How to deal with smoke smell?

[dustin92]

Well it was hot here today, and the windows are closed, a/c on. I honestly can't tell if they are smoking or not. It did smell very stale when the a/c was turned on, but my allergies are acting up and my sense of smell is off. I sprayed febreze down all the cold air returns (while the a/c was runing) and will do it again. Hopefully they will be moving out soon so the basement can be cleaned and repainted. The carpets are getting ripped out and replaced also. The smell is getting to me (when I can smell lol). I noticed yesterday even my car is taking on a smoky smell! (It is parked outside, not in the garage) all I can guess is the smell is on our clothes and hair and is transfered to the upholstery.

 

[vintagekitchen]

Carpets..

Unless you were already planning to replace the carpets for other reasons, it's really not necessary to do so. The smell can easily be removed. Shampoo the carpets with a good extraction machine, (Hoover beats Bissell in my opinion). Use a good pet type shampoo, (it kills odors best), and the hottest water you can get. I normally add a teakettle of boiling water to the hot water from the faucet when filling the tank. After shampooing, rinse carpets using the machine with hot water in the tank, and vinegar instead of shampoo. Kills any odors possible in a carpet, and the leaves the carpets far brighter than shampooing alone. Also since the vinegar removes any shampoo residue, the carpet stays cleaner longer.

 

[dustin92]

We will see what condition the carpets are in, but it would be no suprise that they are (a) too worn to bother with, (b) cigarette burn marks everywhere, or (c) all of the above. I do have a hoover steamvac and will try that, I use vinegar in the rinse also. The current owner of the house has offered to replace the carpet if needed, but hopefully not all of it is trashed. The carpet in the bedrooms is only about 5 years old.