After years of smoking in a home, the walls and furnishings get discolored and emit terrible scents, necessitating professional cigarette smoke odor removal treatment. Learn more about removing tobacco residue and odors from your house in the sections below.
What is Cigarette Smoke?
Cigarette smoke residue is a yellowish-brown, sticky substance that adheres to every surface in a home, making cleanup difficult and time-consuming.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, when cigarettes, pipes, or cigars are smoked, the resulting environmental tobacco smoke (ETS), often known as “secondhand smoke,” is a complex mixture of over 7,000 chemicals, more than 40 of which are linked to cancer (EPA). Both smokers and non-smokers are affected by ETS, often known as “passive smoking.”
What effect does cigarette smoke have on your home?
Smoking not only has an effect on those who are exposed to it, but it also releases odorous compounds that adhere to every surface in the area where it was smoked. Smoking removes the yellowish-brown residue that adheres to walls, furniture, and plastics and can permanently alter their appearance. Cigarette smoke also permeates odor-absorbing materials including carpets, furniture, bedding, and clothing, among others.
Furthermore, a building’s HVAC system transports smoke odors and toxins throughout the structure. The afflicted surfaces will become unsightly, and the odors will likely bother many individuals. Long-term smoking in enclosed spaces has a comparable effect to a fire. Tobacco smoke compounds, on the other hand, are far more difficult to remove than those produced by a fire.
Tobacco residue is difficult to remove and necessitates the use of professional equipment and services. If you prefer to handle it yourself, here are some cigarette smoke odor removal tips.
Getting Rid of Cigarette Smoke Odor in Your Home
To get rid of cigarette smoke odor, clean the tobacco smoke residue from every surface and corner of the house:
- To begin, open all windows and doors as much as possible to allow as much fresh air in as possible.
- Air filters, furnace filters, and air conditioner filters should all be cleaned or replaced.
- Clean your walls and ceilings with products that contain ammonia and glycol, two odor-neutralizing components. Allow the walls to dry before checking to see if the odor is still present.
- If the cigarette stink persists after cleaning, use latex paint to repaint the walls and ceilings. Before painting, use an odor-controlling sealer.
- Floors, windows, carpets, furniture, upholstery, draperies, blinds, and other household surfaces, fixtures, and things should all be cleaned. If the cigarette smoke is too tough to eliminate, hire a professional smoke odor removal expert.
Cigarette Odor Elimination Options for The Short Term
Try these suggestions for low-cost short-term solutions:
- In your home, use an air purifier.
- Sprinkle baking soda on the carpets, let it sit overnight to absorb odors, then vacuum the following day.
- Place white vinegar saucers about the home and leave them overnight to neutralize the odor.
- Get some indoor plants that can absorb up to 87 percent of the toxins in your home.
- Place little coffee bowls about the house.
- Candles can be scented or unscented.
- Remove the peels from oranges and scatter them throughout the house.
- Close all doors and windows and place pineapple slices throughout the room for 24 hours.
- Place activated charcoal bowls throughout the house.
It takes a long time and a lot of effort to completely eliminate the cigarette smoke odor from your home. If the problem is complicated, contact Deodormaster, a professional smoke remediation company.