How to Get Smoke Smell out of Your House

Smoke and nicotine can stick to interior walls, window screens and household linens and carpets, trapping the smell inside the house. Removing smoke smells requires a total cleaning of the house, air purifying and replacement of carpets and paint. You can learn how to get smoke smells out of your house by following these steps.

EditSteps

EditRemove Cloth and Linens

Open all the windows and doors to air out the house. Do this frequently throughout the cleaning and deodorizing process.

Remove all your clothing, duvets and wall treatments in preparation for a deep clean. These items need to be washed, but doing so in the house may simply allow them to take on the odors once more.
- Wash or dry clean all of your clothing outside of the home. Make sure you do this just as, or before, you plan to clean the house. Wash all clothing, if possible.
- Wash duvets, pillows, rugs and table cloths as you would your clothing. Keep them outside of the house until the deodorizing work is done.
- Remove and steam clean your window treatments. If steam cleaning and hanging them on a clothes line in the sun for a day does not improve their smell, you may want to replace them. Spritz them with a deodorizing spray right before you put them back up. Wait to rehang them until the interior of the house is clean.

Survey your carpet. If it is extremely dirty and the smoke smell is intense, consider replacing it. If you cannot, clean it well.
- Steam clean all carpets with a disinfecting and deodorizing product or call a professional floor cleaner. If the first try did not remove the smell, clean all the floors a second time after you wash and paint the walls.

EditHousehold Surfaces

Wash the floors, ceilings, window screens and other fixtures with a mixture of water and bleach. Wash and rinse all surfaces extremely well. You may need a ladder to reach all the washable surfaces in your house.
- Do not forget to wash down interiors of closets and cabinets. Basements, cupboards, drawers and hallways house strong smoke odors.

Wash your deck and windows in addition to the interior of your home. If a smoker was recently using nicotine near the home, these areas will also take in the smoke smell.

Wipe all the wood, plastic and metal furniture and appliances with distilled white vinegar. Put the vinegar in a spray bottle and wipe it clean with a rag. Follow up with a rinsing of water and a dry rag, if the furniture is delicate.
- Place several drops of lavender or citrus essential oil to offset the smell of the vinegar. If you do not choose to do this, the vinegar smell will dissipate as it deodorizes furniture.

Sprinkle your fabric-covered furniture and carpets with Odoban. This deodorizing product is used by professionals who are trying to improve houses after a fire.
- If you do not have access to Odoban at your local home improvement or hardware store, use baking soda. Sprinkle it on the surfaces of your furniture and carpet and vacuum it up in a day or 2.
- If you can remove the cushion covers, wet them and wash by hand or in a washing machine with a baking soda mixture. Let them dry a little, then place them back on the cushions when they are still slightly wet. This allows them to stretch to the appropriate size without causing mildew.

Dust or rinse all your knick knacks. You may want to remove them until all the surfaces are clean and deodorized.

EditRepaint

Use a deodorizing primer on the washed walls.
- Products like Zinsser Bullseye and Kilz are an essential step to removing smoke odors that have been around for a long period of time. Simple repainting will not remove the smell.

Follow up with 1 to 2 coats of latex paint. Open all the windows and doors during this process to keep the house well ventilated.

Consider painting other parts of your home. For example, if an old piece of furniture smells smoky, you can wash it, prime it with a deodorizing primer and paint it to renew the smell.

EditAir Purifying

Replace your air filters, furnace filters and air conditioning filters. Air that is forced through your home will still contain smoky smells, so replacing the filters will begin to purify the air.

Buy an air purifier. You can choose to install an air purifier in your home's forced air system or you can buy purifiers that can be placed in a single room.

Place bowls of activated charcoal around the house. Do this when you cannot air out the house, and it will attract smells and deodorize over time.

EditDeodorizing Routine

Rehang window treatments and bring rugs and other linens into the house. Hang clothing in your closets.

Adopt a weekly or daily cleaning routine to help further eliminate smells. Open your doors and windows for several hours per day.
- When the smoke smell is reduced, you can limit the time to 10 to 30 minutes per day.
- Add 1 cup (236ml) of distilled white vinegar to your washing machine each time you clean your clothes, rugs and other linens.
- Add drops of essential oils to vinegar when you wash your home surfaces and windows.
- Vacuum your house weekly to remove dust. Steam clean the floors and window treatments in 3 months.
- Spray your furniture with a deodorizing product, like Febreeze. Although this product does not remove the smell entirely, it can help to improve the smell during the transition.