After fires, it’s almost a guarantee you’ll have smoke and soot everywhere throughout the house. Once the flames have been extinguished, it’s a necessity to handle fire damage promptly but with caution, as breathing in these hazards can be exceptionally harmful.
Today, we’ll keep our post focused on soot – what is soot, is soot dangerous, and how to remove it.
Let’s get right into it!
What is Soot?
Soot is a complex substance that results from the incomplete combustion of organic material.
When things like wood or paper burn, the process ideally produces carbon dioxide and water vapor. However, in conditions where there is insufficient oxygen, like house fires, soot is formed as a byproduct.
Composed primarily of carbon particles, soot is recognizable by its black, powdery appearance.
Its microscopic structure consists of fine carbon particles, often coated with other compounds such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The exact composition of soot can vary depending on the material burned and the combustion conditions.
How Does Soot Exactly Form?
Soot formation begins with the ignition of a so-called “fuel source”. This could be anything from household wood, paper, or things like coal, diesel, or other organic compounds.
Then, if there is insufficient oxygen available for the combustion, instead of complete combustion, which produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and water, incomplete combustion occurs, which makes carbon monoxide (CO) and elemental carbon (C).
These carbon atoms in the fuel do not fully bond with oxygen atoms to form CO2. Instead, carbon atoms cluster together to form small particles, known as soot or particulate matter.
Is Soot Dangerous?
As we’ve touched on briefly, soot can contain substances like polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). These chemicals have been linked to various health issues, including cancer and neurological disorders.
Additionally, certain metals present in soot, such as lead and mercury, can also pose serious health risks. These heavy metals can also be quite resilient and difficult to remove, with the potential of contaminating your soil and water.
Note that we’ve outlined some of the more severe risks of soot. You need to know these before beginning DIY soot cleanup. With such severe health conditions being a possibility, we’d wholeheartedly recommend you leave soot cleanup to professional fire damage restoration technicians.
Without proper protection, when you get close to soot, the microscopic particles in soot can be inhaled deeply into the lungs, quickly leading to irritation and inflammation.
Prolonged exposure may exacerbate conditions such as asthma and chronic bronchitis, and in extreme cases, it can contribute to the development of more severe respiratory illnesses.
So, to conclude – YES, soot is dangerous. Very dangerous. Do not proceed with removing it without proper protective clothing and equipment.
Protective Clothing for Soot Removal
Determined to clean up soot on your own? Well, at least make sure you have these with you:
- Respirators: Given the respiratory risks associated with soot, a high-quality respiratory protection device is a must. N95 or N99 respirators are commonly recommended for soot removal. These masks are designed to filter out airborne particles, including fine particulate matter that can harm your lungs.
- Coveralls: A full-body coverall is important to prevent skin contact with soot. Disposable coveralls or suits made of non-permeable materials, such as Tyvek, offer effective protection. Ensure a secure fit.
- Gloves: Wear durable and chemical-resistant gloves to protect your hands. Nitrile or latex gloves are great for this purpose. Also ensure a good and secure fit here to prevent particles from entering and to maintain dexterity during cleanup.
- Goggles: Wear safety goggles to protect the eyes from airborne soot particles and potential splashes during cleanup.
- Head Covering: Get a disposable hood or a snug-fitting cap to prevent soot particles from accumulating in the hair and scalp.
- Foot Protection: We also recommend wearing disposable shoe covers or boots with non-slip soles. This prevents spreading the soot by foot.
Before you begin the cleanup, conduct respirator fit testing. This ensures that the chosen respiratory protection equipment forms an effective seal and provides the intended level of filtration.
After soot removal is complete, follow proper disposal procedures for your protective clothing and launder reusable items separately to avoid cross-contamination.
Can Soot Come from Elsewhere?
Yes, besides a fire, soot can also come from:
- Cooking: Traditional cooking methods involving open flames or solid fuels can release soot. Also, improperly adjusted gas stoves or burners can also cause it.
- Candles: Burning candles releases soot as a byproduct of combustion.
- Tobacco: Smoking tobacco products inside releases not only harmful chemicals from the smoking but also soot particles.
- Appliances: Gas heaters or furnaces can produce soot if they are not properly maintained or if there is incomplete combustion.
- Humidifiers: While not a direct source, certain types of humidifiers can emit fine particles if they are not properly maintained or if the filters are not regularly changed.
- Environment: In urban areas with high air pollution, soot can come from outside through windows or ventilation systems.
Of course, these can not cause as severe soot damage as house fires can. But it still helps to learn where soot can come from and to therefore react quickly upon spotting any signs of soot, even small ones.
How to Remove Soot?
Again, before cleanup, make sure you have all the protective clothing and equipment on you.
The main idea with removing soot on your own is to contain the particles using a plastic sheet to prevent them from spreading to other rooms.
And then, dry cleaning surfaces like carpets, upholstery, and wood using a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) vacuum cleaner. By using vacuum attachments with brushes and nozzles to gently remove soot from walls, ceilings, and other surfaces, you can effectively remove soot.
Metal and glass items, given they’re non-porous, can be cleaned up with a sponge or cloth soaked in a mild detergent mixed with water.
But if the soot has already reached your HVAC system, the particles have likely spread throughout your house, making the situation much more difficult to deal with.
We’ll reiterate: call a professional and consult with them. If you’re worried about the costs, yes, soot cleanup can be expensive, but it can also be covered by insurance if it originated from a house fire. Just make sure to file your fire damage insurance claim properly.
You should also consult with duct cleaning professionals to see if soot has reached your AC ducts.
How to Prevent Soot from Forming
Follow these soot prevention tips to avoid dealing with soot in the future:
- Regular Chimney Maintenance: If you have a fireplace or wood-burning stove, ensure that the chimney is regularly cleaned and maintained.
- Use Properly Seasoned Wood: Use properly seasoned wood with low moisture content for your wood-burning appliances. Wet or green wood produces more smoke and soot during combustion.
- Clean and Maintain Heating Appliances: Regularly clean and maintain your furnaces and stoves.
- Ensure Proper Ventilation: Use exhaust fans and ensure good ventilation in cooking areas and other spaces where combustion occurs.
- Install and Use Air Purifiers: Consider using air purifiers with HEPA filters to help capture and remove fine particulate matter.
- Use Clean-Burning Fuels: If you have a choice, opt for clean-burning fuels such as natural gas instead of solid fuels like coal or wood.
- Regularly Change Air Filters: This refers to filters from devices like air purifiers we’ve just mentioned, humidifiers, and your HVAC system.
- Cook Safely: When cooking, keep burners clean and avoid overheating cooking oils
- Use Candle Alternatives: Consider alternative lighting options, such as LED candles or flameless candles, which don’t produce soot.
- Monitor Indoor Air Quality: Use indoor air quality monitors to keep track of particulate levels
What to Do in Case of High Soot Exposure?
In an emergency situation? Here are some steps you can follow:
- Evacuate outside
- Refrain from touching your face, especially your eyes, nose, and mouth
- Remove any clothing that may have been exposed to soot
- Wash exposed skin thoroughly with soap and water
- If the soot comes from a fire, call a local fire department
- If you have symptoms like difficult breathing, coughing, chest pain, or irritation, and they persist, seek immediate medical attention
Conclusion
That wraps it up, folks. Hopefully, this guide on soot was helpful enough for you.
Again, to sum it up, soot IS dangerous. How much it will harm YOU depends, but you’ve seen the potential health problems you can experience, so it’s best to avoid them and try your best to prevent soot.