Introducing myself plus some questions about removing stale cigarette smell :)

[Mistress_of_Design]

Hiya!

I've been reading page after page on here for a week now. I placed an order for a 510 kit plus juice today so hopefully it'll be here next week. I'm eager to give it a go, but I'm giving myself until August to kick the analogs.

If I am successful, I would love to do a huge spring clean. Does anyone have advice on how to "de-stink" a house? In particular the basement which is the less formal, more relaxed hang out where I'm allowed to ... away to my hearts content.

I can wash all the curtains and drapes. I'll wash down the walls and floors as well but I'm not sure that vinegar will cut through the icky stuff. The exposed ceiling (upstairs floorboards) is more than likely impregnated with 5 years of smoking, and the sofa is gonna be a pain in the rear to freshen as the covers are fixed. *sighs* So yeah...

Anyone want to throw some tips my way? I'm a pack a day smoker, and I know I'm the main cause of the stink. The reason I'm switching to e-cigs is because even *I* can't stand this smell any more.

 

[gep]

THere's a fabric freshener in the states called Febreeze that should get the smell out of the fabric of the sofa. Don't know if there's anything similar where you are.


Don't know what kind of wood you have but if it's sealed you might want to use some type of wood soap. (We have one called "Murphy's Wood Soap" here.) That's gonna be tough.

Try doing what you've planned to do and then see if it doesn't improve the odor. I don't know if I'd go to all the trouble of cleaning the wood, but that's me.

Good luck!

 

[Mistress_of_Design]

Yeah, we've got Febreeze here, I use this stuff a lot already and I can still smell it deep in the fabric. I also spray the place daily with an odor eliminator but it does little to help when the room gets shut up for the night.

The wood for the ceilings (the floor? Depends what side you're on lol) from underneath isn't sealed. Polished floorboards on top, just the rafters underneath. I have a sneaking suspision this is the area that is going to bug me the most *if* the smell still lingers after I've done the rest of the place.

The stale smell is driving me batty, so I've started cleaning some things already. The drapes are on the line as we speak and won't be going back up until I've kicked the analogs. This was a huge wakeup call...
I put two sets in the laundry tub to soak and they ran the most VILE shade of "tea" for a full ten minutes. Ugh... just... ugh! That crap is everywhere- MUST CLEAN! And to think... that is in my lungs as well! NASTY!!!

I guess if I do kick the analogs... maybe I could bat my eyelashes and beg for new furniture and a fresh coat of paint.

 

[Bunni]

Thankfully I only smoked in one room of my house.

To clean painted walls (mine are white) I use 1 gallon of warm water, ½ cup ammonia, ¼ cup white vinegar and ¼ cup baking soda. Combine all the ingredients into a bucket, I put it in a spray bottle now, and use it a section at a time on the walls, washing from the bottom up. This is to avoid dirty streaks. I used to use it from the bucket, which is a bit messier. put something down on the floor to protect it if you choose the bucket. I use towels to clean with, sponges don't work very well. You'll have to rinse them out often.

The other thing that I had been told that works well is scrubbing bubbles bathroom cleaner...I tried that, and it works no better than my mixture. Mine is cheaper too!

Good luck

 

[Mistress_of_Design]

Technically I only smoke in one room too, it just happens to be the same size as the house.
I'm not allowed to smoke anywhere upstairs unless I'm outside and even then I get grief about it if I'm standing too close to a door or open window.

Your cleaning method is similar to mine. Why use commercial brands when the tried and true methods work just as well and cost so much less. I go through so much vinegar every week it isn't even funny. I hadn't thought of baking soda for the walls, I usually only use that in the kitchen/bathroom, thanks for the tip!

I'm now thinking whether a high pressure hose would be a good idea... the walls are concrete/brick not plaster... hmmm... >.> ummm, scrub first, big toys later!

I am hoping, wishing and praying I can jump on the e-cig bandwagon without any big hiccups. I understand there will be teething problems, but I long to get off these godawful "stink sticks".

Sod the health benefits, if I'm honest I just want my place to smell nicer.

 

[blackbug]

Sod the health benefits, if I'm honest I just want my place to smell nicer.

That's one of the biggest benefits I like. I think I'm saving a fortune on laundry too.

 

[CZEdwards]

Ozium. It'll take smoke out of anything. I used it on my car (9 years old, come november, and both my partner and I smoked in it -- me cigs, he pipe or cigar) and while it doesn't have New Car Odor, it does have no odor. Febreze laughed weakly and died in the face of the 9 year stench.
Ozium - Air Sanitizer, Air purifier and Air deodorizer (It will also handle the smell of very sick dog crap, according to a friend with such creatures.) It comes in 4 different scents, but the original isn't offensive.

When you wash everything down with vinegar and water, add a few drops of orange or lemon oil to your rinse water (health food stores carry it; so do aromatherapy shops.) Lime and grapefruit work, too.

Get the big bottle of ozium -- the 14 oz aerosol can is a good start. Once you've washed everything down, cleaned the textiles as best as possible, send everybody else away. Close all the windows and doors. Figure the approximate volume of your rooms -- you want to spray 1 second's worth for every 10 cubic feet or 3 cubic meters. So a room that's 9 feet by 9 feet with 8 foot ceilings would be about 64 seconds of spray -- or 1 minute. Yes, you'll use a lot. You don't have to be precise, just rough estimate.

Let the house sit closed for a couple hours -- and you get out, too, after you've sprayed. Ozium isn't harmful -- it's actually based on our good friend, propylene glycol -- but it can be irritating. Go see a movie.

The company also makes metered dispensers -- they might be worth a look for you if one big treatment doesn't work to suit you.