Get Cigarette Smell Out of Your House

Get Cigarette Smell Out of Your House

Set up Airflow:  The first step to get cigarette smell out of your house is to open the windows to any room that has been smoked in.  Using portable fans, set them up in such a way that they suck in fresh outside air from one side of the house and blow it toward the other side of the house where it will be blown out by another fan. You want fresh air constantly circling through the house while you work.

Wet Vac Carpets:  Now that the house has fresh air circling through it, you will need to use the "Wet" vacuum/Steam cleaner to thoroughly clean the carpets in each room that has been smoked in. (If your steam cleaning unit has a furniture/curtain attachment, use it to clean any couches in the rooms.

Wipe Surfaces:  Next step to get cigarette smell out of your house is to clean the walls and any hard surfaces in the soiled rooms:  Mix a teaspoon of the laundry detergent with a cup of water and soak a towel with the mixture.  Use this towel to gently wipe down the walls and any hard non-porous surfaces in the room.  Wooden furniture should be wiped down with wood oriented cleaner such as Pledge or orange oil. Use another towel dampened with water to remove any detergent from the surfaces when you are done.

Clean any Fabrics: If the rooms are bedrooms, be sure to wash any blankets, comforters, pillowcases... any fabrics that have been exposed to the smoke will have absorbed odors and will begin to stink the room up again given the chance.

Let dry: Once the rooms have been wet vacuumed/steam cleaned and wiped down, allow them to dry for as long as possible (at least 3 hours) with the fans on, windows open, and the airflow running through the house.

Use the HEATER: When the floors are fairly dry, close all the windows to the house, turn off the fans, and turn the HEATER on as high as it will go.  A few hours (overnight even better) with the heater on will cause residual cigarette smell to begin to creep out of the fabric and walls and soon the rooms will heavily reek of smoke again.

Airflow and Carpet Cleaning: When you return, open the windows and set the fans up to maximize the fresh airflow again.  After allowing the house to air out for a few hours, repeat the carpet cleaning and Heater steps.

Repeat: Repeat as needed until the smoke smell is very faint during the Heater stage. Each repetition will markedly decrease the amount of cigarette smoke detectable during the Heater stage.  When the smoke smell is relatively undetectable during the Heater stage, you are done.  Typically these methods will get cigarette smell out of your house completely in 3 to 7 days.

Other tips:

• Look for areas of resin discoloration.  Furniture or electronics near ashtrays or exposed to smoke for a long time will probably have hidden areas of resin buildup.  Be sure to wipe away any resin as it contributes to the smell.
• The longer you can let the airflow and heater run, the better it will get cigarette smell out of your house.