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Air purifiers offer mixed results when it comes to removing the smell of tobacco smoke. Because many air purifiers are designed to collect particulate matter, they are ineffective against gaseous pollutants, which are what cigarette smoking creates. Some air purifiers, however, specifically those that use charcoal filters, might be more effective. Look for an air purifier with a charcoal filter (sometimes referred to as an activated carbon filter) if you’re trying to get rid of the acrid odor of cigarette smoke. As a general rule of thumb, increasing ventilation, enhancing natural light and decreasing humidity can help with house smells, including smoke.
Clean carpets and fabric-covered surfaces
Your appliances, particularly your refrigerator, will also absorb a lot of thirdhand smoke. Don’t forget the refrigerator coils, which can get gummed up with cigarette smoke similarly to HVAC coils—but they’re typically not that hard to clean. A quick start on how to get smoke smell out of house furnishings is to open up all the windows right away. It’s also important to open windows before you start cleaning, so there’s ventilation if you’re using any harsh cleaning products. The cleaning required depends on how long the smoker was on the property and how often they smoked. It can seem to linger everywhere — in the furniture, curtains, and clothing, and even on the walls themselves.
Clean Hard Surfaces
Time to cleanse your home of items that have absorbed the smell of smoke for good. Place them outside in the sun for a few hours to air out fully. If you do this and the smell remains, it may be time to replace these items entirely. These handy methods will help you get rid of the smoke smell rather than just mask it.
Place Bowls of Vinegar
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It will need to cycle the air in the room multiple times to have much of an effect, and it won’t remove smoky smells from surfaces and furniture. The smell of smoke and nicotine can stick to interior walls, window screens, and household linens and carpets, creating an unpleasant smell throughout the home. Smoke odors are caused by leftover resin and tar, which can be difficult to deodorize.
Step into the porch or take a few steps out of the door to smoke. Once you’ve thrown away the offending items that carry the smell of smoke, you need to permanently remove them. Don’t leave them sitting in the kitchen garbage or the smell won’t dissipate. You can reduce thirdhand smoke cosmetically, but the best way to eliminate it completely is by not smoking. It can be very hard to get rid of because thirdhand smoke contains toxic particles and gasses which can permeate both hard and soft surfaces.
Charcoal Bags Odor Absorber
The smell of smoke can be a real challenge to shift, but using the 26 tips and methods above, you should be able to have your home smelling fresh and smoke-free again. Like baking soda, activated charcoal is very effective at absorbing other smells and aromas. Its pores can trap chemicals, including those that carry the aroma of smoke. Put some in bowls and place them around the house, especially in those areas where the smell is worst. You can try washing with mild detergents, but your best bet is to use a mixture of water and vinegar and spray it on the walls and ceilings before letting it dry naturally.
Lifehacker has been a go-to source of tech help and life advice since 2005. Our mission is to offer reliable tech help and credible, practical, science-based life advice to help you live better. She currently covers study and productivity hacks, as well as household and digital decluttering, and oversees the freelancers on the sex and relationships beat. She spent most of her pre-Lifehacker career covering media and politics for outlets like Us Weekly, CNN, The Daily Dot, Mashable, Glamour, and InStyle.
Step 1: Vacuum the Carpet
While hiring a professional cleaning service is best, DIYers can handle the job by replacing the existing filter and running the air conditioner or furnace fan. Change the first filter within a day or two, and then once again by the end of the week. This will be the go-to cleaning solution for most of the smoke removal moving forward, so you may need to mix up more batches of white vinegar and dishwashing soap as you clean. Allow the baking soda to sit on the carpet overnight, then vacuum it with a HEPA filter-equipped wet-dry vacuum.
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This should eliminate much of the smoke smell from the ductwork, but if the odor lingers, repeat the process. Not hot enough to run the air conditioner or cold enough for the furnace? Set the air conditioner to the fan position just so the air circulates.
Place box fans in windows and allow them to run for several hours to increase circulation. Letting exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathrooms run is a good idea, as well. An HVAC system armed with HEPA filters can be a valuable ally in the quest to eliminate smoky smells, but not all AC systems can accommodate HEPA filters. Because your system’s airflow might not be powerful enough to push through the denser HEPA filters, it’s important to consult experts before taking this step. Talk to your HVAC service team about whether installing HEPA filters in your system makes sense. Green Health Docs points out that vinegar and activated charcoal can both be used to absorb odors.
As we’ve already suggested, you can also place the cushions—or even an entire chair or sofa—outside, where the UV rays and fresh air can help eradicate the smoky smell. If that’s not possible, set up fans to ventilate the room and circulate air around the furniture. First, remove any washable slipcovers and throw pillows and launder them according to the manufacturer’s instructions. (Use vinegar for best results.) Then get to work on those parts of your upholstered pieces that can’t just be tossed in the machine. If they can be steam cleaned (check your furniture’s care label), rent or buy a steam cleaner and give the upholstered surfaces a thorough going over. There’s a lot of reasons you’d need to get smoke smell out of the house.
Keep it in containers for the summer to protect your patio and other areas. Karina Toner of Spekless Cleaning told Apartment Therapy that the pot smell can permeate surfaces all over your home — including the walls. Here's what she recommends for getting the weed scent out of various parts of your home. Some stubborn smoke odor may require the use of a hydroxyl generator. Hydroxyl generators produce oxidizing gasses that break apart odor molecules. And while the flames might be gone from her area, the lingering smell of smoke isn't.
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