We bought a new home and obviously the lady smoked in the master bedroom and bathroom, it smacks you when you walk in, I have been using essential oils without luck, any suggestions? It is horrid now that we have moved in I smell it even more, didn't notice before so much or it might have been a show stopper.
My poor husband is soooooooo congested from this room also, I can hear him wheezing while sleeping.
Thanks for any suggestions.....
You will have to repaint the walls, for starters. Probably replace the flooring as well, especially if you have carpet in there.
You need to rent an ozone machine.
My cousin had a house fire and the whole house smelled like smoke after. The smoke smell permeates the rug, walls, etc.
They rented an ozone machine and it got rid of the smell in a few days. You don't need to rent it permanently, just for a few days.
Just bought a home with this problem. We are priming and painting all the ceilings and walls, hiring a professional to come clean the carpets and replacing those with cigarette burns in them. We will most likely be replacing drapes but that's because they are ugly you can just throw them in the wash and that will help too.
The only thing that doesn't just mask the smell of smoke (febreze etc) but gets rid of it is painting the walls and ceilings and replacing the carpet. Any wooden surfaces like closet doors may need a coat of paint as well.
Good luck!
Hi! At the risk of sounding like a commercial... Febreeze. Hubby came home with a company truck that was so bad. We washed all the windows (they were brown!) and used Febreeze on everything else. I know he did spray a second time but was good after that. It's not the kind of product I would use but it saved Bruce from driving all day with his head out the window in winter.
Try wiping down a wall and see what color the cloth is. You may be able to get by with washing with some TSP. If you have to paint there is a primer you need to use to seal the smell in.
Good luck!
We had this problem when we bought our first house. We didn't notice it at the showing, but after we moved in, the smell got stronger and stronger. We scrubbed every surface with a vinegar and water mix. Blinds, walls, vents, closet racks...everything! In fact, we wound up taking the blinds down and soaking them in vinegar and water, because the strings were yellow and we couldn't scrub some of those spots.We had to pay to have the carpets cleaned. They looked cleaned, but when I got on the ground, you could still smell smoke. Hubby changed out all the filters. I think he even put a box of baking soda (the kind for refrigerators where you can rip the sides off) and left those in front of some of the vents for a week. We also got ride of any fabric we didn't have to have...there wasn't much in the way of draperies, but we just tossed the valances left behind. And we had to repaint. We did the repainting slower than I would have liked, but we just couldn't afford to do the entire house at once. So we painted the stinkiest rooms first (in our house the bathrooms were the worst). And went from there. It was work, but we did get rid of the smell.
Oh man. i had to take out the carpet, clean all the walls , floors, closets , doors with vinegar and water. If that doesn't do it, paint, paint, and paint. That's horrible!
Have you tried Febreeze? I had the same problem with a home i moved into a few years ago, spraying the Febreeze a couple of times a day on carpets and draperies finally removed the smells and alleviated my allergies, but it took about 2 to 3 weeks to do it. I did it whenever the smells returned to keep them at bay.
You can save money and make your own "Febreeze" too, with just 3 ingredients:
1/8 Cup of your favorite liquid fabric softener
2 Tablespoons baking soda
Hot Tap Water - to fill a 32 oz spray bottle to the top
Shake it up in your spray bottle and it's ready to use. I like this better than store-bought Febreeze, it actually has more staying power : )
I would have the carpets steam cleaned professionally. Then I might go over the walls with a steam mop. Mine goes upside down and doesn't drip.
I think that cleaning out the vent system would be necessary too.
Febreeze works well. But also, as strange as it may sound, charcoal briquettes also absorb odor and moisture. It's worth a try to have some open containers with charcoal until the smell is gone.
Best wishes.
Paint the room and replace the rugs. It's really all you can do to eradicate the smell.
I had the same thing happen when I bought my home. Here are the steps I took.
1. Go to a cleaning supplier and buy "smoke bombs". These are used when there is a fire in the home to help remove the smoke smell. It may take several to clear out the smell.
2. Wash the walls and then Prime and paint them. The best cleaner that I found was the Fantastik with Oxy power. It cut through the nicotine stains better than anything. Talk with someone at your local Lowes or Home Depot. There is a specific primer that will seal things in.
3. Have the air vents cleaned and make sure that you are faithful in cleaning or changing out the furnace/ac filters.
4. If you can replace all flooring but especially the carpet. I replaced the carpet but left the wood floor. After six years in the home I had a leak in the disposal and water got under the floor. It brought out the smoke smell again.
Be prepared, that if the humidity rises, the smell will come out or your home might smell like a musty hotel room.
Good luck with everything.
I would suggest repainting the bedroom, and try a hepa filter air purifier.
S.:
If you have carpeting in there - rip it out and put hardwoods or new carpet and padding in.
Wash the walls. Pine-Sol and water - gloves - wash the walls and the ceiling and then repaint.
Put cedar floors in the closet. That will keep bugs away as well as help with any smell.
Leave the windows open to let fresh air in.
If you can't afford new carpet? Baking soda all over the carpet - let it sit for a few hours...then vacuum it up. If I can't afford new carpet or hardwoods, I would also rent a Rug Doctor to clean the carpets.
Buy a good quality air purifier as well. That will help. If he is congested - DEFINITELY get rid of the carpets....get rid of ANY fabric drapes you may have in the room as well - get rid of "fluffy" things...I would also invest in an allergy mattress bag - you can buy them on-line or at Bed Bath & Beyond...see if that helps.
