One of our tenants smoked inside the apartment. So disappointing. It is so much work to get rid of that smell. And I have been blessed with the nose of a hound dog. I can smell the tiniest smells which is both a good and bad thing as you can imagine. My sense of taste is great though and I like that part. They must’ve smoked for the entire 4 years they lived there because the smell is pretty bad and the walls/ceilings were yellowish. 🙁 So, I’ve been busting my tail on this and here’s what I’ve done so far:
Cleaned the Walls:
Washed the walls and ceilings with this solution: 1 gallon warm water, 1 cup ammonia, 1/2 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup baking soda. No, it won’t fizzle over – that’s what my husband thought would happen – no fizzling volcano. I just used a rag and dipped it in the bucket, rang it out and wiped the walls the best I could. Then, used a damp rag (with just water) to wipe that off and then a towel to dry. I’m not going to lie – it’s a lot of work. For the ceilings, I bought a flip mop at Wal-Mart (it’s like a flat head mop that flips so you can use both sides) and sprayed the solution on one side and plain water on the other, then mopped the ceilings. You’ll want to wipe anything that would absorb this smell – even cabinets, etc. Luckily, we are planning to gut the kitchen so that’s not a problem for us.
Painted with an Oil-Based Primer:
Next, I bought a bunch of cans of Pro Block oil-based primer from Sherwin Williams. It’s my first time going to Sherwin Williams – I actually embarrassed myself the other day when I told someone I went to Sherman Williams (that’s actually alot easier to say – they should change their name). :-p I usually buy my paint at Home Depot or Lowe’s – it’s just less expensive. In this case, though, I wanted something heavy duty and the best so that’s where I went.
I basically painted the entire 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment with this stuff – walls and ceilings – again, lot of work and boy does it stink. I did use a respirator for some of this – in the smaller rooms, it was unbearable. I put a box fan in the window to air it out. You’ll also want to make sure you protect your arms, and hair. I got some paint freckles on my arms that aren’t coming off – instead of sun freckles this summer, I am getting paint freckles. :-p
They say that the smell will go away once dried but it really doesn’t – it just morphs into a different smell. I suppose once I get the top coat on, it will go away – I hope. Be sure to let it dry for a few days before putting a layer of paint on top of it or you could trap that smell in the place. UPDATE: the smell is going away slowly but surely. I just make sure to open all windows whenever I’m there and use fans.
Also, made the mistake of putting the roller in the fridge so I can reuse it – never do this, but see this post if you did: How to remove smell from Fridge
Replace Flooring:
We’re also planning to replace ALL the flooring – luckily, we were planning to do this anyway so this isn’t an extra expense. If you have carpet, I don’t think this smell will come out, unfortunately. Someone with a nose like me would be able to smell it.
Room Shocker:
I also read about something called Room Shocker which I have bought through Home Depot online for the bathrooms because the bathrooms have been recently gutted (3 months ago) and remodeled and then they smoked heavily in there so they are ruined smell-wise. I’m hoping not to have to repaint those (since they were just painted) and just use the Room Shocker. I will update when I actually get a chance to use it and let you know how it worked..
Pray:
Don’t forget to pray – this smell is hard to get rid of. :-p
Well, I think that’s all for now. I will have to check back here and update you if this all worked. We are still in the process of renovating and will be done in January sometime. Will let you know.
UPDATE: All of this worked to get rid of the smell. It’s like a brand new place.