How to Clean Smoke Damage From Painted Walls?

Smoke, which is not as obviously threatening as open flames are, remains a major factor damaging walls and ceilings. Moreover, it is often an issue that is not related to a fire in the house/flat, but to the smoke that have arisen for some other reasons.

Why Can Smoke Damage Your Walls?

Of course, fire remains the main cause of smoke damage. But often the walls are covered with soot after exposure to smoke that has happened for some other reasons. These include:

• Your neighbors are on fire. Even in case of a detached house, the wind can bring smoke from a nearby plot of land and damage the paint on the walls.
• Wildfires. For many states, this factor is very relevant because summer wildfires damage not only forests but also surrounding houses.
• Smoking inside. Tobacco smoke persistently eats into the walls, and a couple of cigarettes are enough for the damage to manifest itself.
• Lack of hood in the kitchen. If your hood doesn't work, or you have no hood installed in the kitchen, after a few months of cooking, you may find smoke marks on the walls.

Thus, to get smoke damage is much more difficult than to clean it.

What Damage Can Smoke Do to Your Walls?

The smoke itself is hazardous to human's health. It contains carcinogenic substances that affect our skin, hair and are accumulated in the lungs. These substances can lead to a variety of illnesses. Therefore, you should not allow smoke access into your home. As for the painted walls, smoke can do the following damage:

• A stubborn smell of burning. Even a small fire can make the surface of the walls absorb the smell, and it will be very difficult to get rid of it. The smell of burning plastic, leather or chemical compounds is especially unpleasant.
• The appearance of yellow or dark spots on the walls. The smoke is made up of combustion particles, which settle on the walls changing their color. As a result, you get completely damaged walls with yellow, black or brown spots on them. It is not aesthetical and requires restoration to get their pre-loss condition.
• In case of fire inside the house, the smoke has a high temperature. As a result, the paint can peel off the walls and cracks or chips can appear on them.

Anyway, as soon as you notice the effects of smoke, it's worth starting to clean smoke damage from painted walls. And we will tell you how to do it as efficiently as possible.

Some Tips on How to Get Rid of Smoke Damage on Painted Walls

First of all, you need to determine which consequences you want to remove. Depending on the type of damage, you can choose an effective strategy on how to clean smoke damage from painted walls.

Let's start from the elimination of the smell of burning without the presence of stains on painted walls. To remove the burning smell and at the same time not to cover all the walls with a new layer of paint, it is enough to use DIY advice. Take laundry soap and make a water solution. To make sure the smell disappears, add a couple of drops of orange or rosemary essential oil to the solution. These kinds of oil are quite persistent; their aroma will remove the burning smell. If you do not like them, you are welcome to add any other oil that appeals to you. Apply the soap and oil solution to the walls with a paint roller and let them dry. Remember that this method of cleaning smoke damage from painted walls works only on the walls that are free of stains or cracks. It is good enough only for removing odors.

If your walls are covered with ugly stains after exposure to smoke, it means that the soot has settled on them. It can be dry or oily in composition. But, in any case, it will not work to remove it using ordinary detergents. Only aggressive cleaning methods are suitable. What should you do if the walls are stained with smoke? There are several steps you need to take:

1. determining the degree and nature of damage,
2. removing the things that cannot be restored,
3. cleaning the walls and surfaces from soot and carbon deposits by dry or wet method,
4. deep cleaning of surfaces,
5. preparing for repair or restoration if necessary,
6. eliminating the source of burning smell,
7. airing the room.

This is the order in which you should act. If you are going to remediate the smoke damage yourself, we have got bad news for you. You'll need to remove paint and putty from top to bottom. Otherwise, you will not get rid of stains and odors. If the damage is not large, you can use a chemical sponge - it will cope with the dirt. But traces of smoke may remain on a large area. In any case, after a fire, repairs to walls, floors and ceilings cannot be avoided as only they can guarantee a complete removal of harmful substances and the ingrained smell of smoke.

Before applying a primer, paint and other finishing materials to the surface, it must be thoroughly cleaned off oily and dry soot. If, besides the unpleasant smell, there are cracks in the paint layer and/or stains caused by the exposure to smoke, then only a complete repair will save. Thoroughly clean the walls off the old paint and primer and then cover with a fresh coat.

The above mentioned solutions, aimed at cleaning the smoke damage from painted walls, are not for everyone. And we highly recommend using the services of smoke damage restoration companies if you feel that you cannot cope with this task. Specialists will be able to choose the right method for removing the smoke damage; they use professional equipment and detergents. With their help, you can be guaranteed to get rid of the smell, stains and cracks left by the smoke on your walls.