getting rid of smoke smell

Volcano

Odours are due to the molecules from tobacco smoke absorbing onto soft furnishings and other porous surfaces (inc wallpaper) then remobilising back into the atmosphere.

Remove/destroy all furniture, carpets, curtains etc. Either strip off wallpaper or paint over it.

It will eventually go on it's own if no other smoke replaces it, but given the amount of ventilation required to shift it, this could take a long time. Personally, I'd concentrate on doing one room first (such as the bedroom) thus giving you a bit of a sanctuary from the smell. If you can live with bare floors for a while, remove the carpets and dump them first, I'm guessing that's where the bulk of the smell is.

Personally I think that onions/vinegar just mask it or/and interfer with the nose's perception of smell. It's unlikely that it's somehow going to suck odour molecules out of the air (certainly won't remove them quicker than opening a couple of windows).

paddy's_mum

Scrub everything that doesn't move out of the way as you enter the room!

I agree with the view that most of the smell will be trapped in the carpets but if they still have some wear or use in them, it might be more sensible to hire a Rug Doctor and clean them thoroughly than to fork out straight away for new ones. There's also the risk that if you don't clean all surfaces thoroughly, the residual stink will affect your expensive new carpets.

Be prepared for the colour of the wash water to make you want to throw up - I've cleaned rugs and furnishings for a elderly smoker neighbour returning home from a long hospital stay and it was akin to the water from a septic tank!

hazybubbles

paddy's_mum wrote: »

I agree with the view that most of the smell will be trapped in the carpets but if they still have some wear or use in them, it might be more sensible to hire a Rug Doctor and clean them thoroughly than to fork out straight away for new ones.

If the carpets were fitted properly then I would agree but they are not and are desperately filthy!! The last owner obviously had dogs (that weren't cleaned up after) as well as smoking and the carpet seem to have been vaguely cut to the size of the rooms.....more like massive rugs.

I am fine with having bare floorboards for a while until I can afford to get the carpets replaced as long as the smell is gone!

sharkie

want to get rid of suborn smells, then tape up the windows/door/ air escape routes and get an ozone generator. A proper ozone generator, not the cheaper ebay kind.

They are usually in a stainless steel box and look like a small metal welder. You do not want to breathe ozone in either as it not only has a detrimental effect on smells, but living organisms, including bacteria, mold, fish, pets and humans.

this is a link to one of the better ebay ones http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/OZONE-GENERATOR-AIR-PURIFIER-1gm-BUSINESS-OPPORTUNITY_W0QQitemZ190390087161QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air?hash=item2c54222df9

However this is the item that means business http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/NEW-OZONE-GENERATOR-MaxBlaster-X2010-Model-16-000mghr_W0QQitemZ120554354023QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item1c11997567
or the smaller http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ENALY-7000mg-Ozone-Generator-Air-Purifier-Odor-Control_W0QQitemZ360205857921QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_2?hash=item53ddf13481

You should be able to rent it too:)

Box-less cheap version and has quite a bit of information too http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Ozone-Generator-Bare-Bones-Ready-to-Use-NIB_W0QQitemZ320520142019QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item4aa07d3cc3

Owain_Moneysaver

Of if you, or someone you know, is handy with electronicy gubbins, make your own here and here.

Caution: high voltages can kill. Having to pay for a funeral isn't :money:moneysaving.

sharkie

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Of if you, or someone you know, is handy with electronicy gubbins, make your own here and here.

Caution: high voltages can kill. Having to pay for a funeral isn't :money:moneysaving.

Have seen these and others before, but to get a transformer is hard - no old neon sign transformers around these days or anything else reliable going cheap. Any ideas?

Owain_Moneysaver

sharkie wrote: »

Have seen these and others before, but to get a transformer is hard - no old neon sign transformers around these days or anything else reliable going cheap. Any ideas?

You could cannibalise an old photocopier or even a CRT telly chassis - if you know what you're doing.

5kW transformers about £50 here. Other stuff here.

cybergibbons

Old (20 years+) and large photocopiers often have a stupidly powerful transformer in them. Often quite awkward to get out though, and for some reason it only takes a touch of damp to make all the self-tapping screws really hard to remove, so if it's on the side of the road, move quick!

If you do make an ozone generator, do remember that they really do produce quite a lot of ozone if you do it right! The piddly ones often sold in the UK produce do little it isn't noticeable, but a lot of ozone is very, very bad to your health.

I used to work somewhere that used ozone as a disinfectant in the swimming pool. The generator leaked one day, and my boss got a good lungful of it, and spent about a week in hospital with his lungs making gurgling noises.

elainew

We bought a house that a man had smoked in for 50 years! Luckily we were gutting the whole house stripping it bare. Thank god we did as the smell was horrific. When we steamed the wallpaper -nicotene ran down the walls and left a sticky gooey mess--it was awful/
All light fittings had to go as they too were sticky .
I would defo try and replace as much as possible if you can afford it. We took lifted carpets ( or they would have walked themselves) and had bare floor boards for a bit.

Good luck x

Owain_Moneysaver

elainew wrote: »

We took lifted carpets ( or they would have walked themselves) and had bare floor boards for a bit.

Sanding the floorboards might be needed in really bad cases.