Light smoke dust is a wipe, vacuum and mop job, done in an order that does not throw it back into the air. A home that is mostly covered in ash, or a smoke smell that will not leave, is a job for a specialist. This guide puts Washington’s health department steps in order, lists what the agencies say not to do, and says what a house-cleaning visit does and does not cover.
One thing up front: Hometress does not take online bookings in Seattle yet. Seattle has a waitlist, so nothing here is a Hometress Seattle price or a promise of service. We are a cleaning company, not a health agency. Every instruction below is quoted from the agency named, on pages read in October 2026, and none of it is medical advice.
What a Seattle smoke week leaves behind
The City of Seattle’s smoke page describes this past summer: “Most notably, air quality reached MODERATE or UNHEALTHY FOR SENSITIVE GROUPS for most of the Puget Sound area in early August, 2026, and lasted for several days.” After days with the windows shut, the practical question is what is on the sills and floors and how to clean it without making it worse.
The cleanup steps in this guide come from the Washington State Department of Health (DOH) Post-Fire Cleanup Guidance, which is written for homes near a fire. Its indoor list starts from “a small amount of visible ash”. A Seattle home that only got drifting smoke may have a thin film rather than visible ash. The Spokane Regional Health District says: “A damp cloth or wet mop may be all that is needed on lightly dusted areas.” Our reading, labelled as ours: the steps below scale down for a thin film, and no page we read says exactly how far.
While the smoke is up, and after
The City’s page covers the air, not the dust. It says “Keep windows and doors closed.”, “Use an air cleaner with a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter to reduce indoor air pollution.” and “Do not use an air cleaner that produces ozone.” We read the whole page, and it has no instructions for cleaning a home afterward.
Public Health – Seattle & King County has a wildfire smoke page that says: “Don’t smoke, use candles, or vacuum – these activities pollute indoor air.” DOH’s list, below, tells you to vacuum with a HEPA-type vacuum. Our reconciliation, labelled as ours: the King County line is about the days smoke is in the air, and DOH’s vacuuming is for the cleanup once it has cleared. Neither page says that in so many words.
Before you start
DOH’s page starts earlier than this one does: “Assess the area completely before beginning cleanup, such as determining presence of asbestos and other potential hazards.” It warns that “Homes built before 1980 are at higher risk for containing asbestos, but even new buildings can contain asbestos.” and that “An N95 respirator will not provide adequate protection against asbestos.” That part of DOH’s guidance is written for ash from burned buildings. This post covers the fine film a distant fire leaves, so if fire reached your home or a building next to it, follow DOH’s full page, not this one.
DOH’s page says: “Wear a well-fitting respirator.” It adds: “Particulate respirators such as P100s, N100s, or N95s are good options for protection from particles.” and “These will not protect you from gases and vapors”. For indoor cleanup it lists: “When cleaning indoors, wear shoes, booties, disposable gloves, coveralls, and a P100, N100, or N95 respirator for safety”.
DOH also says: “sensitive groups should avoid cleaning as much as possible.” It names “pregnant people, people with respiratory or cardiovascular conditions, and people over 65”. And: “Keep infants, children, and pets away from ash and debris, particularly during cleanup.” If any of that describes your household, those are DOH’s words to follow, not ours to soften.
The order of work
DOH’s indoor steps, in the order the page lists them, with the parts that are ours marked:
- Wipe, top to bottom. DOH: “Wipe all indoor surfaces (including walls) with a damp cloth with a mild detergent.” Starting high (sills, ledges, shelves, then walls) and finishing at the floor is our order, not DOH’s, so that nothing falls on a surface you have already done.
- Wash what can be washed. DOH: “Clean all smoke and ash-affected soft materials, like small rugs, in a washing machine.”
- Vacuum soft furnishings with the right vacuum. DOH: “Thoroughly vacuum furniture, drapes, and carpets using a High Efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) type vacuum.” If you do not have one, we have no source that names a substitute, and the next section says what not to use. DOH also says: “Discard porous items (like upholstered furniture or stuffed animals) if they are heavily contaminated and cannot be cleaned easily.”
- Mop hard floors, then vacuum. DOH: “For hard surface flooring, mop floors with a mild detergent and water, then vacuum. Do not sweep with a broom.”
- Clean the air last. DOH: “After all visible ash has been removed, use a portable air cleaner with a HEPA filter and a carbon filter on the highest setting.”
- Repeat if you need to. DOH: “Repeat cleaning if ash continues to be a concern in the area.”
The agencies do not all agree on the broom. The Spokane Regional Health District says: “In most cases, gently wet sweeping indoor and outdoor hard surfaces followed by wet mopping is the best way to clean up ash residue.” AirNow says: “Before sweeping mist with water to keep dust down.” DOH, the state’s own agency, says do not use a broom. All three start wet, and we follow DOH on a hard floor: mop first, then vacuum.
What the agencies say to skip
- A broom on a hard floor. DOH: “Do not sweep with a broom.”
- A shop vac or any non-HEPA vacuum. The Spokane Regional Health District: “Do not use shop vacuums and other non-HEPA filter vacuums, as they do not filter out small particles and can blow particles into the air where they can be breathed in.”
- Ozone generators and fragranced products. DOH: “Do not use ozone generators, ionizers, air fresheners, plug-ins, or other fragranced products, as these produce harmful byproducts.”
- Opening windows early. DOH: “Do not open windows until outdoor cleanup has finished and outdoor air quality has improved.” The same page says: “Open windows when outdoor air quality is good and there is no wind.”
- A leaf blower outside. AirNow: “Don’t use leaf blowers or do anything else that will put ash into the air.”
The air after the dust
DOH’s page puts the heating and cooling system on the homeowner: “Check your HVAC system prior to turning it on. Make sure the fan is working, check for visible dust, and clean the area around intakes. Replace filters monthly until the smoke smell in your home is gone.” If you have no air cleaner, the King County page links a do-it-yourself filter made from “a box fan, a MERV-13 filter and duct tape”. We have not built one and cannot vouch for it; that is King County’s suggestion.
When it is not a normal clean
DOH draws the line itself: “If there is substantial, visible deposition in the home (surfaces are mostly covered by ash), take additional precautions to protect yourself and consider hiring a professional contractor to clean indoors.” It adds: “If smoke or indoor air quality does not improve, consider hiring a professional contractor for smoke remediation.” Our reading, labelled as ours: a thin film on the sills is a cleaning job, and a home that is mostly covered, or one that still smells after cleaning and new filters, is the specialist case DOH describes.
Hometress’s Terms of Service point the same way without naming smoke. Section 4.1 says cleaners are “not equipped or trained for certain specialized or hazardous tasks”, and section 4.2 lets a cleaner leave a job where there are “hazardous materials being present”. The Terms do not say whether ash counts, so we cannot tell you whether a given home would be taken on. That is a conversation to have before a booking, not something this guide can promise.
What a Hometress visit lists
Hometress takes online bookings only in Philadelphia today, and the checklists below are the ones published for those bookings. Nothing here promises a visit at a Seattle address. The Standard Regular Cleaning list has “Dust Window Sills / Ledges”, “Vacuum Upholstered Furniture”, “Open Carpet Areas Vacuumed” and “Dust Accessible Vent Covers (up to 9ft)”. Its floor line is “Floors Swept / Mopped / Vacuumed”. Those are routine-cleaning lines. None of the lists mentions smoke, ash, an air cleaner, filters or the heating and cooling system, and we do not say what vacuum a cleaner would bring. Our guides to the difference between deep and regular cleaning in Seattle, the Seattle apartment cleaning checklist and how often to schedule cleaning in Seattle homes cover how a routine visit is built.
If you live in Seattle, join the Seattle waitlist to hear when online booking opens. The Seattle page also says: “Call or message us now. We’ll tell you what we can do for your address in Seattle.”
Common questions
Can I use a shop vac to clean up wildfire ash?
The Spokane Regional Health District says not to: shop vacuums and other non-HEPA vacuums “do not filter out small particles and can blow particles into the air where they can be breathed in.” DOH’s indoor list names a HEPA-type vacuum.
Should I open the windows to air out the smoke?
Not early. DOH says not to open windows until outdoor cleanup has finished and outdoor air quality has improved, and to open them when outdoor air quality is good and there is no wind.
Do I need to hire a professional after a smoke week?
DOH’s professional case is a home with surfaces mostly covered in ash, or air that does not improve. A thin film is a cleaning job by our reading, and we cannot see your home. Start with DOH’s page and your local health department.