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In the aftermath of a fire, it’s important to take immediate action to save your home and its contents. This is especially important when it comes to sensitive items such as clothes, draperies, and other textiles.
Replacing them may cost a lot of money, so it’s best to try to save textiles that haven’t been scorched or severely water-damaged. To properly restore smoke/soot-damaged clothing and fabrics, hiring a professional restoration company is the safest option. They use the proper cleaning solutions, equipment, and techniques to restore contents after a fire.
However, if you don’t plan on hiring a professional restorer, see the tips below to restore smoke-damaged clothing and fabrics. Be warned: don’t try to clean smoke-damaged textiles unless you know proper procedures, or you may cause further damage.
Minimize the Smoke Damage
- Dry the textiles at once to prevent mold growth.
- Hang clothes and fabrics outside to dry.
- Use fans and dehumidifiers, and open windows for ventilation.
- Change the furnace filter daily until the unit absorbs most of the soot from the air.
- Cover clean fabrics with plastic sheets to protect them.
Sort Out the Fabrics | Smoke Damage
- Separate salvageable from scorched items. Non-burnt fabrics can usually be saved.
- Organize the restorable items based on their fabric types and washing instructions, such as “bleach-safe” and “dry clean only”.
- Remove any damaged accessories from clothing.
Remove the Soot from Fabrics
- Remove the soot from textiles before cleaning.
- Take the items outside and shake the soot off gently. As soot is oily, it can easily stain fabrics if you don’t shake it off lightly.
- Alternatively, use a high-powered vacuum cleaner with a narrow tip. Please keep it one or two inches away from the fabric.
- Never use a brush tip attachment – it can force soot particles deeper into the clothing.
- It’s strongly recommended to get professional help for soot removal from textiles. One wrong move, and you could stain your fabrics permanently.
How To Get Smoke Smell Out Of Clothes
You should deodorize fabrics before they are cleaned, or the smoke odor could persist in the material. We do not recommend a DIY deodorization as using perfumes, aerosol sprays, or disinfectants only masks the odor temporarily. For proper deodorization, ozone treatment is needed. Professional fire restoration technicians use this deodorizing process, which eliminates odor by breaking up each smoke molecule.
How to Wash Smoke-Damaged Clothes in Santa Rosa Beach
After a fire, properly cleaning smoke-damaged clothing is essential to prevent lingering odors and stains. Take dry-clean-only garments to a professional dry cleaner experienced in handling smoke damage. For polyester or cotton fabrics, wash in warm water with detergent, avoiding bleach. Bleach-safe fabrics should be washed with a heavy-duty detergent. To prevent soot from contaminating other clothes, hand-wash the first few loads separately. If odors persist, soak fabrics overnight in a solution of 4 to 6 tablespoons of trisodium phosphate, 1 cup of bleach, and 1 gallon of water. Rinse thoroughly and air-dry outdoors.
Restoring smoke-damaged clothing can be time-consuming and challenging. If you need expert fire damage restoration in Santa Rosa Beach, trust PuroClean of Santa Rosa Beach. Our team specializes in smoke damage cleanup, helping you restore not just your clothes, but your entire home. Call us today at (850) 399-3380
