What Causes Soot on the Walls & Ceilings in a Home?

Candles and Oil Lamps

• Candles and oil lamps cause soot on walls and ceilings. Scented candles more so than unscented candles, will produce incomplete combustion, which causes soot. Candle wicks that are long produce more smoke and soot than a wick that is trimmed down. Incense and oil lamps do the same thing as a candle. If you look at the glass covering on the oil lamp, you will see the soot forming on the inside of the glass. This soot is also becoming airborne and settling on the walls and ceiling. Incense produce smoke, which produces soot.

Combustion Appliances

• Appliances in the home that don’t have proper ventilation will produce soot that escapes into the house. Space heaters or kitchen ranges can cause soot to settle on the walls. Gas log fireplaces will cause combustion particles to become airborne and settle on walls and ceilings. Vented appliances that burn fuel that are vented may have improper venting, which can cause soot in the home. Water heaters, boilers and furnaces fall into this category.

Fireplaces

• Fireplaces have flues so the smoke can travel up and out of the house, but not all of the smoke is exhausted from the house. If you burn wet root, unseasoned wood or wood that produces a lot of smoke, you are going to have a problem with soot on the walls and ceilings.

Attached Garages

• If you have an attached garage where you run a car to warm it up, or run snow blowers, lawnmowers or even a space heater or torpedo heater to warm the garage, you can have soot inside the home. Whenever the door opens into the home, the airborne soot is allowed inside. Improper door seals will also allow the combustion particles to come inside the home.