Are you wondering about how to clean smoke damage from painted walls?
Look, we know that dealing with the aftermath of a fire hazard is an overwhelming experience. That’s why we have created a step-by-step guide on how to do that. Our goal is to provide you with the information and tools you need to have a more successful cleanup of your home from smoke damage.
With that said, it’s important to have an understanding of what exactly happens to a home after it has been damaged by a fire. We will start with the fundamentals.
Let’s begin.
How to Clean Smoke Damage from Painted Walls
If you’ve had the misfortune of having smoke damage to your house or a building, it can be a very difficult and time-consuming task to remove it. The best way to do this is to remove the smoke damage using the following methods:
1.Make Sure That the Area Is Well Ventilated
Make sure that you have ventilated your house properly. The harsh fumes left by the fire can be detrimental to your health. And if the fumes get mixed with the cleaning products, it can cause breathing difficulties.
So, we suggest you open up all the windows and doors, and make sure there is no smoke, which will make the area a better environment for cleaning. Use fans to get the fumes out of the house.
2. Wear Protection
The best way to prevent any kind of injuries while cleaning smoke damage from painted walls is by wearing safety goggles as well as gloves. When you wear your gloves, your hands will be protected from the chemicals of the cleaning products. And the goggles will make sure you don’t get soot in your eyes while cleaning.
3. Cover the Floor with a Drop-Cloth
One of the most effective methods of protecting your carpet or flooring from getting stained is by placing a drop-cloth over them. This will prevent any stain from reaching the floor while cleaning the walls.
4. Remove the Loose Soots from the Painted Walls
Before you start cleaning those nasty stains from your walls, it would be easier to take out the loose soots that cling to the wall. You could either use a vacuum cleaner or a regular sponge to do this. But, using a vacuum cleaner will make the process much faster.
At first, get the plain attachment fixed on the nozzle of the vacuum cleaner. Then move it back and forth over the wall to get rid of the loose soot.
5. Remove the Smoke Damage Using Trisodium Phosphate Solution
After removing the soot from the wall, you can start by cleaning the smoke damage. To do this, use a powerful cleaning solution such as TSP (Trisodium Phosphate). This cleaning solution is quite popular when it comes to cleaning damage off painted walls.
First, fill a bucket with a gallon of warm water and then add one teaspoon of trisodium Phosphate. Then dip a wet sponge into the solution and vigorously clean the walls of the ceiling of your house. This will get rid of the smoke damage.
You might have to keep doing this multiple times and this step is quite tedious. So, we suggest you have patience and take breaks while doing it.
And also make sure you don’t overdo it. If you use too much water, then it could seep into the walls and that could cause problems in the future.
If the stains still persist even after thoroughly cleaning the walls with the TSP solution, you should try other cleaning solutions.
6. Look for Other Types of Cleaning Solutions
There are various types of commercial cleaning solutions in the market that are specifically made for removing soot from painted walls. If you think that the TSP solution is a bit too strong to use around children and pets, you should look for better alternatives.
7. Remove the Smoke Odor
You may not have considered this, but just cleaning the smoke damage won’t be enough. When a painted wall gets damaged by smoke, it releases a burned smell. The reason for that is, walls can easily absorb smoke and it then leaks the smoke back to the room.
To remove the smoke odor from the walls, you should at first place a large plastic sheet around the base of the walls. Then make a detergent solution out of warm water and two tablespoons of detergent.
Next, gently wipe the walls down with the detergent mixture on the walls using a soft rag or a sponge. You can also use vinegar to get rid of the smoke odor from the walls.
After you’re finished, spray Febreeze on the walls as well as the surrounding area.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can smoke damage be removed?
Yes, it’s possible. In fact, the procedure for cleaning smoke damage is pretty straightforward. Just make sure that you do not leave smoke damage behind.
How do you get the smoke residue out of the house?
In order to get rid of the smoky smell from your house, you need to at first open all the windows and increase air circulation throughout the rooms. And then spray an air freshener.
Does sugar soap remove smoke damage?
Yes, it does. Sugar soaps are typically used for cleaning nicotine off painted walls. Just clean the walls using sugar soap and leave it for 30 minutes. Then rinse them off using water.
How do you get black smoke off walls?
You can use TSP, vinegar, or a degreasing dish soap in order to remove smoke damage from walls. You can also buy a commercial smoke remover in order to accomplish that task.
What’s the best cleaner for smoke damage?
You can use any cleaner that you like on your walls. However, we’d recommend you use a tri-sodium phosphate solution to remove the smoke damage on the walls.
Final Thoughts
There is absolutely no question that smoke damage causes a lot of problems for a resident. The cost of cleaning the smoke damage can be very expensive and most homes aren’t equipped to deal with this issue.
However, you can eliminate smoke damage from your walls by following our guide about “How to clean smoke damage from painted walls”. I hope that you found this guide useful. Happy cleaning!
