Remove Smoke and Soot From Fire Damaged Items

Our Soot – and Smoke-Removal Process

How we restore your soot- and smoke-damaged items

First, we’ll vacuum the damaged objects with a HEPA-filtered vacuum. We’ll use a variety of hoses and attachments to remove as much soot as possible in this step. If the object is particularly fragile or heavily damaged, we will perform this step through a protective screen or brush.

We’ll start by vacuuming the exposed outer surfaces before moving to crevices and other interior cavities that might’ve been damaged. We might also use soft swabs to get into delicate or hard-to-reach places.

In addition to vacuuming with a HEPA-filtered vacuum, we might also attempt to remove particulate matter from the surface of the object with a compressed air can.

Following this step, we’ll continue to clean the surface of the object with a variety of safe and appropriate tools, including:

• Dry cleaning sponges
• Art gum
• Vinyl and powdered erasers
• Soft brushes
• Cloth wipes
• Glass micro-beads

If the item still has lingering soot damage after following these initial steps, we’ll attempt to use solvents—such as detergents, surfactants, alcohols or organic solvents—to remove the remaining soot. This step largely depends on the item’s composition and what is safe to use without further damaging it.

Following soot removal, we’ll proceed with odor reduction. We might do this by allowing the items to sit in a soot-free area with circulating air or by placing them in odor-absorbing chambers. Thermal deodorization and ozone deodorization are also options, though these methods are not safe for use with organic materials.