on the first day can often be cleaned and kept, and a surface that is left for a week may need replacing. The soot also corrodes metal — the hinges, the fixtures, the wiring — and the corrosion is what makes the damage worse over time, not just on the day.

Soot gets into fabrics and upholstery, and it is hard to remove once it has settled. A sofa that looks clean can still carry the soot in its fabric, a curtain can carry it in its fibres, and a book can carry it in its pages. The provider tests the contents the same way the surfaces are tested, and the treatment is decided item by item. What can be cleaned is cleaned, what must be replaced is replaced, and the inventory says which is which.

Soot gets into the ducts, and the smell comes back through the vents when the air conditioning is turned on. The provider seals the vents before cleaning, cleans the ducts, and treats them, so the soot does not spread to rooms that were not affected. If the ducts are not cleaned, the soot will spread every time the air conditioning runs, and the smell will come back with it.

What to Do When a Room Is Covered in Soot

Close the room and keep it closed. Do not sweep the 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. Do not wipe the soot with water or a household cleaner, because that smears it and drives it into the paint and plaster, where it sets as a stain. Photograph the room before anything is moved or cleaned, because the photographs are the record your insurer will read.

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.

Keep children and pets well away from the room until it has been cleaned, and do not let anyone enter without a mask and gloves. If you need something from the room, ask the provider — the provider can sometimes bring out small items, and the provider knows what is safe to enter and what is not. The room should stay closed until the dry pass is done, and the provider will tell you when it is safe.

What Not to Do

Do not wipe soot with water. Do not wipe it with a household cleaner. Do not sweep it, do not dust it, and do not run a household vacuum over it. Each of those spreads the soot, drives it into the surface, and makes it harder to remove — and each of those puts fine particles into the air that you will breathe. 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.

Do not switch the power back on, do not turn on the air conditioning, and do not 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. Do not eat food that was exposed to smoke or firefighting water, and do not drink from taps until the water supply has been checked. Do not throw anything away without photographing it first.

Do not clean what you have not photographed, and do not let children or pets into a soot room. The cleaning starts when the provider arrives, and it starts with an assessment, not with a mop. 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.

Soot Damage Health Risks, in Order

1. Close the room — Keep the room closed until the dry pass is done, and keep children and pets well away.
2. Photograph first — Photograph the room before anything is moved or cleaned, because the photographs are the record the insurer reads.
3. Call the provider — Call (561) 566-7293 and describe the soot — where it is, how far it went, and what the fire was.
4. Dry pass — Dry-chemical sponges and HEPA vacuuming lift the soot without driving it into the surface.
5. Check the readings — The room is safe when the dry pass is done and the readings are normal — the provider will tell you when.

Mistakes That Make Soot Worse

• 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
• Letting children or pets into a soot room
• 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.