Kathy asked: Is a mattress safe to use after smoke damage? My daughter had a small grease fire in her apartment. There was smoke damage, and even though her mattress does not have an odor, she wonders if she can safely keep and use the mattress, rather than buy a new set?
Since the mattress does not have any odor, it is not likely that it was damaged from the smoke as smoke damaged items typically have a strong odor. If the mattress itself was not smoke damaged and has not been covered with fire extinguishing products, it is safe to continue to use it. Fire extinguishers use a variety of materials to extinguish a fire. The dust and particles from the spray can travel all over a room or apartment. They need to be cleaned away from all surfaces. However, if the mattress was unaffected from the smoke and fire, there should be no damaging effects to it. Simply give it a good vacuuming using the upholstery attachment to remove any surface dust or debris and continue to use as normal. If desired, the mattress can be given a more thorough cleaning by following the instructions in our mattress cleaning guides: