Smoke Damage Cleanup in Minnesota

The fire was small. It stayed in the kitchen, or the garage, or the unit next door. Three days later the whole house still smells like smoke, and there’s a gray film on the walls upstairs.

That’s smoke damage. It travels farther than fire, settles where you can’t see it and doesn’t leave with a fan and an open window. Kiser Construction has handled smoke damage cleanup in Minnesota homes and businesses since 2003. We’re an IICRC certified firm, and we clean, deodorize and rebuild with our own crews.

If you’ve been told the smell will go away on its own, this page explains why it usually doesn’t.

What smoke damage cleanup involves

Smoke damage cleanup removes the soot and residue a fire leaves behind, then gets rid of the odor. It covers walls, ceilings, floors, the heating and cooling system and your belongings.

It’s different from fire repair. Fire repair replaces what burned. Smoke cleanup restores everything the fire didn’t touch but the smoke did. On most fire jobs, that’s the bigger part of the house.

Smoke damage now has its own national standard

In January 2025, the IICRC published ANSI/IICRC S700, a national standard for fire and smoke damage restoration. It covers how to assess smoke residue and odor in a building, its heating and cooling system and its contents. It also covers how to clean them and manage the odor.

Smoke from a neighbor’s fire counts

One detail in the standard matters to a lot of homeowners. It applies when the fire was in your building, in an attached building, or in a building nearby. Smoke from a neighbor’s fire is still smoke damage.

Wildfire smoke is a different situation

The standard does not cover wildfire smoke. Smoke that drifts in from distant wildfires is a different kind of job, and an inspection tells you what it needs.

Signs you have smoke damage

Some smoke damage is obvious. Some takes a trained eye. Here’s what to look for.

Film and staining

A gray or black film on walls, ceilings or window blinds. Yellow or brown staining on ceilings, light fixtures or white trim.

Soot webs

Dark, cobweb-like strings in corners are soot webs, not spider webs. Wiping them smears the soot deeper. Our soot removal page covers how they get cleaned.

Odor that moves with the air

A smoke smell that gets stronger when the furnace or air conditioner runs, or that’s strongest inside closets and drawers.

Where smoke hides

Smoke follows air. It moves up stairways, through open doors and into the ductwork. Here’s where we look.

Heating and cooling system

If the furnace ran during or after the fire, soot may be in the ducts, the blower and the filter. The S700 standard treats HVAC as its own part of the job, and so do we.

Closets, drawers and cabinets

Closed spaces trap odor. Clothes can smell worse than the room they’re in.

Attic, carpet and upholstery

Smoke rises. Insulation above the fire area can hold odor long after the fire. Carpet, pad and upholstery absorb odor deep below the surface.

How we clean smoke damage, step by step

Paint over smoke residue and the smell usually comes back. Our order of work is built to prevent that. If you are already dealing with a smell that keeps returning, our smoke odor removal page explains why it happens and what fixes it.

1. Inspect and document

We map where the smoke went, room by room, and photograph it for your adjuster.

2. Remove what can’t be cleaned

Some insulation, carpet pad and porous materials can’t be saved. They come out first.

3. Clean, deodorize and seal

We clean every surface that can be cleaned, treat the odor and seal where it’s needed. Paint goes on last, not first.

4. Belongings and rebuild

Clothing, bedding, furniture, dishes and many documents can often be cleaned instead of replaced. Our fire damage contents cleaning page covers how that works. Then we rebuild what was removed.

Why homeowners call Kiser for smoke damage

We’re an IICRC certified firm and a licensed Minnesota contractor (BC416441). The same company cleans, deodorizes and rebuilds, so nothing gets painted over before it’s clean. One project manager keeps you updated, and you can follow the schedule in our customer portal.

Cost and insurance

Cost depends on how far the smoke traveled, what burned and how much can be cleaned rather than replaced. A single room with light residue is a small job. A whole house with smoke in the ducts and attic is a large one.

Damage inspections are free. We work on 50/50 payment terms, and our work carries a one-year warranty from the completion date.

We photograph the damage, write a scope and meet your adjuster. We don’t interpret your policy or adjust your claim. See our insurance claim assistance page for more.

What to do right after a fire

• Don’t run the furnace or air conditioner until the system is checked.
• Don’t wipe soot off walls or furniture. It smears deeper into the surface.
• Don’t wash smoky clothes with other laundry until you’ve asked about contents cleaning.

For the full list of first steps, including when it’s safe to go back inside, see what to do after a fire.

Smoke damage cleanup near you

Smoke damage cleanup is usually one part of a larger fire damage restoration job. We also have city pages for smoke damage in Maple Grove and Coon Rapids.

We serve Sherburne, Anoka, Hennepin and Wright counties from our shop in Elk River, including Otsego, Blaine, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Monticello, Plymouth and Eden Prairie.

Smoke damage looks different in every building. A townhome with shared attic space, an older house with plaster walls and a new home with open stairways all move smoke differently. We plan each job around the building we’re standing in.

If the fire was in a neighbor’s home or an attached unit, we inspect and document your home on its own, separate from the building where the fire started. That keeps your damage clear for your own adjuster.

Call the same emergency number from any city we serve, and a real person will answer.

Inspections are free everywhere we work.

Common questions

Can smoke-damaged walls and belongings be cleaned, or does everything need to be replaced?

Much of it can be cleaned. Walls, ceilings, hard surfaces and many belongings respond well to proper cleaning. Materials that can’t be cleaned, like some insulation and carpet pad, get replaced.

Call us

Smoke damage cleanup works when every step happens in the right order: remove, clean, deodorize, seal, then paint. Kiser Construction handles all of it with our own crews, and we’ve done it since 2003. For smoke damage cleanup after any fire, including one next door, call (612) 518-8852. A real person answers 24/7, including holidays. For a free inspection and a written scope, call our Elk River office at (763) 633-2010. We’ll show you where the smoke went before we start.