We are Homeowers! But... we've got alot of work today. Fire / Soot Damage

[toomuchrock]

We've purchased my uncles home which has some firedamage down stairs. The only damage to the main level is soot from the fire, but we hear its going to be a pain to clean.
What I basically would love to know, from anyone who may have done this before, is how on earth to clean it.
The bottom level has 2 bedrooms, full bath, walk in closet, laundry room, and garage. Most of the bedrooms downstairs will be completly gutted and start from scratch.
Other than the door frame at the stars, the upstrais has no fire damage other than some pretty thick soot.
The upstairs is 2 bedrooms, kitchen, master bath, living room, and dining room.
I beleive the entire house is about 3,000 square feet.

We got it for a steal and simply could not pass it up as it is in  on a corner lot, a historical part of our town surounded by big beautiful old houses.

The walls are mostly plaster and we need to know the best way to clean them, the appliance, bathroom fixtures, ceelings, and the wall to wall hardwood floors.

any help would be much appreciate!

[toomuchrock]

Heres an idea of what we've gotta do

[6in1]

Talk to your local fire dept.  There is definitely a compound you can buy from hardware stores that works on the soot and smell.  I'm sorry I just forget what it is.  It may also be on a Red Cross website.  They help fire victims all the time.

[*crystal*]

Yikes! I would try to salvage anything you can and then gut out the walls and put up new dry wall. But you already said that. Sorry i am no help!

[brunette42754]

This is going to sound odd but my father was a fireman.  Use the scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner.  A few years ago my friends' house burned pretty bad and everything had smoke damage ie. walls, furniture, carpets, clothes.  We saved almost everything by using the bubbles.  Make sure to wear a mask and very good ventilation.

[bubbanizzlemomma]

Odoban.  It's available at Walmart and Sams. 

My dear friend's house burned, and she wasn't able to salvage much.  What she did manage to take was a sideboard that belonged to her mom.  The FD suggested she toss it as a loss, but it was very sentimental to her since her mom passed when she was a teen.  She sanded it down and sprayed the whole thing with Odoban.  Let it sit in the garage for about a week, spraying every other day with the Odoban.  At the end of the week you couldn't tell it had been around a fire, much less in one.

I love the stuff....it works on just about any smell.  They say it has a eucalyptus scent, but it's vaguely medicinal to me.  I've used it on everything from fish smell to cat pee, and the smell doesn't come back.

I am in serious tub lust with that bathtub BTW....I hope you are able to get the house in living order soon 

[cirobi]

I've used it on everything from fish smell to cat pee, and the smell doesn't come back.

ooo, it's very interesting you specifically point out cat pee as a smell that stuff gets rid of because i just bought a house a little over a week ago and the previous owner had two cats.  the basement smelled horribly of cat pee until my boyfriend took a cement cleaner down there.  my mom says she can still smell it when she and my dad come visit but i guess i've gotten used to it.  definitely going to have to give that a shot down there.

[honey924]

My parents own a contracting business where they build and remodel homes and small commercial properties. One thing they do is buy fire damaged homes for cheap, fix them up and then rent them out.

Anyway, on to the important part.
DO NOT CLEAN THE WALLS.
Its a huge waste of time. Go to Home Depot and buy a product called "Kilz Odorless". You paint it directly on the smoke-damaged walls.  It covers the dirty walls, kills the smell, and acts as a primer in one step (actually, I can't remeber if you need 1 or 2 coats)!  You can buy a ton of it, too. My parents got containers so big that I could barely pick then up.
Besides, painting a ceiling is alot better than cleaning one!

Make sure you get Kilz Ordorless, because regular Kilz leaves a funny smell, so make sure you check the labels.

I'm not sure how they do everything else. I can call them and ask if you would like.

Here is a website for the product:
http://www.kilz.com/pages/default.aspx?NavID=25

[urban_albino]

Anyway, on to the important part.
DO NOT CLEAN THE WALLS.
Its a huge waste of time. Go to Home Depot and buy a product called "Kilz Odorless". You paint it directly on the smoke-damaged walls.  It covers the dirty walls, kills the smell, and acts as a primer in one step (actually, I can't remeber if you need 1 or 2 coats)!  You can buy a ton of it, too. My parents got containers so big that I could barely pick then up.

She's right - I was helping a friend sell a house, and ever since it was built in the late 40's, his family had been extremely heavy smokers, and there was considerable damage on the walls and ceiling.  We had a guy come out and tell us about that stuff honey was talking about.  It seals in the damage, and the smell goes away.  That is also what a restoration company would use.  Good luck1

[toomuchrock]

Thanks so much guys. This is really good advice!