How Do You Remove Cigarette Smoke Smell from a House?

Cigarette smoke residue is a yellowish-brown, gluey substance that sticks to every surface in a home, making it difficult and time-consuming to remove. In order to completely eliminate cigarette smoke odor, you must thoroughly clean the tobacco smoke residue from every surface and every nook and cranny in the home.

First, allow fresh air to enter your home and then start systematically cleaning everything in the home. As a temporary solution, try using baking soda to absorb smells from the carpets and upholstery and place bowls of white vinegar, coffee or activated charcoal around the house.

However, the best way to get rid of tobacco odor is to clean your home:

• Open all windows and doors to let as much fresh air in as possible.
• Clean or replace the air filters, furnace filters and AC filters.
• Clean walls and ceilings using products with ammonia and glycol – two ingredients that neutralize bad odors. Let the walls dry and check if the odor persists.
• If you can still sense cigarette odor after cleaning, repaint the walls and ceilings with latex paint. Use a sealant designed to lock in odors before painting.
• Clean everything in the home: floors, windows, carpets, furniture, upholstery, draperies, blinds and other household surfaces, fixtures and items. Hire a professional cleaning company if the tobacco smoke is too difficult to remove.

If you want inexpensive short-term solutions, try these tips:

• Use an air purifier in your home.
• Sprinkle baking soda on the carpets, leave it overnight to absorb bad smells, and vacuum it the next day.
• Place saucers of white vinegar around the home and leave them overnight to neutralize the smell.
• Get indoor plants which can absorb up to 87% of indoor pollutants.
• Place small bowls of coffee throughout the home.
• Use scented or non-scented candles.
• Leave orange peels around the home.
• Place pineapple slices around the room with all doors and windows closed for 24 hours.
• Place bowls of activated charcoal around the home.

Completely removing cigarette smoke odor from a home is a very time consuming process. If the situation is severe, call a professional smoke remediation specialist, such as PuroClean, to remove the odor.