IN THIS POST
– Improving cross-ventilation
– Cleaning walls and floors
– Washing the curtains
– Cleaning the upholstery
– Freshening up the air
The stale smell of cigarettes lingering in the air is not only unpleasant and irritating but also dangerous for your health. While most smokers may not realize this, the odour of cigarette smoke can cling to the walls, furniture, carpet, upholstery, clothes and even the hair of those around them. To put it simply, it is not easy to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell once it settles inside your home. The same goes for your car.
Of course, cracking the window open is the fastest way to get rid of cigarette smell. However, even doing that won’t help once the repugnant odour has penetrated into everything inside your home.
Even if a smoker moves to another home, they will most likely leave behind the remnants of cigarette smell. Others touring the property may find this unappealing. In fact, this unpleasant odour can have a negative impact on the overall value of the property.
Fortunately, eliminating smoke odour is not a lost cause. If your home smells like an ashtray all the time, our tips on how to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell will definitely help you out.
How to Remove Smoke Smell from Your House
This is how you can get rid of the cigarette smoke smell in your home.
- Improve cross-ventilation
- Clean walls and floors
- Wash the curtains
- Clean the upholstery
- Freshen up the air
Let’s find out how these ideas will help you get cigarette smell out of your house.
Improve cross-ventilation
This is one of the most basic tips for smoke odour removal. All you need to do is open all the windows and doors to let out the stale smoke remnants and replace it with fresh air. As mentioned earlier, this won’t help you get rid of the cigarette smoke smell for good. However, it will definitely improve the atmosphere of your home.
Depending on the layout of your home, it is recommended to open doors or windows on the opposite side of the rooms for cross-ventilation. You can even turn on the fan to help remove the pungent indoor air and let the fresh in.
Clean the walls and floors
Cigarette smoke odour can penetrate walls, ceilings, and even floors. If the smell persists despite cross-ventilating the room, you may have to bring out the big guns and kill the annoying smell with a mixture of water and ammonia.
You can mix a cup of ammonia into a gallon of water and spray the cleaning solution on an inconspicuous portion of the wall. This will help you determine if your paint or wallpaper will be able to withstand it. If you don’t notice any discolouration in the next 24 hours, spray the ammonia mixture on to the walls before wiping them clean with a microfiber cloth. You can also use this mixture to remove stale tobacco smell from the ceilings and floors. In fact, it can also be used to get rid of cigarette smell in your car, though you must do a patch test first to ensure the ammonia doesn’t end up damaging the seats or other fixtures.
Don’t forget to wear gloves while handling any chemical cleaners.
Once you’ve cleaned the walls and floors with the ammonia mixture, open all the doors and windows to get rid of the strong chemical smell. For faster results, rub baking powder on the areas that you’ve cleaned with ammonia. If that’s not possible, simply leave an open box of baking soda in the room overnight so it can absorb the odour.
Just in case you can’t find ammonia, you can scrub down the walls and floors with a mixture of warm water and vinegar. However, make sure that you don’t end up ruining the paint on your wall or the texture of your floors by doing so.
Wash the curtains
No amount of vacuuming will make your curtains smell fresh if the smoke odour has also penetrated the fabric.
The best way to get rid of smoke smell in clothes is by washing them in a solution of water and white vinegar – one of the best cleaning agents present in every pantry. Just mix two cups of vinegar into a gallon of water and thoroughly rinse your curtains to remove any lingering tobacco odour while simultaneously making them look cleaner and brighter.
You can use this solution to wash slip-on cushion covers, bed covers, towels, comforters and even your regular clothes. If you find the smell of vinegar a little unpleasant, rinse all of the clothes in clean water before putting them out to air dry.
Clean the upholstery
While you can use vinegar to remove smoke odour, clean furniture upholstery with baking soda is a wiser choice as it will be easier to clean the residue with a vacuum cleaner.
Baking soda is a great household item that can absorb all kinds of odours to make your place smell clean and fresh. It can significantly reduce the smell of cigarette smoke that may have settled into your couch and other furniture.
The first step to clean the upholstery furniture is to air it out. If possible, remove the cushions from your sofa and prop them against your balcony wall or keep them on your roof for a few hours to get rid of any smell. Meanwhile, wash the cushion covers with water and vinegar.
In case you cannot remove the covers off your couch, move on to the next step and sprinkle some baking soda over the fabric. Let it sit for a few hours before sucking away the residue using a vacuum cleaner. You may have to repeat this process twice if the smell of the smoke persists. Baking powder can also be used to clean car seats and carpets.
If this doesn’t work, you can consider deep cleaning the upholstery using commercial odour neutralizers and fresheners. Hiring a professional to steam clean your couch and chairs will also effectively get rid of the cigarette smoke smell.
Meanwhile, here are some more DIY tips to clean upholstery furniture that might come in handy.
Freshen up the indoor air
Last but not least, you can get rid of the cigarette smell in your apartment or house using the following methods:
- Leave a few small bowls of activated charcoal in each room to absorb the smoke smell overnight. Keep replacing the old charcoal with a new batch until the smell is completely gone
- Place small bowls of baking soda or vinegar in every room or in your car to remove smoke smell from your house
- Coffee is the best deodorizer for cigarette smoke. Along with taking away the bad smells, the strong aroma of coffee also helps overpowering other odours in the room. You can just place coffee grounds in small bowls around your home and leave them overnight to freshen up the indoor air
- Take an apple and cut it in two halves. Leave them overnight in the room that smells of cigarette smoke and remove them in the morning. Not only will the apple get rid of the smoke odour, but will also leave your place smelling like apples
So, which of these tips to get rid of the cigarette smoke smell did you find to be most useful? You can let us know your thoughts and comments by dropping an email on blog@zameen.com.
On a side note, if you are planning to change the colour palette of your home in the near future, make sure to check out our budget-friendly DIY hacks to remove paint fumes. Moreover, you might also find our guide on how to reduce air pollution in your home useful.
To learn more about eliminating smoke odour from your home, stay connected to Zameen Blog – the top lifestyle and property blog in Pakistan. You can also subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest updates about the real estate sector right in your inbox.
