What did you do about the odor?

[Wayne045]

Growing up in a house where both parents smoked.    The house and everything in it (including me) had a stale smoke odor, and sickly yellow tint.   My mom tried to explain that yellow tint as the furnace, my dad however was under no delusions as to what caused it.    When my parents had relatives/guests over for a party, most of whom smoke, the smoke would practically fog up the house and pre-teen/non-smoking me would feel slightly nauseated at the end of the night (it's hard to believe the smoke detectors didn't go off).   Even after starting to smoke myself, I hated that smell/look. I always tried to smoke outside, to avoid having the odor and yellow discoloration in my home and on my stuff.  I never smoke in my car either.   When I quit I was thankful that there was no odor to deal with while I was in withdrawal.

 

After my parents passed away, me and my sister rented the house, but first we did some renovations, and the first thing we did was hire a cleaning company to clean and remove the odor.  They scrubbed down every accessible surface to do it, but the results were amazing.   The house no longer had the stale smoke smell, the walls and windows no longer had a yellowish tint and it was a very noticeable absence to both of us.  Everything else, carpet, curtains etc. was removed and trashed.   We tried to sell the furniture but it was old (and smelly) and ended up in the trash also.

 

My question is, once you quit took hold, what did you do to get rid of the odor in your house or car?

Edited July 22, 2018 by Wayne045

[Stewie]

I never smoked indoors. My car still smeels a bit of tobacco, i suppose i could ask for a professional to clean it? As for myself i just shower and wash my clothes and then i dont smell of smoke anymore. What i regret the most is carrying the smell with me, i mean, some places a smoker arrives and the stench is intense. That was me. gosh

[Reciprocity]

Only smoked in the unfinished basement of the house occasionally and whatever smoke smell there may have been is no longer there as there was nothing for it to absorb into really. I can't smell it in the car any longer either . I suppose there's some remnant of it in there but I don't smell it. Always had the window down while I smoked in the car too so maybe that helped?

 

The first house we bought years ago though was so badly polluted with stale smoke smell and yellowing of almost all surfaces it was disgusting. They had hidden the smell largely with Lysol when we have first viewed the place and we didn't really notice the yellow stains on the ceiling and walls but we sure did when we moved in. Took a long time to get rid of all that. Washing all the surfaces, painting with a "high-hide" paint as well as getting rid of carpet and other stuff that absorbs the smoke smell.

 

I don't think many people smoke indoors like they once did. Those days are largely gone now.

[Rozuki]

I had my car professionally detailed and it was well worth it! As for my house, I only smoked in one room of the house for a short time or the garage in winter. Mainly went outside on patio.  Washed the walls and ceiling with Pine-sol liquid cleaner, threw out the curtains/blinds and cleaned the carpet.

[jillar]

I never smoked in my house and quit smoking in my car in 2007 when I bought a new one and swore it would be smoke free. My garage though still smells on humid or rainy days. That's where I smoked and the smell is soaked into the acoustic ceiling. So I use air fresheners and spray fabreeze on the ceiling now and then when the odor is strong. Now that I don't smoke I don't hang out in the garage much anymore anyway.

[notsmokinjo]

Never smoked inside, even before I had a kid so didn't have that issue. Since the late naughties... I never smoked in the car when the kid was in there but after that became a law here (no smoking with kids in the car) for some reason I started smoking in the car less too... although in bad traffic I would.... I always smoked with the window down so while there is a slight scent in my old car (not really on the road for a while) its not too bad and really only on hot days.

 

So I space bag my winter clothes (jackets, wollies) at the end of the season and I did notice that even though they had been put away clean they smelled of stale smoke when I got them out this winter... so I had them dry cleaned, problem solved.

[Doreensfree]

We both smoked indoors...before we knew better...then we only smoked outside...

It took years to get rid of the smell..all the furniture has been changed now...and the walls have been painted a good few times...

I think I've got rid of all traces of nicotine..

 

[Wayne045]

Glad to see I’m not the only one who wanted to be completely rid of the smell.  It’s amazing how it persists.  I have an old recliner that my dad used when he visited.  And after many years and febreeze shots.  You can still smell it although you have to be close to it.   I couldn’t get them to go outside even with perfect weather and a covered patio.

 

When I would visit my parents and returned home. I would just dump the entire contents of my suitcase into the washer whether they were clean or not because they all reeked.  

[Tammy]

I rarely, like super rarely smoked at home (even when I did, it would be outside in the tiny stretch of floor we call a balcony). Never ever smoked in my car, because I was petrified of putting my attention anywhere else except the driving.

 

I predominantly used to smoke at work, so thankfully never had to deal with the odor issue, except whatever was on me. For that, copious amounts of mint (I'm actually saving money on Mentos too) would come in handy.

So glad all those days are behind me now.

[JB 883]

It really isn;t practical to try to clean everything in the house if you smoked indoors.

One could scrub every single floor, ceiling, wall, etc, wash every cloth article that they can fit into a machine, and what not but there is only so much one can do.

For the car or house - what about removing tobacco smell from the HVAC system? Febreeze it while it is running? Not like it is practical to scrub in there.

Or on days when it is nice, throw open all the windows and put fans in a couple. One should do that anyways just to rid stale air.

 

May not be possible to eliminate smoke smell 100% but eventually it wears down to barely noticeable

 

[JimHannoonen]

I never smoked indoors, so I can't speak to that. I didn't do anything with my car because I only drive it 1-2 times a months. After 1.5 years, it doesn't really smell, but it never really did anyway.

 

That said, I would wash my hands about 30 times a day, change my shirt 2-3 times a day and would burn through gum like it was going out of style. And of course, I still stank. lol!

 

So glad that monkey is off my back!