We are moving. We found a house we like, but the previous owner was a smoker. Has anyone had any luck removing the strong smoke odors that are left behind? We would like to put a contract on this house, but would have to be able to get rid of the smell. Any comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
We had a similar problem. The folks at the paint store suggested a bowl of white vinegar in each of the rooms. Leave it in the room and it will draw out the smoky smell. It worked for us but we did this over a several day time span. I think my husband changedout the vinegar every other day. Good luck!
I moved into an apartment once that had a smoker smell to it and I found a thing that you hang in the closet that pulled the odor out. It was a solid gel thing that came with a hanger. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I found it, but you may want to look at places like Bed, Bath, and Beyond (or online).
Like someone else said though...put costs for updates into the contract. You are probably going to have to do a lot of work to get rid of the smell. And, plan on getting rid of the curtains. I dated a smoker once and all of the curtains in his house were yellowed because of the nicotine.
All in all, I personally don't think I could buy a smoker's house. I dated that smoker in my early 20's, but I don't even want to be friends with smoker's anymore. It's just too much.
-L.
I have heard that you have to paint everything and replace carpet to get rid of the smell.
I agree with the others about a smoked out house being a deal breaker for me. We too liked a house that was smoked in, and I'm so glad we waited and found something else, because I would never want to risk not being able to get rid of the smell, and possibly putting my kid's health at risk due to the smoke residue. IF you decide to go with this house, I agree that you need a pretty hefty cleaning allowance, as this could include new carpet and padding, new paint, new filters and air duct cleaning or more. BUT, the best thing would be to have the current owner do all these things for you so you can see if you're satisfied before closing the deal- that may be difficult to get them to agree on though. Good luck!
I have had good luck getting terrible odors from things with Shaklee AirSource. It is a house air purifying unit that has removed cigarette smoke from our clothes after a night out with smokers. The unit is always plugged in upstairs and the clothes sitting in the laundry room waiting to be washed downstairs had no odor the next morning. www.shaklee.net
I would HIGHLY suggest you have your air ducts cleaned. It is amazing how much odor is hidden in the air ducts. Heavy smoker smell is hard, especially if there is carpet. Usually cleaning isn't enough I'm sorry to say. The tar and smell get all the way down to the padding in the carpet. Contact carpet cleaning companies that specialize in smoke odor removal.
Good luck!!
If you can paint use a product called Kilz first. If it is in carpet you may need to have them professionally cleaned.
GL
I know when my daughter was apt hunting they said they have to do some kind of ozone something when people smoke in apts to rid the smoke smell completely. Maybe call an apt complex to see what they do...they said you would never know it was a smokers apt when they do whatever it is...
While I'm reading your request, my house cleaner is cleaning my home. I just asked her what she suggests, and if there is anything that does a good job. She said what she does in these situations is while she's cleaning, she'll put in her air purifier, and leave the purifier at the house. Within 48 hours, she said you would never know someone smoked. She's happy to take any call from you, and answer any questions. Lady is Laurie Aylor with Your New Best Friend Cleaning Service. # is ###-###-#### and simple web page is www.bestfriendcleaning.com.
It would be a deal breaker for me, too.
I agree with the Kiltz product (you can get it at home depot), my husband does remodeling work and he had a house where one room was dedicated to the smokers and when they got ready to sell he painted the "yellow(from the smoke)" room with Kiltz, they had hardwood floors so not sure how you would get the smell out of the carpet.
When we bought a smokers house all we did was clean all the walls and woodwork with a cleaning product called TSP. Just follow the directions. That made the biggest difference.
