Tips for Removing Smoke Odor From Clothes After Fire Damage
Going through fire damage is traumatizing. But cleaning fire-damaged clothes that still omit smoke smells is a bigger nightmare. Regardless of how much detergent you use to wash the smoke-damaged clothing, they wouldn’t cooperate!
As long as the garments don’t burn, there’s still a chance to save them and wear them later. But even then, the soot and smoke odor can cause quite a lot of damage to your outfits. The lingering smoky smell can be unpleasant to inhale and can even damage your lungs.
So, how can you clean your smoke-damaged clothing to make them smell and look fresh?
If you are wondering how can you wear the outfits from fire damage again without feeling the soot burn your nose buds? Here’s a quick guide to find out five essential tips for cleaning your fire-damaged clothes.
Separate The Non-Burnt Clothing
The first step is separating your damaged clothes from undamaged ones. The faster you keep the unburnt clothes apart, the less likely they will absorb even more of the smokey odor. In addition, you can identify if the burnt clothing is repairable or not.
The fire-damaged clothes that you think can’t be salvaged at all should go in your garbage bag. These clothes are the ones with the most intense fire odors. So, removing them from your pile can help relieve some of the pungent sooty smell from the air.
Now, you must go through the non-burnt clothing to see how damaged every outfit is. Are some clothes completely damage-free? Or are there some in the mix with slight burn marks or holes that you can treat? If the damage is manageable, you can stitch or reuse the ensembles.
Remove Soot
The crucial part about treating your smoke-damaged clothing is removing the soot as soon as possible. The longer the soot remains on the clothes, the more they will smell of smoke and fire. You can dust the soot outside and hang the clothes out in the air to allow the sooty particles to disperse naturally.
In addition, wet clothes with soot stains are massive hassles. If you wash your fire-damaged clothes before vacuuming them, the dampness will cause the soot to absorb deeper within the fabric. You don’t want that to happen!
So, after sorting your non-burnt washable clothes, you can try vacuuming them. The high pressure sucks away most of the stubborn soot.
Do the Laundry
Instead of immediately putting the smoke-damaged fabric in the washing machine, it’s always better to soak them first. Fill a tub with one gallon of warm water, detergent, one cup bleach, and five tablespoons of trisodium phosphate.
Soaking your clothes for around 24 hours in this solution can do wonders at removing the smoke odor. The mixture is sure to treat most of the fire damage from the fabric and make your outfits look like they had been before the fire.
If the vacuuming doesn’t remove all of the soot stains, you can use vinegar. You can add half or one cup of white vinegar and half a cup of oxygenated bleach to your detergent as you do the laundry. That treats all the soot stains and removes the irritating sooty odor. After that, you must keep your washed clothes from drying until every soot stain is cleaned away.
Treat The Non-Washables
Washable fabrics are still easier to clean. But non-washable material requires doubling your efforts. However, don’t lose hope- you can still remove the smoke odor after the fire damage.
You can take every non-washable fabric out in the open air and then sprinkle baking soda all over them. Be sure to keep your hand generous as you cover every inch of the cloth with baking soda. It is a miracle worker for removing fire smell from textiles.
Ideally, you should leave the baking soda on the fabrics for around 24 hours or more. That allows the soda to scrub away every bit of the burning smell from your fire-damaged clothes. After 24 hours pass, you can start dusting the baking soda away from the non-washables. You may even vacuum the substance away if you’d prefer that.
Leave the non-washables in the air for a few more hours to keep the clothes fresh and erase all the smoke odor that may still be lingering in the fabric fibers. Once you think you can’t inhale any of the sooty or smokey smell, you can take the non-washables inside and tuck them in your closet again.
Get Help From Disaster Restoration Experts
Have you tried all of the tricks mentioned above and are still unable to remove the smoke odor from your smoke-damaged clothing? Hiring smoke damage experts is your last resort now. You can contact any fire damage restoration service near your locality.
Experienced services are always better because they have extensive industrial experience. Besides, they also know every practical and assuring way to restore your fire-damaged clothes.
Contact 911 Restoration Of Pensacola Now!
Professional help for managing your fire-damaged clothes is safe and effective. Experts dealing with fire damage understand the best practices to offer desired results. So, if you’re looking for a team dealing with smoke-damaged clothing, you can reach out to 911 Restorations Of Pensacola! The firm excels at dealing with fire damages and disaster restorations.
You can reach out to the service by calling (850) 316-4562 or visiting their facility at 9211 Fowler Ave Suite B, Pensacola, FL, 32534. You can also submit your request for on-site inspection using their online form.
