How do you clean thick cig. smoke off of walls? What kind of paint would you use after cleaning?

Question

We bought a house that has been smoked in for years. Every surface needs to be scrubbed. Not sure how strong of a chemical we need or if just 409 will work. Help

Answer 1

our house was the same - our painter (a professional) simply swiped the walls with water mixed with TSP and painted over them - no primer at all
walls & ceilings are beautiful - no smell or stains at all.

Answer 2

Your going about it all wrong, If you want to clean it first. That's just more work. If it has been smoked in for years it will not completely come off no matter what you used and you will still paint so just skip to the painting. You can use KILZ. It is a pretty tough primer and you can even skip the priming part as well. They make the paint that has primer init. So just buy the paint with added primer and go at it. They sell it at Wal mart, Lowe's etc...

Answer 3

As others have mentioned, "Kilz" oil-based primer. A gallon is about $12 for their "original" formula and $20 for their "odor-less" formula. I recommend going cheap with the original formula for $12. I did a whole house with it and the smell wasn't very strong at all. Then you just paint over it with whatever kind/color of paint you want.

Obviously a lot of the smell will be in the carpets and pads - all must go.

Finally, you may want to have the vents cleaned.

You can also buy Kilz in a spray paint can for hard to reach places - under sinks, etc.

Answer 4

Tsp is the best way to remove this but you may still have discolouration area's on the wall. A primer called KILZ will seal this then you can decorate any way you like. This we do regularly in fire, smoke damage restoration. Note: KILZ will probably work without cleaning first but for what it takes its better to clean a surface first before painting.

Answer 5

Dawn or any grease cutting dish detergent and warm water, sponge. Wash or scrub in circular motion, rinsing the sponge fairly often, should remove most of the soot from cigarette smoke. If not, use Kilz or another really good primer before painting, this will hide all the cigarette discoloration, and odor if any and put down a good base for your new paint color.

Answer 6

You can use good-ole 409. You may want to put a coat of KILZ primer on the walls before you actually finally paint them, too

Answer 7

scrub first, for wood use murphy's oil soap in water. 1/8 cup or less to a 2 gallon bucket. for painted surfaces that arent flat paint use some vingegar in water 1/2 cup to 2 gallons. test a spot first and use gloves to protect your hands. this might brigten things up before you paint. otherwise use Kilz or one of the other brands for stain blocking. good luck!
Kilz also now makes a tintable product now as well haven't used it but if it works as well as thier original stuff it should be good. the best is the oil based as far as coverage goes but needs mineral spirits for clean up, then thier latex which cleans up with water i use the foam brushes and throw them away after.

Answer 8

Mr. Clean magic sponge for deep cleaning will work wonders and it does not emit harsh chemical smell that would run you out of the house. Interior latex paint would be the best choice.

Answer 9

the best thing i have ever used to clean walls was laundry detergent yes i am serious try tide or any kind with bleach in it then you let it fully dry primer it first and then paint it dosent matter what kind of paint make sure you do 2 coats of paint

Answer 10

go to home depot or lowe's and get some tsp...scrub the walls down and then use kilz water based primer(easier to clean up)...and then you can paint to your heart's content...