How to deal with smoke smell?

[dustin92]

We are moving into a new house, buying it from family, and other family members are living in the (completely finished) basement. They have been allowed to smoke cigarettes in the basement, and the house, acting as a chimney, smells nasty upstairs as well. Everytime they light up you can smell it upstairs, more so if the central a/c is on. Although my parents both smoke, they smoke outside only, but say they don't smell it inside. I personally don't smoke cigarettes, and the smell is overpowering. I have noticed my clothes stink if I go outside or into a non smoking environment, and I am waking up every morning with a sore throat. If the house was completely paid off and ours, it would be easy; just tell them to smoke outside or leave. That isn't the case yet. Our house is for sale but not sold yet, when it sells we will pay this one off. Anyway even the furniture and basically any horizontal surface is getting a film of nicotine on it, and the windows are getting cloudy. How can I at least deal with the odor temporarily? I am running 2 air purifiers on high, and using several plugin air fresheners and spray. I would open all the windows, but it has been in the 90s here and the a/c takes 2 days to catch up. I have bowls of dry charcoal sitting around to absorb the odors. Anything else I can try, or products that work for you? This is getting really old. Thanks!

 

[washer111]

On a Humorous Note

Have you considered getting a space suit or maybe even Dual-Zone air-conditioning to help remove the odour? I know it sounds odd, but maybe even get a water-filter vacuum-cleaner to help clean the air out, or use some means of water filtration.

You may wish to open the windows at night, get window units and block off your air-vents and give the place the best damn cleaning ever. Also, try sealing an points the smoke could be seeping through.

 

[strongenough78]

Cigarette stink is very difficult to get rid of. Especially when the cause of it is still there. I too am still struggling to quit the nasty habit myself but when I do, I go outside. My Great Grandmother was a very heavy smoker for years. After she died, my Grandmother, Aunt and I went through her house, which is still being lived in by my Great Uncle, and did some heavy duty cleaning. He doesn't smoke so it made it much easier. It took a lot of elbow grease, a good cleaner and a repainting to get rid of the smell. That house had been smoked in for many many years. We took fixtures off the walls to see the nicotine outline of those fixtures still there. We managed to get a good majority of it off, but a repainting completely took care of it. Unfortunately, unless those people move out or smoke outside, the problem will still be present. Look around for a/c filters that are designed to get rid of the smoke and odor. That may help in the meantime. You may need to do some extra cleaning in your area to keep it from building up really bad. As for your clothes, try to keep them in a sealed area so they aren't exposed to it. Wash them in warm or hot water with 2 warm rinses and some fabric softener. I did this with mine and was able to get the odor out. I've cut down so much that the smell of heavy smoke does start to bother me too, and when I noticed it on my clothes, I then knew what non smokers would encounter. I washed them in Hot water, and even reset the timer for an extended wash. The machine I was using only had cold rinses, so after the first spin I set the timer for the last 5 minutes of the wash cycle with very warm water for the first rinse, and used the last rinse for softener. It really helped. Shampoo your carpets and use a powder carpet deodorizer. I think Arm and Hammer still makes it, and it has baking soda in it to help get rid of odors. Fabrics will absorb smoke odor like a sponge. Cleaning your carpets and furniture will help get rid of the smell. And since they aren't being directly smoked on or around, it should be a bit easier. Keep the air purifiers running and the plug in fresheners going. I hope things change for you so you don't have to keep getting smoked out of your home. Let us know how it goes.

 

[strongenough78]

I do have a question though. You said if the house was paid off you'd have them smoke out doors or leave. Now, have you already made the deal with the previous family and is the bank helping you out with getting the house, or are you paying them directly? I would go with a bank if you can, let everything go through escrow, so that way the previous owners are paid off so the house will legally be yours, which would give you the right to tell the smokers what ever you please. Then pay off the mortgage when your house sells. Is that possible for you?

 

[stan]

Sometimes

not always...

if you set some bowls out, half filed with vinegar, and change them every 3 days might help. Cleaning things with vinegar sometimes helps...
Unfortunately it's like sweeping the north sea away from your door, (til they move) and with them being downstairs makes it so much worse. Then you have the AC circulating air all over the house!

If THEY were opening a window, or had a exhaust fan, or even one on those window fans that sucks the air out, would help! but I get it, you can't say anything.
I'm a smoker but have not smoked in the house in years, and I don't think I could stand your situation.

HTH

Maybe they will switch to the new E ciggs, you know the ones that don't stink (water vapor)

 

[whirlcool]

We had a house we bought once that had this problem. It was a mess.

What is causing the stink is the nicotine residue all over everything. You have to clean it all off with hot water and TSP. Usually the walls will require a acrylic stain sealer paint base coat and then paint over that with the finish coat. It seals the smells. Have the carpets steam cleaned with hot steam a few times. That usually fixes that. Wash everything else down with a good ammonia based detergent and hot water.

That should eliminate the smells from the house. I had an aunt and uncle that smoked heavily years ago. But there house did not smell like cigarette smoke. I later found out from one of my cousins that lived there the reason for that was that they had a weekly wall washing and floor washing marathon. The furniture was covered in that plastic covering (after all this was the 50's/60's) and even the plastic got washed on a weekly basis.

 

[frigilux]

If you don't feel you can ask your relations to smoke outside, here's what I'd do in the meantime:

1) Have a whole-house air purifier installed on your forced air furnace/central air-conditioner, then run the furnace fan continuously. Consumer Reports recommends the Lennox healthy Climate HC16 for $300. CR scored it at 94, and gave it an excellent rating on removing smoke/pollen/dust. It does need to be installed by a professional. It replaces your furnace's current air filter system.

2) Give them a room air purifier and ask that they run it continuously. CR recommends the Whirlpool AO51030K, at $300. It received a score of 74; excellent at removing smoke/pollen/dust. They also recommend the Hunter 30547 at $260. If they smoke all over downstairs, you should really go for option #1, as it covers the whole house.

I go to a casino with a friend a couple of times a year, and when I get home, I wake up at night and smell the residual smoke in my bedroom. It's disgusting, and I wheeze with asthma for a day. I quit smoking years ago, but when I did smoke, I had a whole-house air purifier and it did a very good job of dealing with the smoke. Good luck![this post was last edited: 7/19/2012-08:00]

 

[dustin92]

We do have a whole house air purifier, I cleaned the plates about a month ago, maybe I should do it again? We have a pretty good chunk of a down payment, but the deal is that when our house is sold we will pay it off. The bank is not involved. I will try the bowls of vinegar, and I will also set out bowls of baking soda.

 

[vintagekitchen]

I am a smoker, BUT, I cannot stand the stale cigarette odor it leaves in the house. Both my mother and grandmother mopped their floors twice a week, and washed their walls every week, or every other week at the longest, when I was growing up, as well as shampooing carpest twice a year, and cleaning upholstered furniture once a year. Furniture also got regular treatments with baking soda throughout the year to keep it smelling fresh, (sprinkle baking soda all over, allow to sit overnight, vacuum up the next day). The house was also "aired out" at least once a month, regardless of the weather. Curtains were washed and pressed while the house was being aired out.

Because of all their hard work, the house never smelled like a stale ashtray, like the houses of so many other smokers. I treat my house the same way they did, and it never gets a chance to develop that nasty smell. My best advice for you would be to wash every washable surface, floors, walls, even ceilings, with a good strong cleanser, (mom and gramma favored Pine-Sol, shampoo carpets and all upholstered furniture, (open all windows while shampooing carpets, and do the furniture the same day, but outside so the sun can dry it and aid in deodorizing). Wash and polish all wooden furniture and cabinets inside and out. Wash all the curtains in a good detergent, and hang out on the clothesline, (again, sun helps deodorize). Dont forget to wash the inside of the closets, and dont forget to wash the basement walls and floors, concrete absorbs smells like crazy. This should pretty much eliminate any lingering odor.

A trick for other smokers, after you wash and dry your ashtrays, coat them heavily in furniture polish like Lemon Pledge, let sit a few minutes, then buff dry. For the rest of the month, you can wipe them spotlessly clean with a paper towel or kleenex, and every time someone puts out a cigarette for at least a week, it releases a bit of the smell of the Lemon Pledge.

 

[dustin92]

Ok so they have been told to smoke outside, we will see how far this goes... tomorrow I will go on a cleaning streak, I cleaned the kitchen thouroughly today and vacuumed everything (including the cold air returns for the heat/ a/c system) and the smell has diminished slightly. Tomorrow I will clean the bathroom and wash windows and see where we get.

 

[whirlcool]

You may want to wear latex gloves while cleaning things. The rinse water will be a dark brown color. You probably won't want that on your hands!

 

[toploader55]

Glade Plug-ins

I don't know why, and I do not have any proof, but I think those things (Glade Plug-ins) or any other brand cannot be good to inhale.

Just more Chemicals in the air.

 

[norgeway]

Get a !

Living air Air cleaner, or some other ozone generator, I dont want to use one constantly, but it will neutralize odors, even mildew odors, and I mean permanently.

 

[wetguymd]

Family or not they would have to go. Second hand smoke is as deadly as first hand. You should not have to endure this in your home. It is dirty, nasty, gross and KILLS!

 

[dustin92]

Grrr. That didn't last long, they were told to go outside yesterday, and by 10 last night, we could smell smoke coming up the air vents. It is finally cool enough to open windows, so we have all the windows open and fans on, and I put down some arm & hammer carpet freshener last night before bed. I vacuumed it up this morning, washed the walls in the stairwell with pinesol, washed down all the doors in the house (the walls were just recently painted). It isn't smelling too bad so far today, plus I'm doing laundry so that is making the house smell clean (I am washing and bleaching the curtains because they weren't white anymore)

 

[mrboilwash]

Can`t give you the ultimate advice how to get rid of the nasty smell, wish I could.

But, in your first post you say they have been allowed to smoke in the basment and yesterday you told them to go outside.
In my opinion one does not change the rules while the game is on. Big no-no

 

[dustin92]

They were not told by us that they could smoke indoors. We are just moving in, the upstairs has been vacant for 4 years and they have lived in the basement most of that time. We told them that with us moving in, they needed to go outside, and haven't been sticking to it very well.

 

[vrvs]

Urine Odor

I just moved and the previous tenant had pets and also smoked the; odors were throughout the house. The landlord compensated me for repainting all the interior walls, I added the Air-ReNu paint additive that a friend recommended and thankfully, the house stays smelling fresh no more odors. Air-ReNu is a permanent solution to removing odors and improving indoor air quality. One application works continually no re-application required. For more info. www.air-renu.com

http://www.air-renu.com

 

[marthalover4eve]

1001 carpet refresh

today i bought 1001 capret refresh ( also for rugs and upholstery) it is a foam that soaks into the fabric it claims to get rid of smoke smell pet smell and cooking smell i bought a thai orchid and passion fruit on the smell is strong and works good