Wet a scrubbing pad and squirt on a few drops of a cleanser with orange oil, which helps cut through smoke marks and grease. Use medium pressure to scrub away the smoke marks. Wipe the cabinets with a moistened rag as you work to clean away the residue. Reapply the cleanser frequently.
The best cleaner for nicotine on walls from a commercial standpoint is a product containing trisodium phosphate, or TSP. TSP is a general-purpose cleaner found in most home improvement stores. Before cleaning the wall, put a tarp down on the floor to protect it from drips.
Start with Hard Surfaces
You may also wash the walls and ceiling with a mixture of 1/2 cup ammonia, 1/4 cup vinegar, 1/2 cup baking soda and a gallon of hot water. Leave no surface untouched: Clean walls, doors, knobs, light fixtures (bulbs too), ceilings, fan blades, and anything the smoke came in contact with.
Two cups of vinegar mixed into 1/2 gallon of water creates a cleaning solution for hard furniture surfaces. Dip a soft cloth or sponge into the solution, wringing out most of the liquid, then wipe down all the furniture surfaces. Wipe dry with a towel or allow it to air dry.
If the wood is affected by smoke, run your hand over the wood surface. To clean the soot, rub the surface with cotton rags or oil soap. But if more agitation is needed, you can use steel wool and work in the direction of the grain. This will preserve the finish of the wood.
Unfinished wood surfaces, like the inside surfaces of wood furniture, the underside of a wood table, or wooden drawers, can trap in smoke odors like a sponge. To get rid of smoke odors on unfinished wood surfaces, spray a light mist of OdoBan® Disinfectant and Odor Eliminator over these surfaces.
In the warmer weather, leave your windows and doors open as much as possible. Fresh air will eventually dissipate the smell of smoke.
To remove soot and smoke from walls, furniture and floors, use a mild soap or detergent or mix together 4 to 6 tbsp. tri-sodium phosphate and 1 cup household cleaner or chlorine bleach to every gallon of warm water. Wear rubber gloves. Be sure to rinse surfaces with clear warm water and dry thoroughly.
Fill your bucket or container with warm water and 1 tsp Murphy Oil Soap per 1 cup warm water. This is a good soap to use on wood and for cleaning a smoke smell (or other strong odors) out of wood furniture.
"For hard surfaces," he says, "you'd be surprised what a thorough surface cleaning will do." Scott's advice: Completely wipe down the surface with water and a gentle soap, such as Murphy's Oil Soap. Then dry thoroughly with cloth or paper towels.
Apply dry-cleaning solvent or vegetable oil to a cloth. Rub any residual tar stain in a circular motion until it has transferred completely from the wood to the cloth. Repeat as needed.
Neutralize the burnt smell
To neutralize the smell, put pots of vinegar or lemon juice around your home. If you don't like the smell of vinegar, you might try soaking cotton balls in vanilla oils and leaving them around your home.
To reduce the smoke smell in a room or vehicle, fill several small bowls with white vinegar, set them around the space, and let them sit overnight. To speed up the deodorizing process, simmer a saucepan of vinegar on the stove for an hour or two.
Baking soda is the perfect deodorizer, since it's odorless, yet it absorbs odors. "Another method is to sprinkle baking soda on furniture and floors for a couple of days and then vacuum it up," says Fiona.
One of the best ways to eliminate the odor is with baking soda. Liberally sprinkle baking soda over the carpet and let it sit for several hours, preferably overnight. Vacuum thoroughly using a vacuum cleaner with a HEPA-filter. You can also steam clean your carpeting.
Vigorous Vinegar Scrub
A gallon bottle of white vinegar only costs a few bucks and helps neutralizes cigarette smell. Vinegar can also be used to remove sticky smoke residue which can be left behind by smokers. To use, fill a spray bottle with vinegar, and spray away on every surface.
If you are wiping down smooth or hard surfaces that have nicotine residue, vinegar can be used as an acidic cleaner to dissolve nicotine. And for more immediate relief of cigarette smoke odors, spray vinegar on a towel or cloth and wave it around the room for a few minutes.
How Much Does Smoke Remediation Cost? Typical costs for clean-up after a fire has occurred are between $3,000 and $26,000. Smoke remediation itself can cost between $200 to $1,000 depending on how much furniture, clothing and carpet requires deodorizing.
But you should try to begin the recovery process a few days after the blaze has cleared. Depending on the steps you take, and how diligent you are in combating the smoke particles, your odor removal timeline could range anywhere from two weeks to a month.
Does Boiling Vinegar Remove Odors? Boiling a mix of water and vinegar after you cook can help neutralize the odors. Combine 1 cup of water and 3 or 4 tablespoons of white vinegar in a small pot. Heat it to boiling, remove the lid and let it continue boiling for several minutes.