I'm looking to rent a place that was previously rented by smokers. I'm very sensitive to smoke (my poor eyes tear up) and the smell makes me pretty dizzy. I'm wondering if there are any tricks to "cleaning up" the lingering smell/residue. The landlord told me she still had to clean the carpet, but I'm not sure if that will take care of the problem. Help!!

3/5/2006 9:40:50 AM

Cleaning the carpet will help a *lot*, or it should.

Also ask her to do the following

- Change all the air filters, and dust all air vents before she cleans the carpet (or vacuum after)
- ensure all fan blades and frankly all other surfaces that collect dust have been wiped down.
- see if she can turn on all the fans and open the windows for a bit while it's not going to rain and make sure the house is well aired out.

that should help, although i dont know of any more "tricks"

3/5/2006 9:48:38 AM

I appreciate it! I did a quick google search, but I wanted to get additional experiences from ya'll. This is the first property I've considered living in that had prior smokers...typically I stay away from these places, but its so hard to find a place to live here I figure I need to stop being so picky! At any rate, I'm waiting to hear back from the landlord...if I go with this place I'll definitely see if she'll air it out. As for cleaning the carpets, anything in particular I can ask her to do that will truly DEEP CLEAN the mess out of the carpet?

I'm also afraid the walls might have soaked up the smell...the prior tenants painted the rooms some pretty raunchy colors, but the landlord is iffy about repainting them (and if she agrees, it will only be to a neutral).

3/5/2006 9:54:42 AM

If Mr Friski's living with you, use vinegar to clean off -everything-. It neutralizes odors, isn't harmful to pets (like Febreze and other air fresheners are), and has concealed all of my cooking disasters to date.

Maybe a dozen open boxes of baking soda would help, too.

3/5/2006 9:58:01 AM

heh yeah, I've got my Friski man AND my pup Dakota! From the way this place smells though, I don't even think a dozen boxes of baking soda would do the trick! I also do love candles, so I figure that could be a short-term fix. Unfortunately I tend to favor the softer scents (vanilla, for example) and those don't tend to really cover up much (and besides, covering up isn't my goal!). Ack!

3/5/2006 10:02:54 AM

You living out there in Dare County? If so, I can feel for you in trying to find a place to stay. Ain't a whole lot of anything out there. But it is pretty out there, and nice in the offseason.

3/5/2006 10:53:58 AM

they make smoker candles, and the pet odor eliminating candles do a decent job of covering up the smell as well. I live below smokers and their dryer would vent into ours, and their bathroom vents STILL vent into ours, but luckily we are moving. The Pet Pad and some vets (Mayfair Animal Hospital) sell Pet Odor Eliminating Candles and some of the scents are incredibly strong and they really get rid of the odor not just mask it. Opening the door and windows (when they had theirs closed) was the best option.

Also, my step-mother inherited her brother's house when he died and he was a serious smoker. We had to wash the screens on the windows and paint all the walls and clean the carpet before the smell started to go away.

3/5/2006 10:55:40 AM

you're smoking hot, so its going to be a worthless battle

3/5/2006 11:41:38 AM

You need to post more pictures of your puppy

3/5/2006 11:57:16 AM

you still live at the beach?

3/5/2006 12:11:23 PM

^^^^^pm sent about the beach

^^^^what kind of scent do those candles give off? If its strong it'll probably give me a headache...I'm sensitive like that I do love opening my windows...fresh air is awesome, and so is a nice cool ocean breeze ...oh wait...I don't live on the water...well...close enough anyway

^^^haha well thanks, but that doesn't help my situation any!

^^okie doke Joe...pm sent

^yeah, I'm still out here! living it up, er, TRYING, in KDH

3/5/2006 12:34:23 PM

start smoking and then you wont smell anything!

3/5/2006 12:45:31 PM

blech just the smoke makes me dizzy and nauseated and my eyes itch...and just...blah!

3/5/2006 12:48:01 PM

i get migraines from smoke and incense and strong candles, and i can handle the mango and honeydew for a short time. The vanilla smells like a cake baking, but I can only handle it for a hour or less, orange and cinnamon and mulberry I can't stand.

[Edited on March 5, 2006 at 12:57 PM. Reason : and remember to scrub the window screens! fresh air won't do shit if it passes through smoke]

3/5/2006 12:56:58 PM

well what do you do after sex? snuggle? THAT'S GROSS~

3/5/2006 1:10:03 PM

haha snuggling is fantastic! smoking...not! but I suppose to each his own!

3/5/2006 1:11:29 PM

do you not date smokers?
will you not have sex with smokers?
will you have sex with me?
is this thing on?

3/5/2006 1:17:22 PM

I've dated smokers before...I didn't like that they smoked, but they always respected me enough to not do it in my face. Plus they never smoked inside. The stuff drives me crazy lol I'm going to ignore the rest of your comments

3/5/2006 1:32:35 PM

have you ever seen a grown man naked?

3/5/2006 1:37:40 PM

When I moved into my place they said that they would do all those suggestions that LadyWolff gave you, and on top of it they put wall airfreshners in every room. I didn't really think to much of it.
However, it was about 4 months before I stopped noticing the smell. I was pretty irked to come home at the end of the long day to that horrid smell.
So, my suggestion, if it bothers you that much, is not to move into it.
I tried everything including using the powder floor smelly stuff to vaccum up and a number of other things... if you are not a smoker the smell will not go away. the only way I have been told to get rid of it is to completely change out the carpets and the carpet pads as well as paint the walls with two coats of paint.

3/5/2006 1:51:47 PM

oh lordy...I KNOW the landlord won't take THAT much responsibility! She'll let me paint the walls white, and she'll get the carpet cleaned, but that's it. :-\

3/5/2006 1:58:40 PM

do you like gladiator movies?

3/5/2006 2:08:38 PM

Quote :

"Maybe a dozen open boxes of baking soda would help, too."

myth.

steam clean the air vents/ducts, repaint.

3/5/2006 7:24:31 PM

If there is central air, ask for the ducts to be cleaned. Carpet cleaning will help, maybe even a fresh coat of paint after washing down the walls.

3/5/2006 7:27:37 PM

i wish I could recommend a good carpet cleaners out here, but haven't had good luck with any of them over the past 5 years.

3/5/2006 8:19:02 PM

poopface made this thread worth reading

3/6/2006 10:46:05 AM

There has to be some sort of company in the area that does fixes fire damage. I would call them and see what they can do or tell you. But at the minimum, I would do these.

1. Air it out
2. Have the central air system cleaned . . . the dust in it will hold the smoke smell
3. get rid of all dust that you can find ( in cabinets, on top of cabinets, ceiling fans, under appliances
4. Have the carpet cleaned, or invest in your own carpet cleaner and possibly clean it multiple times
5. Scrub all of the walls and the ceiling if possible (as said above, you might use vinegar to do this)
6. Possibly repaint the walls
7. Once you move in, replace the air filter often and possibly use one of those ones with baking soda or get an ionizing one installed (if there is enough room at the unit)

3/7/2006 10:08:09 AM

i'm suprised no-one has mentioned cat litter yet. this is apparently supposed to absorb the smell of smoke as well - little buckets in the corner of the rooms?

i'm not sure how well it works but my best friend swears by it.

3/7/2006 10:41:09 AM

^ cat litter is cheap. Cant hurt to try.
Unless her dogs try to eat it (Some do...it's bizzare)

3/7/2006 12:50:03 PM

problem you will have is with the carpet. steam cleaning will only go so far. the smell will still be in the padding. in addition to all the cleaning/painting suggestions, if there are drapes, throw them away or rather ask the landlord to take them out. keep the windows open as much as possible and use fans to circulate air. be sure to leave closets open as well - you don't want your clothes smelling.

3/7/2006 12:56:31 PM

3/7/2006 10:49:22 PM

I am not reading all of this, but whoever said that Febreze was harmful to pets was wrong:

http://www.snopes.com/critters/crusader/febreze.asp

3/7/2006 11:11:11 PM

Birds have delicate respiratory systems in general. While teflon fumes just give people flu like symptoms, it'll kill birds. P&G admits that they didn't consider birds when saying it's safe for pets and "using as directed" means taking your birds out of the room, ventilating it, and putting them back in. Even with the new and improved un-zinced formula my vet still doesn't think it's a good idea to use. I'll take a DVM's advice over the Internet's.

There's a lot of crappy advice about how to care for your pet birds on the Internet (omg don't let a wet bird get near a fan even though they can fly around in the rain at like 50mph) but many aerosols and stuff with zinc in it aren't good for your pet. Febreze doesn't kill your bird; the resulting lung damage does.

[Edited on March 7, 2006 at 11:36 PM. Reason : sva]

3/7/2006 11:29:30 PM