On heavy smoke days we see the same thing in every house: a fine grey film on window sills, screens and the tops of picture frames, even with the windows closed. It looks like ordinary dust until you wipe it and get a dark smear.
Vacuum first, wipe second
Ash is finer than household dust. A dry cloth pushes it around and a wet cloth turns it into a paste. We vacuum sills, screens and ledges with a HEPA vacuum and a brush attachment first, then wipe with a damp microfiber cloth folded so each pass uses a clean face.
Screens and window tracks
Screens hold a surprising amount. If you can pop them out, rinse them with a hose and let them dry in the sun. Window tracks get vacuumed, then wiped with a cloth wrapped over a flat tool.
Change the furnace filter
If your system ran during the smoke, the filter caught a lot of it. Changing it before a cleaning means the house doesn’t get a fresh layer the next day.
When to call us
Once the air quality is back in the green. Cleaning while smoke is still coming in means doing it twice. A standard clean handles a light film; a heavy layer on every surface is a deep-clean job.
