Advice from the pros for cleaning your home after fire damage

Liam Fellman WDIO

As residents return home in the wake of the wildfires in Northeastern Minnesota, many will be faced with clean-up projects on the road to recovery.

While it’s possible to tackle the challenge without professional help, there are a few things you should prioritize if you decide to undertake the task.

Smoke and soot are particularly tricky, but there are ways to deal with them.

“You don’t want to stir up anything. So, when you’re cleaning, kind of use a mix of dry and wet techniques just to get what soot you can out of there. Deodorization is kind of another step that, you know, it really depends on what you have going. If it’s sometimes there’s vented attic so your insulation could get odor affected, you just kind of work your way through the checklist of address what’s most obvious and go from there. But remaining safe, remaining vigilant, there’s a lot of carcinogens and fires so what you breathe has a big impact on what you want to take on yourself,” says Cole Fechner, Vice President of Dryco Restoration Services.

If soot does get stirred up in the cleaning process, personal protective equipment (PPE) will come in handy.

“A mask is going to be number one. An N95 is going to be the lowest possible protection that’s still going to do you some good. Things like a cloth or a bandana isn’t going to help you. The N95 is good, but the seal around your mouth and nose won’t be perfect. So, a half face respirator or a full face are going to be what’s best for working in the environment, as well as gloves to protect your hands and just general washing of clothes or anything that you’re wearing while you’re there, washing that all down afterwards so it’s not spreading elsewhere,” says Fechner.

Another thing that people may have forgotten to do when evacuating is turn off their home filtration system, which means soot could be in the vents and air filters.

“If you can, number one, replace the filter right away, you can supplement a charcoal filter to help with the odor. With that being said, you’re going to have the return ducting is going to be pulling in that smoke that’s in the air, the soot. So, I would suggest replacing the filter, supplementing a charcoal filter, but then looking to have those ducts cleaned, at least the return, you know, because they’re going to be pulling in the smoke and the soot that’s in your home,” says Fechner.

While vacuuming may be tempting, it’s important to do so with the proper filter attached.

“If you’re going to use a vacuum, make sure it has a Hepa rated filter in it, because if it isn’t, it’s just going to be blowing around that particulate into the air,” says Fechner.

Upholstery, carpet, and other textile-based products can also be challenging to clean, especially with smoke odors at play.

“For the textiles and upholstery sort of thing, those are hard to clean, hard to deodorize just because if there’s, say, furniture padding behind it, it’s not really possible to clean those things beyond an upholstery tool like a handheld carpet cleaner, that sort of thing. But it might not be 100% effective just because it could penetrate really deeply. Same thing with carpet and the pad beneath. So, clean it with a mild degreaser and a deodorizer. They make specific deodorizers for smoke damage,” says Fechner.

Make sure you stay vigilant if you decide to go in and clean up, and don’t put yourself in harm’s way just to save money.