Ways to get smoke related smells and gunk out of house

[RubyMountainFever]

Hi all,

Any tips or tricks for getting the analog cig smell and residue out of a house once quitting ?

Via my line of work ( renovation and painting ) I know to wash all walls before painting with TSP, I know to wash all floors with bleach and pine oil, I know to use ammonia for windows and rinse with clear water ...
I know to just throw the damn ashtrays out !!

.... but I fail to know what to do with furniture and cloth curtains and beds and related .... etc.


Any hints ???


Many Regards,
RMF

 

[FulciLives]

What is this TSP you speak of?

 

[Serpent67]

Ozium for smell and scrub a dub dub, like you say before for rest.

Only way to get tar off is washing.

 

[hairball]

I had a carpet cleaner come in and clean all of my furniture and mattresses.

 

[RubyMountainFever]

FulciLives - Trisodium phosphate (TSP, blue/white milk container packaging ) ... granules like course salt. mix well with enough warm water.... wash... .... wipe .. rinse well with sponge and clear water

Can be had at any hardware store in the painting section or on any paint store

Regards,
RMF

 

[FulciLives]

I live in an apartment and there will be no painting going on so is TP only if you are going to paint the walls fresh or is it still good to use just for cleaning the walls? I looked it up and it sounds like it should only be used on walls (with paint) if you plan on painting over them (which I'm not doing).

I don't know what kind of paint is on my walls.

 

[brandontrjn]

One option is an ozone generator. They can be rented from a local equipment rental facility. You will have to leave the house for 24 hours but when you come back no more smell. In fact pretty much every bad smell will be gone. They are about $150 to rent for 24 hours. Info is here

 

[CoffeeFairy]

I wound up using pet odor remover spray...cannot for the life of me remember the name of the stuff but I picked it up at WalMart, LOL. It worked great on the mattresses and furniture. Everything else I washed (kids toys and the good china included)...that is, until this past weekend when we were going through all of our old storage items. WHEW!!!!!!!!!BLECH!!! More washing is in order before I can even GIVE the stuff away.

For our drawers and good oak furniture I tucked bags of scented kitty litter in (made little bags out of scraps of old t-shirts and such tied off with rubber bands). It took a while but between that and good wipe-downs with a good furniture cleaner/conditioner those managed to start smelling like wood again instead of 30+ years of cigarettes.

The carpet is a total loss so we're planning on ripping it out and replacing it...then again we were going to do that anyway. 1970's ORANGE shag...stuff looks like a pumpkin threw up and it grew hair.

 

[charady]

Vinegar is good for getting the smell out of clothes. I am sure it would work great for walls too. We have a room that we use as storage and omg, it needs cleaned out, can smell the old stale smoke on all the stuff Yuck. Good luck! Oh, the vinegar could be put in a spray bottle and spray furniture/bedding/carpets/etc. Also, a lot of the store pet cleaners contain peroxide. Years ago I read online to get stains and pet smells out of fabric to saturate with a mixture of half peroxide half water. So you could try that too, peroxide is cheap!

 

[Nightman]

Febreeze is good, but maybe not for an entire living area. I know it works wonders in automobiles!

 

[Bozzlite]

Yes, I agree with trying the Febreeze. Never have used it, but the commercials .....make it look good.

 

[Blakd]

Steam clean the carpet, Fabreeze the furniture, light bleach and water mixture for the walls (maybe a cup per gallon and use a spray bottle) (will also get rid of mold as I was told once and it works without messing up the paint). and wash everything else.

 

[Vapoor eyes er]

Slowly going through my home and cleaning everything - tsp on the walls, ceilings, washing hardwood floors, Fabreeze, washing clothes, towels, sheets, etc from closets. After I'm done I will repaint the interior and then refinish the floors. Then call in a carpet cleaner and have area rugs cleaned. I'm in no rush and am doing it methodically. Never realized how much crap we had until this all started

 

[DaveP]

Ozium cleans the air and makes airborne particles drop to the floor. Vacuum the carpet and floors, have the cloth furniture and carpets cleaned professionally.

Febreeze does a great job of covering the odors until they finally subside. It's also a good idea, once the weather warms up a little, to open all the windows for an entire day and let the outside air sweep away any remaining odors. Do it before pollen starts up, though.

 

[murrajes]

Make sure to launder the curtains too. Then fabreeze the hell out of everything, everyday. Keep windows open and fans on as much as possible. Really though....it's going to take time. About a month.

 

[CoffeeFairy]

Just a note here for all of us pet parents - if you're going to use alot of spray applications, ESPECIALLY Febreeze (!!!!!) please, please make sure that any birds you have living with you aren't in the house. Have them outside for the day or send them over for some babysitting. From what I understand 24 hours at least is best but with the weather as it is it might have to be shorter. This goes double for any avians who've already been exposed to cigarette smoke for most or all of their lives - our little feathered buddies are especially susceptible to inhalants and I personally lost one of mine this way (first moved back in with my mother after my father passed on and she was a little overzealous with the bathroom cleaning).

 

[Dougiestyle]

Charcoal. Separate a bag of kingsford into some mesh bags or use the cut-up t-shirt method. Place these bags behind the furnace filter. Helps clean the air. Also, if you can stage small bags of charcoal in strategic places around the most affected areas it's good for around the house. Keep some in the wastebasket between the bag and container. It can be used in the bottom of your laundry basket. There are lots of useful places to put charcoal besides the BBQ grill.

Use some lemon juice in the laundry for drapery and linens.

 

[RubyMountainFever]

FulciLives - Repainting after using TSP is not required, it's ok to use it just as a cleaner
.. it's just common to use TSP before repainting is all, in that case it is "prep" work in my world.

You can look at TSP as a household degreaser/cleaner
Like Borax used to be

Just be sure to rinse well with just water after use
and don't let your TSP solution ( after mixing it with water ) sit in any puddle form for too long ... it cleans very well but can become a stripping agent if not rinsed right after using it.

EG ... will make cigarette and cooking buildup on walls run ( disgusting ) but then keep on the job and wipe and rinse right after. On the other hand, will peal paint or other finishes if left in puddle form on a surface ( floors,countertop etc )


Hope this helps


Regards,
RMF

 

[swedishfish]

I used Febreeze by the gallon when I smoked. I don't think it fooled anyone. Now though when I'm not adding smoke to it, it's nice!

I painted practically every room. Had the curtains cleans, rugs cleaned, car detailed. It was a lot of work. Every once in awhile I think I still smell a whiff of it. I think my nose is in overdrive.

 

[RubyMountainFever]

Just thought of another one that I used for years in another industry.

It's called Simple Green .. used it as a basic all purpose de-greaser and cleaner ... no gloves required, gentle but works well.
Walls,windows etc.

doesn't apply to carpets and couches but might work well for curtains and bed coverings also as I think it can be used in the wash also.

Not to be confused with Mean Green .... that is almost overkill as fare as aggressive.... in this instance anyhow.


Thanks to all for the library of ideas !!!

Regards,
RMF