Removing Smoke Odor From Home!

6/11/2020 (Permalink)

Smoke odor can be so frustrating. Let SERVPRO help.

SMOKE ODOR – WHAT CAUSES IT?

Obviously, the smell of smoke is caused by a fire. There’s truth in the saying “where there’s smoke, there’s fire,” after all. Now, the smell of smoke could be caused by a fire in your kitchen because you forgot to turn off the stove. It could be burnt food because your partner can’t cook to save his/her life. It could be smoke from a cigar or cigarette.

It can even be from your neighbor who is nice enough to burn something right outside your open window. It doesn’t really matter what the source is (though you do need to locate the source for safety purposes, ok?) because it all comes down to one thing – the smell sticks to your house and belongings like glue. And eliminating that smell is just a small part of the problem.

Any kind of smoke that is caused by burning carbon-based materials such as wood, paper, oil, gas, or food can produce carbon monoxide. If you don’t know this yet, this is an odorless, colorless gas that can be harmful.

HOW TO ELIMINATE SMOKE ODOR IN HOUSE

When it comes to smoke odor removal, there are several options available. Some may use scented candles, air fresheners, and sprays to get rid of smoke odor or any kind of unpleasant smell.

However, they’ll soon realize that there is only so much scented candles or sprays can do for the problem. In fact, they can make matters worse, as they simply combine with the smoke smell and leave behind something quite unpleasant. Even opening your windows and letting fresh air in won’t be getting rid of the smoke odor completely.

A lot of people believe that a good scrub will be enough to get rid of the smell of smoke in a house. And they’re right in a sense. You can scrub your walls plus your ceilings with ammonia and water to get rid of the smell of smoke, especially if it was just a small amount and the room wasn’t exposed too long to the smoke. You probably won’t be able to smell it anymore. However, it won’t be cleaning something more important – the air you breathe.

Vinegar and baking sodas are natural odor neutralizers and another good option. You can place some vinegar in the room and baking soda in the carpet to start eliminating the smell of smoke. It’s going to work but it’ll take time and several repeats to get the smell completely out.

While using these may be tedious, they’re a lot cheaper than choosing a professional. In fact, if the smoke particles have had time to sink into the upholstery, curtains, and even your clothes, washing them with vinegar and baking soda is your best bet.

But vinegar and baking soda still leave one problem behind – the remaining invisible-to-the-naked-eye smoke particles still hanging around in the air. Plus, since you used ammonia in cleaning the heck out of your walls and ceilings, you may have now added chemical fumes to your indoor air. The world is such a scary place, ain’t it? But there’s no need to panic. Take a deep breath (or not) and calm yourself. There is a way out of this dilemma.

THE REAL SMOKE ODOR EXTERMINATOR

     While all the other solutions we gave are handy, they won’t completely clean your environment of gases and chemical fumes. The next step to ensure that your indoor air quality is top-notch is to have SERVPRO come in with air scrubbers.

What is an air scrubber? Well, it’s a portable air filtration system that makes use of a series of filters to capture contaminants in the air and recirculate the clean air in an enclosed space. Air scrubbers come in a variety of sizes with different features and capabilities. But most of them will operate using the same basic principle – the motor will power a blower or fan that will draw in the air, letting them pass through the filters. The first stage is the pre-filter stage where the large particles in the air are trapped. The second stage will contain a carbon filter that captures the gas and vapor molecules – the odors that we smell including the harmful smoke particles in the air. The third and final stage is the primary filter which is a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air) filter, able to capture 99.97% of particles in the air that can be as small as 0.3 micrometers.

Once it passes through all three filters, the decontaminated air will be exhausted. What all that means is that the smell, as well as the source of the smell, is completely eliminated. It’s not masked. It’s also not just decreased to undetectable amounts, it’s completely gone.

Take note that an air scrubber “scrubs” the air. Any smoke particles that get trapped in the surfaces of walls and inside fabric will remain there. Which is why you’ll still need to use a little elbow grease to wash away the smell of smoke on your belongings.

Aside from the fact that an air scrubber will clean your air of smoke particles, are there any other benefits of having them? Good question. There are, actually. First of all, using an air scrubber gets your air clean in a few minutes.

The second benefit is that it doesn’t only filter out smoke odors. It also filters out mold, dust, pollen, and pet dander. Any particles that could potentially trigger any allergies are eliminated along with the smoke. And the ultimate benefit of an air scrubber is a simple fact that you can “clean” your air every so often. Indoor air pollution is no joke.