Can You Live In a House With Smoke Damage?

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

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.