How to Remove Cigarette Odor

Cigarette odor is unpleasant at best and at worst it causes physical discomfort and illness. Unfortunately, the residue odor of cigarettes is hard to eliminate. The odor is so pervasive because it is transmitted by smoke, which travels everywhere and permeates everything from carpet to the kitchen sponge. Fortunately, with a little perseverance and creativity getting rid of the smell is possible.

Things You'll Need

• Baking soda
• Citrus peels
• Vinegar

Instructions

1. Remove the smoker and his cigarettes from the space. This may seem like a no-brainer, but smokers don't always recognize the odor or the extent of the odor they are introducing into a space. You may have to be blunt to make a smoker understand that he is the source of the odor and that in order to get rid of the order, he or at least his smoke, must go.

2. Clean the residue left by cigarette smoke from all surfaces. Clean obvious surfaces such as counters, floors, carpets, drapes, furniture, floor mats and upholstery, but do not overlook the rest of the surfaces such as walls, glass doors, windows, windshields, knick-knacks, pillows, light fixtures and light bulbs.

3. Clean the air in the target space by opening all the windows and letting fresh air circulate through the space and by changing the air filters used in the space. Include home air conditioner filters, the filters used in any air purifiers in the space and any vacuum cleaner bags. Odor trapped within a filter redistributes through the space if you continue to use one that is contaminated.

4. Check your clothing for odor. Clean all clothing that smells like smoke so they don't reintroduce the smoky odor.

5. Introduce an odor eliminator into the cleaned area. Sprinkle baking soda on carpets, drapes and furniture. Let it sit for at least an hour-24 hours is better. Leave open boxes of baking soda in various parts of the target space. Citrus peels absorb odor when left lying out in the open and when boiled in an open pot. Leave vinegar out uncovered in a bowl for one to three days to give it adequate time to break down and absorb odor.

6. Repeat the above steps a few days after the first cleaning and deodorizing to catch and eliminate any remaining residue left by oversight or lingering smoke.

Tips & Warnings

• Clean all of the light bulbs in the smoky area. The heat generated by lightbulbs intensifies the odor associated with any residue on the bulb's surface. Another option is to replace the bulbs or you risk recontamination in a cleaned area with the odor every time you turn on the lights.