How do you get rid of the smell of ciggarette smoke?

Question

I moved into a new apartment 3 months ago, my landlord did everything to get the smell of smoke out. She changed carpets, tile, prime, paint, professional cleaning, everything and nothing has worked. The lady who lived here before me was a smoker and never opened the windows, she baked in that smell and it's horrible. We kkep the windows and balcony open 24/7 and still no change. BTW we also tried sprays and scented fans. Are there any methods that you can recommend? It's embarrassing and uncomfortable.

Answer 1

I had a neighbor whose food smell always seeped into my apartment. It came through the kitchen fan as well as the bathroom fan. When I kept the fan on at all times, the scent couldn't get into my place and I had a draft cover that slid over the bottom of my door and would open and close with the door to keep odor out that way.

Did you landlord remove the outlet covers and light wall plates to clean the boxes and the plastic/wood of the covers? They absorb strong smells with amazing speed. Also were the lighting fixtures cleaned? Were ceiling fan blades replaced/cleaned?

I'm just lobbing out ideas that may have been missed.

You said they primed and painted the walls, but I'm curious if they washed the walls down with TSP before priming. If the odor is in the wallboard and any of the wallboard is exposed, the odor will come out into your unit.

If you get the odor once you open up a light switch wall plate, you may find the answer. I would also check fan exhausts in the bathroom.

My last suggestion would be to have the air condition/heating unit professionally cleaned (coils, everything).

I've heard people say to cook a pot of water with vanilla in it to help with the odor, but I don't know how well it works.

I have tried placing a cup of open regular white vinegar in selected places to help absorb the scent. That seems to work for me with things like sneaker odor, garage odor, pet odor. Maybe that would work for you.

Good luck. It's really irritating to smell that stuff.

Answer 2

Did the landlord paint the ceilings? If not wash them with a soap and water solution. Very seldom when repainting rentals do the ceilings get done and since smoke rises the ceiling gets the brunt of the smell.

You also might try burning scented candles and having the HVAC ducts steam cleaned.

Answer 3

Thought I had an answer no one else did; vanilla But see someone suggested it. But I boil mine and let it simmer on the stove and in extreme cases have placed charcoal around the room on lids. Tell your lanlord about putting vanilla in the paint when painting, too, but be careful how much as it can change the hue of a color. Spraying Febreze around the room everyday works wonders, too. Good luck!

Answer 4

ammonia

Answer 5

have you tried cleaning the carpets again? or using bleach? that may work.

Answer 6

Set out bowls of white vinegar and change every 2-3 days for about 2 weeks. It really does work.

Answer 7

Try this its cheap and good for the enviroment...
Place open buckets full of water in each room and change every day. The water will absorb the smells.

Answer 8

maybe it's not the APARTMENT that smells of smoke but maybe someone in the other apartments attached to YOURS smoke and the smoke somehow finds it way into YOUR place.... I USED to smoke but quit and repainted the walls and ceilings in the house and the house PASSED the NON-SMOKER TEST--None of my NEVER SMOKED friends could smell anything