Post kitchen smoke - is it safe?

[El Gringo]

So my roommate accidentally left a pot on the stove when he left the house. I came home a few hours later to a house completely filled with smoke and the fire alarms going off. The smoke was due to a burned chicken, a burned pot, and a burned ceramic plate he had on top of the pot. The whole house still reeks and we're going to have to do a deep clean as there is soot all over the kitchen and things in the living room have some sort of layer of grease on them.

Do I need to be concerned about breathing anything toxic in the aftermath? Everything I can find in the internet is cautioning about breathing toxicities after a fire, but there wasn't any actual fire. But considering how prolific the soot and smell is, I want to check and make sure that it's safe. The ceramic plate was colored with a design, I assume it was some sort of paint.

Any informed thoughts out there?

[deborah]

Just air out the house, and sort out the smoke damage. Probably throw out the pot. I can well imagine the damage. I once left a soup stock simmering in the morning, and asked my house mate to stop it after two hours. Before I started it, we had agreed that I would cook the stock, and he would turn it off - he couldn't smell, so I made sure he knew about anything like that. When I came home in the early evening, he was busy doping a model plane. The whole house was full of smoke, and dope fumes, and the pot had been dry for hours. You are right about the grease. His room didn't have an outside window - the window went straight into the kitchen - typical frugal student accommodation!

If there was anything toxic, you've already had a lot more of it in your lungs than you'll ever get again while it was in the smoke p so don't worry - just clean.

[NV Teacher]

We had a house fire a few years ago.   In fact the smoke caused way more damage than the fire.   The cleaning company recommended that we sleep some where else that night and let the house air out.  I'd recommend going to Lowe's or Home Depot and buying a good cleaner that is designed for soot.  It has a degreasing agent in it that really helps to cut through the mess.  Even with that though we had to repaint the entire basement.  Good luck to you.

[El Gringo]

Thanks. Today was a long, grueling day of getting chicken grease off of everything in the house. The smell has subsided a little, although according to visitors we didn't make nearly the progress I thought we did (to me it seemed like we got a lot of the smell out, but the visitors said it still smelled pretty strong.

Do people have suggestions for getting the smoke smell out? We tried putting baking soda on the couches and rug and I've read about putting bowls of vinegar or charcoal throughout the house. Anyone have any suggestions or advice?

[deborah]

The sun is your friend. So is the wind. Since it is hot here at the moment, I tend to think it is hot everywhere. I would put your sofa cushions outside in the sun if it exists there. Wash things and line dry (preferrably in as much wind as possible. There are companies that specialize in getting the smoke out of things that have been fire damaged - check with your insurance company to see if they have any recommendations (I know this is not mustashian).