There is always a lingering cigarette smoke smell in rooms, clothes, or surfaces you continually smoke in. And this smell makes these exposed rooms or spaces very uncomfortable to live in. So, why does the cigarette smell linger? When you smoke, smoke particles attach themselves to any surface they find. It can be the clothes you’re putting on or on the walls, ceilings, and any surface in your house. Once they land on any exposed surface, the cigarette smoke forms a yellowish-brown substance that glues itself on these surfaces. This cigarette smoke residue contaminates the indoor air with the cigarette smell. And if not worked on immediately, it may become a stubborn problem that causes health problems to you and your family.
Here are the best methods of cigarette smoke remediation in your home.
Remedy #1: Aerate your house
Keep the windows, doors, and blinds open during the day. Opening windows maintains a continuous supply of fresh air throughout the whole house. As the fresh air enters the house, it dispels the stale smell of cigarette smoke. And this helps to get rid of the discomfort caused by stale cigarette smoke.
Remedy #2: Use Ammonia to clean/scrub your walls, ceiling, and floors
Ammonia is one of the best methods of cigarette remediation at home. It neutralizes the foul odour of cigarette smoke from the surfaces you apply it. You can use this hardcore cleaning agent to clean or wipe most hard surfaces in your house.
Tip: Be careful while cleaning with Ammonia. It can harm your eyes. For this reason, wear protective eye gear and open all windows while using it. Also, keep it away from bleach and don’t apply it on finished surfaces like cabinets or floorboards.
Remedy #3: Use an Air Purifier in your home
As a cigarette smoke remediation method, the air purifier gets rid of or absorbs the cigarette smoke odour. But it also purifies the air by killing fungi or bacteria and any other contaminants in the air. For cigarette smoke, activated carbon air purifiers are the best. These purifiers effectively absorb and remove odours, smoke fumes, and any alien gases from the air inside your home. If you are sensitive to smells/scents, a carbon air purifier is a must-have in your home. Another good alternative to using an air purifier is to use indoor air purifying plants that absorb a very high amount of air pollutants. These plants will help you save money on your utility bills.
Remedy #4: Clean home surfaces with vinegar
Wash your countertops, kitchen cabinets, walls, ceiling with vinegar.
Tip: Don’t rinse the vinegar off. Let it dry off on its own. You can also place saucers of white vinegar around the house and leave them to neutralise the smell.
Remedy #5: Deodorise your house with baking soda
Although baking soda is odourless, it absorbs other odours. This odour-absorbent quality makes it the perfect remedy for cigarette smoke. Sprinkle baking soda on the carpets and floors. Leave it overnight (for 30 minutes) to absorb the smoke smell, then vacuum. You can also wash the removable covers of your furniture with baking soda to get rid of the cigarette smell.
Tip: To further deodorize, mix a good amount of vinegar and baking soda. Then spray the mixture on your curtains, carpets, and fabrics. You can also mix apple cider vinegar (a pinch) with your laundry detergent when doing laundry. This will eliminate the cigarette smoke smell in your clothing and beddings.
Remedy #6: Use activated charcoal
Activated charcoal is one of the best cigarette smoke/smell absorbents—place bowls of activated charcoal around the house. To increase the efficiency of charcoal, place bowls of baking soda or coffee grinds to absorb any lingering cigarette smoke smell.
Remedy #7: Use an air conditioner and a fan
You may already have an air conditioner, but when it comes to cigarette smoke remediation in your house, you need all the help you can get. And this is why you can add a fan to the mix. Fans increase air circulation and speed up the process of replacing the cigarette smoke smell with fresher and cleaner air.
Tip: Regularly clean or change your air filters to improve indoor air quality.
Remedy #8: Take out all the ashtrays and stop smoking in the house
This is perhaps the easiest method of cigarette smoke remediation at home. After all, prevention is so much safer and better than cure. If smoking is your thing, don’t let the house suffer for it. When the urge comes, go to the backyard or porch. But whatever place it may be, ensure that the air currents won’t take the cigarette smoke into the house. After smoking, immediately change into fresh clothes and seal the smoke-smelling clothes into a covered laundry basket. When washing them, do so with detergent and vinegar.
Option #9: Use Febreze
Spray your house and clothes with Febreze. This spray has a chemical component known as cyclodextrin that absorbs odours and removes the cigarette smoke smell. (Discover how Febreze works.)
Remedy #10: Repaint your walls and ceilings
After washing your walls and ceiling, leave them to dry and paint or varnish them afresh with at least two coats of paint. Doing this removes any sign or stain of cigarette smoke on the walls. It also seals in the cigarette smoke that seeped into the walls. You can also re-varnish your furniture and replace the covers of your beddings. And if all fails, replace the carpets, curtains, and other clothing that stink of smoke. Such items will have to undergo deep cleaning to remove the smoke particles.
Cigarette smoke and the residues are difficult to do away with the simple remedies mentioned above. Sometimes the work of getting rid of the smoke may be too much to handle, and you will need a professional to do a thorough job at cleaning it. Contact a professional indoor air quality company like Anderson Air if the smell persists.