Cigarette smoke, ugggghhhhhh

[Micca]

DW and I moved into our condo at the first of the year. Occasionally I would detect the scent of cigarette smoke, but DW did not notice it. It was intermittent, so I thought I was crazy. Last week our adult DD came to visit and walked through the front door and said "who has been smoking?" Neither of us smoke(I'm certain of that) so either the neighbors smoke, or the previous owners did and it's coming through somewhere. We are connected to the neigbors house only by our garages. These are medium sized places so I don't know how the smoke would be getting through. Perhaps the previous owners were smokers and the scent is in the ventilation/heating/ac?
How can I get rid of this stuff? It is not like it bowls you over, but as a non-smoker, even the slightest whiff of cigarette smoke is awful(and not healthy).

 

[WDWAurora]

Ugh, I understand completely! For some reason, we can smell it in our laundry room and bathrooms. It's terrible, because I'm allergic and asthmatic. When I'm sick, I literally can't walk past one of our bathrooms. I haven't figured out anything to fix it yet, but I've found covering it up with scented candles that don't bother my allergies helps some. We're right above the smokers here.

That's the bad thing about apartments/condos...It's not like you can complain about the people smoking-they have every right to do so in their own place. I just don't know how to keep it from making me sick. Yet another reason we're buying a home soon!

 

[DISUNC]

DW and I moved into our condo at the first of the year. Occasionally I would detect the scent of cigarette smoke, but DW did not notice it. It was intermittent, so I thought I was crazy. Last week our adult DD came to visit and walked through the front door and said "who has been smoking?" Neither of us smoke(I'm certain of that) so either the neighbors smoke, or the previous owners did and it's coming through somewhere. We are connected to the neigbors house only by our garages. These are medium sized places so I don't know how the smoke would be getting through. Perhaps the previous owners were smokers and the scent is in the ventilation/heating/ac?
How can I get rid of this stuff? It is not like it bowls you over, but as a non-smoker, even the slightest whiff of cigarette smoke is awful(and not healthy).

If the previous owners were smokers, and the smell is coming through the heat vents. The only thing I could think of is the filter has too be changed.
If you haven painted since you moved in, the smoke smell can be on the walls!

Good Luck

 

[Daxx]

I have two students whose parents are v. heavy smokers. Every morning, when I open their book bags, it smells like their parents took a bunch of drags off of their ciggies and blew them straight into the book bag before zipping it up and sending it w/their little ones. The smell is just putrid and their take-home folders and homework absolutely reek! It is so nasty!!! Not the way I like to start my mornings!

 

[hniki234]

I've had this problem at an old apartment. I was there for a year. The problem was that one of my neighbors was an extremely heavy smoker. (They lived below me.) The smell from their apartment seeped into one of my bathrooms. It was horrible. Luckily, the smell stayed in that one bathroom so I could close it off.

I wish that apartment complexes would go completely non-smoking. It's not as if a smoker can't just go outside. If they do allow smoking, they should charge a higher rate because that smell is there for future tenants to deal with plus the complex has to spend a lot of money once the smoker moves out preparing the apartment to be leased again. I'm sure smokers will disagree with that, and I can see how rude it sounds to say that not everyone should be able to do what they want in the apartment they're paying for...but it's a lease and not ownership. I don't mean to sound so harsh but I really can't stand cigarette smoke and I shouldn't have to deal with it when I'm paying the same amount of money.

 

[briar_rose_59]

I'm not a smoker but making them go outside doesn't always work either. I live in a completely non-smoking building (dorms) and the smokers all just stand directly outside the entrance to the building... I especially love (sarcasm) the ones that smoke pot right next to the outside area of the daycare

 

[WDWAurora]

Yeah, going outside wouldn't help my situation either, because they'd smoke on their porch, which is directly below mine and my sliding glass door. We'd never be able to open it.

 

[grinningghost]

The sad thing is, people that smoke don't KNOW they smell like smoke, or even worse, that their KIDS smell like smoke.

My DD has one friend who recently asked her "Do I smell like smoke?" And being the insanely honest person she is, she told her "yeah, you kinda do".

She's embarassed about her parents smoking and making her smell like an ashtray. She never knew about it until her new boyfriend asked her if she'd been smoking herself because she smelled like it. Poor kid.

 

[LoraJ]

There was a couple staying in my downstairs neighbor's condo for a couple of months. The whole time they were here my kitchen smelled like smoke. It was so annoying. The guy goes away for months at a time, I hope the smell was gone by the time he got back. That couple has never been back though. I just find that incredibly rude to stink up someone's home like that when they are doing you a favor.

 

[Alicnwondrln]

I have two students whose parents are v. heavy smokers. Every morning, when I open their book bags, it smells like their parents took a bunch of drags off of their ciggies and blew them straight into the book bag before zipping it up and sending it w/their little ones. The smell is just putrid and their take-home folders and homework absolutely reek! It is so nasty!!! Not the way I like to start my mornings!

lol i hear this
we dont smoke at all
and dont like it around the kids
my crazy MIL does smoke and she reeks
i have to hose her and couch down when she comes with febreeze bacause of it
she lives in FL and when she sends the kids cards for holidays they REEK to
its scary how much she smokes

 

[kaytieeldr]

I wish that apartment complexes would go completely non-smoking. It's not as if a smoker can't just go outside. I'm sure smokers will disagree with that, and I can see how rude it sounds to say that not everyone should be able to do what they want in the apartment they're paying for...but it's a lease and not ownership.

I respectfully disagree with you that smokers should not be able to smoke inside their domiciles BUT - landlords CAN ban smoking. Privately-owned property and all that. Heck, my complex is partly publicly-financed, and they ban smoking anywhere inside the buildings except in the tenants' apartments, with the door closed.

But the OP has a different problem - he DOES own his condo, and his neighbors own their units. I'm pretty sure, with rare exceptions, there's NO way to ban smoking in any unit.

 

[cybrkitn]

When we lived in an upstairs apartment, the downstairs tenant's cigarette smoke would come up into DS4's room (who was a baby at the time). We just got an air cleaner and it really did the trick. You may want to try it.

 

[Blondie]

The sad thing is, people that smoke don't KNOW they smell like smoke, or even worse, that their KIDS smell like smoke.

My DD has one friend who recently asked her "Do I smell like smoke?" And being the insanely honest person she is, she told her "yeah, you kinda do".

She's embarassed about her parents smoking and making her smell like an ashtray. She never knew about it until her new boyfriend asked her if she'd been smoking herself because she smelled like it. Poor kid.

When my sons were young boys they had one friend whose mother smoked. I could always tell when they had been in his house. My son's hair, clothes, etc. would reek of cigarette smoke when they'd come home. Smoking deadens the senses; taste, sense of smell, etc. I really don't think smokers realize just how pungent it is.

Back to the OP, if it's leftover cigarette smell from the previous tenants, one of the best ways to rid the dwelling is to paint, have the carpets shampoo'd and switch out all the air filters in the house. Good luck!

 

[chager]

Several years ago we rented and had issues with smoke. It literally smelled like someone was standing in our unit smoking. IWe had an end unit and I knew our neighbor was a chainsmoker after we met her. Well one day I was in the basemant doing laundry when I SEE smoke coming into my basement. I go investigate and found out that where the pipes ran between the units was a literal small tunnel that was open. We were lucky we didn't have a cat that jumped that high because she would have been able to crawl through the tunnel in the wall. Management never realized these holes existed, or so they said. They filled it with some kind of spray stuff that hardens. It somewhat worked for a while. Then we just added more to it as it settled. Personally I think rentals should have smoking and none smoking buildings. I know banning smoking would most likely not happen in the units so just seperating them like some resorts do would work somewhat I think.

My guess is the previous owners were smokers. It is in the walls and carpets. I know there is some kind of paint you can get that will seal the walls but I don't recall its name. They used it on the walls where an old friend had lived. (He and his wife were heavy smokers. So much so that the white walls were yellow colored when they died.) I beleive it is used in homes they are redoing after fires and such. I would also try contacting a couple carpet cleaners that specialize in odor removal. (Like after a small fire type thing.) Another thing would to be check for where any shared pipes come through the walls. Also have your vents and furnace cleaned. It could also be your neighbor is a smoker and stands in the garage thinking that is better then smoking in the house. Hope that helps a little. I really feel for you. I know how irritating that smell can be.

 

[sugarpie]

I have two students whose parents are v. heavy smokers. Every morning, when I open their book bags, it smells like their parents took a bunch of drags off of their ciggies and blew them straight into the book bag before zipping it up and sending it w/their little ones. The smell is just putrid and their take-home folders and homework absolutely reek! It is so nasty!!! Not the way I like to start my mornings!

That is soooo sad. People should know better, but they just don't care.

 

[grinningghost]

That is soooo sad. People should know better, but they just don't care.

ITA. If these parents had any idea how much their stinky smoke sticks to their kids and their kids' possessions, maybe they would rethink their filthy habit.

 

[Tink_Or_Belle]

someone might have said this but when my parents bought a car from a smoker mom put bowls of Vinegar on the floor in 3 places (front seat middle seat back where it opened what do you call the back part of a van?) I am not sure how long it took (I was in JrHigh at the time) but it did work I'll ask her and let you know later.

 

[DISUNC]

someone might have said this but when my parents bought a car from a smoker mom put bowls of Vinegar on the floor in 3 places (front seat middle seat back where it opened what do you call the back part of a van?) I am not sure how long it took (I was in JrHigh at the time) but it did work I'll ask her and let you know later.

You can also leave Fabric softner sheets in over night!

 

[ZPT1022]

You can also buy cans of cheap coffee and open them and leave them throughout the house. Sounds odd but it helps. My uncle told me to try this when I bought my first car and it was the only thing that really helped. If you haven't painted or re-wallpapered yet you may still have a lot of smell left over. Same with carpets. When I was growing up my parents bought my grandparents house from them when they retired to FL. They were chainsmokers at the time and in total denial about how bad their habit was. When we were helping them pack I remember taking down paintings and stuff and seeing what color the wallpaper really was and how sickly yellow it had turned from their smoking We live in a townhouse now and while our neighbors don't smoke they cook a lot of strange things. Our cooking vents exit next to each other and they turn their fan on every single time they cook. Well the smell comes right on in our house. We've bought candles, sprays, I've had to leave the house because it smelled so bad, etc.... SIL bought us a mulling pot for Christmas. Keep it simmering on the stove all day with cinnamon sticks in it and the house smells like cinnamon. People think I'm baking when they come over, which is obviously way better than "Ewww.......what IS that??" I hope you get rid of it soon, it's no fun and no fair having to live with someone else's smells

 

[Micca]

The coffee thing sounds like it's worth a shot. I might also get an air purifier.
About 10 years ago I bought a computer from a co-worker who was a heavy smoker. I swear the computer smelled of smoke! Thanks for all of your responses. We'll see what happens.