How Do You Eliminate the Smell of Cigarette Smoke?

Cigarette odor can be difficult to eliminate.

The odor of smoke from cigarettes, cigars and pipes is one of the most difficult smells to get rid of. Smoke attaches to nearly every surface in the home and lingers long after the smoker has quit or moved out. If you've recently stopped smoking or have moved into a new house in which the previous residents smoked, know that it may take some time and several different approaches before you're able to eliminate the cigarette smoke odor completely.

Things You'll Need

• White vinegar
• Ammonia
• Odor eliminator, like Febreze
• Baking soda
• Carpet cleaning machine

Instructions

1. Open all of the windows on a nice day to allow the house to thoroughly air out. Place small bowls filled with white vinegar or ammonia around the house to help absorb the odor, taking care to put them where they cannot be reached by pets or children. Spray all of the upholstery and curtains in the home with an odor-eliminating product such as Febreze, or a mixture consisting of 1 cup of vinegar for every 2 cups of warm water.

2. Sprinkle baking soda over all of the carpets in the house and allow it to sit overnight, then vacuum it up in the morning. If the odors still persist after doing this, rent a steam cleaner or carpet shampooing machine. Depending on how long the carpets were subjected to smoke, even steam cleaning or shampooing might not help, because the smoke may have penetrated all the way down to the padding underneath the carpet. If this is the case, the only way to completely get rid of the odor is to replace all of the carpets and padding.

3. Clean all hard floor surfaces. Mix 4 cups of white vinegar with 1 gallon of water and mop the floors with this solution. After mopping, dry the floors by wiping them down with clean towels. This will work on wood, linoleum and tile, but vinegar should not be used on stone floors.

4. Wash the walls and ceilings, which will likely be covered with a dingy film of smoke and nicotine if they haven't been cleaned in a long time. Mix 1 cup of plain ammonia with 1 gallon of water and use this mixture with a sponge to wipe down all of the walls and ceilings in the home. Open the windows while you do this so there will be plenty of ventilation and wear eye protection to be sure that no ammonia will drip into your eyes while you're washing above your head.

5. Repaint the walls and ceilings if washing with ammonia has not eliminated the smell. Prior to doing so, apply a coat of sealant that will prevent any lingering smoke odor from escaping through the new paint.

References

• "The Washington Post"; Smoke Gets in Your Eyes---and in the Carpet and the Curtains; Cheryl Kenny; March 2005
• "Good Housekeeping"; Heloise Hints--How to Remove Cigarette Smoke Odor
• Mrs. Clean House Cleaning Specialists: Removing Cigarette Odors