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I recently moved into a new apartment, during the visits everything was airy so I couldn't detect this problem, but after moving in, I quickly realized that the old tenants were smoking inside, especially in the bedroom.

Since I'm not a smoker, the cold cigarette smell that haunts the walls of my current bedroom disgusts me, and I can't get rid of it.

I tried to open the window for more than a week every day for more than 15 hours a day, I live in an area with a lot of wind but every night when I close the window, a few minutes are enough to bring back this disgusting smell.

Note: I'm also afraid that my matela and the clothes in this room will be impregnated with this smell.

Ced
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  • Perhaps you can launder the curtains and shampoo the carpet. – Weather Vane Jun 12 '20 at 17:21
  • @WeatherVane unfortunately, as I said, I just moved in so I don't have any carpets or curtains in the room. On the other hand, if you don't have any solutions, please upvote the post to gain visibility, have a nice day. – Ced Jun 12 '20 at 17:33
  • Oh, where I live carpets curtains and cooker are a minimum requirement for a letting. I suggest you'll have to scrub the walls, but that won't fix the ceiling. – Weather Vane Jun 12 '20 at 17:34
  • Does this answer your question? https://diy.stackexchange.com/questions/8696/what-is-the-best-way-to-remove-cigarette-smoke-smell-from-a-house – Stan Jun 13 '20 at 13:59
  • @Stan not really because I'm not the owner so I don't have the right to paint the walls unfortunately. – Ced Jun 14 '20 at 14:49
  • @Ced TSP is a non-destructive treatment to remove dirt, and accumulated grease (from the kitchen) from surfaces. After the surface is clean, paint can adhere better. Using TSP doesn't mean that you must paint. It is only a preparation. It is an excellent way to clean surfaces. READ THE INSTRUCTIONS on the package. You have every right to clean your dwelling! – Stan Jun 17 '20 at 15:44
  • @Ced If the previous tenants destroyed the integrity of the dwelling's air quality with their polution, you must surely have the right to make it livable again, or relocate. Life is short as you'll discover. – Stan Jun 17 '20 at 16:18
  • @Stan Thank you for your comment, however it does not solve the problem. Only one room is concerned. – Ced Jun 17 '20 at 20:43
  • You don't get it. I'll let it go. I'm sure you'll be happy. – Stan Jun 17 '20 at 20:52
  • @Stan I get the feeling you're trying to send me a message, but I can't figure it out. – Ced Jun 17 '20 at 21:08
  • I was going to suggest painting the walls because that does the trick, but I see that you have said you cannot paint your walls. However, what I think Stan was trying to tell you with his link is that you should follow the suggestion to clean your walls with Trisodium Phosphate (TSP), not the suggestion to paint your walls. – Ron Kyle Jun 24 '20 at 01:28

2 Answers2

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There are a couple of ways to go to minimize the stale smoke odour.

Easy and Expensive odour elimination hack:
Rent an ozone generator and let the ozone work within the closed apartment for a while. This is the best non-destructive way. Here's more information Note the safety precautions necessary with ozone.

Hard and Inexpensive odour elimination hack:
Wash the surfaces of your apartment with Tri-Sodium Phosphate (TSP). Directions are usually on the package. The benefit of this is that the walls and ceiling are now ready for painting.

Good luck

Stan
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  • The equivalent product for TSP in some countries is sugar soap, a decorator's aid for cleaning surfaces to be painted. Warning: despite its name, it is not for personal hygiene, for cosmetics, or for eating. Always follow the instructions for use. – Weather Vane Jun 13 '20 at 20:42
  • It is not my apartment, I am renting it, so I don't think I am allowed to used Tri-Sodium Phosphate, because it's gonna ruin the tapestries – Ced Jun 14 '20 at 14:55
  • You gave the impression that there are no furnishings. Send the tapestries to a specialist cleaner. – Weather Vane Jun 14 '20 at 20:59
  • I suspect buying a low or medium power ozone generator and running it for a longer duration would be cheaper than renting a high power one. Even a decently high power ozone generator costs $25 when bought directly from the source (China), so I suspect in the US you can get something imported (ebay, aliexpress) which is a little smaller, may not last as long, but is cheap and competent for handling an apartment. – piojo Jun 18 '20 at 04:10
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Here's a technique I saw applied when living for a few months in Morocco. It worked, but the case was probably not as tough as this one, meaning the time people had smoked in these rooms was "just" about 6-8 weeks.

What they did was to move all the fabric items (esp. sofas, curtains etc.) out of these rooms into the full sun and wind, and leave them there for about a day. And to occasionally turn them so the solar radiation can reach everywhere.

It worked :)

tanius
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  • Thank you very much for your message, however I've moved into an apartment with no furniture so I think the smell is in the walls. – Ced Jun 14 '20 at 14:50