Best way to remove odors from Indian food during turnover?

Question

Last tenant cooked some amazing Indian food but with the spices etc the new tenant is concerned the odor may still be prevalent when they move in.

Any suggestions?  Will standard cleaning do the trick?

Jim K. · Answer

In older structures originally painted with oil-based paint, when you put too much concentrated TSP on your walls and scrub it in with a sponge mop, multiple layers of latex paint go soft and start peeling right off down to the oil-based paint. This is because a huge number of amateurs put their trust in the myth of paint+primer-in-one and don't prime walls with quality primer before they paint. There is no such thing as paint+primer-in-one. Paint and primer do very different jobs.So do not exceed manufacturer's recommendations on TSP concentrations in an effort to get down deeper into the paint. Most of your stench WILL disappear once you get food residue off the wall. But if that doesn't work, don't try to get "the last of it" in older structures. Go with ozone treatment instead, as has been previously indicated in this thread.

Steve S. · Answer

Thanks for the thoughts and picture. I’m a very visual learner. This home is 15 years old so may not fall into the “old era category but that’s a subjective term.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I use a commercial ozone generator. It really works well for smoke, pet odors, food odors, etc. I recommend running this first to see if it cleans things up. If not, start washing everything and run it again.

I used it last year on an apartment that had a smoker living in it for 30 years. I pulled the flooring, washed everything down, and ran this generator for a day. The smoke smell was completely gone and never came back.

Thomas S. · Answer

Wash down all surfaces with TSP (walls, floors, cupboards etc.), remove all material like rugs, curtains, furniture etc. and hope for the best. If that does not work rent a ozone generator.

Account Closed · Answer

Make the unit smell great again! 👃🏼 👃🏼 Have an indoor BBQ!  🐷

Jim K. · Answer

@Steve S.

You're welcome. That the house is 15 years old is very important information. It's all going to be latex paint in there. As you clean the walls, you won't have to worry about peeling off the latex to expose lead paint underneath. Good luck!

Steve S. · Answer

How long did you run it?

And do you run it for that time period in each room?

Steve S. · Answer

I've talked to a few other people who have said this is a total repaint job to get the smell out.  Would you disagree with that opinion?

The new tenants have mentioned it so I want to make sure I effectively take care of it in the most cost effective manner possible.

Best way to remove odors from Indian food during turnover?

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