Smoke-damaged clothes and furniture: what can be saved

Why smoke is hard to get out of fabric

Smoke is a mix of fine soot particles, oily residues and gases. Fabric and padding are porous, with an enormous surface area for these to cling to. Heat during the fire opens up fibres, and as things cool the residues are held inside. Synthetic materials such as plastics and foam produce a particularly sticky, strong-smelling soot.

Two consequences follow. Surface cleaning leaves the smell behind. And the wrong first step can make it permanent.

What not to do

• Do not put smoky clothes in the dryer. Heat sets the odour.
• Do not rub or brush soot. It grinds into the fibres. Soot is oily and smears.
• Do not wash heavily sooted items in your own machine with a normal cycle. It often fixes the stain and leaves the machine smelling.
• Do not use ordinary upholstery shampoo on sooty furniture before the dry soot is removed.
• Do not sit on smoke-damaged upholstery or use the bedding. Body weight presses soot in.
• Do not spray perfume or fabric freshener. It mixes with the smoke smell.
• Do not store smoky items in sealed bags for long while damp from firefighting water. They will mildew.

First steps you can take

1. Wait until you are told it is safe to enter.
2. Photograph rooms and closets before moving anything.
3. Wear gloves and a mask. Soot is an irritant.
4. Take out what you need for the next few days and have those items cleaned first.
5. Hang lightly affected clothing outdoors to air, if the weather allows.
6. Shake loose soot off outside, or vacuum with the nozzle held just above the fabric, not pressed against it.
7. Separate wet items so that they can dry and do not transfer dye.
8. Ask your adjuster before throwing anything away.

Clothing and linens

Lightly affected, washable items from rooms away from the fire can often be laundered at home. Wash a test load first, using the warmest water the fabric allows and a heavy-duty detergent, possibly more than once. Air-dry, then smell the items. Only use the dryer when the smell has gone.

Heavily affected items do better with a restoration dry cleaner. These firms use detergents, solvent processes and deodorising methods, such as ozone or hydroxyl treatment in a controlled chamber, that are not available at home. They also inventory each item, which helps your claim.

Dry-clean-only items, leather, suede, fur and wedding dresses should go to a specialist. Tell them it is smoke damage.

Usually not restorable: items that are scorched, melted or burned, synthetics that have been heat-damaged, and items stained by firefighting water that has carried soot or dye through them.

Infants’ clothing and bedding deserve extra caution. If in doubt, replace them.

Upholstered furniture

• Dry soot is removed first with a HEPA vacuum
• The fabric is then cleaned by a method suited to it
• The padding and frame are deodorised, because foam holds smoke deep inside
• Results depend on how heavy the smoke was and what the piece is made of

A sofa in a room far from the fire usually comes back well. One that sat in heavy smoke, or was soaked by hoses, often does not, because the foam and the frame keep releasing odour. Cost matters too. Restoring an inexpensive piece can cost more than replacing it, and insurers take that into account.

Mattresses and pillows

These are difficult. They are thick, absorbent and in close contact with your face for hours. Mattresses and pillows exposed to more than light smoke are generally replaced. So are those wetted by firefighting water.

Wood and hard furniture

Solid wood furniture is often very restorable. Soot is removed dry, then the surface is cleaned and polished, and refinished if the finish has been damaged. Check:

• Inside drawers and cupboards, where smoke settles
• Unfinished surfaces underneath and at the back, which absorb odour
• Joints and veneers, which can loosen from heat or water

Particleboard and laminate furniture swells if it got wet and usually cannot be repaired.

Curtains, rugs and carpets

Curtains and blinds collect smoke heavily because warm air rises past them. Most can be cleaned. Area rugs go to a rug cleaning plant. Wall-to-wall carpet is HEPA vacuumed and cleaned in place if it was not soaked or burned. The underpad may need replacing.

Pack-out and cleaning off site

After a significant fire, the contents are usually packed, listed and taken to a cleaning facility. This protects them from further damage, lets the building be cleaned and repaired, and allows proper treatment of each item. You should receive an inventory. Ask how to get things you need in the meantime, and review the list of items judged not restorable before anything is disposed of.

Deodorising

Odour removal follows cleaning. It does not replace it. Methods include:

• Ozone chambers for contents. Ozone is a lung irritant and can damage rubber and some materials, so it is used in controlled, unoccupied spaces.
• Hydroxyl generators, which are slower and can be used in more situations.
• Thermal fogging, which sends a deodorising fog where the smoke went.

If an item still smells after proper cleaning and deodorising, it is unlikely to improve.

Insurance

Contents coverage on home, condo and tenant policies generally covers smoke damage from a fire, including the cost of cleaning items that can be restored and replacing those that cannot. Keep damaged items until the adjuster has agreed they can go, and keep a list. See home inventory for insurance.

More: contents cleaning and pack-out.