Carbon & Soot - Soot and smoke are mixtures of extremely small particles of carbon, grease, and other chemicals. Because of the size of the carbon particles --- smaller than almost any other kind of dirt --- soot can penetrate into just about any surface. And because of the grease, soot sticks.
It's one of the toughest cleaning problems. We get the best results from steam cleaning. The high heat opens the pores of the surface and softens the grease bond, and the high-pressure water flushes it out.
In the above pictures, the whole facade had years of accumulated dirt, but the owner wanted only the fire-damaged area to be treated.
So our challenge was to clean it, but not completely! We feathered edges and finessed the broad surfaces, taking extra time to do it right. It turned out okay, but we are cleaners at heart and would have been much happier doing the complete job. In the end, we think the owner would, too.
