How to get rid of smoke smells from your house

Burnt toast. Barbecues. Cigarettes. Nothing seems to get into the house and linger quite so much like the smell of smoke. Maybe you’ve accidentally incinerated your breakfast – along with your great start to the day. Maybe you’ve enjoyed a wonderful barbecue in your garden, only to be reminded of it for days to come because you forgot to close your windows. Or maybe you’re a smoker, and no matter what you do you can’t seem to keep your home clear of the traces of that cigarette smell. Is there a way to keep your house fresh and free from those smoky odours? There is. And you’ll find out why that pesky smell lingers in the first place.

• Why do smoke smells linger?
• 3 simple habits to get smoke smell out of your house
• How to clear away smoke smells through cleaning
• Tools you can use to get rid of smoke smells
• Keep your room air clean with nanoe™ X

Smoke is actually made up of over 400 smelly components like ammonia, acetic acid, 3- ethenylpyridine, and hydrogen sulphide. All of these stick together to form that stubborn smoke odour that we know – and hate. The particles that make up smoke stick to clothes, furniture and walls around your home.^*1

^*1 https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/how-to-get-smoke-smell-out-of-house

Even though that nasty smoke smell seems unshiftable, there are some simple things you can do to clear it out – starting with some regular habits.

Open up the windows in your home and bring in some clean, fresh air. This will help dilute the smell. The best thing to do is to start ventilating your home as soon as you notice any smoke smells in the house – to stop it from sticking to any of your furniture or clothes.^*2 This isn’t a perfect solution though. To completely get rid of the odour you need to remove any sources of the smell.

If you smoke, or live with a smoker, a common source of the odour is the ashtray. Regularly emptying out all ashtrays around the house is an easy way to prevent that cigarette smell from hanging around in the first place.

To stop those smoke particles from sticking to surfaces around the home, it’s a good idea to only smoke outside. The limitation to this is that thirdhand smoke can stick to your clothing. This means that while smoking outside of the house helps a lot, it might not completely get rid of some sources of the tobacco smell. But if you start adopting these three habits, you’ll notice a difference.

^*2 https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/how-to-get-smoke-smell-out-of-house

You might’ve tried to use a common spray or room fragrance with little to no effect. This won’t work because they’re only designed to mask smells, rather than eliminate them.^*3 That’s why it’s important to clean all fabric items, like your clothes, curtains, carpets – or even soft toys. With these cleaning tips, and a little bit of elbow grease, you’ll be able to quickly get rid of the smoky odour.

^*3 https://texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/disaster-recovery-information/restoring-your-home-belongings/how-to-removesmoke-smell-from-a-home/

This handy helper in your pantry also naturally absorbs odours. Sprinkle dry baking soda on your rugs and carpets (and other furniture) and use a brush with soft bristles to lightly scrub. Leave it for around 8 hours and then vacuum up the baking soda.^*4 You can even leave a few bowls of baking soda around the home for a few days to help absorb the smell.^*5

The pantry hides another useful resource in the form of white vinegar. Like baking soda, this removes odours naturally – you can also leave bowls of it around the home to absorb the smell.^*6 You can spray the vinegar onto your curtains and rugs to deodorize them.

Ammonia is an industrial chemical that’s often used in cleaning products. But you must use it safely – it’s a toxic chemical after all.^*7 Make sure you wear gloves and eye protection when using it, and keep your house well ventilated. Do not mix it with bleach, as this will create a harmful toxic gas.^*8 Mix one cup of ammonia with around 3.5 liters of water. Use the solution to scrub your curtains and rugs to clear the smoke odour, then allow it to dry. Be sure to test it on a small part of the fabric first before fully applying. It shouldn’t be used on wool or silk.^*9

If it isn’t frustrating enough that smoke loves to stick to fabrics around the home, the smell can also come out of the very walls. Besides using white vinegar to scrub the walls and floor, you can also look to your drinks cabinet for a solution.^*10 Vodka is a disinfectant and deodoriser. Spray it onto the walls, leave it for a little while and then wipe it off. Or you can simply soak a rag and wipe the walls to get rid of the smoky stench.^*11*12*13 You can also use rubbing alcohol on plaster walls with a clean cloth.^*14

^*4 https://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing/cleaning/how-to-get-smoke-smell-out-of-house
^*5 https://texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/disaster-recovery-information/restoring-your-home-belongings/how-to-removesmoke-smell-from-a-home/
^*6 https://texashelp.tamu.edu/browse/disaster-recovery-information/restoring-your-home-belongings/how-to-removesmoke-smell-from-a-home/
^*7 https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ershdb/emergencyresponsecard_29750013.html
^*8 https://www.mymove.com/home-cleaning/remove-smoke-smell/
^*9 https://www.angi.com/articles/9-weird-ways-windex-works-around-house.htm
^*10 https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-get-rid-of-cigarette-smell-in-house
^*11 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/pop-culture/clean-vodka-boozy-way-keep-odor-bay-ncna734446
^*12 https://www.bhg.com/homekeeping/house-cleaning/tips/surprising-things-to-clean-with-vodka-281474979485474/
^*13 https://rainbowrestores.com/blog/how-to-clean-a-smoke-damaged-house
^*14 https://www.porterscleaning.com/blog/3-ways-how-to-clean-smoke-damage-from-walls/

There are some gadgets that can help you with the process of freshening up your home.

Use your coffee machine and brew yourself a warming cup of coffee before tackling the smoky odour in your house. After you’ve made your cup don’t throw away the coffee grounds. Place them in bowls around the house, like baking soda, to absorb the smell. If the coffee grounds haven’t absorbed the smell after a day, try replacing them and repeating the process.^*15 Also, you can use the coffee grounds in ashtrays. This will help deodorize the cigarette odors. For example, if you smoke in the living room with sofas and carpets that are made of fabrics, using an ashtray containing coffee grounds will help prevent odors.

An air purifier is also recommended for people who have difficulty washing fabric goods in areas frequented used by people. Most air purifiers use a fan and a filter to circulate air and trap pollutant particles. Models with HEPA filters are known to be able to capture smoke particles.^*16 While they can help, they’re not 100% effective, since they won’t be able to remove the smoky odours that have stuck to surfaces around the home.^*17 Because of that, it’s better to use an air purifier in combination with other cleaning methods to effectively clear the smoke smell from your home.

^*15 https://dengarden.com/cleaning/How-to-Get-Rid-of-Smoke-Smell
^*16 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S240584402102079X
^*17 https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/adult-health/expert-answers/air-purifier-smoke/faq-20058555

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