Get rid of the smell of smoke (cigarette) in the house

We’re all looking for a pleasant and fresh atmosphere inside the house, but the daily habits and the outside environment can prevent this.

Apart from the unpleasant smells that enter our house from the street when we open the windows, smoke (from cigarettes or other sources) is one of the biggest challenges when you’re looking for a pleasant and fresh smell to persist in your home.

Cigarette smoke or smoke in general can occur inside a house for several reasons, such as:

• when moving to a new apartment where active smokers lived there;
• if one of the inhabitants in the house is a smoker;
• if guests you have over are usually smokers.
• with the installation of a chimney or stove, where the smoke is not properly drained. Thus, more than a quarter of the smoke that should go out, stays in the house;
• if a pan is left on the fire more than necessary, a cloud of black smoke is formed in the house;

Whether we’re talking about a vice or a simple accident, the smell of smoke is very unpleasant and it’s usually impregnated in carpets, clothes, walls, painted surfaces, furniture and other things. So everything in the house will have a smoky or nicotine smell that can last for a very long time.

Cleaning smoke-affected areas

The troublesome areas must be cleaned before applying the solutions presented below. As I said, smoke can be impregnated in walls, painted surfaces, furniture and other surfaces, so every inch should be cleaned and sanitized to remove the smell of smoke.

The curtains must be washed, the carpets taken to the cleaning, and the walls washed. A solution for these areas of the house can be prepared from: 4 liters of warm water, half a cup of ammonia, a quarter of a vinegar and a quarter of a soda for washing. Attention, this solution can affect your hands and eyes!

Protective equipment when using this kind of solution is mandatory!

The walls, ceiling, floor and anything else that could be impregnated with smoke should be washed with this type of solution to remove even the slightest trace of unpleasant odor from the house. Do not skip the interior of the cabinets, buffets and hallways! All of these areas harbor the smell of smoke and will emit it again if not properly cleaned.

The furniture should be cleaned with a solution of distilled white vinegar. If the furniture is sensitive or old, the vinegar will affect it, so it’s better to first rinse it with water and then wipe it with a soft, dry cloth.

It’s also recommended to add half a cup of distilled white vinegar to the washing machine, each time when you are washing clothes or other fabrics affected by smoke.

Given how much vinegar has been used in the cleaning method described above, it’s possible that the odor of smoke has been replaced by that of vinegar that’s stingier and maybe more disturbing.

However, the vinegar is volatile and the smell will go away within a few days if the house is well ventilated. To make the smell of vinegar disappear faster, a few drops of essential oil (vanilla, lavender, orange, etc.) can be added to the furniture cleaning solution.

Solutions to remove (cigarette) smoke from your home

Depending on the composition and preferences, there are three types of solutions that can help you to combat and eliminate smoke from a house:

1. An ozone generator;
2. Commercial chemical solutions;
3. Natural solutions.

Method 1: The ozone generator

We all know about ozone or O3, the chemical element that protects our planet from ultraviolet radiations, but only a few know that ozone has applicability in improving the air quality in a house.

Ozone has the property to completely remove unpleasant odors from the area where it is applied due to its chemical composition and the chemical reactions it produces. As the chemical notation (O3) shows, ozone is made up of 3 oxygen atoms. Thus, when released into the atmosphere, two of the oxygen atoms remain stable, forming O2 or the oxygen we breathe, and the third is attached to other chemical elements, transforming their basic structure through the oxidation process.

Ozone acts on the molecules of smoke, tar or nicotine deposited on walls or objects and destroys or transforms them into other harmless chemical elements.

 

The ozone generator is a generator that works based on a simple and efficient principle that runs in a few steps:

1. the air from the room or the house is drawn inside the ozone generator;
2. a fan accelerates the indoor air to the next step;
3. the air is passed through a series of cells that force three oxygen atoms to group, thus forming ozone;
4. at the end of the process, the generator will produce ozone, which will oxidize unpleasant odors and other contaminating factors. 

To use an ozone generator as efficiently as possible, it’s recommended to allow it to operate in the troublesome area, with all doors and windows closed. It’s also important that people or pets leave the room when the ozone generator is turned on. Depending on the type of generator and the ozone concentration it produces, the ozone generator should be allowed to run from 20 minutes to 2 hours, and at the end the room needs to be very well ventilated.

Method 2: Trade solutions

Sometimes, regardless of the solutions used and the thoroughness of the cleaning activity, the smell of smoke can still be felt in the air. In this case, the commercial solutions, used by professionals, are the ones you need to use.

Pay close attention when purchasing these kinds of products: you’re looking for permanent solutions that can remove and destroy the odor of smoke, and not solutions that temporarily cover it!

Pronto for wood - the solution for cleaning wood surfaces is very effective for removing unpleasant odors impregnated in furniture;

Febreze - a solution produced by Procter & Gamble which unfortunately is not found in worldwide stores yet. It’s most often used to remove the odor of smoke from fabrics, overhung furniture, carpets etc.

Wynn's Odor Absorber - a spray solution recommended to remove unpleasant odors, including those caused by smoke.

Home Fresh by Kirby - a spray product that removes the smell of cigarette smoke from carpets and other similar materials.

The solutions from Ambi Pur - are found everywhere in supermarkets and have some special products for removing cigarette smoke from the rooms.

 

Method 3: Naturist solutions

Naturist solutions are the most sought after because they do not involve contact with chemicals and do not attack the materials that will be treated. They’re also cheap and easy to find around the house.

These are usually effective when you’re not fighting an odor that has impregnated over the years in walls or fabrics. Even if an accident happened and the house is full of smoke or the recent guests are smokers and you intend to remove the cigarette smell from the house, one of the methods described below could be the right solution:

Vanilla scent - Fill a medium-sized pot with water and add 5-6 drops of vanilla essence. Put the pot in the heated oven and leave it until the water has almost evaporated completely. The house will smell nice, like vanilla, and the smell of smoke (cigarette) will be removed.

Orange peels - the smell of orange brings us memories of the holidays and can boost our wellbeing. In addition, the orange peels absorb the smell of smoke and refresh the house with the smell of citrus. Leave the peels from an orange (or more) through the house, in areas affected by smoke.

Scented candles - if the problem is not very troublesome, a few scented candles can absorb the unpleasant odor of smoke from the house and emit a pleasant vanilla or chocolate aroma (as you prefer).

Vinegar - if the problem is worse, vinegar is great at absorbing unpleasant odors.

Place the jars (without lid) or vinegar plates in the troublesome room and close the doors and windows for 2-3 days. After that, remove the jars and open the doors and windows to allow fresh air to enter the room.

Also, to remove the odor from the carpet, the carpet should be sprayed on with a solution made of a cup of sodium borate and 2 cups of corn flour. One hour after applying the solution, the carpet can be aspirated and the odor should disappear.

Freshly ground coffee - coffee has the amazing property of absorbing unpleasant odors and filtering the air in the house. To get rid of cigarette smoke, divide a cup of freshly ground coffee into small containers and spread throughout the house, especially in places where the smell of smoke is stronger.

Ripe pineapple - in addition to eliminating an exotic aroma that makes you think of sunny beaches, pineapple also has unpleasant odor absorption properties. Cut a ripe pineapple in two and leave it in the trouble room for 24 hours with the doors and windows closed. After this period, the pineapple pieces are thrown and the room is ventilated.

Indoor plants - in addition to beautifying our living space, plants also have the role of filtering the air in the rooms. Thus, the problem of cigarette smoke could be solved by itself if there are enough plants to deal with it.

 

Whether it’s cigarette smoke or some other type of smoke, the smell and the gray-yellow color that covers everything in the house can be very disturbing.

The smoke can also pose a health threat to those with sensitive lungs, so it’s very important to try all available solutions to remove it.