Real Estate Investor · Fenton, MI · Member since 2008 · 946 posts · 153 votes
The prior owners in my rental property must have been smokers. We have cleaned, primed, and painted the walls, cabinets etc. However we still smell cigarette smoke, so it must be in the carpet. We have steam cleaned the carpet several times, but the odor remains. There must be a chemical out there that will take care of this. What do you all use? Thank you in advance to all who help.
Rental Property Investor · Fredericton, New Brunswick · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
Steve Might
You will definitely need to remove the carpet. If there have been smokers resident in the house long term, you may end-up pulling/replacing sheet rock in some rooms {i.e. where they primarily smoked} to get rid of the residue.
There have been some recent studies that indicate you cannot remove traces of past smokers via a good cleaning and repainting. The residue absorbed in the walls will eventually find its way to the surface again. If you Google about buying houses from smokers you should find them.
When I look at a property where there has been a long term smoker, I allow for a significant rehab/renovation (20-25%) in any offer I put forward
Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
Did you have the carpet professionally cleaned, or do it yourself? The guy I use has a truck mounted cleaner that heats up to 130+ degrees. It removes everything. The smell could also linger in the heat ducts. I would take a shop vac and clean all the registers good. Get some plug in air fresheners and a spray botle to use every time you go to the house.
Rental Property Investor · Fredericton, New Brunswick · Member since 2013 · 7k+ posts · 4k+ votes
13y
Rob K:
I'm interested in the quality of results you get in cleaning carpet where there has been a long-term smoker. My experience has been that even with professional/commercial cleaning, the telltale odour eventually returns. As a consequence, we now automatically remove carpet where there has been a smoker resident.
Investor · Southeast, MI · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 1k+ votes
13y
I'm happy with my carpet cleaner. He can look at stains and say if it's Pesi, Kool Aid, etc. Many of my rentals are in Class C areas where everyone smokes, buys lottery tickets, and live from hand to mouth, check to check. If one smoker moved out, another smoker moved in.
A couple years ago, I started making it a rule that there's no smoking in the house. People have been following it ok. They are used to having to go outside to smoke at work. Many of them woul;d like the house to be smoke free. They just need someone to tell them that that's the way it's going to be.
Real Estate Investor · Fenton, MI · Member since 2008 · 946 posts · 153 votes
13y
Originally posted by Rob K:
Did you have the carpet professionally cleaned, or do it yourself?
You did give me that information in a prior post, but I have been so busy with other more pressing projects I have not called them. I was hoping I could just spray a product on it and move on. I read that maybe baking soda or a product called Nilium may work.
The smell is no where near as bad as when we first got the house now that we have primed and painted the walls.