Most clothes that are damaged directly by fire cannot be saved, but those that are damaged only by the soot and ash that is left behind afterward can be if they are taken care of properly. Most often this kind of damage occurs to clothing that is hanging in the closet and becomes engulfed in smoke as the fire ravages another part of the house. Clothes that have soot and ash all over them might not be as difficult as you think that it is, but you still need to take care in the way that you attempt to clean the clothing. Most of this task will be just sorting the clothing into types of fabric and determining when to wash them.

Begin by sorting the clothes by how heavily soiled they are. Lightly soiled items need to be washed first, but they should be shaken out thoroughly first to remove excess soot.

Make piles of clothing and put synthetics with synthetics and organics with organics. Cotton and wool items will be a little more difficult to get the smoke smell out of than synthetic items, but it can be done.

Use as much laundry detergent as the detergent’s manufacturer says to use for every load you need to wash and you should also add one cup of water conditioner. Adding a half a cup of all-fabric bleach will also help. The temperature of the water also matters when washing these soiled clothing items and you should also use the most amount of water that your washer will be able to handle.

Synthetic items should be washed in warm water only in order to stop them from wrinkling when the spin cycle turns on.

All soiled items need to be washed twice and if the soot is still visible, the clothes need to be air dried instead of using the electric dryer. The smoke odor should be gone after they air dry, but if it is not, then the clothes should be aired out outside the house and washed again. Detergents that have perfumes can mask the smell of smoke damage, but after the perfume dissipates, the smell may return.

Chlorinated bleach should not be used on fabric that is organic, because the fabric might have been weakened in certain areas due to the excess heat.

Items that are not subject to dye running, such as very light colors, can be washed in hot water, but this can vary depending on the type of fabric. Look at the clothing tag and see what the care directions say.



Jim Corkern is a writer and promoter of quality
Miami Residential Water Damage Restoration Contractors and
Orlando water Damage companies.