Cleaning smoke damage

Tiglet

My tenant called me last night to say that she had had a fire in the kitchen. A pan of oil had caught fire and she threw water over it:eek::eek::eek:

Eventually it transpired that, rather than the chip pan I imagined, it was a tiny, fried-egg-sized pan. Nevertheless, it did cause quite a bit of damage. The cooker hood is a write-off but, fortunately, most of the rest of the damage seems to be from smoke as opposed to any actual burnt areas (though time will tell...)

A friend of mine who came from across the pond told me that bicarb mixed with Orange Mate or Citrus Magic is really good for cleaning this sort of thing. Unfortunately, I can only find them on US websites, so I'm looking for something equivalent that's available in the UK. Apparently, these products are based on orange oil.

Any ideas for any suitable equivalents? Or is there something else that's just as good for the job and available over here? Thanks!!

caronc

This stuff is really good https://www.astonishcleaners.co.uk/the-astonish-range/product-category/multi-surface-cleaner-orange-oil/ as is this https://www.poundstretcher.co.uk/elbow-grease-all-purpose-degreaser-500ml both tend to be fairly widely found in £1 shops etc. or on Amazon

Tiglet

Thanks! The Astonish one looks to be just the job. And there's a shop that probably sells it nearby so I'll pick some up on my way over.

GreyQueen

Whatever product you end up using, please be careful to wear gloves. A nurse once told me about the nasty nail infections which can be caused by cleaning up after fires; particles of soot/ carbon etc get under the nail and into the nail bed where they cause problems. Glove up, or even double-glove, to protect yourself. HTH.

moneyistooshorttomention

...and don't forget to charge Idiot Tenant for the gloves and a suitable hourly rate for your labour...

....but...yeh...gloving-up means you wouldnt have to start wondering about compensation for damage to your health Idiot Tenant had caused.....

pigpen

that is what insurance is for!!

When I had a proper kitchen fire not a stupid tiny pan the industrial cleaners used.... sponges and fairy liquid!!

Do you not have a fire blanket in the kitchen? they are what should be used not water... stupid tenant!

Tiglet

GreyQueen wrote: »

Whatever product you end up using, please be careful to wear gloves. A nurse once told me about the nasty nail infections which can be caused by cleaning up after fires; particles of soot/ carbon etc get under the nail and into the nail bed where they cause problems. Glove up, or even double-glove, to protect yourself. HTH.

I won't be doing the cleaning, the tenant will. But this is really important, so I'll pass this on to her. She's pregnant too, so I imagine that it's particularly important that she doesn't get any infections.