Selling my home. what is a way to ge rid of the smell of cigarettes

Ter13562307
by Ter13562307
  10 answers
  • Tammy Tammy on Aug 21, 2017

    Wash the walls with TSP, steam clean carpets, use a clean air purifier, and purchase car vent air freshers and use them on the registers in your home.

  • Gramma Gramma on Aug 21, 2017

    You'll need to wash all walls, remove all fabric: drapery, curtains and the like, steam clean all carpeting & upholstery, then prep walls for re-painting. Then when all that is done contact your physician for a script for smoking cessation and give it up for good. Best wishes, I quit in 1991 and can smell things I never noticed before.

  • Molly Anmar Molly Anmar on Aug 21, 2017

    It will take some time and effort to eradicate that odor. You may want to consider hiring some, if not all, of that done. Talk to your realtor about finding someone both experienced and reliable. If you elect to do it yourself, don't get overwhelmed by the job...take it in small sections and do one big thing on the list at a time.


    All soft furnishings (curtains, bedspreads, throw rugs, towels) will need to be cleaned/deodorized; you may have to replace the carpet altogether as the odor can get all the way down into the padding (try steam cleaning with a good deodorizer, first); have all your furniture steam cleaned/deodorized; all ceilings and walls will need to be washed and probably painted with a fresh coat of paint (preferably light/neutral). If TSP doesn't work for some reason, then ammonia works like a champ on getting tar/nicotine off of surfaces; all lighting fixtures will need to be wiped down, including bulbs; all your wall art and nicknacks will need to be wiped down with deodorizer (this might be an opportune time to de-personalize the space and pack them away for your upcoming move); your HVAC ducting is probably full of cigarette residue. Call someone to have it cleaned; change all furnace/AC filters; all your kitchen appliances will need to be thoroughly cleaned; run your stove vent screen through the dishwasher.

  • Clean clean clean! Wash everything including the walls. Place bowls of charcoal around the house and especially in closets and cabinets. Fabreeze all upholstered furniture that will remain until the move.

  • 2dogal 2dogal on Aug 21, 2017

    Rather than any home made idea, that takes a while to work and may not do the job, go to Home Depot or Loew's and get Hot Shot Odor Neutralizer. It's a fogger and will remove the odor in seconds for up to 2000 square feet. Since it's a fogger, it will get into all cracks and crannies. Your clothes and furniture will even smell cleaner. You need to follow the directions exactly. Cigarette odor will turn off many a buyer, so this does need to be done as soon as possible.

  • Michele Pappagallo Michele Pappagallo on Aug 21, 2017

    Wash all drapes and fabrics, shampoo all carpeting and rugs, paint walls, clean every inch of the house very well. Cigarette smell is very hard to get rid of....and any non-smokers that come in will probably still be able to smell it because it is nearly impossible to completely remove it without renovating the entire house.

  • Nancy Turner Nancy Turner on Aug 21, 2017

    If vinegar will remove cat urine odor from carpet it may work on cigarette odor. Make sure to saturate enough to get below the fabric into padding or stuffing if it is safe on your fabric furniture, pillows, etc.

  • DesertRose DesertRose on Aug 21, 2017

    Paint all the areas you can such as walls and ceilings. Cleaning with Simple Green will deodorize anything else in the home and is bio friendly. It doesn't cover it, it cleans it away.

  • Linda Fraser Linda Fraser on Aug 21, 2017

    fabreze sells one that says odor eliminator. That might help

  • Melanie Czoka Melanie Czoka on Aug 21, 2017

    Clean the walls, floors and carpets really well.