Fire Damage

If you can't wash the soot off, try buying some KILZ primer. That stuff works great at covering up stains. I think you can buy it almost anywhere, I know that Walmart sells it. Also try setting some bowls of baking soda out that works great as an oder absorber. good luck

We had a fire earlier this year and I can tell you that you will need help. Contact your insurance company and they will reccommend a company that they work with who will come in and clean this up for you. That is why you have insurance. I know in our home they covered the areas affected by the smoke with a special kind of paint that sealed it and took away any of the smoke smell. Don't drive yourself crazy trying to do this yourself! Even a small fire can cause significant damage and make quite a mess. If you have renters insurance by all means use it! Good luck to you!

Before you do anything else you should contact your insurance company. What they usually do is have a company that comes out and cleans EVERYTHING up for you. When they are finished you won't have any smoke smell whatsoever.
Good Luck,
B. M.

oH my goodness, so sorry to hear of your disaster. Thank God no one was hurt.
Couple of things, do you have insurance? Even if you are renting with insurance they should pay for cleaning up. Thats part of what you pay insurance for. Unless your deductable is extremely high.
Secondly, if you do and want to make a claim, there are several restoration companies, specifically for that. Make sure you can pick them! Check your yellow pages to see if there is someone local and call for references.
We have a couple of companies in our area specfically for disasters.
And yes vinegar does help with removing smoke you may have to have the bowls sitting out for awhile. Also if you do have insurance and want to make a claim ask your Agent if they could recommend someone. Good luck to you!

S.
First wash your walls with soap and water. You will probably have to change your water freaquently. After it's clean and dry, dilute vinegar into another clean bucket of water. Wipe that down well too, the vinegar will remove any soap residue that's left on the walls. Let dry overnight, either use a very high quality primer or another or another product called KILZ. It's specifically made for stubborn stains. (we used it on my grandma's basement walls before she moved...it's an awesome product)! Last paint the walls. Besides the vinegar in the bowls, also lay out bowls filled with baking soda all over the kithcen. I am guessing the smoke odor must be in other parts of the house too, just not as strong as the kitchen. My neighbors had a fire in their kitchen this past summer, they are still dealing with the odor. The baking soda and vinegar may take weeks if not months to get the odor out, but it will work. Too bad you can't open your windowns now, that would help the most.
Good Luck!

Your renters insurance should take care of this for you.

They will send out specialists to get the rid of the smoke damage. It may cost your deductible, but that should be it.

G.

You should definately call you insurance company. There are companies they hire just to clean up after a fire as there are a lot of things you would not traditionally have the products or equipment to clean after a fire. You NEED a professional as fires can have very long lasting effects.

I don't think it will come off. You are probably going to need to paint with Kills paint it covers everything. Then paint over it with a laytex paint.
As far as the smoke smell I would wash everything that can be washed. Try the Mr. Clean with Frebreze in it. I have even used it on clothing items and other things in the washer the smell comes right out. But the smell is going to be in all rooms of your home, Frebreze everything that you can and open windows, weather permitting.
Good luck it will be okay again it will just take time.

We had a fire in our home some 20+ years ago and it was mostly smoke damage, thank God. We got charged for the fire call, even though it was a faulty fan that shorted out and burned. The plastic and soot and smoke smells were terrible. Our insurance company was called and we had to hire painters and professional cleaners, which they payed for. I did the cupboards and all the dishes. This fire affected our entire 3-bedroom home, ranch style. If there are curtains or drapes that need to have the soot and fire smell removed, you need to check with some drycleaning firms to see if they do fire damage; they can do wonders. All of our drycleaning clothes had to be done, even a feathertick I had gotten from my grandmother. It was an awful mess for about a month, but it finally got done and everything turned out alright. That is why you get renter's insurance, in case of things like this. We had home owner's, but I do know renter's insurance will do the same. As for the ceiling, it will have to be resprayed and you will not be able to be in the house for at least a day and night. Good luck, my sympathy is really with you. Been there, done that.

I don't have any advice but wanted to say that you are being thought of. My heart goes out to you and will keep you in my thoughts/prayers. As you said, Thank God that your kids were not home... that you are OK, and that it was only the kitchen - not the whole house!

I hope you get something figured out. I heard that smoke smell is hard to get out. Sounds like you're on the right track.

Good luck,
~SR

Cleaning up the damage should be the job of your insurance company and your landlord to decide how to proceed. I had a kitchen fire once and the insurance company had it all cleaned up-that is part of the service. As far as smoke smell--I guess opening windows and using fans would work. Check with your landlord and insurance company though--that is what you pay for!

S.,
Glad you are all ok. I don't know if this will work for smoke smells but you can try it if you want, it works for all other odors: try putting charcoal brikets (like you use in a bar b q grill) in a vase and setting it in your kitchen. The charcoal absorbs foul odors.
Good luck!!!
K.

You will not get charged for the fire department call. That is what they are there for and what your property taxes help pay for. I would contact your insurance company right away. If you have coverage they will probably pay for the work that needs to be done to clean up and restore your home.

I'm glad for you and your family that you were not hurt!

good morning S.,

omg-im sooo sorry-went thru the same years back...what your experiencing is totally normal.just take a deep breath..relax a bit-the worst is over-however.i paint apts.for a living-deal with fire damage all the time.go to your local paint store-ask for a bucket of primar-its the only thing that will cover the smoke damage on walls an ceilings-then ask for a bucket of paint from landlord-if they have to do it-its a pretty hefty charge.that will remove alot of the smell-as far as the fan...well you can ask landlord for a new one-i would try to go out of your pocket as much as possible-deductible is like 500.00...no you will not get a bill from the fire dept.thats what our hefty taxes pay for...if you have further questions-feel free to email me for more details...good luck...K.

CALL YOUR RENTAL COMPANY/LANDLORD!!! I wouldn't do anything without first talking to them. Also your renters insurance probably just covers your things, not the things that belong to the landlord. That's what THEY pay for insurance for.