Smoke smells, be it from cooking, cigarettes, or any other sources, can persist for a long time in the house and make it foul-smelling. It is a must for both hygiene and overall health of the household to get rid of the smell of the smoke as soon as possible. Smoke smell removal from the home is a multi-step procedure, including deep cleaning the surfaces and ventilating the area. You might wonder: How to get smoke smell out of a house?
A lot of factors may cause your home to smell like smoke. From simple reasons like cooking smoke or cigarette smoke, to serious cases like a fire, the reasons that your house smells like smoke are many. The method of removing the smell of the smoke is also varied, depending on the source of the smell.
Let’s now take a look at how to get the smoke smell out of the house.
How to get the smoke smell out of your house
To remove the smoke smell from the house, you must first gauge the severity and the source of the smell. If the smell is due to a cigarette or cooking, then you need to do the bare minimum to get rid of it. On the other hand, if the root cause of the smell is something severe, such as a house fire, the odor removal procedure is more thorough.
Let’s see how to get a smoke smell out of the house.
- Ventilation: The first step in removing all types of smoke smell is proper and thorough ventilation of the house. To do so, ventilate the home opening all the windows as well as doors. If the smoke is due to a small source, this step alone might be enough.
In addition to that, you can also use fans, both ceiling and exhaust, to push all the smoke and its smell out of the rooms. If you don’t have exhaust fans, using smaller table fans will also do the job.
- Surface Cleaning: Once you have gotten rid of the smoke and the lingering smell in your home through ventilation, it is now time to remove the smoke particles from the surfaces of your home. All the hard surfaces of the house have to throughly wiped to do it. Here is how:
- Walls and ceilings: To clean your walls and ceiling, make a mixture of white vinegar and warm water in a 1:1 ratio. Then wipe the surfaces with this using a white cloth or a sponge. If you need a stronger solution, then use TSP cleaners. These will remove even the toughest of smoke smells from the aforementioned surfaces.
- Furniture: The process and materials used to clean the furniture are a bit different from those of the walls and ceiling. Instead of white vinegar and water, use vinegar and/or soap to first wipe the furniture’s surface. If your furniture has removable covers and/or cushions, remove them before wiping.
Wash the covers and cushions with detergent. Steam cleaning the upholstery is a great idea if you want to be completely sure of smoke odor removal.
- Cleaning the HVAC system: It doesn’t matter if the smell of smoke is less or more intense; it will always get into your HVAC system because of how the system works. So, irrespective of the intensity of the smoke, you must clean the HVAC systems.
For this, it is best not to tinker with the HVAC systems yourself. Contacting a local HVAC cleaning service to do it for you is the best option. Not only do they have the required experience to save your system from any unnecessary harm, but they also have the tools to clean it properly.
- Washing the fabrics: The fabrics in your home absorb the most smoke particles among all other things; as a result, they also smell like smoke the most. So, mix white vinegar with warm water, and soak your pillow covers and linens in it. For carpets, sprinkle a large amount of baking soda on them.
Vacuum your carpets and the fabrics shouldmbe washed with warm water. To deep clean your carpets and upholstery, steam cleaning them is a very good idea.
- Deodorizing the air: Even if you clean all the things in your home, there might be a lingering smell of smoke in your home. Bowls of charcoal, baking soda or white vinegar set all over the house should do the trick. These will absorb the smoke particles and act as natural deodorizers.
You can also filter the air with HEPA filters and/or carbon filters. These will purify the air and remove the smell. Also, commercial odor removers such as Ozium or Odo Ban will do the job perfectly.
- Repainting (optional): This step is not a mandatory one, and only applies if the paint in your home is damaged due to fire. First, use a primer that blocks smells on your walls and ceiling. Then use fresh paint to paint the surfaces.
Final Words
Since the smell is very irritating and tough to remove, knowing how to get the smoke smell out of a house is a lifesaver. Because smoke particles that linger around the house are sometimes extremely harmful to your health and can be fatal if persistent. For a more professional approach, contacting a local cleaning service is a good alternative.
FAQ
1. What kills smoke smell in a house?
There are a lot of things that kill the smell of smoke in a house. These include
- White Vinegar
- Baking Soda
- Charcoal
- Deodorizers, etc.
2. How long does it take for the smoke smell to go away in a house?
The time it takes for the smell of smoke to go away from the house depends on the intensity. For light smoke, it requires a couple of days maximum, provided you have proper ventilation. For more intense smoke, it may take weeks, especially if you have to repaint the walls and ceiling.
3. How to remove the cigarette smell from the room instantly?
To get rid of cigarette smoke instantly, you need to ventilate the room immediately while deodorizing the freshening the air of the room. Use air fresheners and white vinegar, charcoal, or baking soda to get the cigarette smoke out of the room as soon as possible.