How to Clean Smoke Damaged Walls and Ceilings
How to clean smoke damaged walls and ceilings the right way. Yes, there is a correct way to clean smoke damage. Because you can cause more damage, when you don’t understand the does and don’ts of cleaning smoke damage. Therefore, I highly recommend you read ALL my post on the subject or visit my YouTube channel (Link at the bottom). Although, it can be hard work, it is a lot easier and less expensive when you do it the right way the first time.
How to Clean Smoke Damaged Walls and Ceilings
Beware of false information
Because there is a shocking amount of bad information on the internet about how to clean smoke damaged walls. I want to help you understand how to do the job. I have seen a suggestion for using paint thinner. PAINT THINNER! If you use paint thinner on latex walls, you might as well just start sealing and repainting now. Before we can discuss how to clean smoke damaged walls and ceilings, it’s vital to understand the surface you need to clean. Using just water on the wrong surface can cause horrific results.
What will effect how to clean?
Because, some wall surfaces are easier to clean than others, you may not even need to repaint. It depends on how porous the surface of the wall. Also what type of paint and what type of smoke is on the wall. Another problem, has it been cleaned incorrectly before? Smoke damage caused by grease from cooking is especially harder to clean on flat painted walls.? Because many factors can change the cleaning process that you will need to follow it is important to learn how. Certainly, this is not your average cleaning job.
How to Clean Smoke Damaged Walls and Ceilings
Walls, their paint and texture
Typically, the paint on walls and ceilings is latex based. However, some walls use oil-based paint. Other walls may have wallpaper or wood paneling.
After all, painted walls have either a flat, semi-gloss or gloss finish. Wood paneling can be sealed or unsealed.
Because popcorn ceilings are a whole different ball game when it comes to cleaning. I discuss the methods working with popcorn ceilings in a separate post.
How to Clean Smoke Damaged Walls and Ceilings
This article will discuss what materials you need, and how to keep yourself safe. Because I care, please wear proper safety gear while cleaning something as toxic as smoke soot. I am including links at bottom of this post for items you may need.
If you have serious smoke damage to your home, we don’t recommend cleaning it yourself. Unless you are not insured. Normally, homeowner’s insurance covers smoke damage.
Read more on the basics of smoke damage and working with your insurance company.
Safety First
Certainly, breathing in smoke soot can be toxic to your health. In addition, the chemicals used for cleaning are strong. They can burn skin, eyes, and even lungs if breathed in. On the other hand, the dry cleaning sponge method is the safest. Unfortunately, it does not work on every surface.
When you will be working with chemicals, ensure you have appropriate ventilation. This will require opening windows. Do not run the HVAC when you have smoke damage, this may cause the soot to spread and may damage your system.
What type of surface are your walls or ceiling?
After you determine the type of surface and finish you will be working with, move to the next section of this guide for the cleaning procedures.
Painted walls and ceilings
Before you start, most important thing is to know what type of surface you are working with. You must determine if your painted wall or ceiling uses latex or oil-based paint. Basically, are the walls flat paint, semi-gloss or gloss. Test a tiny area with rubbing alcohol, in an inconspicuous spot. Apply enough rubbing alcohol on the cotton ball so the surface is wet. Rub the alcohol-soaked cotton ball on the wall. If the alcohol removes some of the paint, then your walls use latex paint. No paint on the cotton ball means oil-based paint covers your walls.
If you have oil based painted walls, you can follow the procedure for semi-gloss and gloss painted walls. This is because you can often wash oil based painted surfaces. If your paint is old and wearing, you may want to try the flat based paint cleaning procedure first (Dry smoke sponge).
To be sure of your cleaning method, next determine if the finish is flat, semi-gloss or gloss.
Basically, if the paint looks dull, with no shine, than it is a flat finish. Ceilings normally have a flat finish.
If there is a any shine to the wall then it has a semi or gloss finish. In that case we treat semi-gloss and gloss painted walls the same when cleaning smoke damage.
Wallpapered walls
While cleaning is possible for many types of wallpaper. However, as wallpaper comes in an extreme variety of textures and porousness. It is impossible to provide accurate information without inspecting the wallpaper in person.
You can try to follow the instructions below, but we caution this, as following the wrong procedure for your surface can cause further damage. If you still want to try at your risk. Because of the risk I would start with the dry smoke sponge, rubbing lightly. Make sure you don’t get the sponge wet, even sweat from your hands can cause smoke to stain.
We recommend either removing the wallpaper or contacting a local specialist to help determine the appropriate cleaning procedure.
Wood paneled walls
The most important factor when dealing with wood walls is if they are sealed or unsealed.
Because sealed wood is easier to try and clean, as the smoke is less likely to embed into the grain of the wood.
You can usually tell unsealed wood by its look and feel. Is it rough? Is it dull? Does it look like it is unfinished?
We do not recommend trying to clean unsealed wood yourself. There is a high risk of permanently discoloring and damaging the wood. It is best to hire a professional experienced in cleaning smoke damage out of unsealed wood.
For sealed wood, you can follow the procedure for cleaning semi-gloss or gloss finished surfaces. However, do not over wet the rag.
Cleaning smoke damaged walls and ceilings – flat paint
Certainly don’t try to wash soot off flat painted surfaces. In the event that the wall is already stained and the sponge is not working. Then and only then try a slightly wet solution. Water or liquid cleaners can instantly turn smoke and soot to black stains, making it even more challenging to clean.
Before starting, set up your workspace.
- First, Vacuum the floor using a filtered vacuum to clean up any loose soot. Because you do not want to walk and track the soot into more areas.
- Once vacuumed, Remove furniture and put down drop clothes in the area you are working. Then cover furniture with the light plastic drop clothes.
- Don’t forget, Put on safety gear, like your respirator mask, this is a must. Fortunately, if you are working with the dry sponge you won’t need to work with any harsh chemicals now.
- When you see specks of soot particles on the wall or ceiling, you first gently vacuum them up. Before starting dry sponge cleaning. Hover the vacuum hose over the particles without touching the wall. Because, if you touch the particles, they will likely break and stain the wall.
Clean smoke damaged flat painted walls and ceilings with a smoke sponge
To clean smoke damage off walls and ceilings that have flat paint, you need a dry soot sponge, sometimes called a chemical sponge. Soot sponges are an important tool for soot cleanup and heavily used by cleanup experts.
These sponges feel and work like a large eraser. They are rubbery in texture, used dry, and not like any other type of sponge. Do not try to substitute them for a different product.
The sponges are really easy to use, just wipe the area with them; mostly one way. however, DO NOT GET THEM WET. This will ruin the sponge and defeat the purpose. It is important to realize, your hands can’t be sweaty or wet. Make sure your hands are completely dry. Wearing gloves will help with this. Any moisture when cleaning smoke on a flat paint surface will cause staining.
When your sponge gets dirty you can remove a thin layer of the dirty area with rough sandpaper or a fine grater. My favorite, is a piece of rough commercial scrubbing machine pad. If you have a janitorial store near you, buy a rough scrubbing pad used for scrubbing machines. Cut a small piece and rub on the sponge keeping it even. This will keep your sponge in perfect working order. Again, just don’t try to wash it or get it wet.
Usually, painting is not necessary after using the soot sponge.
What if moisture has already touched the flat painted wall or ceiling?
When moisture has already touched the wall or ceiling, there will likely be inky looking stains. The smoke sponge is unlikely to remove set stains like these.
Go ahead and clean what you can with the smoke sponge before addressing the inky stains.
You will need to apply paint sealer to the stain spots on the wall or ceiling after you remove what you can with the smoke sponge.
A really good product to cover smoke stains and odor is Kilz, this is what I use (see below). The product comes in water and oil-based formulas. It does not matter which one you use, but I recommend the water-based version as it covers well and does not have a strong odor.
The stained spots are the only areas you need to seal. It will look better if you feather the outer edges of the sealed spots. Feathering involves lightly brushing in the sealer around the edges, so it blends in the wall.
However, stains covering most of a wall or ceiling require sealing the entire wall or ceiling.
After the sealer is dry, you can paint the wall. You must paint the whole wall to ensure it blends.
Cleaning smoke damaged walls – semi-gloss or gloss paint
You can also follow this procedure if you are working with sealed wood panels, or oil based painted walls. Doors, door frames, and baseboards usually have a semi-gloss finish, so this procedure should also work for them.
When to clean smoke damage using a liquid solution
To clean walls and ceilings painted with semi-gloss or gloss paint, (surfaces with a slight shine), you will need a liquid cleaning agent made for removing smoke. Prorestore unsmoke degrease all (see below) . If you don’t have grease use the the milder solution of the same product. Minor smoke on semi-gloss or gloss surfaces may clean with household cleaners.
Mix the cleaning agent according to the instructions on the bottle.
Use a good lint free cloth that won’t leave fabric on your walls.
Test the product in a small inconspicuous area. There should be no discoloration and the paint should not come off or bubble.
Your cloth should be damp but not dripping. Keep rinsing and ringing out your cloth as you work.
Do not over wet the surface. Wipe the surface dry with a lint free cloth right after washing the surface to minimize the likelihood of damage.
Grease fire smoke damage
When you have grease built up from grease fire or just a grease build up. Before you try strong solutions on Microwave, stove, counter tops, or cabinets. Try WD40 first then wash that with Dawn dish soap. Reason for this, strong chemicals may cause discolorations. To help with the clean and shinny look, clean last with a little vinegar on the rag then wipe off.
Apply Paint Sealer
Next, apply a paint sealer on any remaining stains. Feather the outer edges of the sealed spots. Feathering involves lightly brushing in the sealer around the edges, so it blends in the wall.
I like Kilz sealers. Kilz comes in water and oil-based formulas. It does not matter which one you use. I recommend the water-based version listed below, Because it covers well and does not have a strong odor.
Although you don’t have to seal the whole wall for small spots. Stains covering most of the wall or ceiling may require sealing the entire surface.
Be sure to let the sealer completely dry. After the sealer is dry, you can paint the wall. Unlike the sealer you must paint the whole wall to ensure it blends.
In closing
I hope you find this post valuable and were able to salvage your smoke damaged walls and ceiling. I would appreciate a good comment, to help grow my free service.
Visit my YouTube channel
Face Mask with respirator – Look for a mask rated for smoke filtering with a respirator attached. Make sure the mask fits firmly around your mouth and nose. Do not use a cheap painters’ or dust mask.
Eye Goggles – Sometimes you can find a good mask that will also protect your eyes. If not, you will want a sealed pair of goggles.
Chemical Gloves – Rated for working with heavy-duty cleaning products, these gloves should cover your hands and forearms.
Hooded Coveralls (optional) – Depending on how much smoke damage you are dealing with or if you are working on the ceiling, hooded coveralls can protect you from dripping chemicals.
Filtered Vacuum Cleaner – A vacuum with a good filter will help pick up loose soot without spreading. Without the filter, the vacuum will blow out the smoke soot. Throw away the bag once finished and wash the filter.
Sturdy Ladder – If the area you are working on is out of reach, you will need a sturdy ladder.
4×12
9×12
Light plastic , throw over furniture
Drop Cloths – Less of a safety issue, but drop cloths can help contain the mess. Making sure soot or chemicals do not cause additional damage to floors or furniture.
Kilz, used to cover smoke and water stains, also odor control.
Heavy duty smoke and de greaser
