My allergies are terrible (everyone's are this spring) but they have gotten better since I quit smoking. Apparently cigarette smoke is one of the things I am allergic to.
I walked into my living room today and smelled stale smoke. Took about half an hour after I opened the windows for it to clear out. There hasn't been a cigarette in this apartment for over 16 months! I have been trying to get the humidity level in my apartment up a bit -- went from a Saharan 20% to 30% but that's still dry and it isn't 90 degrees. There's no reason for anything to be releasing stale smoke into the room.
I had that problem in my bedroom for a while after quiting smoking. All I can say is use lots and lots of vinegar. I cleaned every square inch of my house including light bulbs with vinegar and baking soda.
Place cups of vinegar around your house. It WILL absorb the odors!! I swear by it!!!!
Wash anything that can be put in the washer with a cup of vinegar.
Sprinkle baking soda on cloth couches or chairs and let sit for at least 24 hours before vacuuming.
I put vinegar water in an old humidifier and ran it in every room of my house for a day. I have 12 rooms, so it ran for 12 straight days.
I HATE the smell of vinegar, but it disappears fast, leaving your whole house fresh.
All stale cigarette smoke smell is GONE and never returned!!!!!
I forgot to mention, I also used Odoban that I bought from Sams Club. It is a commercial grade cleaner that smells fabulous and it gets rid of all stale odors.
