Looking for advice on getting rid of smoke smell from fire

[asta]

Our heating unit caught fire last night and now the whole house smells like an electrical fire. We are lucky because the unit is outside and we caught it quickly so there was no fire damage to the house itself. The central air unit is a mess of melted wire. The problem is every room in the house stinks. It was amazing how quickly the whole house filled with smoke even though I shut the system down immediately. The fire department came and used strong fans to blow a lot of the smoke out but the smell is still there. Anyone have experience with ridding a house of this odor? Just opening the windows isn’t working.

 

[Kay123456]

Unfortunately that smell will linger until everything is cleaned thoroughly. Everything. Walls, you name it. The smoke sticks to everything.

 

[rastahomie]

To echo what Kay said: You're not getting rid of that smell. Wash your curtains, your bedding, your clothes. Maybe even take them to the dry cleaner. Hire a carpet-cleaning service. If they do upholstery too, have them do your furniture.

This winter, on the coldest, driest, windiest day, open up all of your windows and just let the wind and dry air do its thing. Maybe go to the casino or the spa or something that day, get your pets into pet day care, and so on, so you don't have to sit around at home and freeze to death.

 

[Kay123456]

You actually might want to call your homeowners insurance and see if they will pay for someone to come in and do smoke damage cleaning. Unless wearing proper equipment you probaly shouldnt be doing it yourself.

 

[asta]

You actually might want to call your homeowners insurance and see if they will pay for someone to come in and do smoke damage cleaning. Unless wearing proper equipment you probaly shouldnt be doing it yourself.

I am going to do this. I can’t imagine doing all of this myself. Our house is over 5,000 square feet with a couple of two story rooms.

On top of all of this I am dealing with a long running cough that I just can’t get rid of. My doctors have tried sinus surgery, antibiotics, steroids, allergy shots, oral medicines, nose sprays and this cough will not go away. I am already thinking that I might have to move out until this gets better.

 

[Kay123456]

I am going to do this. I can’t imagine doing all of this myself. Our house is over 5,000 square feet with a couple of two story rooms.

On top of all of this I am dealing with a long running cough that I just can’t get rid of. My doctors have tried sinus surgery, antibiotics, steroids, allergy shots, oral medicines, nose sprays and this cough will not go away. I am already thinking that I might have to move out until this gets better.

Yeah I dont think you should be staying there with smoke damage and lung issues. Pick up some n95 masks if you are going to be in the house. They sell them at home improvement stores. You want one that fits to your fave well. You will not be anle to smell the smoke while wearing it if its on properly.

 

[Kay123456]

Oh and the homeowners should pay to put you up in a hotel until everything is cleaned.

 

[momto3pirates]

Unfortunately you may have to call in professionals. Everything will have to ba cleaned. When there was a fire in the office 2 spaces down from us, my office filled with smoke. It took a remediation company washing down ceiling to floor and we still smelled like a BBQ place for weeks.

 

[Denise W]

Your insurance carrier will cover having a disaster service (such as ServPro or Servicemaster) in to clean and deodorize your house and belongings.
Denise

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We had an outdoor fire (shed burnt down) and a lot of black smoke came into the house as the windows and doors were open. The next day someone came in and wiped each wall with a white sponge type thing. If it had soot on it, they left it in the room for the insurance company to see. The insurance company then sent in a cleaning company to thoroughly clean and deodorize each room. They also had someone come in and take all our clothes, bedspreads, curtains, etc, out for professional cleaning. FWIW we hired a fire specialist who dealt with the insurance company and made things happen, we really didn't have to do anything. We had to pay a fee, but it was worth it.

 

[asta]

Thanks for all of the replies. Does anyone know if the cleaning should cover cleaning the duct work? Since the fire was in the central air unit, the thick smoke was coming out of the air vents. I can’t and would not want to turn it on right now-the heat/fire melted a lot of the wires together. When the system is replaced I worry that turning it on will just spread more of the terrible smoke odor. Thank goodness the weather is mild for the next few days so nothing needs to run. I am still trying to decide about a hotel.

 

[Kay123456]

Thanks for all of the replies. Does anyone know if the cleaning should cover cleaning the duct work? Since the fire was in the central air unit, the thick smoke was coming out of the air vents. I can’t and would not want to turn it on right now-the heat/fire melted a lot of the wires together. When the system is replaced I worry that turning it on will just spread more of the terrible smoke odor. Thank goodness the weather is mild for the next few days so nothing needs to run. I am still trying to decide about a hotel.

Oh man thats bad. Im thinking they might have to replace it if a cleaning doesnt work. Have you contacted your insurance yet?

 

[I loveStitchnippyjon]

In 2015 we had a minor chimney fire that filled our entire house with thick black smoke. Our insurance company brought in a remediation company. Everything in the house was removed for special cleaning and all the walls repainted. We were told that regular cleaning might take away the smell temporarily, but on a warm humid day the smell would return.

 

[tvguy]

My niece and her husband a fire in their garage, a fire wall kept it out of the house however it didn't keep the smoke out.
The insurance company (so far) hasn't even balked at how much needs to be done to get the smoke smell out. They agree it has to be stripped to the studs, all carpet, sheetrock, insulation and HVAC ducts replaced, stuff that had no fire damage, just got smoke saturated.
They built the house themselves 5 years ago, and they have about $300,000 in materials in it. Fortunately, the insurance company had all the digital photos they took a few years ago, and they were well insured. So far the insurance company has cut checks totaling $600,000 for repairs and replacement housing (they brought in a double wide mobile home and paid to have utilities pulled to it).

 

[asta]

Update on the smoke damage: Our insurance company hasn’t sent an adjuster out but finally opened a claim number (after two phone calls). We just had a visit by ServPro. They sponged around on the walls but could not find residue in much of the house. They did find a lot of odor and soot in our central air ducts. Their advice is to make the heating and air company rip out all of the flexible ductwork on the system that burned then have ServPro come out and scrub the main trunk line (part that isn’t flexible). After that new duct work will need to be installed. This needs to be done before a new central air unit is put in and turned on. I hope we don’t need heat anytime soon.

 

[scrapquitler]

Call a restoration company. Your insurance should pay for it. They will take care of getting the smells out of everything even the things that you wouldn't have thought of.

 

[usnuzuloose]

I would be calling out a pro company to do it. And by doing so you can make sure the insurance will pay for it.

 

[asta]

I would be calling out a pro company to do it. And by doing so you can make sure the insurance will pay for it.

The company we called was ServPro and they specialize in restoration from fire, flood, mold. They were one of the companies our insurance company recommended. I am encouraged that they don’t think we need to clean the upholstery to get rid of the smell. I think that might be because I caught it fairly quickly and the fire blew the electricity out so the central air did not spread as much smoke as it could have. I also wonder if having these rooms with two story ceilings kept a lot of the smoke up high and away from the upholstery.

ServPro left us with this huge machine/fan that is cleaning the air but, wow, is that thing noisy. I think when we get all of the duct work removed we will be able to tell if anything else needs to be cleaned.

 

[sam_gordon]

<advertisement that bumped the thread>

First. Welcome to the Dis.
Second, I hope in the preceding 5 years the OP has gotten rid of the smoke smell.
Third, pretty sure advertising isn't allowed on here.

 

[Dan Murphy]

pretty sure advertising isn't allowed on here.

I did report this one earlier, Sam. Should be gone somewhere along the way.