How do I get rid of cigarette smoke smell?

Question

I don't smoke, but my roommate smokes out of her bedroom window. I live above the entrance to an apt. complex, so people are always out there smoking. My room reeks of stale smoke. I've tried Febreze, Oust, etc etc. How do I get rid of the smell? My clothes smell like I'm a smoker, and my room just smells awful.

Answer 1

Baking soda... Once a week sprinkle your carpets and floor of you closet with baking soda..Leave on overnight if possible. Vaccum the next day.. You might even want to leave a box or container with holes punched into in inside the closet to absorb the smoke smell... Wash your bed linens and make a complaint to the building owner about the smoking going on outside... There's laws depending on where you live where smokers can/cannot smoke... You might even want to get a room air purifer like "TRUE AIR" or something that plugs into the outlets.. LIke OUSTFAN or something like that...

Answer 2

I always love these Q's. Nothing comes to mind when you say cigarette smoke. Nothing meaning. You need to leave and get away from your rude roommate. She needs to respect others and smoke OUTSIDE!!!! A disgusting behavior that use to be cool! Yeah right!
Cigarette smoke is like wood smoke. It gets into everything.
Only thing I would suggest is you get some serious smelling candles and have those things lit non stop in your room to cover up the smell. Febreeze and all that junk will not work.
Also when you cant burn the candles get the plug in room scent things. Get one for every outlet in your place. You can get the battery powered glade scents to put in the closet with your clothes. Getting the roommate to get her asss outside to smoke would help so much! JUST DO IT!

Also before I go......... you think what your living in is bad get this story.
My neighbor and we will keep her nameless (tracey) who smokes non stop has a major problem with her house.
Now mind you I live in a home and I guess our houses are seperated 50ft from each other. when the wind blows east I can smell FILTH and STALE CIGARETTE SMOKE purcolating from her house. Now this is summer and she has ALL her WINDOWS CLOSED. Block house and god only knows how the smell is getting out. but it is that bad to turn my stomach when I am out on the back patio BBQing.
Now this will make you laugh but is very true. I buy the cheap and nasty incent sticks from the dollar store and light those when I am getting smells from her house. so it could get worse and it does with smokers. They tend to not care about what they smell like to others!

Answer 3

This may be the only thing that works for removing smoke odors from absorbant surfaces

Buy several bottles of hydrogen peroxide at the drugstore or discount outlet (they're cheap) and empty them into a garden sprayer.
Test a hidden area of every surface you intend to spray to be sure you won't be causing more trouble by bleaching or leaving stains.
Lightly spray whatever the hydrogen peroxide won't damage.


You can spray stone walls inside the house, the carpet, the drapes, the furniture, ... almost everything with a light mist of hydrogen peroxide. All the smoke odor (and perfume odors from previous attempts) magically disappears
Test surfaces before you spray!

Faux Febreze

1 1/2 to 4 tablespoons Ultra Downy Clean Breeze fabric softener
25 ounces water
32 ounces spray bottle, new and clean


1 part fabric softener
1 part baking soda
2 parts water

Put baking soda into boiling water. When baking soda is dissolved, mix in fabric softener. When liquid is cool, put in spray bottle. That's it. To change the scent, just put in a few drops of essential oil such as lavender


Here is a recipe for fabric freshener spray:

1 cup fabric softener
1 cup white vinegar
2 cups water (or as much as you want to dilute it but I wouldn't go less)

It works wonderfully and you can use whatever scent of the fabric softener you want!

Don't use apple cider vinegar. Also test a small spot (inconspicuous) first to make sure it doesn't leave spots. Make sure every time you spray, you shake the bottle first to mix everything up. When you first spray it on, it has a very small hint of vinegar smell. But as soon as it dries, all you smell is fabric softener. I don't think I would spray anything questionable like silk or leather


Or simply use one cup of White Vinegar without added detergent or fabric softner set washer to full cycle on hottest water clothes can handle when finished put in dryer don't add any dryer sheets as vinegar softens clothes and removes odors removes residues also or you can line dry out of direct sunlight as vinegar will whiten if put in sunlight Remove cigarette smell from suits

If you find yourself in a situation where you wind up heading home with the lingering smell of cigarette smoke on your good suit or dress, you can remove the odor without having to take your clothes to the dry cleaner. Just add 1 cup vinegar to a bathtub filled with the hottest water your tap can muster. Close the door and hang your garments above the steam. The smell should be gone after several hours.
Good Luck !

Answer 4

Vinegar or Ammonia left in pans on the counter overnight. This works! 1 cup of ammonia added to washer will rid clothes of smell also.

Febreeze, Oust etc cover odors they do not get rid of them

Answer 5

Wash your clothes with tide in a hot water, try to bleach them too.

Wash your curtains if you have.
Light on scented candles, this will absorbs the smell. I use this in the kitchen if i cook with garlic ( unscented candle).

Mix 2 cups of vinegar and 1 c of water, bring to boil.

Answer 6

Add a cup of vinegar to a bathtub full of very hot water and hang any fabrics above the steam - or let the steam spread throughout your house.

Answer 7

fill some small bowl with fresh coffee ground and place in different spots around the house that should help

Answer 8

Make you room mate smoke outside!!

Answer 9

I had a similar problem once. I moved.

Answer 10

Move and lose the roommate.