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Fire Restoration With Dustless Blasting

From Soot to Suit—This Job Meant Business

An Opportunity Rises From The Ashes

Two Florida-based Dustless Blasting businesses teamed up to tackle a tough fire restoration job at this lunchtime chain eatery nearby. With the help of a DB800 Mobile XL, these blasters battled grease and soot residue from a kitchen fire with sodium bicarbonate, an abrasive blasting media known for its neutralizing properties. In just eight days, they sodablasted this charred chicken salad joint into a renewed, restorable restaurant—making money and learning key lessons for future projects in the process.
Fire Restoration_rig

“I would rather do fire restoration blasting than just about anything else. I would do this full-time if I could. It’s a lot of work, but it’s not hard to do—I actually like doing it. Soda is expensive, but it is easy to work with.”

-Kevin S., Sandman Environmental Blasting Solutions

Fire Restoration JOB DETAILS At A Glance

BLASTING METHOD
100% dry

JOB LENGTH
85 hours

BLAST SETTINGS
Started at 60 PSI, adjusted to 120 PSI for better performance. Media feed turned very low to conserve material.

BLAST MEDIA
47 bags of ARMEX Maintenance XL soda (sodium bicarbonate)

COATING REMOVED
Grease and soot residue from steel, tile, concrete, and cinderblock

NOZZLES USED
Started with SLV nozzle, switched to XL Performance nozzle for improved speed and efficiency

OTHER TOOLS

Bagster, large dust sock, scissor lift, brooms and vacuums

 

Challenges

  • Tougher Residue Removal: Grease buildup proved significantly more stubborn and time-consuming to remove compared to standard soot and smoke damage
  • Limited Accessibility: Reaching higher areas like the roof and upper walls was difficult, especially in tight crawl spaces and the attic apex. Maneuvering hoses and ventilation equipment in these areas was a major challenge
  • Key Takeaways: This job highlighted the importance of accurate pricing, choosing the right media for the job, and always conducting a test blast before starting full-scale work

Wins

  • Valuable Experience Gained: Successfully completed a commercial fire restoration project—an excellent addition to the portfolio for future fire damage opportunities

  • Profitable Payouts: Kevin earned over $4,100 for managing and executing the job. David received $1,100 in referral fees for passing the lead along

  • Upsell Success: Secured an additional $800 by offering tile floor blasting services after a simple conversation with the client

  • Strong Execution: The team delivered a fast, efficient cleanup with dependable labor and a smart game plan

The Process: Pressure, Precision, and Cleanup

Pressure’s On for Profit 

Fire restoration with soda blasting is meticulous work, and this project proved no exception. Early in the job, the team noticed that 60 PSI wasn’t cutting it. Kevin reached out to David and the rest of the Dustless Blasting Owners Facebook group for input. Armed with recommendations to bump pressure to 120 PSI, they went back at it the next day and saw a drastic improvement in removal rates for the stubborn, sticky remnants of the fire.

“[Increasing your pressure] uses more fuel, but it doesn't really use more media. You just turn your feed down when you adjust for pressure. Our media flow was barely cracked open and it still was feeding quite a bit of media through. We were getting about an hour per bag out of the soda at that point. We started seeing it come off and it made a huge difference—we moved a lot faster at the higher PSI.”

- Kevin S., Sandman Environmental Blasting Solutions

 

 

Fire Restoration_before_after

Containment Counts

Containment and cleanup on any sodablasting job is critical especially because sodium bicarbonate is a very messy abrasive. The secret to sodablasting in confined spaces is by using a dust sock with a ventilation fan. The sock will capture dust extracted by the fan and make cleanup easier.

By using a couple of 16” fans, a massive dust sock, a bagster, industrial vacuums and the old trusty blaster essentials—the broom and dustpan—the crew got the job site ready for the next contractor in just one day. 

 

Fired up for a Clean Win

Efficient cleanup is essential for every project. With a skilled team, reliable vacuums, and a Bagster, you can streamline the entire process similar to Tarpon Blasting and Sandman Environmental.

Shop Bagsters in our Online Store here.

Fire_Restoration_FanSock

Dust socks are attached to a ventilation fan, which pulls air and dust from the blasting area. The sock then filters the larger particles while allowing cleaner air to be exhausted.

fire restoration sock
Dust socks offer a solution for managing dust created while dry blasting or soda blasting. 
Bagster_

Contractors fill Bagsters up to 3,300 lb of debris and schedule a collection online or by phone for easy disposal. 

A Powerful Partnership

The symbiotic relationship between owners David Black of Tarpon Blasting and Kevin Smith of Sandman Environmental Blasting Solutions is the ultimate example of how tapping into the local blasting community can result in longterm collaboration. As a DB500 Mobile S owner with a stationary setup that keeps him busy with full-time work, David sends his mobile web leads to Kevin. It’s a win-win: David earns a commission, and Kevin stays busy on the road. Over the years, these two have taken on all kinds of projects—from fires to farms to fences and everything in between.

“Every now and then I get these mobile jobs, and I just give them to Kevin. He and [his partner], Johnny, are excellent blasters, and they do a great job. I don't think he does much advertising, so it works out. It takes the pressure off of him, and I take a little bit of commission for giving him the work.”

- David B., Tarpon Blasting

 

Chickensalad_fire resto

“The fire started in the kitchen area and really just made everything black—it even turned the steel black. Even though it was coming off when blasted, it was hard to tell on that steel. There was a cinder block wall on the back part of the building that was completely black, and that came out looking beautiful. That really sold the company that hired us on the fact that it was working. But the biggest thing is that the smell is gone.”

- David B.,

Tarpon Blasting

THE RESULTS

Despite unexpected challenges with heavy grease buildup and underestimated material needs, the crew completed the job within the client’s deadline.

They successfully removed soot and odor from the restaurant’s interior surfaces, including hard-to-reach attic spaces and structural steel. The client was pleased with the outcome, and the crew added an $800 upsell by blasting the tile floor on-site.

While the team used over three times the expected amount of soda, they still turned a profit of nearly $5,000 and walked away with valuable lessons for quoting future fire restoration projects more accurately.

Fire restoration after

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