Severe Cigarette Smoke

[Newman]

I have just been handed the responsibility of flipping another house. My girlfriends mother bought a brand new home 10 years ago, closed all of the doors and windows and smoked 2 packs a day for a decade until her departure last week. I have never seen cigarette damage this severe.

The home is in otherwise pristine condition other than the cigarette damage. Even the paint is perfect except for a layer of nicotine. There are also terrible nicotine filtration lines. I have cleaned her carpet several times yet never bothered to work on the filtration. I have to restore the home and contents for sale.

I have done some searching on processes, products, and procedures but have more questions than answers.

What is the best product for fogging and or hand cleaning?

I do have a beastly fogger unit I have never used. An older gas powered thermo-gen.

Is fogging the first step? Or do I wipe everything then fog?

Does the fogging leave a residue that needs cleaned?

Is there any chance of saving the carpet and paint or should I go straight for the Bin shellac based primer and rip out the carpet?

Obviously I have no clue what I am doing here. Please set me on the right path.

 

[Mikey P]

New carpet, wash the walls and ceilings and all wood surfaces with TSP and repaint and or stain.
Get the HVAC cleaned and fogged

Toss all absorbent items like drapes and uph.




or just get a Glade plug in and hope for the best.

 

[Bob Pruitt]

The smoke guys use a fogging chemical that is suppose to neutralize the cigarette residue on the walls...everywhere actually. Find the intake on the air conditioner and pour the fog in... wear good mask. Then I would say you are still going to have to clean like Mike said... repaint etc. I would buy the good paint, not the cheap stuff. Gas powered thermo-gen - does it make carbon monoxide when it's running? Maybe better to go with electric one if so. If you can rent an ozone machine, close up the place overnight -follow instructions on machine- and see if that helps as well. I would also use deodorizer in cleaning/rinsing carpet...air mover that I have an open bottle of deodorizer next to on the intake side. In other words I would throw everything at this ...and maybe get a new girl friend :-) That should be helpful ;-)

 

[Desk Jockey]

Removal of the source is where I would begin. I would use a heavy duty degreaser and add an odor counteractant. The better you clean the easier the deodorizing will go.

While there is most likely a residue on everything, I'd concentrate on the above for more intense cleaning.

Smoke rises, if the ceiling is textured I'd scrape it.

I'm not much for fogging anything, especially into duct work. Not sure how effective fogging is in ducting anyway. It would need to wet out the duct work to be effective. A bit risky with duct work, air ducts leak.

We prefer to use ozone to neutralize and not add a scent that might be an issue later.

 

[Newman]

I was hoping for that new miracle cure that did not involve hand cleaning every surface, like a glade plugin and a case of febreez.

For ozone, better to use before or after carpet and paint?

Luckily the ceiling is not textured and the place is only 1700 f2.

You said the fog has to "wet out". So if I pump it into the ductwork without the fan running will that allow the fog to do the job?

 

[Desk Jockey]

I was hoping for that new miracle cure that did not involve hand cleaning every surface, like a glade plugin and a case of febreez.
For ozone, better to use before or after carpet and paint?
Luckily the ceiling is not textured and the place is only 1700 f2.
You said the fog has to "wet out". So if I pump it into the ductwork without the fan running will that allow the fog to do the job?

We all hope for that miracle but unfortunately it all comes down to manual labor.

I'd ozone first. New carpet & paint may disguise the problem only to have it pop back up down the road in humid conditions.
I have yet to figure a way to wet all four sides of duct work. I think you'll see minimal improvement. Replace the filter clean the plenum and each and every boot as far as your arm can reach. Misting a little foo-foo juice into the duct work won't cut it if it really stinks.: (

 

[Cleanworks]

Clean everything first, paint with a sealing type primer like Kilz, ozone as final step. May need several ozone machines for best coverage. Ozone overnight and repeat.

 

[Mark Saiger]

You are going to want to seal paint everything (Walls, Ceilings....) with Zinnser "BIN" Primer Sealer....Kilz will not work....

That is as soon as you remove all the odor source you can...

Reason Zinsser "BIN" Primer Sealer works better is be cause of the micron size of the Shellac used in it.

Kilz is a .015 micron size....Zinsser "BIN" is a .005 micron size....it is going to have a better chance of keeping those odors sealed in especially during humid and hot....

Now...Zinsser makes a lot of products...SO IT MUST SAY "BIN" ON THE CAN or you are wasting your money....

And it is smelly to work with....the white coloring in it is just a coloring so you can see where you have been...Stir...Stir...Stir....

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Zinsser-...ot-Exterior-Primer-and-Sealer-00901/100398381

 

[amygeorge]

Look into ProKure - Blake McCormick was able to get the smoke out of a bar \ restaurant with it (buffalo wild wings). Blake would not mind you calling him, but he's in Hawaii, so you can call me and I'll give you the 411. I use the product and love it. 940-357-9308. Amy

 

[amygeorge]

then, when I'm not able to explain it, i'll give you blake's number and you can call him when he gets back and settled...

 

[roro]

What Mark said is spot on. We used this product on a house that was badly stained (46 years of heavy smokers). It worked really well on all the surfaces which were wallpaper, soft fibre ceilings(Pinex), hardboard and timber.

roro

 

[Andy]

I have used a ceiling and wall cleaning solution from ICWC - "Absolute solutions". cleaned a bar with it wall were yellowish brown top to bottom, it wiped right off. Textured ceiling that has not been painted you can mist the cleaner on may take a couple of passes works really well. On non-porous surface need to wipe off, on porous surface can spray on and leave. You will see immediate results.
There are other products out there that are similar that is the one I have used with good results.