If you are dealing with secondhand smoke odor or fire damage, talk with us before you start. Of all the odor jobs our customers take on, these two are the trickiest. Every Forever Ozone machine includes a one-on-one safety consultation, and a short conversation can save you wasted weekends, damaged belongings, and a treatment that only half works.
I’m Mike Franco, and Forever Ozone has helped about 20,000 customers since 2010. Smoke and fire jobs are where we see the most frustration, almost always because someone skipped a step. Here is why these jobs are different, and how to do them right.
Why Smoke and Fire Odors Are So Tricky
Most odors come from a source you can find and remove. Smoke and fire odors are different because the source has spread itself across the whole space as a film. You can’t throw it away. You have to clean it off.
Ozone is a powerful tool for breaking down odor molecules in the air and on exposed surfaces. But ozone works on what it can reach. If a thick layer of residue is still sitting on the walls or buried in the carpet, the odor keeps coming back (outgassing) after every treatment. That’s why the order of the work matters as much as the machine.
What’s Actually in Smoke and Fire Residue
Smoke isn’t just a smell. The CDC notes that tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, and that smoke can drift between apartment units through hallways and vents. Researchers at Berkeley Lab found that smoke residue clings to virtually all indoor surfaces.
That residue doesn’t stay put. A 2018 study in Science Advances found that residue can move from surfaces onto tiny airborne particles, and a 2023 study in Science Advances showed that indoor surfaces store smoke chemicals and keep releasing them for days.
Fire residue behaves the same way. Research published in Environmental Science & Technology in 2024 found that PAHs from wildfire smoke lingered on glass and cotton for about 40 days, and cleaning removed only part of them. Another study found that some fire gases lingered indoors for at least three months, and the Colorado health department notes that soot and VOCs can keep releasing for weeks.
That’s the heart of why these jobs are tricky: the residue is everywhere, it holds on, and it keeps coming back out of surfaces. Thorough cleaning and removal have to come before treatment.
Secondhand Smoke: The Residue Is the Real Problem
Years of cigarette or cigar smoke leave a sticky tar and nicotine film on nearly everything in a room.
That residue hides in walls, ceilings, HVAC ducts, carpet, and fabrics, so ozone alone isn’t enough. It has to be dealt with in the right order, both before your first treatment and between treatments. I walk Forever Ozone customers through that exact order on the safety consultation included with every machine.
Fire Damage: Remove the Source Before You Treat
Fire damage adds a layer of difficulty. Along with smoke film, you have soot, charred materials, and hidden pockets of odor inside wall cavities, attics, insulation, and cabinets.
No ozone generator can treat odor coming from a charred stud or a bag of burned insulation. Those materials have to be removed first. Soot also has to be cleaned carefully, because wiping it the wrong way can smear it deeper into surfaces. Once the burned materials are out and the surfaces are cleaned, shock treatment becomes very effective at finishing the job.
Every fire is different. The size of the space, what burned, and how far the smoke traveled all change the plan. That’s exactly why a safety consultation is included with every machine we sell.
After a shock treatment, professional remediation contractors use a specific technique to clear the treated air and lingering residue out of the home. Skipping it, or doing it wrong, is why many smoke and fire jobs fail. I walk every Forever Ozone customer through it on the safety consultation included with their machine. After you order, call or text 501-654-4330, 9 AM to 5 PM Central, Monday through Friday.
Safety Consultation Included With Every Machine
Every Forever Ozone machine comes with a one-on-one safety consultation, a value-added reason to buy from us. It’s the same consultation our California remediation buyers complete before their order ships. Customers everywhere else are encouraged to book theirs right after ordering, before the first treatment. We’ll talk through:
- What cleaning and material removal should happen before any ozone treatment
- The right machine size for your space (see our ozone sizing guide)
- How long to run treatments, how many rounds to plan, and how to ventilate
- What to remove from the space to protect rubber, plastics and belongings
Our goal is a job done safely and done once.
Choosing the Right Equipment
For smoke and fire jobs, durability matters. We’re one of the few US sellers with quartz tube units, which hold up well on long, repeated treatments. Our Commercial Grade machines include the Commercial “Window Sill” 30,000 MGH Quartz Tube Ozone Generator and the Commercial 60,000 MGH Quartz Tube Ozone Generator for larger or heavier jobs. For smaller rooms and vehicles, the 15g Mini Quartz Tube Ozone Generator is a good fit.
Every unit comes with a warranty, US-based support, and replacement parts like a replacement quartz tube, so your machine stays in service job after job.
Questions Your Consultation Answers
These are the questions I answer one-on-one for Forever Ozone customers during the safety consultation included with every machine. Every treatment we discuss is for unoccupied spaces only.
- Can ozone remove smoke odor by itself, or what has to be cleaned or removed first?
- Should I treat right after a fire, or wait until the soot and charred materials are out?
- What about carpets, padding, drywall and HVAC ducts?
- How much ozone does my space need?
- Which Forever Ozone machine fits my job?
- How long should each treatment run, and how many rounds will I need?
- How do humidity and temperature affect my results?
- What should I do with rubber, plastics, electronics and plants?
- How do I clear the treated air out of the space afterward?
- When is it safe to go back in?
- Why does smoke odor come back after painting?
- What do most people get wrong when painting over smoke damage?
- Do I need a special primer, and when should I paint?
- Do enzyme cleaners help with smoke or fire odor, and when should I use them?
- Can enzymes and ozone be used together?
- What other products make the job easier or harder?
- How is fire damage different from cigarette smoke?
- How should I handle rental turnovers and vehicles?
Book Your Consultation After You Order
Smoke and fire jobs reward good planning. After you order your Forever Ozone machine, call or text 501-654-4330, 9 AM to 5 PM Central, Monday through Friday, or reach us through our contact page to schedule your included safety consultation. We’ll help you get it right the first time.