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I do alot of fire remediations and block walls typically can be cleaned fairly easily.

The goal of preparing the block wall for painting is to remove the heavy soot. The wall is going to have black staining on it even after cleaning, but the goal is to remove the soot.

Get some heavy bristled brushes and a heavy duty cleaning detergent and start scrubbing. Make sure that you have plenty of rinse water around as this going to get messy if it is heavy soot. Basically you need to scrub every inch of the affected areas. The wall is ready for painting when you can run your hand across the block wall and no black comes off on your hand.

If you have a drywall ceiling in the room, it will need to be cleaned as well. If it has a flat paint texture then a dry chem sponge will be necessary to clean the soot off. If it has a satin finish or any washable finish then it can be wiped down with the same heavy duty detergent solution.

There are also smoke odor neutralizer products that you can purchase on line. This product can be used to eliminate some of the smell.

I do a lot for fire remediations and this is the best and easiest way to prepare your block walls for repainting. Be sure to wear a disposable mask if you have any respiratory sensitivity as well.

Feel free to post any follow up questions you may have.

Expert:	JTess
Pos. Feedback:	100.0 %
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Answered:	9/16/2009

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