How do I eliminate the smell of cigarette smoke from a house where somebody smoked for a decade?

Question

I just bought a house whose former owner smoked heavily, and the entire house carries the sour, stale smell of old cigarette smoke. I am trying to air out the house as much as possible, and I suppose that I will resort to air fresheners, baking soda, and some repainting of the walls; but else can I do? It's driving me nuts.

Answer 1

i had the same problem recently. you shouldn't paint over the old paint the tar and nicotine eventually bleed through and the smell comes back. all you do is mix clorox and water half n half put in spray bottle and completely saturated the cieling, walls, blinds basically everything bleach won't ruin then alow to sit and soak for at least 24 hours then wash all with dishsoup and water for carpet cover floor with dry baking soda and table salt then vaccum. your house will smell as clean as clean can be.

Answer 2

You should get rid of any existing carpet and repaint. Washing the walls and the floors down with odo-ban will help, as well as follow with a good primer/sealer.

Parks Primer Sealer is specifically made for houses with smoke damage from fires, it will seal off the nicotine that sometimes can bleed back through if you only paint.

Zinnser also makes a products a KILZ. Find the one that is for priming over smoke damaged walls.

After priming follow with two coats of paint. Also do your ceilings as well.

If you have wood floors you will probably need to get a buffer to clean and polish them again. Luckily the finish of the floors will usually not allow the smoke to penetrate into the wood.

Under your carpets, you can also use the kilz product, although you probably won't need to, and another way to address the floors is to wash them with a diluted chlorox or use chlorox cleanup and then take baking soda and sprinkle it all over the floor prior to new carpet being laid. The baking soda will help absorb odors. Wait until floors are dry if cleaning with bleach solution before applying baking soda.

Freshing your new place will not be an easy chore to achieve, but if you take the steps to get off on the right foot, you should love the way your new home smells and feels.

Answer 3

I am a smoker, so is my mother. My mother smoked a coworker's cigarette one day, and when she returned to the office another coworker asked her if she'd changed her brand of cigarette; she smelled different than she usually did after her smoke break. Both types were menthol. This same thing happened to me at work fairly recently, with my boss. I had bummed a Marlboro red from a coworker, instead of smoking my usual American Spirits. Boss man totally noticed I smelled different; he immediately asked if I had switched brands. Again, both types were regular, full flavored. If there are people out there who are able to tell that you've smoked a different brand, just by the scent stuck to your clothes, chances are they would also notice even the slightest cigarette scent in the freezer. So, no. I personally would not be able to smell it. But I would bet a dollar and a doughnut that there are many people out there that could.

Answer 4

Pull the carpets and any curtains. Scrub the walls and floors thoroughly. Prime the walls for repainting with Kilz (the *good* stuff, not the wimpy stuff) and repaint. You may also have to pull insulation out and reinsulate the house if you think smoke has gone into the walls.

If you have a warm air heating system, you may have to pull the ventwork and clean or replace that. The furnace itself should be torn down and professionally cleaned.

It's pretty much a nightmare. My sister spent a year of hard work doing that to a house they bought. They finally got it under control.

Answer 5

Painting certainly will help, but first wash the walls. You do not want that smell trapped behind paint. There is this stuff called Odo-Ban that elimates orders. It is a big help. It can be purchased at Sam's Club and Wal-Mart. Things such as appliances can just be cleaned and the smell will go away. It will take a little time, but as you clean everything, the smell will go away. I would have the carpets professionally cleaned too.

Answer 6

Leave the windows open. Paint two coats. Run fans. If you can afford carpet that would surely help! If you can't; several shampoos. Baking soda first then vacuum. Febreeze helps a lot. Candles. Potpourri.

All the while, just keep thinking how the guy's lungs must look! Wow - ignorance is only bliss till time for the cancer ward.

Answer 7

scrub everything down with with a mixture of water and vinegar. 70% white vinegar and 30% hot water. And I do suggest that you do this before you paint. The smell can come thru the new paint after a while. And you should also use the solution on your floors, cabinets and windows.

Answer 8

You should probably repaint, as the walls are probably yellow from the smoke as well - you can also get ozone freshener - which can be rented, which is what is used after a fire in a home.

Answer 9

Lot of good ideas here....but don't use Kilz inside if you are going to stay inside with it. The fumes are quite nasty. Paint and go camping for a couple days.

Answer 10

get rid of carpeting repaint all walls and ceilings and trim work clean all lights clean everything and anything good luck
use oil based paints and primers