De-smoking a home

[Ravin]

We might have the opportunity to buy a home. The only reason we'd have a chance is because it's right next door to DH's best friend's house and therefore the owner knows DH and would cut us a deal, especially since she is having a hard time getting the house to sell.

In big part because she's a die-hard in-the-house smoker.

Needless to say, the house is going to need thorough cleansing, as well as some minor remodeling. So, I'd like to gather info from those who have BTDT on the best deals/sources on how to get a home really deep clean. I expect we'll have to rip out the carpets. DH suggested getting polymer flooring. That doesn't strike me as very environmentally friendly, but I need to come up with an economical alternative that doesn't involve leaving bare concrete floors.

Will we need to strip the paint? Certainly re-painting of walls and cielings will be needed, any advice on the best kind to be enviro-friendly but durable/pretty etc.?

What about the air duct system? Anyone ever had theirs really, thoroughly cleaned?

If we actually manage to buy the house, we'll be doing any improvements on a very thin shoestring. Anything I can manage to do myself, I will. I do not want to live in a stinky, toxic house.

Oh, the basic construction of the house is block, rather than stick, if that's relevant.

[JBaxter]

After my my divorce I bought my first house all by myself. It was a great little 1/2 duplex for 64,500 3bedroom 1 bath no basement 5yrs old nice yard perfect for me and the boys ( 6 &9)
EXCEPT the woman was a chain smoker. Shoestring was my was a fattened form of my budget LOL
I replaced the carpet ( the biggest $$ mid grade berber) and painted myself .. including the trim and doors. It made ALL the difference you could tell that a smoker lived there.
My mom just installed a laminate floor in her great room it looks and functions great.

[goodcents]

You can use white vinegar to help eliminate the smell. I used to use it in my apartment (when I smoked pre-kids) and it works like a charm.

Obviously - wall to wall carpets etc I would probably replace anyways. They generally are a breeding ground for germs. I totally squeeve them.

[jocelyndale]

I'd replace the carpet and pad. The sub-flooring may or may not be okay. The walls will need to be sealed/primed with something like Kilz. You may need to sand and refinish wood (cabinets, etc), you may not. Replace any filters (AC, heat, etc) for climate control systems.

You might contact a local fire/smoke remediation company and ask if they do consults for stuff like this. They're probably familiar with ozone generators (used when the home is *unoccupied*) and proper ductwork cleaning.

[philomom]

Yep, new paint and new carpets. Scrub down remaining woodwork with a vinegar wash. Be sure and get rid of her old window treatments, too.

[momto l&a]

Fresh coat of paint. Use stain blocker in the kitchen and bathroom before painting so the nicotine doesn't ooze through the new paint.

New carpeting.

We washed all walls with TSP.

We have lived in two houses that had smokers in them. Once we where done the houses no longer stank

[zeldabee]

I moved into an apartment previously occupied by a smoker. Landlord had cleaned the carpet and painted, but it still smelled. I cleaned the carpet with BacOut, which cut down the smell a lot initially. After a few months, I could no longer smell it when I walked through the door.

If I were buying a house, I'd rip up the carpet and put in laminate/bamboo/whatever flooring, but then I hate carpets with a passion. That and paint ought to do it.

What's TSP?

[Peony]

Originally Posted by jocelyndale

I'd replace the carpet and pad. The sub-flooring may or may not be okay. The walls will need to be sealed/primed with something like Kilz. You may need to sand and refinish wood (cabinets, etc), you may not. Replace any filters (AC, heat, etc) for climate control systems.

You might contact a local fire/smoke remediation company and ask if they do consults for stuff like this. They're probably familiar with ozone generators (used when the home is *unoccupied*) and proper ductwork cleaning.

Yep. The house we live in now had a chain smoker before. We Kilzed the walls, that step is essential for sealing in the odor. Smoke will come through regular paints after awhile. The cabinets stank so bad, I took them out and had them in our garage of our other house, OMG, they stank up the entire garage, I would gag just walking in there, it was that bad. The cabinets were painted so I washed them in a simple green mixture, sanded them, Kilzed them, and then repainted them. You literally will have to scrub every sq inch of that house. The inside of the windows had this black film on them, it took several window cleanings to remove all of it. I would tear out all the carpet and replace it. We kept the carpet upstairs (not enough money to replace it and we don't use those rooms), we had a company come and clean them several times, every now and then when I walk up there, I get a whiff of smoke. The heat in this house is forced air, I hired a company to come and clean all the ductwork, they had these high powered vaccum system in a trailer that blows and cleans the ducts, you should of seen the crap that came out of it. Yuck. After we did everything, no smell, and the house looks completely different.

[Penelope]

The magazine "Natural Home" has really good articles on safe, environmentally friendly flooring/construction materials/paints, etc. for when you do start to remodel.

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by zeldabee

What's TSP?

It used to be tri sodium phosphate but now they have changed the formulation of it. It for serious cleaning. Usually used before painting.

Its not a green cleaner. Sure helps remove smokers crud

[velochic]

My mom was a chain smoker for 30 years in my childhood home. We tried to de-smoke the house on our own before selling it, but we were just not able to do it.

They ended up having to strip up the flooring (hardwood) and the subfloor, then take the walls and ceiling down to the studs. Then they did this fumigation-like thing. Had to replace the kitchen, the window trim, and the lighting fixtures.

The first thing we did before we had to get the pros in was to strip paint, try kilz and paint over, but the tar from the cigarettes actually bled through the paint and kilz. For the flooring, I think the problem was that the floors were not sealed wood floors like you get today. The ceilings were all a very ill-looking brown (they were supposed to be white). It was just disgusting.

Mom lives with us now and smokes outside... but hopefully that will be over soon. She is on the drug to quit smoking and is down to 4 cigs a day.

[Peony]

I forgot to mention that we had to replace all light fixtures, trim, and fans, and I stripped and restained the bathroom cabinets.

[MommyErin]

BTDT with no budget. We ...
... cleaned the carpets (couldn't afford to replace)
... got rid of all other cloth left in the house (window treatments, shower curtains, etc)
... scrubbed the place from head to toe

and, in the master bedroom and finished basement (the two rooms smoked in the most) we got some of these and they really helped. We found two for one packs at Target for like $20.

I'd recommend fans and open windows as well. It's amazing what fresh air can do.

If we had the money, we'd have cleaned the vents. We are planning that this spring but the smell is long gone.