getting rid of cigarette smell

pinkshoes

We viewed a property today, and despite being empty for a month, the stench of cigarette smoke is still very stong.

I've heard it can be a nightmare to get rid of.

Does anyone know roughly how much you'd have to pay for a deep clean of the house by professional cleaners? It's a medium sized 4 bed in the south east.

Yorkie1

I don't know, but bear in mind it may have seeped into the carpet underlay too. Is this to buy or rent? If to rent, is it furnished or not?

pinkshoes

To buy.

The carpets are all thread bare so would be removed.

the walls (wall paper) and ceilings were nicotine stained.

Eejay

If you'd be removing the carpets and redecorating, would it be worth getting it deep cleaned? The paper and carpets are probably holding the smell - once it's been freshly painted/papered and had new flooring put in I think the smell will be gone.

Thrugelmir

pinkshoes wrote: »

We viewed a property today, and despite being empty for a month, the stench of cigarette smoke is still very stong.

I've heard it can be a nightmare to get rid of.

Does anyone know roughly how much you'd have to pay for a deep clean of the house by professional cleaners? It's a medium sized 4 bed in the south east.

Had the same problems some years back. Be prepared to strip the house back , repaint and carpet. The lot.

As much ventilation as you can allow as well.

Not unsolvable.

kaya

Easy peasey , you need to buy yourself an ozone generator (usually used by folk who grow their own medication indoors) . But you need to put it on a timer and go out for a few hours whilst its on, adding a fan will help blow it about a bit , the clean smell after a thunderstorm is actually ozone , unstable oxygen the clings to anything organic (like smells ) and goes pop and destroys them , you need to remain out of the room you used it in for an hour after it's turned off as well , get a real one not a £30 air fresher job from amazon and it will banish all and any smells from your home forever

Better_Days

pinkshoes we purchased a property last year that stank of cigarette smoke, and I can still smell it when I come back into the house after being out for an hour or so. To be fair I do have a very strong sense of smell (due to illness) and friends and DH say they don't notice it now (after 6 months).

DH cleaned all the carpets, washed the curtains and paintwork and mopped the walls and ceilings with sugar soap. The water got yellow very quickly.

The trouble is that the smoke gets everywhere, into the plaster into the paintwork, kitchen units, even the pull cord for the light in the bathroom was stained deep yellow. We are currently having our kitchen replaced and the bits of the units we couldn't get in to clean are vile having seen them taken apart.

So I would say there would be a lot of work when you move in to clean walls, ceilings, paintwork (wallpaper will probably need to be removed to get rid of the smell). Replacing the carpets willl help. How well you cope with it depends on how tolerant you are of the smell, but be prepared for it to slowly dissapate and it will take months rather than weeks.

I would expect to pay a at least couple of hundred pounds for the sort of deep clean you will need (I am in the east). I had arranged for a cleaner to come and clean the house before we moved in but sadly she had a personal tragedy and wasn't able to do what we needed. Still I underestimated the amount that needed to be done and with hindsight I would have got a 'cleaning team' in for the day from one of the local cleaning firms - just google.

Is the house dirty as well as smoky as this will add to the amount that you will have to do. We moved in December which didn't help, but at least if you can get moved in by the autumn you can fling the windows open to help air the house.

I wouldn't discount the property because of smoke smell, but it has been harder to get rid of than I anticipated and more work.

pinkshoes

Redecorating wouldn't be our first priority in terms of budget, as we'd want to rip the kitchen out first.

The decor would be liveable (very 1970s, but not vile!), but we'd want to get rid of the smell ASAP.

There is no way I want to scrub a whole house (hate cleaning) hence I don't mind paying someone else to do it! I have no idea what a professional and thorough cleaner would charge for something like this!

carefullycautious

If it has double glazing don't forget to clean all the windows thoroughly. I could not believe what came off the plastic when I set about cleaning the windows of a flat we moved into. As you opened each window there were burn marks on every one where the person had rested the cigs whilst presumably smoking sat at each window.

It was disgusting but solved the smell problem. Would never go into another smokers house yuk!

Better_Days

OP if you google domestic cleaning and your county you should be able to locate what is available in your area.

Expect to pay between £11 and £15 an hour per cleaner depending on the area, probably more in London.

Most cleaning services offer an 'one off' move in (or move out clean) - often 2 cleaners for a day, although a lot will depend on what needs to be done and the size of the house. I got my cleaner through 'Time for You' which is a franchise and there are similar outfits throughout the country.

GolfFoxtrot

I bought a house in April and the previous owner had smoked inside but you could tell they'd tried to stop smoking inside at least,before we viewed it.
My advice is going to be that you'll need to redecorate to get rid of the smell and leave the windows / doors open to help ventilate the house. Our house had a new bathroom in where the occupants smoked in the bath and the tiles have absorbed the smell, no matter how much we clean we cannot remove the smell in the bathroom. The only way will be to rip out and re-tile etc.

Just be aware of how much work it will be to correct. Also if the walls are badly stained remember to paint them with a sealant before repainting to stop the nicotine staining coming through again.