Need to get rid of lingering smoke odors in your home? Learn how much smoke remediation costs to budget accurately for this major undertaking.
Can You Live In a House With Smoke Damage?
Don’t let your health go up in smoke after a house fire
Get quotes from water and smoke damage repair specialists near you
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Get quotes from water and smoke damage repair specialists near you
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Smoke damage in a house poses serious health risks, including respiratory issues, skin irritation, and nausea, especially for children, elderly individuals, and pets.
Expect to pay $200 to $1,200 per room for smoke remediation, and addressing damaged materials early helps you avoid higher restoration costs later.
Your home needs professional air cleaning, ventilation improvements, and thorough removal of smoke residue from surfaces, carpets, and ventilation systems before it's safe.
Hiring a local smoke restoration professional provides reliable help with air quality testing and complete remediation, keeping your family safe after a fire.
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You may be eager to get back to normal after your home has had a fire, but living in a house with smoke damage can be hazardous to your health and pose long-term structural risks. Smoke can travel to parts of your home outside of the immediate fire area and can linger long after the flames are put out. Learn why you shouldn’t stay in a house that has smoke damage until the damage has been remediated and an expert determines it’s safe to return.
What Is Smoke Damage?
After a fire, smoke and soot can remain throughout your home. Even without significant fire damage, smoke damage can cause serious issues. Smoke can travel through your ventilation and HVAC system, leaving particles of smoke and soot even in areas far from the fire itself.
There are various types of smoke damage, depending on the source and extent of the fire. As a fire burns, it creates particulates and releases chemicals into the air from whatever materials have burned. Smoke not only leaves residue behind but also affects the air quality throughout your home. Smoke residue can penetrate into furniture, walls, and even appliances, as well as damage and corrode parts of your home if it’s not properly cleaned. There are multiple ways smoke damage can be dangerous to your home and everyone in it.
Risks of Staying in a House With Smoke Damage
Even a small fire can result in smoke damage, and because smoke can travel throughout your home, you shouldn’t assume it’s safe anywhere after a fire.
Health Risks
Health risks pose the most immediate concern with smoke damage. The particulates in smoke and soot can be dangerous to breathe in, and the chemicals released into the air can cause serious health problems of their own. Children, the elderly, people with existing health issues, and pets are particularly at risk, but smoke can cause health problems for anyone who breathes it in. Health risks from smoke damage include:
Respiratory issues
Skin damage
Eye irritation
Allergic reactions to released chemicals
Headaches
Nausea and vomiting
Long-term cancer or chronic illness risk
Structural Risks
In addition to the many health risks, smoke damage can also put your home itself in danger long after a fire. Smoke can corrode and damage materials over time, which can lead to structural problems like collapsing ceilings and walls, weakened supports, and deteriorated insulation.
How to Remove Smoke Damage
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If you’ve had a house fire, it’s important to act quickly to remediate smoke damage. Smoke problems can get worse with time, so call a local smoke damage restoration company to start the smoke damage restoration process as soon as possible after a fire.
During the remediation and restoration process, experienced pros will:
Increase ventilation and clean the air of particulates and odor.
Clean or remove smoke-damaged items, including removing smoke smell from wood furniture, cleaning particulates from electronics and appliances, and removing affected carpets.
Clean smoke residue and soot from surfaces and ventilation systems
Restore or replace smoke-damaged materials like drywall, flooring, ceilings, and more
A smoke damage restoration company will be able to confirm when your home is free of smoke damage and safe to reenter.
How Much Does Smoke Damage Remediation Cost?
Smoke remediation costs an average of $200 to $1,200 per room. Costs may depend on the methods used, such as ozone smoke removal and the extent of necessary soot removal. For homes with more severe fires, full fire damage restoration can cost between $3,000 and $50,000, depending on the structural damage and amount of material restoration needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Water and smoke damage repairs reviews from real Angi homeowners in Columbus, OH
4.8★ avg. • 2 total reviews
- Marwan T.
If you’re good people wanting to do business with good people, hire Matt. He is a consummate professional and utterly competent. He installed a water heater in my home at a price that beat competitors by hundreds of dollars with a promise to support the unit for its life (even after its 6 yr...
Greene's Plumbing Services - Eric T.
Corey Carr was great. I had damage from a recent storm and needed to have my mast and other components replaced. The project entailed coordinating with AEP, and Corey helped make a stressful situation a lot less stressful. I really appreciated his dedication to service and the job very well done.
Mr. Electric of Columbus - Dawn G.
This service was great. My air conditioner went out during the heat spell that we had. My husband has health issues and they came out that night and at 9:30pm the air conditioner was fixed and running. We are sooo very thankful, this is the company I will be using from now on and would...
Mr. Mechanical Ohio - Julio V.
Positive experience. As previously stated, the replacement/repair could not be completed (no fault of the plumbing tech) b/c misinformation was rec?d by property management maintenance. Thanks to the plumbing tech for your efforts. Appreciate you!
The Waterworks - Brent C.
Carpet repair done well. Scheduling was easy. Showed up on time.
BR Flooring Installation - Mike Z.
As usual with ECO, tech Jordan was outstanding, very professional, very knowledgeable, and very thorough with repairs made to tankless water heaters. Very highly recommend ECO!!!
Eco Plumbers, Electricians, and HVAC Technicians - Austin Y.
I would recommend this company to anyone! He showed up on time, was friendly, completed a very difficult repair on our dryer vent cover, was responsive, and pricing was extremely fair and competitive. I would have him back to do any of our repairs or cleanings without hesitation!
U.S.A. Dryer Vent, LLC - Micki B.
Everything from initial contact to completion was absolutely top notch. We contacted the business during off hours to leave a message, and the owner still reached out to feel out the issue within minutes. We were scheduled and repaired within 48 hours. I cannot say enough about the...
Supreme brick & chimney - Donald L.
Ace Fireplace Services came to the rescue for my chimney repair. They were quick to pinpoint the issue and worked their magic to fix it. My chimney is now in excellent shape, and I'm a satisfied customer.
Ace Fireplace Services - Angie M.
When we had the winter freeze, I called Quantum Waterworks Waterline & Drain Cleaning Services and within 1 hour I received an e-mail and he sent someone out the next day and he was on time, he was nice and did the job quickly and cleaned up after himself. We had a leak in our kitchen from...
Quantum Waterworks Waterline & Drain Cleaning Services, LLC
The homeowners guide to water and smoke damage repairs
From average costs to expert advice, get all the answers you need to get your job done.
Ozone treatment can help with lingering smoke odors. Learn about ozone smoke removal costs to get an accurate idea of how to budget for this service.
The type of smoke your home is exposed to will affect the kind of damage it leaves behind. Learn about the four types of smoke damage and how they differ.
Learn how smoke can impact your home and health, and explore effective strategies for cleaning and prevention
Not sure who to call for smoke damage? We’ll point you in the right direction and review the benefits of hiring different types of professionals who can help.
How do you know what to throw away after smoke damage? This guide will tell you what can be salvaged after a house fire.