Smoke Odor Removal

Many people believe it’s impossible to remove all traces of smoke odor from a house damaged by fire, short of tearing the structure apart and replacing all materials. And it is true that heavy smoke odor cannot be successfully masked: sooner or later the pervasive smells will resurface if not treated properly. It is sometimes necessary to removes surfaces to gain access to smoke-contaminated structural embers needing treatment or replacement. But I many circumstances smoke can be removed by less disruptive means-by using chemical treatments that counteract the odor-causing molecules at the source.

What’s smoke odor? Consider for a moment what smoke odor is. What most people call smoke odor is actually a combination of smells produced by the interaction of chemicals during and after combustion. Many different materials burn during a building fire, including wood, fuels, plastics, fabrics, proteins, and countless others. All these materials produce different smells when they burn and as their charred remains “off-gas” afterwards. Also contributing to the overall odor is the smell of fungi that flourish in areas soaked by water. Yet, to the layperson, all the different smells add up to just “smoke odor.”

Why is smoke odor so hard to treat? For one thing, it’s difficult to reach. Smoke seeps through the minute cracks and crevices and it leaves its residue on surfaces and in ductwork throughout the building. Sometimes the smoke also reaches structural elements such as framing members. To be effective, any chemical treatment must behave the same way, fully penetrating the building to find and counteract the odor-causing molecules.

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