For best results and to avoid difficult stains you should try to remove smoke char and soot as quickly as possible.
Clean smoke soot off walls.
Special sponges available at many hardware stores are made for cleaning soot off walls and most other surfaces.
To clean smoke damage start by removing loose soot from the walls with the hose attachment of a vacuum cleaner or by wiping it with a dry chemical sponge.
Even a small fire can cause extensive smoke damage.
A steam cleaner can also help to loosen caked on smoke or its sticky residue.
The methods below are safe to use on most walls painted drywall plaster wallpapered but you should always test a cleaning solution in a small hidden area first to look for any adverse reaction.
Soot and smoke stains can fall off of the ceiling and floor so laying down a dropcloth will minimize cleanup.
This is particularly true of walls and ceilings containing smoke damage and soot as soot will crumble and peel away.
Scrape off the sticky residue from the walls into a bucket.
Rinse clean with a dampened sponge or cloth.
Place a drop cloth beneath the cleaning area.
Several methods work effectively at cleaning soot off painted walls or drywall.
Work from the top left edge of the stain to the bottom replacing the sponge as it becomes clogged with soot.
Then dip the sponge back into the solution and apply again to the wall.
It s a good idea to have a bucket with clean normal water nearby to rinse the sponge in so excess soot is washed off.
Use any clean rag cloth or towel to dry the surface of the wall.
Our cleaning solutions show you how to remove black soot from walls from minor smoke damage without having to contact restoration services.
Frequently change out the cleaning cloth on the applicator to keep from spreading the soot and smoke back onto the wall.
Then rinse the area with a wet rag.
However using an ordinary sponge first will only smear the soot and add to the cleanup process.
Next use a rag soaked in diluted tsp solution to wash the soot stains from the wall one section at a time.
While a magic eraser may work at cleaning small areas it is not efficient for cleaning larger ones.
They are used dry and will remove much of the surface smoke damage before you use a liquid cleaning solution.