Dallas–Fort Worth • Insurance Contents Specialists
Smoke Damage Contents Cleaning & Packout
Call or Text: 214-718-1685On-site inspections within 24–48 hours. Emergency Packout response available.
Fully insured
General liability & cargo
Workers' comp coverage
On every crew, every job
Climate-controlled storage
Chain-of-custody documented
Direct insurance billing
Xactimate + Direction to Pay
Owner-led operations
20+ years insurance claims
Trusted referral network
Adjusters, mitigation, plumbers
For covered insurance claims, we bill your carrier directly whenever possible — homeowners typically owe no out-of-pocket cost for the contents portion of the loss. Deductibles are owed to your carrier or general contractor, never to us.
Smoke damage is the contents loss most homeowners underestimate. The fire may have been small — a kitchen flare, an electrical short, a neighboring-unit fire — but smoke and soot travel through HVAC systems and gaps and settle on every porous surface in the home. Clothes, upholstery, electronics, paper, art, photographs, and finished wood absorb both visible soot and the odor that comes with it.
The damage is also time-sensitive. Soot is acidic. Within days it permanently etches finishes, corrodes electronics, and bonds odor into textiles. Trying to clean smoke-damaged items at home — washing clothes, wiping surfaces — sets the odor permanently and the carrier writes those items off.
Total Packout Solutions handles smoke damage contents end-to-end: packout under controlled conditions, off-site cleaning and deodorization, climate-controlled storage during structural smoke remediation, and pack-back when the structure is finished. Insurance-direct billing through Xactimate and a signed Direction to Pay.
Step-by-Step
How the Process Works
- 1
Fire marshal clears the property
Do not enter until cleared. Once it is safe, photograph every room wide before touching anything.
- 2
Call for an inspection
Call 214-718-1685. We assess the smoke spread (often far beyond the rooms the fire reached), scope contents handling, and present the Work Authorization and Direction to Pay.
- 3
Mitigation handles structural smoke remediation
HVAC cleaning, surface remediation, and structural ozone work are run by a mitigation company. We coordinate directly with them on timing.
- 4
Packout under HEPA-filtered conditions
Crews segregate salvageable from non-salvageable as items are packed. Soft goods, hard goods, and electronics are packed separately for category-specific cleaning.
- 5
Off-site cleaning and deodorization
Ultrasonic and hand cleaning by material type. Ozone, thermal fog, or hydroxyl deodorization in chamber. Electronics tested and cleaned by specialists, not powered on at the property.
- 6
Non-salvage documentation
Items that cannot be restored are documented on a non-salvage list with photo evidence and submitted to the adjuster for contents settlement.
- 7
Pack-back
Cleaned contents return when structural smoke remediation is complete and the HVAC is verified clean.
Why smoke spreads further than the fire
Heat creates pressure differentials that push smoke through every gap in the building envelope and through the HVAC system. A kitchen fire that scorches one cabinet can leave soot in a bedroom closet on the other side of the house. Untouched-looking rooms still need assessment — and the carrier knows this.
This is also why returning items to the property too early ruins the cleaning work. If the structural smoke remediation and HVAC cleaning are not finished, freshly cleaned contents reabsorb residual odor.
What gets cleaned vs. what gets written off
Nothing gets thrown out without documentation. Each item is evaluated by category — textiles, hard goods, electronics, paper, art, photographs, specialty — and the cleaning method is matched to the material.
- Textiles — laundered and ozone-deodorized at a contents facility
- Hard goods — ultrasonic or hand cleaning, surface deodorization
- Electronics — specialist cleaning, never powered on at the property
- Paper, photos, books — document-recovery vendor if salvageable, non-salvage if not
- Art — fine-art conservator for high-value pieces
- Mattresses, upholstered furniture, draperies — often non-salvageable depending on smoke exposure
Insurance coverage on smoke damage
Standard HO-3 and HO-5 policies cover smoke damage to contents from a fire — whether the fire was in your home, your apartment building, or a neighboring structure. Packout, off-site cleaning, deodorization, storage, and pack-back are all line-itemed in Xactimate. We bill the carrier directly. You do not pay out of pocket and you do not pay us a deductible.
Common Questions
Smoke Damage Contents FAQ
Can I wash my smoke-damaged clothes at home?
No. Home washing sets the soot and odor permanently — and the carrier denies the cleaning claim on those items. Soft goods need controlled cleaning at a contents facility.
Is smoke damage really in rooms the fire didn't reach?
Yes. Smoke and odor travel through HVAC and structural gaps and settle on contents far from the fire. Untouched-looking rooms still need assessment and often need cleaning.
What about my electronics?
Soot is corrosive on circuit boards. Electronics are tested and cleaned by specialists at the contents facility and are not powered on at the property — powering on can short the board and turn a cleanable item into a non-salvageable item.
Will insurance pay for off-site contents cleaning?
Yes on most covered smoke losses. We bill the carrier directly in Xactimate and never collect a deductible.
How long does smoke cleaning take?
Typical contents-cleaning cycles run 2–6 weeks depending on the volume and category mix. Pack-back is scheduled to follow structural smoke remediation completion.
What if the smoke came from a neighbor's fire?
Your contents are still covered under your own policy. We coordinate with your carrier the same way we would for a fire in your own home.
Adjusters — how do you document smoke spread beyond the fire room?
Wide-angle and detail photography of every room, soot-swab references where useful, HVAC photo documentation, and category-tagged item lists so coverage of remote rooms is defensible in the file.
Property managers — how is smoke handled in multi-unit buildings?
We coordinate with the structural smoke-remediation team across affected units, segregate each unit's contents under separate chain-of-custody, and bill each carrier independently.
Mitigation companies — when should we hand contents off?
Before HVAC and structural ozone work begins. Contents in place during structural deodorization absorb residual chemistry and re-soil after cleaning.
Contractors — how does pack-back coordinate after smoke remediation?
Pack-back is scheduled only after HVAC tests clean and structural surfaces are sealed. Returning cleaned contents into an unsealed space defeats the deodorization work.
Public adjusters — what documentation supports a smoke contents claim?
Photographed inventory by room, category-tagged cleaning records, non-salvage list with photo evidence, and electronics-specialist reports on corrosion. All delivered to the PA for negotiation.
Are mattresses, upholstery, and pillows usually salvageable after smoke?
Usually not. Porous and dense soft goods bond smoke odor at the foam and fiber level and are documented as non-salvageable for adjuster settlement rather than cleaned.
Smoke damage gets worse every hour it sits. Call 214-718-1685 today — David will walk the property, scope the contents, and have the cleaning facility waiting.
Call or Text: 214-718-1685Need immediate help? Start a packout request