Cleaning Smoke Damage

A good friend of mine had something devastating happen in her home last week. There was a fire. Fire is one of those things that is kind of pretty, kind of awe inspiring, but so destructive when it is out of control. Thankfully no-one was hurt, but her kitchen is a goner. We've been helping her out with the aftermath and getting the room prepared for installing her new kitchen.

The guys managed to get all of the old cabinets and stuff out of the way first and then once we finished clearing away all the debris it was time to clean up the smoke damage ready for painting and new flooring. Smoke damage is pretty hard to clean but she was not able to afford a professional company so we had to tackle it ourselves.

Smoke damage tends to cause black marks and discolouration on walls and ceilings. There are two main types, soot damage which is the black residue and charring which occurs when the paint actually burns. Depending on the level of damage you may not be able to clean it and can only prime and repaint. If you are able to clean it then you are going to need a few tools :

• Large sponges
• 2 buckets
• Warm water
• Clean rags
• Goggles
• Heavy duty gloves
• Trisodium Phosphate Cleaner (TSP)

Be aware that TSP is very harsh and that is why we need goggles and gloves for protection.

First you need to fill one bucket with about a gallon of warm water and add in a heaped tablespoon of TSP. With your protective clothing in place, wet the sponge in the solution and wipe the affected area vigorously with the sponge, then rinse with a clean rag dipped in clean water from your second bucket. You should work on small areas at a time and ensure that you do not over saturate your walls. Once complete you can repaint the walls and ceiling.