Cigarette smoke

Has anyone found a sucessful way to remove the cigarette smell from apartments. I have 2 units offline right now because the smell is SO BAD! We've kiltz, painted with odor obsurbant paint, replaced carpet & padding, vinyl, swithplate covers etc. HELP!

A couple of things we do here you might try is:

1. Use a mixture of bleach and water to first wash down everything so as to remove as much nicotine as possible before doing anything else.
2. Use an ozone machine and let it run in the unit for a day or two.

After you no longer have the smell,...kiltz, paint and replace the flooring. It has always worked for us, hopefully it will for you too. Good Luck !

I have had some experience with this, but am no expert. What worked for my "smoker units" is to remove all carpet and padding, etc. I have maintenance bleach the floor (open windows, of course) and let dry for a day or two. We kilz and use another, specifically formulated for blocking smoke - from Lowes - and paint all surfaces, let thoroughly dry before installing new padding and carpet. The one thing that happens in these units though is smoke odors can linger in your wood trim and cabinets. A lot of people don't realize that wood retains cigarette odors. After doing everything you did, I found this is where the problem was. We had to sand and refinish all the wood trim and cabinets. Some people will paint their cabinets but there is special finish on ours so I don't want to paint them.

Also - you may have to have all the ductwork cleaned and try the ionizer machine. The ozone machine is great but you'll need to use it for at least 48 hours. Then leave the unit alone and hopefully you won't need to use it again.

Hello Stephanie,

There are two methods I always used and they have worked:

1. Ozone machine - I used the same ones that were used to get the smoke smell after a fire in a unit. Now some use a company to come in and do it, but the charge is going to be high. so go with companies that sell the machines and buy one business to business. Get your maintenance personnel to understand where to place it and how to use it. In the long run, it will pay for itself in that you do not have to hire a company to come in and do the work. Now all ozone machines are not egual and what you want to know here is how many cubic feet of air is circulated through the filter in a minute. Know the size of your rooms and close doors and concentrate first in the area with the heaviest smell. Oh, one other thing is you want to watch out for knockoff systems and how much power a machine draws, so you can calculate in your costs.

2. Plants that clean the air - The best plants for improving indoor air quality include the philodendron, spider plant, English ivy, peace lily, Chinese evergreen, bamboo palm and golden pothos. Some of the more effective plants to clear out formaldehyde include the Boston fern, dwarf date palm, bamboo palm, English ivy, weeping fig and lady palm.

These plants are nice gifts to the new resident.

Hi there,

I have experienced something similar here is alist of what I have done in the past.

1. Rip out all carpet until everything else is done.
2. Have the flooring company reseal the floor so no smells seep through.
3. Have maintenance remove the fan unit from the AC and clean or replace it.
4. Clean the air ducts. Maintenance should be able to get the covers off and start this process if your budget will not allow.
5. We have replaced cabinets in some cases. Smoke is a tough one!
6. I used coffee grounds and baking powder - I sprinkled it all over the floors.
7. Leave the windows open
8. Kilz and paint

We had one so bad we even had the vendor refinish the bathtub and you could smell it over the fumes!

I like the plant idea! Try that one too! Good luck

Hello,
Smoke smell is very strong and absorbs into everything. I agree with the use of an Ozone Generator - that is what I have used in many applications. Not only does it work with smoke but any strong odors - even the bathtub refinishing. I sell these machines in my spare time - if you would like to discuss - send me an email - [email protected].
Good luck.

Hi, we often have this problem. We do the usual, remove carpet, ozone machine and thorough cleaning of walls. If that doesnt eliminate the problem.... we have our carpet guys spray a special deoderizing liquid into the a/c and ducts.. works like a charm.