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Home > Archive > Home Repair forum > April 2006 > Eliminating Cigarette Smell in a House?
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Eliminating Cigarette Smell in a House?
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| Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
Thanks!
Cindy
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| PipeDown 2006-04-03, 6:21 pm |
| Assuming no furniture, Try washing all the hard surfaces and shampooing the
rug first, then wash or change the curtains, if it still smells, air out for
a week then paint if all else fails. It will eventually fade but that could
take months.
"Cindy" <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:154095032.00006004.093.0001@drn.newsguy.com...
> Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
> cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Cindy
>
>
> --
> Carry Forward Bandwidth! Included In All NewsGuy Accounts!
> Don't lose what you don't use! - http://newsguy.com/overview.htm
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| Doug Kanter 2006-04-03, 6:21 pm |
| "Cindy" <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:154095032.00006004.093.0001@drn.newsguy.com...
> Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
> cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Cindy
You didn't mention whether you were talking about carpets, or just hard
surfaces. If carpets, I'd hire a professional service to clean them. They
can take a while to dry, so it's best done when the heat's running
regularly, or when you can open the windows on a dry day.
For hard surfaces, you may have to do some scrubbing. Smoke sticks to walls,
and seems to become almost resinous. A neighbor of mine moved into a house
previously owned by a smoker, and before he could get paint to adhere
correctly, he had to scrub the hell out of the walls. At the time, there was
a product called TSP, made for this type of thing. It was high in
phosphates, which are now banned in some (maybe all?) states. If I recall,
some people in this newsgroup have commented that the product might not be
as effective as it used to be.
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| bambam@nospam.tnx 2006-04-03, 8:21 pm |
| On 3 Apr 2006 13:10:33 -0700, Cindy <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote:
>Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
>cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
>
>Thanks!
>
>Cindy
Get rid of everything "soft' that you can. Carpets, drapes, etc.
If the carpet is too good to tear out, then have it professionally
wet cleaned.
Wash walls and flat ceilings with tsp and repaint.
Consider using a steamer to loosen up caked on nicotine.
Repaint textured ceilings.
Ken
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| hallerb@aol.com 2006-04-03, 8:21 pm |
| Toss all the soft stuff including carpeting etc, scrub everything.
PAINT EVERYTHING with Bin or KILZ to seal in the odor, then paint
everything with regular paint.
scrub floors if they are hardwood and going to be carpeted sand lightly
then outdoor polyurethane all the hardwood, or concrete or whatever
flooring thats paintable.
formula 409 works pretty good on hard surfaces like vinyl window
frames.
you will have to have the forced air heat ducts and furnace
professionally cleaned and deodorized.
this procedure is the same used for fire damaged homes or those with
urine odors.
sounds like lots of work, if you dont do it this way the odor will
reappear anytime the weather turns warm and moist.
It really doesnt remove the odor you cant as it permanetes eveything
like walls, what you must do is seal it in walls and stuff.
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| hallerb@aol.com 2006-04-03, 8:21 pm |
| if your despeate to keep the carpet, lift it all and take to a local
company that cleans carpet putting it thru a bath. big pricey project.
then replace padding the smell is in there too.
I have done this more than once YUK JOB, once for smoke oncce for
urine.
Both homes smell fine today you would never know it happened
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| Jim Elbrecht 2006-04-03, 9:21 pm |
| On 3 Apr 2006 13:10:33 -0700, Cindy <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote:
>Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
>cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
Flair ionozer by Ecoquest. Had a fire in my son's room- smoldering
mattress smell would gag you. My brother-in-law brought over his Flair
ionozer that he paid $350 for. 2 days later the room smelled like a
spring day.
Went to ebay & bought one for about $150.
These are *real* ionizers, not the toy [ionic breeze] that you see on
TV all the time. [another family member bought one of those to get rid
of ciggarette smell and it didn't work for her]
The literature says it will kill mold & mildew but I haven't had a
chance to test that.
Jim
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| cornytheclown@hotmail.com 2006-04-03, 11:21 pm |
| Get an old ...or new for about 35.00...oil burner transformer....take
wires from the two high voltage terminals and jam both leads into a
large ball of loosly crinkled aluminum foil....40.00 ozone generator
that does the same thing as an ionizer......it generates ozone which is
a disenfectant and deodorizer.
ozone is harmfull to breathe in large amounts so what you must do is a
room at a time...with a window open and the doors closed.
The oil burner transformer is a current limited device so jamming the
two high voltage leads into a wad of timfoil wont "short" the
transformer windings.
I wouldnt let it run more than an hour or so continuous though as it
will heat up and might begin breaking down the windings.....but you
could put it on a timer.....or run it while working in other parts of
the house.
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| georgie 2006-04-04, 2:21 pm |
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"Cindy" <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote in message
news:154095032.00006004.093.0001@drn.newsguy.com...
> Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
> cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
<snip>
Clean or replace drapes. Steam clean carpets. Spread plenty of baking soda
on carpets and let sit for a day or two to absorb smell. Gently wash walls.
Gently wash ceiling or paint. Let the room air out for a few days.
We washed the drapes, walls, and linens in a heavy smoker's bedroom. We
also spread a bunch of baking soda on the carpet and let it sit for a couple
days before vacuuming. After airing out the room for a few days, there was
no hint of smoke smell.
The biggest culprits were the drapes, which reeked, the carpet, which
smelled funky, and the linens, which just smelled smokey.
g
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| Goedjn 2006-04-04, 2:21 pm |
| On 3 Apr 2006 18:57:54 -0700, cornytheclown@hotmail.com wrote:
>Get an old ...or new for about 35.00...oil burner transformer....take
>wires from the two high voltage terminals and jam both leads into a
>large ball of loosly crinkled aluminum foil....40.00 ozone generator
>that does the same thing as an ionizer......it generates ozone which is
>a disenfectant and deodorizer.
>
>ozone is harmfull to breathe in large amounts so what you must do is a
>room at a time...with a window open and the doors closed.
>
>The oil burner transformer is a current limited device so jamming the
>two high voltage leads into a wad of timfoil wont "short" the
>transformer windings.
>
>I wouldnt let it run more than an hour or so continuous though as it
>will heat up and might begin breaking down the windings.....but you
>could put it on a timer.....or run it while working in other parts of
>the house.
jeeze, if you're gonna do that, you might as well build
a jacob's ladder and have some fun with it.
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| Doug Kanter 2006-04-04, 2:21 pm |
|
"georgie" <me@mycomputer.com> wrote in message
news:8hxYf.66467$dW3.46530@newssvr21.news.prodigy.com...
>
> "Cindy" <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote in message
> news:154095032.00006004.093.0001@drn.newsguy.com...
> <snip>
>
> Clean or replace drapes. Steam clean carpets. Spread plenty of baking
> soda on carpets and let sit for a day or two to absorb smell. Gently wash
> walls. Gently wash ceiling or paint. Let the room air out for a few days.
>
> We washed the drapes, walls, and linens in a heavy smoker's bedroom. We
> also spread a bunch of baking soda on the carpet and let it sit for a
> couple days before vacuuming. After airing out the room for a few days,
> there was no hint of smoke smell.
>
> The biggest culprits were the drapes, which reeked, the carpet, which
> smelled funky, and the linens, which just smelled smokey.
>
> g
>
Baking soda is amazing.
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| Phisherman 2006-04-04, 4:21 pm |
| On 3 Apr 2006 13:10:33 -0700, Cindy <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote:
>Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
>cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
>
>Thanks!
>
>Cindy
Tobacco odor can be very difficult to remove. There are ozone
generators that work well, but it is bet to run these units while the
house is vacant. Remove/replace carpeting, carpet padding and prime
(Kiltz)/paint all walls and ceilings.
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| Doug Kanter 2006-04-04, 5:21 pm |
|
"Phisherman" <noone@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:fsg5325k43rgb1bcjqutt228b6h26ttut0@4ax.com...
> On 3 Apr 2006 13:10:33 -0700, Cindy <cindy@newsguy.com> wrote:
>
>
> Tobacco odor can be very difficult to remove. There are ozone
> generators that work well, but it is bet to run these units while the
> house is vacant. Remove/replace carpeting, carpet padding and prime
> (Kiltz)/paint all walls and ceilings.
There are companies which specialize in cleaning up smoke damaged houses
other unusual horrors. The OP's fire department would certainly have
suggestions. If the job seems enormous, it might be worth hiring one of
these firms. Some of them work miracles.
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| BobK207 2006-04-04, 6:21 pm |
|
Cindy wrote:
> Any tips, hints or products someone could recommend to remove the smell of
> cigarette smoke from the home of ex-heavy smokers?
>
> Thanks!
>
> Cindy
>
>
> --
> Carry Forward Bandwidth! Included In All NewsGuy Accounts!
> Don't lose what you don't use! - http://newsguy.com/overview.htm
Cindy-
I'd put my money on Fabreze. The stuff really works
I accidently cremated two ham hocks while making split pea soup. I put
the pan on full high burner for about an hour (instead of turning it
off as I had intended)
When I returned to the house after a one hour walk, the house was
filled with thick smoke (actually just from the ceiling to about waist
height).
Took about an hour to empty the house with fans. The house reeked of a
sick, sweet burned smell............it was nasty!
I had the drapes cleaned, I wiped down the walls & floors (tile) w/
TSP a couple fo times
I sprayed Fabreze on all of the fabric items (carpet, furniture,
pillows, etc) that I didn't want to replace or pay to have cleaned.
The smoke really only got into about half the house (kitchen, family,
dining & living rooms)
I used several (many) bottles of the stuff but after a rew months the
smell was COMPLETELY gone (as was the reminder of my attempt to "burn
down the house")
I'm sold on the stuff, it really worked for me.
cheers
Bob
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