Buying Smokers House - Cleaning Options

GwylimT

We bought a house where the owner had smoked in it, we had to replaster throughout (including ceilings), remove all internal doors (untreated wood) and replace all flooring including the actual floorboards in the main bedroom.

When we sold it seven years later it still had a smell of cigarette smoke if the windows had been shut for a few hours.

Murphybear

I was brought up in a very smoky house, both parents on 60 a day. Due to illness my mother was forced to quit and when my father was in hospital the house was smoke free. I visited the house after a couple of weeks and the smoke smell had disappeared completely.

I think you'll find it is less of a problem than you think it will be

Silvertabby

Murphybear wrote: »

I was brought up in a very smoky house, both parents on 60 a day. Due to illness my mother was forced to quit and when my father was in hospital the house was smoke free. I visited the house after a couple of weeks and the smoke smell had disappeared completely.

I think you'll find it is less of a problem than you think it will be

I think you'll find that after being used to the smell of 120 cigs a day, you've gone nose blind.


ADD:
My sister and parents were all heavy smokers, but refrained from smoking in my house when they came to visit. However, I still had to wash the curtains and soft furnishings and shampoo the carpets after they had left because the smell had leeched from their clothing.

badger09

I sold my late sister's house in November. She had lived there only 5 years and smoked only in the conservatory, but the smell pervaded the whole of the downstairs.

We cleaned the house from top to bottom with sugar soap followed by strongly cleaning products, shake & vac'd the carpets and washed the downstairs curtains. A neighbour opened the windows whenever the weather allowed.

We machine washed (twice:eek:) the vertical blinds in the conservatory. Not ideal, but they changed from nicotine brown to a deep beige, rather the original pale cream, and their smell all but disappeared. The UPVC frame & laminate floor were fine, but the brick wall still smelled. We solved it by scrubbing twice with a strong solution of white vinegar and water. It smelled like a chippy for a while but after a few weeks, that disappeared too.

I thought it might put people off, but none of the viewers mentioned it, though that might have been through politeness. It sold in a reasonable time at a price I was happy to accept.

John_G_Jones

Kat1e wrote: »

We are looking at buying a property that has been heavily smoked in. The stale smoke smell is really really strong. The furnishings in the property are pretty good though so we wouldn't be looking to change them immediately. We're thinking about using a company to professionally clean the house before we moved in. We've found a company online that says it can guarantee 100% cigarette smoke odour removal. Has anyone else used a company for this issue and if so were you satisfied with the end result? What kind of costs were involved as funnily enough they are not stated on this particular site?

I bought a car which had been smoked in (main dealer, very well disguised on collection), and after trying every last one of the tricks and tips got into a legal fight rejecting it as it still smelled unpleasant.

Repeated professional valets, “bomb” type sprays, chlorine treatment, ozone generator, nothing worked. It could seem fine for a day or two but when the sun came up it so did the smells.

So, to get the smell gone from your house you will need to replace carpets at a minimum, repaint, and use specialist paint to stop the stains coming through

I would never now consider a car or house that smelled of smoke.

Davesnave

John_G_Jones wrote: »

I would never now consider a car or house that smelled of smoke.

I could cope with sorting the house, if it had special redeeming features, but I agree about the car, especially if the smell was dog.

lookstraightahead

Dog, cat, smoking or cabbage.

worried_jim

lookstraightahead wrote: »

Dog, cat, smoking or cabbage.

My neighbours had to replace new carpets after moving in as they couldn't get rid of the smell of fish.

konark

If you want to buy a house that you can be certain hasn't been smoked in then buy a new-build.

Davesnave

worried_jim wrote: »

My neighbours had to replace new carpets after moving in as they couldn't get rid of the smell of fish.

Hmmm....I wonder, did they gazunder?