Do not allow the stale smell of tobacco smoke to infect the quality of air inside your home.
Removing tobacco smoke odors need persistence- the acidic smoke or smoke residues like tars and resins permeate the whole thing inside your home.
Removing Tobacco Smoke Odors: How Serious The Issues
The process of smoke smell removal in your home depends on how seriousness and strictness of contagion.
If your loved ones smoke inside for many years, restoration might need a more invasive method, like throwing things out or replacing the carpet and drywall.
If the space smells like ash or ashtray, consider disposing of items that do not have memorable value- there are instances that the overstuffed sofa is just smelly, and it will consume more of your time and money to restore it.
Tips and Tricks In Eliminating Smoke Odor
There are some simple but effective recommendations on how to remove cigarette scents from your home effectively.
You can eliminate the cigarette odor and bring back fresh air with only these tips or might need a mixture of many methods to eliminate the smell totally. So, let’s start!
1. Begin With Hard Surfaces
Start by opening your doors and all the windows to give proper ventilation while cleaning your house.
You can utilize a spray canister and a clean rag to clean hard surfaces using hot water and white vinegar solution.
You might also wash your ceiling and walls with a mix of ½ cup of baking soda, ¼ cup of white vinegar and 12 cups of ammonia, and hot water.
Make sure to clean all hard surfaces leaving no untouched. Clean doors, light fixtures, door knobs, walls, bulbs, fan blades, etc, where cigarette smoke stays.
Wipe photo frames, decors, and knickknacks as well. It is also helpful if you throw items like throw pillows and lampshades, which absorb the smell. If you have an extension pole, use it or a ladder to reach high areas.
2. Wash Fabrics
When done cleaning on hard surfaces, your next target is upholstery, carpet, and fabric, furniture too – starting with what things cannot dispose of in the washer.
3. Baking Soda
Sprinkle baking soda. Allow it to stay for a couple of days. This will absorb the smell and after a few days, use a vacuum cleaner to get rid of the baking soda.
If necessary, repeat the process. It is also advisable to steam clean your rugs and carpets. If a steam cleaner is not available, you rent or buy it at the nearest store.
If the steam cleaner you have purchased comes with attachments, you can utilize this in cleaning upholstered furniture and curtains or drapes.
Wash laundry-safe textiles (sofa cushion covers, curtains, and drapes) in the washing machine with ½ cup of white vinegar rather than the usual detergent.
When done, wash it again, this time using your favorite detergent. It is recommended to allow these household items to air dry on your patio or backyard to avoid contraction.
4. Air Circulation and Purification from Cigarette Smoke odor
If the weather is good, keep your doors and windows open, provided that it is practical.
Utilize an electric fan for good air circulation- if you have two electric fans, use it to blow air coming from outside on one corner of your living room and put another fan across your room, this will exhaust air outside.
You can also use an air purifier with HEPA filters. This can assist in removing smell-causing molecules. When the smell stays after the airing out of your room, you can put activated charcoal in a jar or white vinegar and place it inside the room.
5. Apple Cider
Apple cider vinegar also works; ensure to put the bowl of vinegar around your room to absorb odor.
Replace the vinegar or charcoal every couple of days. Lighting scented candles also work, but you have to be aware of some odor removal items out there that might only mask the odor rather than eliminate it.
It is also advisable to replace HVAC air filters. Air filters assist in eliminating odor-causing molecules, and they are excellent if they are replaced every 2 to 3 months.
It is also advisable to consult with AC or furnace unit company to look for a filter, which might assist with the removal of the product ( HEPA filters and charcoal filters are advisable).
6. Check Your Air Ducts
It is also vital to examine your air ducts for debris and dust, which might have smoke molecules; this might be polluting the air inside your room as it goes down the air ducts.
When there is a build-up of dust or debris in the air ducts, it is advisable to hire an expert to clean your air ducts.
7. Light Bulbs and Air Filters
Changing the light bulbs is also effective. Working the same as scent diffusers, light bulbs might dissolve nicotine residue all through the area the same way if they switch on. The reason why they can help eliminate odors is that they give off trace amounts of Ozone. Although light bulbs and electronics produce it in very minuscule amounts, ozone has been used to fight household odors for a very long time.
Heating and air filters are likely to spread smoke smells and residuals in your living area. Make sure to replace them from time to time.
8. Coffee Grounds
Coffee not just wakes us up in the morning but also assists in reducing smoke. Try filling several coffee filters with fresh grounds putting them in the area, and leaving them for a couple of days.
9. Ozone Generators
When smoke odor stays after you have done the steps mentioned, ozone generators are the best option.
An ozone generator is a very powerful cleaner and is also efficient at getting rid of odors. This creates activated oxygen. Oxidizing the smoke molecules can get rid of the lingering odors entirely. You can lease or buy ozone generators from the hardware store nearby.
It is required that you only use an Ozone Generator while there is nobody occupying the space you are trying to clean it. Think of it like if you were trying to Fog your house for insects, you wouldn’t want yourself or your pets in the house while this treatment was being done. Please read this information provided by the New York State Department of Health on Ozone Generators.
Conclusion
For a lot of us, the smoke smell is what warrants instant attention, and so Do It Yourself approaches shown in this guide are a good first line of defense to eliminate the noxious smell of smoke.
However, if you are more concerned with indoor pollution and long-term health, air purifiers like Ionic Air Purifier may be a good way to go.
Despite this, the most excellent and most effective way to get rid of the effects of cigarette smoke’s second and third-hand effects is to limit, if not completely eliminate, your exposure to cigarette smoke.