How to Clear Smoke Out of a Room

From a closed flue to a small cooking fire, smoke is unwelcome in the home and may be harmful to your health. Clearing your home of smoke fast is pertinent to stemming the damage and breathing easily in your home. Learn the best way to clear smoke out of a house, safely.

Why Is It Important to Clear Smoke Indoors?

Any unintended fire poses an immediate health and safety risk – but the risk doesn’t end when the fire is put out. Even if the fire is relatively small and extinguished without the aid of firefighters, its remnants may impact your health and safety for a long time through smoke, creosote and soot exposure.

Fire fuel (the burning material) rarely burns cleanly, leaving behind chemicals that may be harmful to your health and home. This is especially true as it pertains to synthetic materials. Clearing toxic smoke from a space is the first step toward recovery.

The Best Way to Clear Smoke Out of a House (Safely)

Before you can clear the smoke, it’s important to identify its source and determine if you may safely extinguish its source. When in doubt, always call 911.

Once the source of the smoke is identified and has been safely extinguished, we recommend homeowners:

1. Move vulnerable persons (the very young, very old, and those with breathing or chronic health problems) outside.

2. Open doors and windows to promote ventilation.

3. Set up fans to draw air from outside and push indoor air, out. Box fans placed in windows make quick work of removing smoke.

4. Set up a high-quality air purifier.

If your HVAC system pulls air from the outdoors to heat and cool your home and does not recirculate indoor air, turn on the system to promote additional circulation.

What to Do After the Smoke Clears

Just because the smoke has cleared doesn’t mean the work is over! Smoke that lingers for even a short period of time may cause discoloring of walls, staining of carpets and fabrics and unpleasant smells.

Additionally, your HVAC and air purifier filters will receive more wear and tear in the aftermath of a smoke damage event. Consider replacing or cleaning their filters more frequently in the coming weeks and months.

Breathe Easy with an Air Purification System from Aire Serv

Equipping your home with a high-quality air purification system can help you clear the air after an incident and increase the quality of the air you breathe indoors, year-round. Learn more about our indoor air quality services today.