Getting cigarette smoke smell out of the house?

[ajsgirl]

We're considering moving to a great rental house in a great neighborhood with great schools, but downfall is that the guy who lives there now smokes. The house smells like smoke. We're concerned that we may never get the smell out. He's agreed to replace the carpeting but after he moves his furniture and area rugs out, will it still smell? We can probably repaint some of the walls, but not all of them. We plan to live here at least 3 years and it's perfect in every other way! But if it smells, it's a deal-killer for us.

Also, I can't seem to find any info as to whether or not the house will be unhealthy to live in after he leaves and we clean it thoroughly.

Any ideas? Anybody been there, done that? TIA!

Elizabeth

[Mama Dragon]

Wash every surface with a good cleanser (inside walls of cupboards, everything), and with the new carpet and a couple days airing out, you shouldn't have any ill effects unless there are allergies, and you still should be ok. If you can paint, wash the surface first, then apply Kilz to seal it, then paint.

[Denvergirlie]

have a condition be that the walls are sealed and painted and it should be fine for the most part.

[sunnysandiegan]

I have lived in places where previous smokers lived. Nicotine oozed from the walls, especially in bathrooms. It was disgusting. So, I would request a thorough cleaning of the walls and Kilz and fresh paint along with the new carpet. You want to wait at least a week after all that to move in. New carpet and fresh paint STINK!!!

[pumpkin]

If there is duct work that also needs to be cleaned.

[Peony]

We moved into a house that had previously been smoked in. It was a nightmare to get rid of the smell, and it's not like they had been there for years and years, 1.5y at the most, and before that it was a non-smoking house. We had to Kilz every single square inch of wall, cabinets, doors, everything that could possibly be painted over. The Kilz is a nasty chemical blocker that keeps the smoke from coming through, then you have to paint over it. Simply painting over the walls is not enough, the smoke will come through the paint. ALL the carpeting had to be removed, we tried cleaning the upstairs carpet professionally several times, but on a warm day, you could walk upstairs, all you could smell is smoke. The blinds had to be tossed, and we had to pay a company that cleaned up after fires to come in and throughly clean the ductwork. That is a must, the stuff that came out of there was nasty.

[Kabes]

There is a light bulb made by a company called TCP that will remove cigarette smells. DH used them when he worked in the hotel industry. (He isn't able to recall the name of the bulb right now.)

found them: http://www.petabbey.com/store-produc..._40785552.html

[langyork]

I think smoke is like dust. Air would help a lot. Like open the windows for three days. Can you paint everything? Yeah, anything cloth would have to go.

My dd cannot be around any smoky clothes or anything.

[Purple*Lotus]

When my parent's quit smoking they washed all of the walls down, and the insides of the cupboards, etc. Also they replaced the carpets and had the upholstery and curtains cleaned. It does not smell like smoke anymore in their house, and I am really sensitive to smoke so I would notice.

[UptownZoo]

IME, having the ducts cleaned is more important than painting the walls. I've cleared the smoke smell out of a house by having the ducts cleaned and cleaning walls, ceiling, and floors (there were no carpets) with a high-quality all-purpose cleaner.

[mommy2two babes]

Try to wash the walls before the carpet is replaced because the nicotine will run right down the wall into your new carpet when you wash the walls.
I found TSP worked well to clean all the hard surfaces.