smoke, noun. 1. visible airborne particulates from combustion. 2. invisible damage to your Woodland Hills property — for months, sometimes years.
Visible damage is 10% of the problem. The other 90% is in your HVAC ducts, attic insulation, wall cavities, behind your cabinets, inside your fabrics. We document and decontaminate every one.
The cleaning chemical, equipment, and protocol depend on what burned and what it touched. We classify your loss against this matrix in the first 30 minutes on site.
| Smoke Type | Residue + pH | Surfaces hit hardest | Cleanup approach |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wet SmokeSmoldering · Low heat · Plastics, rubber | Sticky, smearypH 3.5–4.5. Webby films on cool surfaces. Worst-case for cleanup difficulty. | All porousDrywall, paint, fabric, wood. Cool surfaces (windows, mirrors, ceilings). | Solvent + degreaserWet sponging, then thermal fog. Painted surfaces often need re-paint after sealing. |
| Dry SmokeFast-burning · High heat · Wood, paper | Powdery, dustypH 4.5–5.5. Fine particulate that travels far through air handlers + cracks. | Hard surfaces + HVACGlass, stainless, electronics. Spreads fastest through HVAC system. | Dry-sponge firstHEPA vacuum, dry sponging, then ionic detergent. Avoid wet methods early — they smear residue. |
| Protein SmokeKitchen · Burnt food, grease | Yellow-brown filmpH 4.0–5.0. Often invisible at first but pungent odor. Discolors paint within weeks. | Cabinetry + appliancesYellows white surfaces. Bonds with painted wood. HVAC + ceiling fans. | Enzyme degreaserTargeted enzyme cleaning, then thermal fog deodorizer. Painted surfaces re-coated. |
| Fuel Oil SmokeHeater puff-back · Furnace failure | Black, oilypH 3.5–4.5. Heavy soot from petroleum combustion. Aggressive metal corrosion. | Whole-houseDistributed via HVAC. Coats every horizontal surface. Severe in basements + utility rooms. | Detergent + sealerWet detergent cleaning, then sealing primer where odor persists. Often needs whole-house ozone. |
Most homeowners think the smell will fade. It doesn't — not without intervention. And the longer smoke sits in fabrics, HVAC, drywall, and contents, the more it bonds at a molecular level.
This is why we run a 6-step diagnostic on every WH fire-affected property — even when "the fire wasn't that bad."
Walk every room. Photograph every wall, ceiling, contents area. Thermal imaging to identify cool zones where smoke condensed.
FLIR thermal campH strips on a sample of horizontal surfaces. Acidic readings (below 6.0) confirm smoke residue chemistry — even when soot isn't visible.
Litmus + pH meterOpen returns, swab inside ductwork, photograph filter housing. HVAC contamination is universal in fire jobs and the #1 source of "lingering smell" 6 months later.
Boroscope + ATP swabAir sample testing for PM2.5 + volatile organic compounds. Establishes baseline + verifies post-cleanup clearance.
DustTrak + PID meterDrill exploratory access in suspected zones. Inspect insulation, framing, cavity surfaces. Smoke often sits hidden where the air handler returns drew it.
Borescope + UV blacklightMatch each affected area against the smoke type × surface matrix. Cleaning chemicals + equipment selected by category. Insurance documentation packaged per S700 §15.
S700 §11–§15 docsThree levels. Three different remediation approaches. Knowing which level your damage has reached tells us what tool removes it — or whether removal is impossible and replacement is the only path.
Soot + particulate sits on top of surfaces. Hasn't penetrated. Mostly removable with dry sponging, HEPA vacuuming, and detergent washing.
Residue penetrates porous materials — drywall, paint, fabrics, wood grain. Surface cleaning leaves odor behind. Needs deeper intervention.
VOCs and odor compounds bond at the molecular level with porous substrate. No treatment fully removes it. Replacement is the only sure path.
S700 governs how smoke residue is categorized, what cleaning chemistry is allowed for each surface type, and how clearance must be verified. We don't deviate — both because shortcuts lock damage into the property, and because your insurance carrier expects S700 documentation in the file.
License current. Certifications current. Insurance current. Available before any work starts.
Source mitigation. If the fire scope is part of your loss, we run S700 fire + smoke under one PM.
Fire-fighter water always becomes part of the scope. Extraction within 12 hours of fire-out.
Wet drywall + insulation post-fire grow mold within 48 hours. We remediate before reconstruction begins.
Drywall, paint, flooring, cabinetry, electrical, HVAC. Same PM from mitigation through rebuild.
See all 7 specializations from our Woodland Hills HQ — water, fire, smoke, mold, flood, sewage, reconstruction.
Free on-site smoke assessment. No charge for the visit. No obligation for the scope. Documented to S700 standard either way.