Cleaning Smoke Damaged Flooring

If you have recently had an incident with smoke in your home, you certainly may have a soot film covering your floors. While it is often possible and easy to clean very light smoke damage off flooring. This article discusses cleaning smoke damaged flooring, such as tile, vinyl, and wood. When it comes to carpet there will be link at the bottom. We go over the materials and the procedures to give yourself the best chance for success.

If you have serious smoke damage to your home, we don’t recommend cleaning it yourself. Because if you have Insurance that’s what you are paying for. Normally, homeowner’s insurance covers smoke damage.

Read more on the basics of smoke damage and working with your insurance company.

Materials you need to clean smoke damaged flooring

• Filtered vacuum or shop-vac – A vacuum with a good filter will help pick up loose soot without spreading. Without the filter, the vacuum will blow out the smoke soot. Throw away the bag once finished and wash the filter.
• Filtered face mask – Certainly look for a mask rated for smoke filtering with a respirator attached. Make sure the mask fits firmly around your mouth and nose. Most importantly be sure to wear it. Do not use a cheap painters’ or dust mask, because they may not work in this situation.
• Tile, vinyl or wood cleaning solution – Not for waxed wood floors
• Mop & bucket – Not for waxed wood floors
• Dry mop with wood oil or mop with disposable static sheets – For waxed wood floors
• Gloves – You may want these if you need to ring out your mop by hand
• Grout scrubbing machine (optional) – Only for heavily soiled tile grout
• Tile scrubbing machine (optional) – Only for heavily soiled tile
• Buffing machine (optional) – Only for waxed wood floors

How to clean smoke damaged tile or vinyl floors

The procedure is similar for cleaning smoke damaged tile as it is for vinyl flooring, so we discuss them together.

First, clear the floors. Remove any furniture, plants, or other articles on the floor.

Then vacuum the floors to remove any loose particles. Because you will be using wet chemicals for cleaning so do not worry about any smeared soot as you vacuum.  

Mix the cleaning solution as per the directions on the bottle. Warm water, not boiling, may give you better results as it helps activate the solution.

Above all, do not over wet the floors. Try to mop up or vacuum as much of the dirty water as you can, as quickly as you can. Because you don’t want dirty water setting too long on the floor.

Most likely you will need to refresh your cleaning bucket many times as you mop.

Typically, if a vinyl or tile floor is only lightly soiled, then mopping with cleaning solution should remove the soot. While you may need to mop a second or even a third time.

Using a wet vacuum

If you have a wet vacuum with a water squeegee, one person can mop in front of the wet vacuum. Use the wet vacuum to pick up the excess water from the mopping. This will keep the floors as dry as possible. Besides, you do not want to let the dirty water sit on the floor very long. If it dries to fast before removed, it will have to be re-mopped.

However; when your vinyl floor has experienced heavy traffic, the protective coating may be gone. These conditions may not clean well. Vinyl floor less than a year old that does not clean well. We recommend contacting the manufacture if you still have smoke damage after mopping a vinyl floor. There are so many different types of vinyl. They will need to advise you on the cleaning process safe for your surface. Besides it may still be under warranty.

What if my tile and grout still look dirty?

If mopping alone did not remove all the smoke damage, you can rent a tile scrubbing machine. Most rental companies have these available.

They look like a stand-up buffing machine. Essentially, you add the mixed cleaning solution to the tank and use the machine to scrub the floors.

Get instructions on how to use the machine from the rental company. These rotary machines are easy to use; however, they are also very powerful. While with experience you can operate the machine with one finger. However this same machine can throw a 200lb person around if not used appropriately. Before starting get operating instructions. Basically, the handle has to be kept level, except for direction of machine in operation. Then you would raise up or push down EVER SO SLIGHTLY.

When grout has wax penetrated into it, it may require wax to be removed first. This may require use of a wax stripper. However it will require a stripper designed to remove that particular wax.

I would rent a grout machine to clean the grout first. Some of the machines may be able to remove the wax. If the grout still looks dirty after the machine, it likely has a very strong wax coating. Strip the wax off before trying again, or contact a professional.  

HOW DO YOU CLEAN SMOKE DAMAGED WOOD FLOORS?

Wood floors can be sealed or unsealed, bare wood, waxed or coated with urethane. Certainly unsealed or bare wood floors cleaning procedure should limit the amount of water used. Waxed wood procedures are different; therefore, instructions below are separated.

No matter which type of wood floor you have, you want to vacuum it first.

When working with something as toxic as smoke soot, make sure to wear a respirator filtered face mask.

Cleaning smoke damaged waxed wood floors

Usually you will know if you have waxed floors, as you need to occasionally re-wax them with a wax paste. If you are not sure, check around the edges for any residue or remaining paste. Normally, older wood floors use a wood paste for buffing.

Do not wet or wash waxed floors. Wax can go white or discolor from water and chemicals.

Instead, after you vacuum, use a dust mop with wood oil. Dust mops should not be used wet. As they will get significantly dirty in the process of cleaning smoke damage, consider using a mop with disposable static sheets. This is to dust up any remaining loose soot.

If this does not remove all the smoke soot and smell, then you can rent a buffing machine. These machines buff wax on and dirt off the waxed wood floors. Re-vacuum or use a dust mop behind the buffing machine to clean up any residue.

Cleaning smoke damage off all other wood floors

Though wood floors do not like water, because they can swell and buckle. However you can use a slightly damp mop after vacuuming.

Make sure you use a mild cleaning solution appropriate for cleaning wood floors.  

Mix the cleaning solution in a bucket. Dampen your mop, but it should not be dripping. You want to be very careful on how much water you put on the floors.

Try to mop up as much of the dirty water as you can, as quickly as you can.

Ideally, you want to have someone coming behind with a slightly damp rinse mop. This tends to work best as it washes away the remaining dirt while keeping the floors relatively dry.

You may need to empty your bucket several times as you go.

It is likely that cleaning the floors a second or even third time is necessary.

In closing

I hope you find this post on cleaning smoke damaged flooring valuable and were able to salvage your floors.

If you have feedback, comments, or questions I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.

If you have other smoke damaged items you want to clean, see our posts on cleaning smoke damaged;

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Cleaning Smoke Damaged Carpet

• Walls and Ceilings
• Popcorn Ceilings
• Carpet
• Upholstery