Getting Rid of Nicotine Smell

Any tips for getting rid of a nicotine smell in a property which housed heavy smokers in the past?

Carpets removed. Walls were scrubbed with sugar soap and then vinegar/water mix. Curtains washed.

Smell is much better than it was, but still noticeable. I have been able to mask with an electric air freshener, but as soon as you leave it off for awhile the nicotine smell returns.

I would prefer to avoid a complete seal/repaint throughout. I have read good things about this product:

http://www.amazon.com/Fire-One-Shot-Aerosol-Can/dp/B00067IVDA/

But have not been able to source it in Australia. I even contacted the manufacturer, but the distributor they recommended doesn't ship to Australia as it's a dangerous substance.

Is anyone aware of a similar local product that might do the trick or any other tips?

 

Dreadfull smell. I once bought a book that was owned by a smoker and it stank. I smothered it with talcum powder which eventually did the trick. Bit hard to do that with a house but it may help with the floors.

 

Find a cleaner with an ozone machine, sets it up and let it run for couple of hours hoping the smell will decrease/go away?

 

Curtains hold smell as much as carpet, remove them and see if smell goes.

You can also wash down with Tricleanium which is a stronger cleaner than sugar soap etc

 

If the carpets and curtains are all removed try this mix,Aldi have a one litre power force protect and clean one litre hospital grade disinfectant for 2 bucks,mix that with Eucalyptus Oil
and spray every wall and floors several times over 3-5 days,but keep all the house sealed once the Eucalyptus sinks into the floor boards the smell will go,also works well on flooded properties..imho..

 

If you need to repaint you can do so with a Zinsser Paint called CLEAR B-I-N sealer which you use first. Zinsser® CLEAR BIN® Sealer Product Page

 

Thanks for all the tips.

Will paint down the track, but perhaps not for 12-18 months, so prefer to find some short-medium term solution.

This is one you've tried personally willair? Any tips on the ratio, disinfectant to eucalyptus oil?

 

About 30% disinfectant,20% eucalyptus oil,the rest tap water,i just use a garden 5 litre sprayer,then just spray it on the floors first then work up the walls,use safety gear,it does work once it goes into the wood..

 

Tricleanium. But realistically I'd just spend a couple weekends giving the whole place a good paint - not that much work and 5000x better.

 

Paint trumps cigarette smell.

If you don't want to paint, try airing the place out. Heaps.

 

Nicotine is odourless and clear. The issue you have is smoke and tar residue. Like some cooking odours (aromatic spices). It permeates any cracks etc and can be almost impossible to remove coating floor, walls, ceilings, window coverings, furniture the lot. . It will coat all surfaces - Hard and soft. Painting, cleaning and removal are the only suggestions.

A smoke free tenant agreeing to the place as smoke free is the best tip however now you have a odour that will be hard to do.

 

Yuck. Another reason to specify no smoking anywhere on the property in the lease.

 

Which is great, until the tenant ignores it and smokes inside anyway. Fortunately this has only happened to us a couple of times.

 

Note that i said anywhere on the property, not just inside.

But yes, some will do it anyway.

 

Some companies can steam clean the walls to help remove the smell.

Otherwise I've heard bicarbonate soda laying around can help (not tested by me though).

Last resort, painting.

 

So does road kill and its much more affordable.
Simply find suitable dead marsupial on the side of the road, leave it in affected house, close windows and doors and leave for a week.

I guarantee those nicotine smells will be gone for very little if any cost.

 

I feel you pain... it's a horrible smell. Hopefully some part of this will help. The gist of it is I don't think there are any simple solutions, it's gonna take some hard work to completely get rid of the smell.

Our IP had a chain smoker living in it before we bought it. A couple of hours inside was all I could stand before I was dry retching, no idea how someone could live like that. I ended up wearing a respirator. To get rid of it was a process of elimination.

Pulled the carpets out of the bedrooms, got rid of old blinds etc, washed everything down with vinegar and steamed the tiles. The gunk out of the grout came out a horrible yellow colour. Most horizontal surfaces were tacky from tar.

Still had a strong smell. Painted everything: walls ceilings doors architraves skirtings etc minimum 2 coats.

Could still smell it, not as bad but still there. Replaced ceiling fans, some light fittings, they were sticky from tar as well. Replaced a number of wall plates, and 2 exhaust fans. The range hood filter stank, two cycles in the dishwasher fixed that.

Had all three split systems professionally cleaned.

Still had a faint smell, especially around the windows. Replaced the fly screens, that finally did the trick.

Leaving an ice cream container of vinegar in each room seemed to help as well. Did an experiment with two bedrooms same size, one with vinegar, one without. Definite difference overnight.

Probably lucky to have no insulation in the ceilings as I imagine that could absorb the smell too. I left some containers of vinegar in the roof cavity as well.

Not a lot of help but you just have to keep sniffing around and eliminating things until it's all gone.. Not sure about that product you linked either, anything that can mask that smell would have to be bloody powerful, I'd be worried about living with that. Wouldnt get rid of the sticky residue either.

Hard work but we had factored it in, bought below market value with the smell one of the negotiating points so the clean up made some equity.

Good luck!

 

Guaranteed, @Emoi, you won't notice the nicotine after a couple of days.

You won't be able to use the house, but that's not what was asked

 

Yep, lock a cat in there.

 

agree with the ozone machine idea, works wonders