removing smoke smell from a house

[prhom]

Has anyone ever tried to get the smoke smell out of a house where people had been smoking indoors?

I've got a rental house and my tenants of 2.5 years are moving out. The big surprise for me is I found out they've been smoking inside (were not supposed to) and now I'll have to get rid of the smoke smell before I rent it out again.

My current plan is to wash down the walls, ceiling, and kitchen cabinets. Then if it's still around, paint over everything with Kilz and repaint over that.

Has anyone had to do this and if so, what did you do, was it successful? Is it better to hire a smoke remediation company, or are they going to do the same stuff and charge a bunch for it?

Success to me is walking into the house and not being able to tell it was smoked in. That may not be realistic though.

[Superbowltrashcan]

Originally Posted by prhom

Yeah, jokes aside I thought about that. Thing is, it seems like a lot of smokers don't actually smoke in their house.

If they are renting they will. It isn't theirs....

Also you will need to determine if the smoke permeated the hardwood floor sheen. Cigarette smoke lingers and can dull a hardwood floor and cabinetry. It will come clean but takes some elbow grease in severe cases. Did some of the in-laws house after my mother in-law quit. Floors and cabinets were coated in it. But she was a pack or two a day habit.

[Bump]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Wait until one leaves you with a bunch of bedbugs. That's when the real fun begins.

been there done that

[TribalElder]

Originally Posted by Bugeater

Wait until one leaves you with a bunch of bedbugs. That's when the real fun begins.

Damn that would suck

Free smallpox blankets for all delinquent tennants

[MahiMike]

Originally Posted by Chiefshrink

replace all carpet and re-paint all interior walls.

This. Use a primer 1st.

[crazycoffey]

Cut up a bunch of apples, clean any cloth curtains in the wash and use a bleach spray clean bottle on the walls

[chiefsfan1128]

I used to work at SERVPRO.
They do fire and water damage "restoration", if you have one locally I would suggest checking with them.

For fire damages they scrub everything down and the use something along the lines of a scented atomizer to mask any remaining smell.
We used cinnamon for fire damages and mint for water damages. Those seemed to work best, respectively.
The "atomizer" was to get into any areas that couldn't be scrubbed.

[Boise_Chief]

wash the walls then wipe them down with odo ban before painting. you can rent an ozone generator, ozium is good stuff too. the only big thing that has been forgotten so far is the refrigerator coils. the dust on them will be coated in the smoke smell and then the fan spreads it to the house.

[prhom]

Originally Posted by chiefsfan1128

I used to work at SERVPRO.
They do fire and water damage "restoration", if you have one locally I would suggest checking with them.

For fire damages they scrub everything down and the use something along the lines of a scented atomizer to mask any remaining smell.
We used cinnamon for fire damages and mint for water damages. Those seemed to work best, respectively.
The "atomizer" was to get into any areas that couldn't be scrubbed.

Interesting, is this kind of service priced in the hundreds of dollars or thousands? I'm likely going to pay someone to do the painting and/or Kilz sealing for me. Not sure what that's going to run, but my guess is about $500.

[KCBOSS1]

Kilz the walls and ceiling and repaint, place a strong odor neutralizer in an open bowl in the central air return. i don't remember what brand i used, but I can probably find out if you need me to...... or you can go to a H&A company and ask them. I flipped a house a few years ago that the lady that had lived there had smoked in for several years. Worst I have ever seen. I replaced the floor coverings as well. Fumigation is another option.

[Ace Gunner]

I had a unit open up a few months ago, turned out the guy was smoking in there. I clean the place up, did nothing special really. after about 3 weeks, the place didn't smell like smoke at all. the blinds are plastic and the floor is wood.

[J Diddy]

Originally Posted by prhom

Renting to someone with no sense of smell might be a plan as well?

For Rent: Lovely 2 Bedroom on the lower East Side. No Pets. Children welcome and tenants without noses preferred.

[Chieftain58]

Kilz

[Spott]

Originally Posted by prhom

Nope, they were good tenants for a long time. Just fell on hard times back in November and couldn't keep up with the rent. It was kind of a surprise actually.

Good tenants wouldn't have been smoking in the house.

[chiefsfan1128]

Originally Posted by prhom

Interesting, is this kind of service priced in the hundreds of dollars or thousands? I'm likely going to pay someone to do the painting and/or Kilz sealing for me. Not sure what that's going to run, but my guess is about $500.

Ask them for an estimate.
When I worked there it depended on square footage. If you have several rentals, let them know, they may cut the price down in hopes of future business.
A lot of SERVPROs also offer duct cleaning. I believe most also offer carpet dying and possibly wood floor services.
If you were only looking for the atomizer services, it should be way under $500(200-250 would be my guess).
There may be additional advances(I worked there about 15 years ago).
Just make sure to let them know what you're looking for and ask them how effective they believe their work will be. The work I was doing was for actual fires. Tar and nicotine may be different, but they do know their stuff, in my opinion.

[MOhillbilly]

Open the windows