Smoke Damage

Anyone here have any experience rehabbing a boat with substantial smoke damage, im wondering if it is even possible to completly get rid of the smell.
Steve.

 

It's probably not possible, unless you gut it and grind down the hull (removing the layer with smoke smells), then rebuild the interior.

I can contribute this from having my house burn down as a teenager.

Try one of those companies that specializes in smoke and water damage, if the budget allows. See what they think.

 

Clean, prime and paint every surface.

 

The companies that specialize is smoke damage repair, for homes and buildings, use some kind of chemicals that neutralize the smell. You would have to call them to find out what they use. It does not work perfectly, but reduces it quiet a bit. On unprotected wood after washing it in chemicals, they seal it with a non-breathing finish. Usually you have to replace porus materials such as carpet, uplustry, cork, etc.

Even with extensive clean up and treatment by professionals, there seems that most people feel there is always a slight lingering smell years later. So keep that in mind.

 

Thanks guys, im thinking along the same lines. My thoughts are to remove every piece of fabric in the boat and chuck, remove anything that can be removed without major destruction and clean them out of the boat, then scrub everything inside the boat , then rent a couple of commercial size ozone machines and let them run in the boat for a few days,then paint and new fabrics,introducing new smells.
Steve.

 

Steve it sounds like a plan, though you can skip the ozone generator, as the smoke permeates every available pore and you'll never get it out. The only hope is to lock it down after removing the stuff you just clearly have to replace (fabrics, foams, etc.). You could use a humidifier to open wood pores and release the odor and particulates. Of course you'll want to clean these surfaces and evacuate the air from the space without letting it contact other interior surfaces (recontaminating). This is what the professionals do, release the odors from surfaces, evacuate the contaminated air, then lock down areas they can easy get at.

White vinegar and baking soda are the best remedies. Wipe all surfaces with a very vinegar wet towel and let it evaporate naturally. When completely dry cover all horizontal surfaces with a layer of baking soda and let this sit for a day at least, longer is better. Lastly, leave open saucers or bowls of vinegar all over the affected spaces. After a week, vacuum or sweep up all the baking soda and remove the bowls of vinegar.

 

Thanks Par, i hadnt thought of the vinegar and baking soda, i use baking soda in my fridge. Im pretty sure i can clean surfaces that i can access and then lock anything left in with paint if needed, the big concern is if there are fiberglass headliners, hull liners etc that cant be easily removed the smoke will have gotten behind them but i cant to clean them.This is where the ozone generators supposedly work. I did stop in at a local ServPro franchise and they told me that the ozone generators do work as long as they are bigger commercial duty units like they use,they do rent them out. They told me they do create a sort of coating which coats the surface, i dont know, i have zero experience with the things. Someone else told me that the pros have a sort of bomb type of thing (like a bug bomb) that they let off that permeates the same type of innacessable spaces that the smoke gets into.
Steve.

 

We've had our share of pre-smoked homes and vehicles from cigarette smoking.

We had the vehicle professionally done and it worked but the smell of "freshness" lingered for two years. My wife claims she can still smell the ozone three years later. They had it on for two days solid.

The house was vinegar and baking soda, a lot of scrubbing and complete painting. It still smells seven years later but it is WAY better than it was.

Good luck. I wouldn't do it.

-Tom

 

If its cheap enough it may be worth it, or a peg on the nose might help.


Or strip it and pressure wash with bleach solution every day for a week.

Painting would mean no more bonding little bits to the hull without screwing and it adds weight.

 

Could aske the fire department what to use !!!

Go find a builder that rebuilds fire damaged houses and get the chemicals they use after a fire !! its a spray on mix and takes the smell and washs most of the black off at the same time !!.
The acid from smoke damage completely wrecks and eats aluminum window frames and doors so it has ro be washed with in 24 hours !!

 

They usually use carbon sulfide.

I had my car ozoned out after my colleague killed the thing by smoking in it for over a year. This was done professionally, first clean it completely inside, then 2 hours ozone, and without opening the car leave it for a night. This got rid of cigarette smoke. Fire smoke might be more difficult, as it has been more dense, and hotter.

Trays of ground coffee are supposed to help as well.

 

I've used ozone generators in industrial environments, and they will work. The ozone generator precipitates whatever is in the air you're smelling, so it contaminates all horizontal surfaces -- cover those, and dispose of the cover. I have no idea why they work for smoke, unless it's because the air gets saturated -- but they do work. And they're cheap.