What to do about a smoking tenant after she leaves...

Question

I have a unit that is coming available at the end of the month. During our inspection a few months back we could smell smoke in the unit. I am assuming that despite our letter she went back to smoking in the unit.

My question is has anyone had experience getting a smoke smell out of a home and what methods did you use to do so? It wasn't a heavy smoke smell and she was only in the unit for one year but it was present. Any help is appreciated.

My question is has anyone had experience getting a smoke smell out of a home and what methods did you use to do so? It wasn't a heavy smoke smell and she was only in the unit for one year but it was present.

Any help is appreciated.

Greg M. · Answer

Was it in the lease that it was a non-smoking unit? If so, hire a smoke remediation company to come out and clean the unit. Take the cost of it from her security deposit.

If it wasn't in the lease and you're footing the bill, then wipe down all the surfaces including the ceiling with vinegar or ammonia mixed with hot water. You may need to have the air vents professionally cleaned. Get an ozone generator and run it for a few days.

Jeff Brower · Answer

I agree with all above. I just went through this situation but it was an inherited tenant for a duplex I purchased. No way for me to prove that it didn't smell that way prior to her moving in (she claimed it was). I just took the hit and cleaned it up myself. I used a TSP solution to scrub the walls and cabinets in the kitchen. I had Stanley steemer clean all of the carpets. I also bought an ozone generator like mentioned above which helped a lot. You can find one on amazon for around $80. Plug it in for 24 hours in front of the main return and turn on your furnace fan. This will disseminate the ozone into the entire home. Just be careful and read up on using these machines before you use it. Inhaling the stuff is bad. Worst case scenario you may need to paint the walls with kilz, luckily I didn't have to go that far as the above methods worked.

Scott Baker · Answer

Did they leave a security deposit? I had a tenant who insisted on smoking blunts in his bedroom, the deposit was more than the cost of repainting the room so he covered the cost of new paint for the next tenant.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

I use this ozone generator and it works great.

This machine can work really well on light odors without any heavy cleaning. If the smoke smell is bad, you should probably wash everything down first, clean the carpets, and then use the ozone generator.

These work great on odors from pets, food, or smoke, but it sometimes still requires heavy cleaning first.

What to do about a smoking tenant after she leaves...

What to do about a smoking tenant after she leaves...

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