Smoke damage

[john0203]

We had a fire in our shop last week. Lost 45 yrs of tool and "whatever" colection.
Fire dept. was able to save part of the power equipment. But it is coverd in smoke. Anyone know how to remove smoke?

[Prairie]

(I hope you have insurance) Call a restoration service that specializes in smoke damage. They have O3 machines and special cleaning agents and are your best bet. Besides that, you gotta clean it all manually, and the smaller the cleaning instruments the better (think Q-tips) for crevasses.

[NCLee]

I'm sorry to hear about the fire in your shop. Even if you have insurance, that can't cover the emotional loss of the "treasures" I'm sure you had in your shop. (sigh)

For all suitable surfaces on your equipment, first use rags, shop towels, etc. to wipe off as much of the soot as possible. It will be messy and you'll need a lot of rags. Yes, the soot will smear. But, this step will leave you less to deal with the next step.

If you have power to the location and an old vacuum cleaner, you can vacuum off much of the soot, instead. The vac won't look the same, afterwards, as you'll probably get soot stains all over it, depending on your situation. Wear a dust mask while using it, as the vac filter may not remove all the tiny particles. And for equipment that can easily be moved, I'd do it outside. Spread a piece of 6 mil plastic on your work surface or the ground. Dispose of the plastic later, so you won't walk through the residue or leave it on your worktable.

Oh, btw, outside, an old paint brush can remove a lot of that soot.

Make up a solution of HOT water, Dawn dish detergent, a splash of alcohol, and of household ammonia. For a bucket full, I'd use a couple of good squirts of Dawn, and about 1/4 to 1/2c each of alcohol and ammonia. Wear gloves when using this mixture.

Wipe down all those surfaces with the solution. Even though you probably don't have power to your shop, unplug them anyway. Use clean water and clean rags to rinse off the equipment. Take your time and replace both the soapy water, rinse water, and rags, as needed. You may need to do this a couple of times.

Since the tools weren't running, chances are there's a miminal amount of soot inside of them. It's settled on the outside surfaces. Don't forget to "wash" the power cords, attachments, etc.

After cleaning up the outside, if you believe there's soot inside the machine, take it apart, as if you're doing routine maintenance. Clean up those interior surfaces, as well. For example, with a tablesaw, remove the throat plate, and blade to get access inside.

Do a good final rinse to make sure the cleaning products have been removed. Let the equipment dry thoroughly before testing it.

If you have castiron surfaces, as soon as you can, do what you normally do for rust prevention. In fact, you may want to strip those down with mineral spirits and steel wool. Reapply wax or the commercial product you use. That'll keep any residual soot embeded in the wax from contaminating future projects.

Again, I'm sorry to hear about your shop. Hope this post helps, if you have to do the clean up yourself.

Lee

[john0203]

Thanks for the info. Yes we do have insurance. Trying to clean up this mess, I’m sure thankful it wasn't the house. Hard to beleve how much one famliy can collect and pack away.

[Pokeberry Mary]

Our kitchen burnt down in our first home and the insurance had Service Masters come clean the house. I was a homeschooler so I had tons of books in the house which I cleaned myself using what they were using. It was a dry chemical laden sponge. It wiped the smoke off and left the books looking new.

Not sure that works on equipment like yours--but I would call around the nearest large city and see if there are cleaning supply stores--or maybe even hire professionals--if you had insurance they should pay for that. Our old insurance did EVERYTHING. In fact the house looked so nice when they were done we sold it and moved to the country.:)

[pamsabear]

I am sorry for the loss you have faced. Smoke damage is a combination of carbon and a greasy substance. I would use the professionals.

Just a hint: when I had smoke damage in my house I did some of the cleaning myself before the fire restoration company came, and my insurance company paid me by the hour for my labor. So keep track of the time you are putting into this clean up and submit it to them.

Pam

[johnny]

On metal and plastics, I know from experience that Oxy Clean works like a charm and far cheaper than most other products I have used.
I am a firm believer in Oxy Clean and have found many many uses for it. In fact, havent found anything I wanted to clean that it wouldnt do so far. Been using it 5 or more years now. First order was over the phone but now Wal Mart and other stores carry it. Well worth the money in my book!

[firefightermom]

Sorry about your fire. We have used in the past a product called TSP. It stands for : Tri Sodium Phosphate (spelling??) You can find it in most hardware stores, and I know that our local Lowe's carries it in their paint department. It is a powder that you mix with warm water. It cleans soot real good.
Good luck

[keydl]

If they used water on the tools you will want to treat for rust to start with. The smoke/soot is often corrosive.

Depending on the damage to the structure a pressure washer may take most of the smoke smell, a coat of paint helps.

A shipping container is nice to store the contents while the shop is repaired and the stuff cleaned to bring back in. Time or an ozone generator will clean up the last of the smell.

[headhunter]

A couple years back we had a soot far_. About a month after being serviced our furnace (flue pipe) filled with soot. What hasty stuff! I would agree with most of what has been presented here. The sponges work well, there are specialized paints to cover after the walls are washed. I was curious about why the soot went where it did. We were told that soot will seek out the coldest places and settle there. Because it is so corrosive I would check the inside of my machines I was warned to really go over my rifles. We used our shop vac to get rid of some of the mess, but we did switch to the "heppa" filters and later found it was what the professionals were using. Best of luck!