Smoky!

katesmommy

Hi all

We have just bought a house (well, still going through the conveyancing) but the owner was a very heavy smoker and as a result the house stinks. When we went to view it we left smelling like we had a 40 day habit for our whole lives!!!

I have terrible asthma and our 2 yr old daughter has respiratory problems and smoke can trigger both. So we need the house de-smoked ASAP.

We had already planned to remove all wallpaper and paint the walls, remove all carpets and underlay and replace with brand new, paint all internal doors and skirting and replace the kitchen.

However will this suffice? As surely the floorboards will also stink and just about everything else?

What is the best way to get rid of the smell for good? As we have to move in with all our stuff at the same time, because we have nowhere else to go (sold our house and family are over an hour away) and can't really move into storage as would require getting the removal van out again and people to help.

Any tips?

martinsurrey

You can easily get rid of the ash/dust, by doing as you suggest, and get a good vacuum

However, the smell is a lot more problematic, the smell will come from inside all wooden surfaces for months and months, it won’t harm you, but will smell.

I bought a really nice cabinet from a (unknown to me) smoker, within 24 hours, it looked new, but it took 3 months for the smell to leech out and get replaced by a clean smell.

jjlandlord

No expert but smell should be the result of chemicals embedded in carpets, curtains, and on walls. Smoke is long gone.
So it is not obvious to me whether this smell has any more impact re. asthma, etc. than if the house smelled vanilla.

Cleaning/changing walls, carpets and curtains should do re. 99% of the smell imo.

Better_Days

My Dad was a heavy smoker, but managed to stop during the last couple of years of his life. When he passed away we totally redecorated and re carpeted his flat, new kitchen and bathroom and replaced all the furnishings, but there was still an underlying odour after 18 months. Still, the flat hadn't been aired much, apart from when it was being renovated and also I have a very sensitive sense of smell.

If you replace carpets etc and paint through (be sure to seal properly first or the stains will seep through) there will still probably be a bit of a odour, but will fade in time. Airing will help considerably. There was a thread on this issue in the past few months which you may also find useful.

big5

I would scrub down all the paintwork with a sugar soap solution before repainting, otherwise you might end up with tar stains showing through your new paint. It's a horrible job (had to do the ceilings when we moved into our old house) but worth doing.

Baking soda is good for absorbing smells, and make sure you give the windows a good clean as well (they'll probably be coated in tar too).

G_M

Try posting on the 'In your home' forum or do a google search.

I believe there are some cheap remedies (vinegar?? - Can't remember) which apparantly absorbe the odours....