Current Events > Moved into a new place. Previous tenants smoked inside wtf do i do?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Long story short when we toured the place it didn't smell as bad as it does now. We got it cleaned (they didn't get a cleaner) and there's still a lingering smell.

I'm going to bring it up to the landlord but tbh she's super lax and dgaf which is kind of a double edged sword. She's charging really low for a 3 bedroom in one of the nicest areas in town, no deposit or pet fee, doesnt care if rent is late etc. so I'm not trying to fuck that up.

You aren't going to get rid of the smell but you will probably get used to it and not notice anymore.

Figure out where the smell is coming from if you've already cleaned everything. If it's still on the walls you need to put down a odor/stain blocking primer like kilz. Clean all solid surfaces.

If it's the carpet you're just screwed.

open the doors and windows for a while.

you sounds like you have a sweet deal; dont fuck it up, you can solve this minor problem and you WILL become nose blind within a few days.

There's not a lot you can do except cleaning and ventilation.

Try an air purifier?

Hospy posted...

Figure out where the smell is coming from if you've already cleaned everything. If it's still on the walls you need to put down a odor/stain blocking primer like kilz. Clean all solid surfaces.

If it's the carpet you're just screwed.

The house is 90% tile outside of the master and one of the spare bedrooms. The master reeks real bad so we've been trying to figure out a way to clean the carpet. Will a shampooing do anything or is it just fucked?

I might ask the landlord her permission to use a primer on the walls and just be like they smoked and I want to fix it. Try and get half of the cost reimbursed or something.

Look at it this way. My small apartment is one of 6 in a 3 flat. The leases are non smoking and someone fills my breathing space with "what are they smoking."

You are ahead of the game.

My best guess is that the odor lingers in the walls. Rigging up an air intake would raise the pressure to keep the odor from being released.

A large charcoal filter air purifier might help. A dehumidifier too. Wipe down all surfaces with detergent and water. Put baking soda in the carpets and then vacuum.

Summerlin?

Get used to it.

My friend has one of those big ass construction site air filters. Think that might work?

Noname13 posted...

Summerlin?

Yeah one of the nicer neighborhoods in The Hills specifically. Basically our only option after our rent was raised by $300 once our lease was up at our last place. This place ends up being around $500 less a month than what our last place would have been after all the fees and shit.

Buy an Ozone cleaner

What does an ozone cleaner do?

Because ozone reacts with some other molecules, manufacturers claim that the ozone produced by these devices can purify the air and remove airborne particles, chemicals, mold, viruses, bacteria, and odors.

Itll ever so slowly go away

Dakimakura posted...

You aren't going to get rid of the smell but you will probably get used to it and not notice anymore.

This you become nose blind to smells of you are around it constantly.

I for one have never known what cigarette smoke smells like. Grew up around it.

I will always wonder how my grandma kept her walla so white though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGEaMw3vxN4

I agree with most people here.

just want to say to make sure to clean the ceiling as well.

Is that ozone shit safe for pets? I have a dog and there's people online saying you have to leave your house if you use it

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Smoking is so goddamn trashy.

There, that's better.

You cant take your pet out for a while?

Unfortunately, these processes also release ozone, which is harmful to both human and animal health. Ozone is especially toxic to birds, but it is bad for humans and other pets too.

CADE_FOSTER posted...

You cant take your pet out for a while?

Unfortunately, these processes also release ozone, which is harmful to both human and animal health. Ozone is especially toxic to birds, but it is bad for humans and other pets too.

I mean I can but it's like 111 degrees outside here lol guess we can chill in the car for however long.

Professional cleaning of any carpet. You are fortunate you said you have so much tile. Outside of that I would wipe down all walls with white vinegar/water. All surfaces. Everything.

Walls
Ceilings
Floors
Kitchen counters
Doors, knobs, and handles
Windows and frames
Light fixtures, including the bulbs
Appliances
Furniture if there was any that came with the place.

If it is literally in the drywall of a room I would consider sealing the wall and then repainting assuming it is drywall and not like a natural wood.

Ozone generator/clean the air itself.

Alright, this is not my recommendation - I merely looked it up. I found this Reddit thread, and this appears to be some advice that is highly agreed upon, so take it for what it is:

https://www.reddit.com/r/everymanshouldknow/comments/13guovo/emsk_how_to_desmokify_my_home/

Now here is my overkill method that doesn't involve replacing drywall. You do them in this order as well:


1) Remove all carpet. You have to. All curtains and stuff has to be removed. Anything that can hold a smoke smell is completed un-salvageable.


2) Wash all walls and ceilings with tri sodium phosphate (TSP). It's a cheap cleaner that works amazing. You will see brown water falling off walls and ceilings. You simply fill a warm bucket of water and add the correct proportion of TSP, then soak a paint roller in it and roll the walls and ceilings. This stuff is awesome. Then you must clean all other surfaces with some multi surface cleaner. There will be brown residue on all cabinets, light fixtures, etc. You must clean this off. I'll bleach the floor and counters too. Just get everything as clean as you can, if you plan on replacing cabinets you obviously don't need to clean those as they will be thrown away.


3) Then you run an ozone generator. I've used this one for years. I run it per room by closing doors and such. Other comments in here are like "It's bad for metal and electronics!" It really isn't that bad. Ozone is O3 which is a highly reactive molecule that oxidizes things. What happens when metal oxidizes? It rusts. It does NOT rust right away with one ozone treatment... That's just ridiculous. Oxygen oxidizes things as well, over a long period of time, and it's not as reactive, but thinking you are going to ruin all of your metal surfaces and electronics with ozone is just ridiculous. People use ozone generators all the time. Especially in houses that have fire damage. Using it once to remove smoke smell is perfectly acceptable. Just don't let anyone be in the house while it's running. That's the only risk. Now that I've dispelled the rusting concern, if you are running ozone in a big family room, ozone is heavier than air. So I point it at the ceiling, reverse the direction of the ceiling fan, and use a box fan to blow the ozone into the ceiling fan. This will disperse the ozone pretty evenly throughout the room and cover the higher spaces.


4) Now that the house has been cleaned and ozone'd, you paint. Get a paint that's made to seal. I use Kilz. You must paint the ceilings as well. Remember that smoke rises. Ceilings get hit pretty bad. After you've primed all the walls and ceilings with a sealant type paint, then use your main colors.


5) Pay for a thorough air duct cleaning with odor elimination. They basically spray compressed air with a cleaning agent through all the ducts and it goes from each duct back toward the heater/evaporator. Then you need to obviously replace the disgusting brown air filter, and clean the evaporator coils.


6) The house should be extremely clean and smoke free smelling at this point. Just as an extra measure, I like to buy a can of Zep smoke odor eliminator. It's like a few dollars and this stuff works wonders. You shouldn't even need it at this point, but I spray the whole house down with it because it's really cheap and doesn't take long to do, and I'm already going overkill to begin with, so this is a final nail in the coffin.


7) Install your new carpet and do all your other stuff to get the house ready.


A side note about baseboards, sometimes it's fine to just clean them, but other times you'll have to paint/replace them. White baseboards can be turned a disgusting yellow tinge and they must be replaced or painted. And like I said above, sometimes painting and cleaning is fine for light damage, and sometimes replacing all drywall is the right move. If painting doesn't sound like enough and replacing drywall sounds like too much, I would do my overkill method. Otherwise the smell could come back in half a year. If you follow my advice, it will be gone, completely unnoticeable, and never come back.

I advise against using ozone because there are safer ways to kill your sense of smell.

One time is ok. Just do not do ozone daily

There's this powder you can put on a carpet, then vacuum up after 15 minutes that's supposed to really freshen a carpet. I've used some myself and it works well. Google "carpet cleaning powder" and see if any supermarkets around you carry it.

Ozium

Fart?

Smashingpmkns posted...

Is that ozone shit safe for pets? I have a dog and there's people online saying you have to leave your house if you use it

You and your pets shouldn't be in the same room with one of those big work site ones while it's running. If exposed to higher levels you'll experience some respiratory irritation, but it's temporary. Most of them have timers, so remove your pets from the room you wish treated, leave a window cracked an inch or two, and set the thing to however long you think you'd need, and everything will be safe by the time you get home.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/a/forum/0/0016254b.jpg

My grandparents smoked inside when I was a kid. They've been dead for over 25 years and some of the stuff I have of theirs still smells like smoke. Scrubbed my grandfather's camera case and it seemed to make it worse.

Smashingpmkns posted...

Will a shampooing do anything or is it just fucked?

Itll reduce the smell but it isnt going to make it go away entirely. Problem is the smoke goes through the carpet and into the padding and the padding isnt ever going to get cleaned from a carpet cleaner.

A Rug Doctor wouldn't hurt

Let the incense burn, bro

thank god cannabis doesnt work the same way