Jan Hayner

How to Eliminate Smoke Odor in Your Home



Posted: Tuesday, March 25, 2008

by
Organizing and Cleaning Tips and Hints

Naturally, the best way to eliminate smoke odor is to completely wash the room, from top to bottom; however, we don't want to do this every time that we use the wood stove or fireplace. So, what can we do to eliminate the odor with minimal effort? First of all, make sure that you always remove the 'cold' ashes immediately and move them to the outside ash bin. Don't leave them in the house any longer than necessary.

Now, short of washing the walls,upholstery,carpeting and mirrors etc. these little tips will make everyones life a little more pleasant.

1.  Set vinegar around the room in small fancy little containers. The fancy little containers are just going to disguise the ingredients and make your wife feel better about doing this. Vinegar will absorb the smell and the odor of the vinegar will not be known to anyone.

2. Another source of absorption is 'charcoal', although this is harder to hide from view, it also will eliminate the odor.

3. During the heating season it is wise to wash the curtains more often. A greasy residue builds up and with the fabric of most curtains, will weaken the threads.

4. Put baking soda on the carpets and furniture and if possible, do this at night and then vacuum off in the morning. Baking soda will absorb some of the grease and leave a fresh odor in the room.

5.Simple Green is great for washing walls, although I am going to give you a recipe, using baking soda, that works great too.

6. Spray the upholstery, curtains and carpeting with Odor Ban or Fabreze (odor eliminators) to help to take away smoke smell buildup.

7.Recipes for Baking Soda Cleaner:This is great for washing walls, most upholstery (try a small area first), glassware (although you can use vinegar and water too) and carpeting.

To use in a spray bottle

1 Tbs. baking soda

1 tsp. lemon juice

2 cups of water

Mix completely by shaking the bottle and spray. Can be kept in the bottle and used when needed.
To mix in a bucket
1/2 cup of baking soda

1/8 cup of lemon juice

2 gallons of hot water

Mix and wash walls etc.

Vinegar is also a great cleaner when used for removing dirt and odors, I use a strong solution of 2 cups of vinegar to 2 gallons of water.

This website also has some information that I know would be of interest to you:

http://www.epa.gov/woodstoves/efficiently.html

Jan Hayner is a Professional Organizer and creator of www.organizingandcleaning.com, she offers tips, hints and shortcuts to everyday problems with organizing your home, work, family and life. She also offers shortcuts on cleaning your house, recipes for cleaners and tips to make the jobs faster and easier.

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Top-level comments on this article: (4 total)
» left by JL
from US 3 years 322 days ago.
My daughter has to deal with this problem. I will pass this information on to her. Thanks!
» left by Glen Jones
from Crowley, TX 3 years 231 days ago.
Yes. The house next door to me burned down. Will vinegar help in this case? I don't have a sencitive nose, but this is rediculous.
» left by Jan 3 years 230 days ago.
This will help, although it may be doubtful that it will take care of everything. Wash everything in vinegar and baking soda however. The place you may have a problem is if the smell penetrated varnish etc. In that case, try Murphys oil soap to clean first. This will make a remarkable improvement and have your home on its way to smelling great!
» left by Janice Drouin from fl 1 year 63 days ago.
We just moved into a rental home. Was told by landlord that fireplace was ok to use. It wasnt. After fire dept left, we were left with smoke damage. We cleaned and believed we did a good job and had removed most of the smell. But after going to work and being away for many hours, when I returned, I was very disappointed that it was still there. Will this work to remove this kind of smell too?
» left by Jan Hayner from Wisconsin 1 year 63 days ago.
Even if the chimney was cleaned before you moved in, it is possible that a bird decided to make a nest. However, if it was creosote, that would be something that would have been your landlords duty to clean...thus...it was an okay chimney! Depending on the amount of smoke damage, all of these things should make your life a little easier. However, in the end, you may have to wash down the walls etc. Smoke tends to linger and be absorbed into material, drywall etc. I would try the charcoal and vinegar first but if you have to wash it clean, these recipes will do the trick! thanks for leaving a comment. Jan
» left by Paul
from FL 124 days 12 hours ago.
Regarding vinegar both for sitting around in containers and to use in cleaning -- does this need to be white vinegar or can other vinegars be used?
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