Asked on Mar 10, 2015

How do I clean a house to get rid of smoke scent? Stinks so bad!

Cindy Nash
by Cindy Nash
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We rented our house for one year, to a couple whom we didn't know were chain smokers. Now they have moved out and the house smells so bad. Even the ceilings and blinds are extremely yellow. Anyone have any suggestions on how to clean all this mess? The blinds are vinyl, the walls are sheetrock and the ceilings are the popcorn textured. Help me please! Thanks.
  63 answers
  • Boogie Bear 14 Boogie Bear 14 on Mar 11, 2015
    Incense
  • Adrianne C Adrianne C on Mar 11, 2015
    I'd roll up my sleeves, put on some rubber gloves, get my cleaning equipment, mix up some ammonia and water and start cleaning on the ceiling, moving down to the walls, etc. The blinds can go outside and spray with bleach cleaner, brush them down, and hose them off. Not much else you can do except hiring someone to do it for you.
    • Em Hooper Em Hooper on Mar 11, 2015
      @Adrianne C Wash a popcorn ceiling and see the popcorn fall on your head. Prolly be an improvement.....I keep thinking as i stare at my own ceilings.....If you made money off the rental, call a company that deals with fire damage and take the price of the job off your income from the house. Your tax advisor can help you if you are like me and can't abide reading the instructions that come for every April 15.
  • Jeanine Jeanine on Mar 11, 2015
    Vinegar and water
  • Patches Patches on Mar 11, 2015
    Oh boy! Have I been there too. What I did was first hire a group of people who needed work to: 1. rip out all rugs, 2. wash all walls and baseboards, then wash all cupboards and appliances inside out out, 4. clean all vents 5. had smoke-block paint applied to all wall and baseboards, 5. kept windows slightly ajar for several days, 6. Ran Oreck air cleaners for about a week. Next I had the entire place painted. Cigarette smoke gets into everything! It was a lot of work but I sure learned my lesson to have a no smoking clause added to rental agreement.
  • Jill Jill on Mar 11, 2015
    Having been thru this before, and I hate to say it, but ammonia and baking soda are not going to remove that smell totally. When the tenants left our house, the house smelled like a very dirty ashtray and had almost a brownish tint to them. You could almost taste the smell. To totally get rid of the smell the ceilings will have to be scraped clean to get rid of the smell in the popcorn texture. It's not going any other way and will linger. Wipe down the walls with a grease cutting cleanser because burning tobacco leaves an oily residue, but don't scrub them if they are flat paint. Then you are going to have to use a product like Kilz to seal the walls and ceiling to get rid of the smell, then you can paint over that for any color you want. The rugs and the carpeting you can steam clean, but even that only goes so far. Any floors and stuff will have to be washed down. I would also advise you to have the duct work cleaned by a professional.
  • Melissa Coutilish Jewell Melissa Coutilish Jewell on Mar 11, 2015
    Wash ALL surfaces with a TSP substitute.Make sure you do walls & floors.If there's carpet,put it up.Get a couple of 5 gallon buckets of original oil-based Killz. Paint the walls & ceiling.If you have plywood subfloors,paint those too.Paint with a finish coat of paint & replace carpets.Make sure You keep the deposit & if you have to,take your former tenants to small claims court to pay for your materials (& possibly be compensated for your labor) so make sure you save any & all receipts!!
  • Dee Dee on Mar 11, 2015
    Rent an ozone machine. There is chemistry behind why it works. Then wipe/clean all horizontal surfaces I have heard many ppl say they had to replace carpet and paint walls and ceiling I would try ozone first
  • Wanda.ll Wanda.ll on Mar 11, 2015
    Ok ladies and gents. This mans stuff always works. I've used some of all of it. I bought a house and it reefed of smoke. Mixed this with paint and it worked. Put this air sponge in return air for 3 months to ge the smell out of there. His name is Johnnie Chocka here at this web address .http://www.happyhandyman.com/ he has just passed away but his daughter is running his place. They can help you anytime with problems. Check them out and keep their web address too.No I get nothing other than pleasure of helping others with this. Air Sponge 1/2 LBOur Price: $4.99 Johnnie's Favorites Absorbs odors quickly and easily up to 6 weeks. Took the musty smell out of a motel in less than 20 minutes. Will do a whole house when put behind the return air filters. 1/2 lb. size...don't forget Bio Zapp...an Air Sponge and Bio Zapp will take care of any odor! Bio ZapOur Price: $13.99 Johnnie's Favorites Eliminates odors related to smoke, pets, food, gas, shoes, sports equipment, cars, mold, mildew. Non scented conbination of ingredients that bond to odors, and neutralizes and eliminates them without the use of "masking" fragrances. Non-toxic, non allergenic, non aerosol, environmentally safe, no scent or perfumes, safe on fabric and skin. Spray full strength into air or on odor source. Perfect with a Air Sponge. 32 oz.
    • See 1 previous
    • Wanda.ll Wanda.ll on Mar 12, 2015
      @Em Hooper I think washing would do the best for this. This air sponge is in a can and it sits somewhere. When it turns black and gets very small you change out. It would work in a business to keep smells out if that is what you need. For me I used it in return air ducts and it worked to get the smell out of them so recirculate. Clothes smell we use something made by fabreez you can buy.
  • Liliana Wells Liliana Wells on Mar 11, 2015
    We bought a run down house to restore as an investment several years ago. The previous owners prided themselves in not smoking. But they has several cats and dogs living in the house and letting the dogs do their business in the corners. We ripped the carpets out, fumigated the house, ripped out the tack-less and baseboard holding the carpet as the wood was soaked with dog urine, scrubbed the sub-floor with bleach and water. We then proceeded with washing the walls and ceiling down and painting. When everything was dry we painted and had the carpet replaced professionally. The only thing we overlooked was the fireplace,where we found the cats had used it as their sandbox. So if you have a fireplace, make sure to look at that too. It's a long road and a lot of elbow grease if you want to do the work yourself. It took my husband and I three months to put that house back together in livable condition. Good luck.
  • Noah Moon Noah Moon on Mar 11, 2015
    Hi sugar soap works on walls. For the smell leave a bowl of water n vinegar
  • Mike Demchik Mike Demchik on Mar 11, 2015
    don't know if your house is painted or not but when I have had people who chain smoke, I went to a hardware store & bough a product called " T S P " trisodium phosphate made by SAVOGRAN co. heavy duty cleaning this may help
  • Ray Phillips Ray Phillips on Mar 11, 2015
    Been there done that as a retired "mostly tired" builder I always Paint walls and ceiling with kilz . it will cover the yellow and kill the smell. you might have to put on 2 coats depends on how bad it is I would get a spray gun and spray it. I would taker the drapes and have them dry cleaned. blinds can be cleaned with vinegar and water. Hope this helps.
  • Mar1043069 Mar1043069 on Mar 11, 2015
    I have been there. Cut up raw onions in half and place them all over the house. Leave for a few days and replace with fresh cut onions. Onions draw out the smell very well.
  • Kathy Kathy on Mar 11, 2015
    My in-laws were chain smokers. My mil passed away and my fil quit smoking. It took a few years, and a lot of cleaning to get rid of the smell completely.
  • Daune Daune on Mar 11, 2015
    Okay, gets lots of buckets, a lot of baking soda and white vinegar. Place bucket in each room, pour baking soda in bottom then vinegar. It will immediately start foaming up. Leave for a couple of days. Might have to repeat several times but it will work! I think the ratio is one small box of baking soda to two cups vinegar. Pour vinegar in slowly. Did this to my basement, because it had a horrible chemical smell when we moved in and it worked.
  • Janice B. Janice B. on Mar 11, 2015
    You may want to contact a company that handles smoke/fire damage to see if they have one of the ozone machines. Supposedly removes odors from walls. Never used one, so can't speak from experience. Sorry you have to deal with this.
  • Susan przybylek Susan przybylek on Mar 11, 2015
    You will just have to paint all the walls & ceilings with 2 coats , if carpeted have professionally shampooed , take down blinds wipe down i with solution of dawn, vinegar & water
  • Patricia Dohaney Patricia Dohaney on Mar 11, 2015
    I use a mixture of 1/4 dawn dish detergent,1/4 vinegar and 1/2 water. No toxic ingredients. Spray on blinds and let sit for 10 minutes. Wipe clean. I use vinegar and lemon peel mixture for all cleaning. Cleans the smell and grime. After cleaning the walls, a fresh coat of paint will do wonders.
  • Nancy J. Godwin Nancy J. Godwin on Mar 11, 2015
    Odoban. They say its used after house fires to get rid of smell. Also works good in the washing machine on a teenaged boy's smelly socks!
  • Susan przybylek Susan przybylek on Mar 11, 2015
    You'll have to paint walls & ceilings with 2 coats of paint if carpeted have professionally shampooed or replaced. Wash blinds with solution of dawn vinegar & water.A lot of work but should resolve this issue
  • Pat Pat on Mar 11, 2015
    I painted the walls, ceiling and baseboard with KILZ first then painted as normal..no smoke smell. KILZ is a shellac that seals the smell in.
  • Mary Bignone Mary Bignone on Mar 11, 2015
    hi, put 1 liter of warm water and 10 drops of eucalyptus essential oil in a spray bottle and spray the mixture in every room from floor to ceilingdez à répondre à cette question ...
  • Becca Becca on Mar 11, 2015
    The easiest solution is to call servpro. They do an amazing job and the price isn't ridiculous.
  • September September on Mar 11, 2015
    TSP (trisodium phosphate) will get rid of the yellow and the smell but you have to be able to wash the surface so it may only work on the blinds in your case. Friends of ours used it to clean paneling that had years of smoke accumulation.
  • Lakeisha Dumont Lakeisha Dumont on Mar 11, 2015
    In addition to cleaning and painting... I got a Groupon to get all my air ducts cleaned!
  • Maria Maria on Mar 11, 2015
    There is a product called "Vamoose". I used it on my mother's house, she was a heavy smoker, even used it on furniture to get that horrible smell out. It's available online
  • Irish53 Irish53 on Mar 11, 2015
    soak blinds in tub with bleach. just give them enough time to loosen the dirt. Damp rid will take care of the smell. Then repaint
    • Millie Millie on Mar 11, 2015
      @Irish53 I agree with putting blinds in the tub to clean. However, I use ammonia as it strips build-up, removes smells and oils. I think bleach might degrade the strings on the blinds.
  • Linda Lemiere-Zile Linda Lemiere-Zile on Mar 11, 2015
    Yep you will have to use Kilz primer on the walls and ceiling and repaint. Wash anything and everything you can. The smoke filtered into everything. Even base board heaters if you have them! Then you will get rid of the smell.
    • See 1 previous
    • Linda Lemiere-Zile Linda Lemiere-Zile on Mar 12, 2015
      @Duval.26 Once my hubby and I remodeled a house where there was a heavy smoker. It was the only thing we could do to get the smell out. We even had to replace the wall heaters and light switches and plugs because it premeditated everything. It was nasty. The windows dripped with nicotine. It was nasty!
  • Sandy Sandy on Mar 11, 2015
    Renuzit Super Odor Killer solid air fresheners are pretty effective, inexpensive, and zero effort. Put one in each room and let them sit for a couple days. Will still need to paint to cover up nicotine. Throw the blinds away.
  • Jan Jan on Mar 11, 2015
    all of the above will probably work. However, for me..........I'd contact a professional and let them do it. Then you know if it's damp out, the odors weren't coming back. We did that with my Mom's place. It was god awful!!!!!
  • Ginny Ginny on Mar 11, 2015
    I had a car that the wiring caused an interior fire that damaged the carpet, smoke was bellowing out the windows. The seats and all upholstry was custom diamond tucked fabric. I shampooed the fabrics and put 2 pot pie pans (1/2 full) of "Kitty Litter" with a couple of tablespoons of real "Vanillia Extract" in them under the front seats and it got rid of all the smell. I've used the same treatment for yrs for other hard to get rid of oders, it works great.
  • Kristy Williams Tillman Kristy Williams Tillman on Mar 11, 2015
    Using an ozone machine will remove any smoke smells. It works wonderful for that! You start the high powered ozone machine inside a closed house and leave for several hours. No people, pets or plants should be in the area. Once done, open all windows and let air out for a day or so. You do not want to breathe ozone! Then I would put a fresh coat of paint on the yellowed walls and such.
    • Patti Paints Patti Paints on Mar 11, 2015
      @Kristy Williams Tillman A few years ago I had the unenviable task of cleaning my mother-in-laws house after she went into assisted living. She was a chain smoker for 20 years and the house wreaked. I had the walls professional cleaned, then I repainted everything square inch of the house. I removed all the flooring and replaced with vinyl and carpet. After all that, a family member commented they could still smell smoke faintly. The final solution was to bring in an ozone machine and that took care of the last lingering scents of tobacco. My only regret is not painting the sub flooring with Kilz before new carpet install.
  • Nancy Spencer Carlson Nancy Spencer Carlson on Mar 11, 2015
    Alpine Air Purfiers make products that address the entire situation (well, except for the painting and washing of walls...) But they're pretty expensive. The upside to owning one is that you can use it in your own home later! http://www.alpineairproducts.com/ 888-675-2616 8a-6p California time. The gentleman's first language doesn't sound like English, so speak slower than the rapid-fire that I do!
  • Jolene Hamby Jolene Hamby on Mar 11, 2015
    Zero Order is a wonderful spray. I'm allerigac to tobacco smoke & this stuff kills it with out leaving a scen behind. Works long term.
  • Donna Hagen Donna Hagen on Mar 11, 2015
    set out bowls of vinegar for a few days it will remove odors very cheaply
  • Lucy Lucy on Mar 11, 2015
    We wound up having carpets professionally cleaned for that purpose, almost the same way they do for pets. We also primed and repainted the house. It was a lot of work but it was worth it because our home looked great and we continued with other home projects we had been procrastinating on.
  • Pamella Pamella on Mar 11, 2015
    bowls of white vinegar in rooms that smell, hotel trick
  • Dana Janysek Dana Janysek on Mar 11, 2015
    There is activated charcoal that you can use. You can purchase it over the internet or even Walmart. It does wonders. My son purchased a used truck from a car dealer and it smelled so bad due to a heavy smoker. I told him to put this on his dashboard for a few weeks and within 5-6 weeks the smell was gone. It also gets rid of musty smells in closets.
    • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Mar 12, 2015
      @Dana Janysek My daughter bought some kind of charcoal for the purpose from a tropical fish place. Is this activated charcoal as well?
  • Lettie Lettie on Mar 11, 2015
    Ozone machine, professional cleaning by a company specializing on clean ups after fires.
    • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Mar 12, 2015
      @Lettie Read that ozone machines are great, but you have to get pets, etc. out of the house while it's in use.
  • White Oak Studio Designs White Oak Studio Designs on Mar 11, 2015
    Prime and repaint everything. I know its a pain. Sorry. Renting can cost a lot of money in-between renters, esp. if carpet/pad is trashed and has to be replaced. My rental contract states no pets, no smoking, no house guests for over two weeks (here they moved in entire families to spilt costs i.e. 8-10 people per single wide trailer) and if they do they will not be getting their deposit back. I drop in once a month to pickup their check and keep my eyes on things too. It's easier to stop something upfront than to catch up from a years worth after the fact. I'm hard to rent from because I am picky but they also get a very nice, very clean and extremely well maintained home and property in return.
  • Laurie Laurie on Mar 11, 2015
    Wash the walls with TSP (must) prime and paint.
  • Peggy Key Peggy Key on Mar 11, 2015
    Set out plastic bowls of ammonia. Leave the house overnight. Then air it out. The ammonia will 'eat up' the odor. Just be sure to air it out so you don't breathe the ammonia and don't let any pets around the bowls and don't use any metal containers.
  • April E April E on Mar 11, 2015
    I use tko a product that is all natural and made of orange peel it cleans everything even carpets and permanently removes odors, even use on the dogs when they play with skunks. Just Google TKO
  • Patti Patti on Mar 11, 2015
    Place containers with unused coffee grounds - freshly ground if possible.
  • Joy Derouen Joy Derouen on Mar 11, 2015
    I used AWESOME and water to clean the walls. Just spray let sit for a few minutes and wipe away the nicotine use clean water to wipe. Also works wonders in the kitchen for greasy build up. After doing this prime and repaint. The blinds can also get sprayed with this, also will work on the floors too. As far as the ceiling you would have to scrap the popcorn off and repaint. Hope this helps.
  • Barb T Barb T on Mar 11, 2015
    Bowls of vinegar all over the house.
  • Susan Turner Susan Turner on Mar 11, 2015
    Prime walls with Kilz and repaint. Throw the blinds away..keep the damage deposit. Good luck.
  • Vanessa Godfrey Vanessa Godfrey on Mar 11, 2015
    Vinegar with take most of the smell out but you have to wash everything floors, ceiling, walls etc. As for the ceiling use a paint roller for the popcorn stuff and use straight vinegar on it, like a paint let it set a day or two maybe repeat, then paint. And then a coat of paint should do.. any fabric can be washed in vinegar water and come out clean smelling. As for the blinds it's some work but take them down and put them in the batch tub with bleach water and let soak for and hour or two.. then hang up outside, hose off, and wipe down, dry...
  • Mcgypsy9 Mcgypsy9 on Mar 11, 2015
    What kind of paint is on the walls? If it is a satin a gloss paint you can buy a product at Dollar Tree called Totally Awesome, spray it on and wipe it off. Removes all the yellow and the smell. Can also use it on the blinds. The ceiling you should prime with kilz by spraying it on and that should handle it.
  • Sabrina Stimson Nabhani Sabrina Stimson Nabhani on Mar 12, 2015
    i have a steamer and i steam the walls works great
  • Marion Nesbitt Marion Nesbitt on Mar 12, 2015
    Great suggestions. Am a smoker so have saved the comments in case I get the house ready for sale at some point, or get really serious about "refreshing".
    • Dana Janysek Dana Janysek on Mar 12, 2015
      @Marion Nesbitt Marion, there are so many uses with activated charcoal, it's a carbon used for adsorption or chemical reactions. It can treat poisonings in the human stomach due to drug and alcohol overdose. Works as a laxative for stomach ailments, absorbs nasty smells, cleans out bad chemicals in filters and can even be used for dental problems and so much more. You can find it in many forms, such as capsules, tablets, granules, etc.. I'm pretty sure it's all in the same but tested to be safe for fish aquarium tanks and ponds to help keep the filters clean. I hope I helped answer your question. The internet is a great source to get more details, but I found about this fabulous trick working in a hospital. Dana
  • Kimberly Kimberly on Mar 12, 2015
    If you have central air, might consider having the ducts cleaned throughly by a reputable company. I would clean the walls and allow to dry completely before covering with Killz. I would also suggest contacting Don Aslett's cleaning store for heavy duty products like XO.
  • Dee Dee on Mar 12, 2015
    Here is what i would do. Go out side to smoke.
    • See 1 previous
    • Dee Dee on Mar 13, 2015
      @Halie Smith I get that it was the owner asking. And my answer is still go out side. Then there is not going to be a problem. Should have been in the contract or keep the deposit and hire people to clean.
  • Duv310660 Duv310660 on Mar 12, 2015
    I believe it! And it's worse the less you are exposed to it, isn't it? I remember back in the day when Ralph Lauren came out with a line of tints you could use to "age" the wallpaper in your (faux) English estate. Can't recall all the names, but one of them was "Tobacco"... BLURG!!! I liked the look, but the name put me right off my bangers and mash! Ended up going with a selection of darker colours from his (at the time) new "Thoroughbred" pallet. I am sitting in them right now, working in a few Annie Sloan items to lighten things up!
  • Halie Smith Halie Smith on Mar 12, 2015
    These are all good ideas that will work, but to add one more product, it's called Odo-ban, I've only found it at Walmart and sometimes it's in the air freshener section, sometimes the cleaning section because it can be used as either. It works awesome on removing bad odors.
  • Debbie Adams Peavy Debbie Adams Peavy on Mar 12, 2015
    Go to dollar store but several disposable aluminum roasting pans along with charcole. Place these through house. Charcole will filter the smell but not over night.
  • Cheryl Cheryl on Mar 13, 2015
    Former smoker who cleaned. Important thing to remember is that the film is technically greasy - use a degreaser. The milder degreasers, like Awesome, may take some scrubbing except on non-porous surfaces (vinyl blinds). For this job, get a stronger degreaser from a big box store's automotive department. NOT engine cleaner, just degreaser! Get a concentrated gallon and use it strong, or undiluted if necessary. Wipe on, and wipe off, then rinse. Do rinse or re-wipe with something clean and wet. (I used a large sponge and a bucket of water - changing it as it became dirty). You don't want to leave any nicotine smears or, esp. cleaner residue on some surfaces like paint. If the walls and ceilings are yellow, there is NOTHING you can "set out" that will get this odor because it will keep giving off the smell. The yellow is more of a film than a stain. You have to clean it off or seal it in. If the walls are anything but flat paint, you're fine. I haven't tried it on flat paint, but I'd sure try first since the only other option is to repaint using a stain sealer because the yellow can, in time, bleed through a coat of paint. Start at the bottom of vertical painted surfaces like walls - or you will have cleaner streaks where it runs down and sits until you get there. On paint, the degreaser is actually taking off a smidgon of paint you won't notice otherwise. So if it sits slightly longer, the color will be a bit lighter and you'll have to scrub to match. I used this on the satin painted walls in my husbands office at least 4-6 times and they just looked freshly painted each time. You can paint a popcorn ceiling, I've done it with a roller. Cover floor (and your hair) well because you'll have paint coated popcorn that will fall off as you go (but this might be a good excuse to get rid of the popcorn!). Vinyl blinds - esp older verticals - you're in luck. Awesome should clean these - If you spray any good degreaser, the yellow will just run off and you simply wipe it off. Same with most non-porous surfaces. Plastic hangers even get the smell and should be degreased. Years after quitting smoking, I brought out a bag of them I hadn't used since - and the stench was awful! Put them in the bathtub and sprayed with Awesome or similar and rinsed! Basically, wipe every surface you can with a good degreaser. (except living plants...) Fabrics - wash, if still smelly, wash again. If there are yellow stains, pretreat with the same degreaser and wash immediately (after testing colorfast, type of fabric). I've personally used it on cotton drapes (many times - same drapes) after realizing that washing with a normal pre-treat did not work at all. Throw pillows - the odor may also be in the batting, so you may have to wash the whole thing. I have not done carpets, but based on other experience, I'd add some degreaser to the shampooer! Do not know if it's safe to degrease wood floors, but if you have them, you will need to do something. I did use it on painted wood kitchen cabinets. Some plastics absorb and those you may not get white again (like a computer case), but you can de-smell them and make them lighter. It is not exaggerating to say that the smoke film covers everything it touches and the film smells. I may have made it sound harder than it is, but think of it as a deep spring cleaning - with a degreaser. Good luck.
  • Dale Dale on Mar 14, 2015
    I am still a smoker but tried to quit a couple times. Cleaning with products will remove the stains on the walls etc. but the smell will return. the only way I've found to rid the smell is to repaint. and scrub the carpets if removing them is not an option. I haven't smoked in the house in in over 5 years and the smoke smell will emanate from the carpet every once in a while if its hot out. Good luck!
  • Dale Dale on Mar 14, 2015
    I forgot to mention you can clean dirty mini blinds by soaking them in a mixture of hot water and fabric softener. It gets them clean and shiny and helps the whole house smell better whenever the sun shines!
  • Rd Rd on Mar 14, 2015
    Only thing that will work. Used for a river swim wet car, really smelly. Spray rooms with Ozone, the spray can type at the drug stores. Spray, close doors for a day, and odor disappears.
  • Slgibbs1 Slgibbs1 on Mar 17, 2015
    I would scrub the walls with Tri Sodium Phosphate..available at paint stores
  • Teena Mevec Teena Mevec on Mar 21, 2015
    Halie Smith above had it right...OdoBan...you can buy by the gallon at Home Depot. I clean Apartments for my landlord and this stuff will get the worst smells out. They have it in different scents. Or on Amazon. You can use in a commercial carpet cleaner as well to get the smell out of the carpets. This is a disinfectant and mildewstat...you can use it anywhere. When someone moves out, 1st I clean everything deep down, stove, fridge, bathrooms, sinks counters, cabinets, floors. Then I go over everything again with the OdoBan. I just cleaned an apartment that had 2 dogs, a cat, a lizard and a child who was not potty training well. It killed all of the smells, that were still a bit lingering. Another solution for the greasy film on the cabinets is Dawn Ultra Blue dish soap and mix a paste with baking soda. Use microfiber cloths and rinse well as the baking soda leaves a bit of residue. Good Luck!
  • Ann|The Apple Street Cottage Ann|The Apple Street Cottage on May 19, 2023

    Everything will need to be cleaned - floor to ceiling. I would hire a company that specializes in fire cleanup. They have the expertise.
    • Janice Janice on May 19, 2023

      Since it is a rental, I'd hire a cleaning company such as ServiceMaster who specializes in fire and flood damage and deduct the cost as a business expense. As a landlord, you can't really pay yourself for the work you do but you can hire people and keep the receipt and claim to reduce your profit for the year claimed. The commercial company can make short work of the mes.

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