Smoke and soot cleanup in Salt Lake City
Smoke goes where air goes. A pan fire in the kitchen can leave residue on a bedroom ceiling at the other end of the house, because the furnace blower carried it there. Fixr lists smoke damage cleanup at $200 to $1,200 and soot cleanup at $400 to $1,700, a small fraction of a full fire job.
Three kinds of smoke jobs
- A small fire inside. A kitchen fire, a dryer fire, a candle. Residue is heaviest in the room of origin and thins out from there, often following the duct runs.
- A furnace puff-back. An oil or gas appliance that misfires can push a fine black soot through the ducts into every room. Have the furnace inspected by a licensed HVAC contractor before it runs again.
- Wildfire smoke. Smoke from fires in the region drifts into the valley in late summer. Most of the time it calls for filters and air cleaning, not restoration. A house near a fire, or one that sat open during a heavy smoke event, can need the same cleaning and odor treatment as an inside fire.
What cleaning involves
- Dry soot first. Fixr notes dry soot is the cheaper kind to remove, about $400 to $700, and oily soot from burning plastic or a puff-back starts around $1,000. Wiping dry soot with a wet rag smears it; companies vacuum and use dry sponges first.
- Wash walls and ceilings, then cabinets with cleaners matched to the residue.
- Clean the ducts and change the filter. Otherwise the system redistributes what is left.
- Treat the odor. Thermal fogging runs $200 to $550 per floor and ozone treatment $300 to $600 per floor by Fixr's figures. Ozone requires an empty house, so people and pets should be out.
- Seal and repaint where stains or odor remain, with a primer made for smoke.
What to ask
- Is the HVAC system and ductwork in the scope, or extra?
- Which rooms are being cleaned, and which are being repainted?
- How will you show the odor is gone before you leave?
- Are clothing and drapes cleaned here, or packed out?
For a fire that also burned part of the house, the job adds water extraction and demolition before the rebuild. Fire damage restoration.
Questions Salt Lake homeowners ask
What does smoke damage cleanup cost?
Fixr lists smoke damage cleanup at $200 to $1,200 and soot cleanup at $400 to $1,700. Thermal fogging to treat odor runs $200 to $550 per floor and ozone treatment $300 to $600 per floor. Smoke travels through ducts, so ask whether the HVAC system is part of the scope.
Does homeowners insurance cover smoke damage?
Smoke from a fire in your home is generally covered as part of a fire loss. Smoke drifting in from a wildfire is handled differently by different insurers; ask your agent before you hire anyone, and photograph residue on surfaces first.
Can I paint over smoke stains?
Not with ordinary paint. Smoke residue bleeds through and keeps the odor. Surfaces get cleaned, then sealed with a primer made for smoke, then painted.