As a landlord, you want to attract the greatest tenants possible by keeping your property in excellent condition. You have new appliances, beautiful landscaping, and bright windows that make prospective tenants want to sign the lease right away.
But what’s that odor? When a cigarette odor lingers throughout your rental home, it can turn off potentially terrific tenants.
Don’t worry—there are several ways to get rid of the odor so your property doesn’t continue to serve as an ashtray. Deodormaster is a professional cigarette smoke odor removal company in Nashville, TN.
Before making a final decision, make sure you know all of the best ways to get rid of that awful smell, whether you go the DIY path or hire professional cleaning services. Your lingering nightmare may be less difficult to overcome than you expected.
We’ve gathered some of the most effective methods for eradicating smoke odor from your house; explore the alternatives below to eliminate that stink before prospective tenants arrive.
Purify the Air
The first step in eradicating the smokey smell from your apartment or house, according to Realtor.com, is to enhance air circulation across the entire property. Begin by opening all of the windows and doors to create a cross breeze that will draw the unclean air out. You can also speed up the process by using an air filter and a dehumidifier.
It’s never a bad idea to combine deodorizing and air refreshing treatments. According to SFGate, you can neutralize scents by placing bowls of white vinegar or ammonia in foul areas and boiling orange or lemon peels to lend an added scent of freshness. You can also boil lemon or orange peels to help eliminate the stench.
Ensure that the ceiling and walls are clean.
Scrub ceilings and walls with a strong cleaning solution to remove surface odors. SFGate offers several solution techniques, including an ammonia and water combo.
Option 1 consists of ammonia and water. Try rubbing down the walls with 2 tablespoons of ammonia and 2 cups of water.
Option number two is vinegar and water. SFGate also suggests using vinegar to clean your walls and ceilings. To remove both odors and stains, combine one part vinegar to one part water and apply directly to the affected area.
Vacuum the Carpet
It’s now time to deal with the carpets. This can be one of the most difficult components of clearing up cigarette smoke because previous renters may have dumped ashes on the ground, adding to the odor.
Howtocleanstuff.net offers an effective deodorizing process. Begin by distributing a thin, equal layer of baking soda over the entire area. Allow it to sit on the carpet for several hours, if possible overnight, to help neutralize odors. Then vacuum to reveal clean carpets. This approach is suitable for most carpet kinds.
When your home-remedy attempts are insufficient, it is time to call in the specialists. Hire a carpet cleaning service if the odor is particularly strong. Carpet cleaning processes vary greatly, including steam cleaning and dry-cleaning treatments. The optimal approach may differ depending on the carpet’s substance.
If you still can’t get rid of the stench, it may be time to replace the carpets entirely. While this solution will be more expensive at first, it will save you time and money in the long term because tenants will enjoy the makeover and your clean property will attract excellent renters.
Clean your hard floors.
Cleaning methods for wood flooring varied slightly across apartments and houses. To clean wood floors, use a neutral-pH soap with warm water and mop the entire surface. Allow it to dry naturally.
To remove any leftover odors from laminate floors, return to that handy water and vinegar mixture. If you have no-wax flooring, you may restore shine to dull floors with a polish designed exclusively for no-wax vinyl.
Tiled and grouted floors can be more difficult to clean since there are more nooks and crannies for the odor to hide in. While cleaning it with vinegar and baking soda is a popular DIY treatment, it’s vital not to do so. Vinegar can erode grout and ruin your flooring in the long run. Instead, mop the floor with an ammonia mixture.
Clean Windows and Window Décor
Once you’ve coated all of your property’s major surfaces, it’s time to fine-tune your procedure. After all, the devil is in the details. Wipe off all window sills, corners, and curtain rods in the case of windows. When there is a breeze, smoke might settle in these places.
The worst offenders, though, are the window coverings. Launder drapes and curtains in hot water with regular laundry detergent and 1 cup white vinegar. However, because vinegar is naturally bleaching, add it soon before putting the draperies in the washing machine. If you want some crazy tie-dye curtains, never leave them in vinegar. Check to see if the draperies need to be dry-cleaned before beginning this process.
If your property has blinds, remove them and soak them in a bathtub filled with warm water and vinegar. Allow them to air dry.
Cabinets and drawers should be cleaned.
If you’re serious about eliminating the cigarette odor from your home, don’t forget to clean all of the cabinets and drawers. Wipe off all hard surfaces with a soft, lint-free cloth and a vinegar solution. Make careful to clean the insides of drawers as well—you don’t want a renter opening their cabinets and being greeted by a fog of smoke.
Allow all drawers to dry overnight to allow the odor to dissipate naturally. Place bowls of dry coffee grinds or a split lemon in particularly foul areas to assist absorb tenacious odors to help speed up the process.
Avoiding the Smell of Smoke: Attracting the Right Tenants
Attracting the correct tenants is critical to running a profitable rental property and collecting on your investment. However, when the odor of cigarette smoke threatens to turn away qualified renters, you realize it’s time to take care of business.
If you do not remove the stench before a new tenant moves in, they may request that you do it before they move in. To avoid your home being unoccupied for months at a time, take some proactive measures before bringing on a new renter to avoid any disagreements or costly renovations.
Include whether smoking is permitted in any area of the property in the lease. Make specifics—for example, if the driveway is a designated smoking place but any indoor usage is prohibited, make those regulations explicit. Consistent smoke exposure can be quite detrimental to your apartment or property, so make sure to include a severe consequence for violating the smoking limits. Regular property inspections can be an excellent approach to uncover tenant smoking issues before they escalate. Also, make sure to verify with your Homeowner Association (HOA) about any smoking restrictions in your rental property’s community.
If you absolutely prohibit smoking in your rental home, make that clear in your rental agreement and make sure the tenant is informed. The consequences for failing to meet your expectations should be specified in the rental agreement, all the way down to eviction if required. When meeting a potential renter, always ask for references so you can verify previous renter and interest conduct. Ask queries such as, “Is this person a smoker?” Do they follow the rules of the property? Did they leave the place clean and odor-free? Checking your sources twice will help you find tenants who will make your job easier.
Conclusion
Once you’ve found a renter who’s interested in your property, take the time to carefully and thoroughly screen them so you don’t end up with people who don’t follow your policies. Consider including your smoking regulations in your rental post so you can start weeding out unqualified applications right away.
Landlords can utilize SmartMove, an online tenant screening tool for amazing reports, great convenience, and fantastic tenants, to deep clean their applicant list. SmartMove provides landlords with a tenant credit report, criminal background check, eviction history check, Income Insights, and a credit-based ResidentScore in minutes.
With good screening techniques, you can prevent applicants who may have a smoking proclivity and save yourself the trouble of eradicating cigarette odors.