How do you remove the odor and chemicals of tear gas from a home?

Question

The house across the street from me was under seige in hopes to detain a suspected murderer. The FBI, local P.D., and the SWAT team was surrounding the neighborhood. They finally shot up the home with tear gas after a few hours only to find that the suspect was not there. BTW...he has been found and is in county awaiting trial. The little old couple who rented the house to him have been trying for the past month to get the house livable but with no luck. They can't seem to get rid of the smell and with every scrubbing, the tear gas seems to react and makes it unbearable for them to continue cleaning. They are the sweetest people I have met here since I have moved here 3 months ago and I told them I would do research to see if I can be of any help. They do not have access to the internet so I thought I could get some information but am having a tough time through the search engines. I would appreciate it if anyone could throw out some advice. Thanks!!

Answer 1

The old couple or you should pick up the phone and call the police dept and ask them what methods they use.  And if the police hire a clean up team, the old couple should ask for the number to the crime scene clean up company.  You can also enter 'crime scene clean up' in the search engine and locate a few companies for them and get estimates.  They know how best to remove the tear gas and while pricey it is cheaper than trying various products and failing and then trying something else and failing and the income lost while trying the methods and the time and effort wasted.  Not to mention the fact that they can either recover a portion of the money from their home owner's insurance or they can go to the DA and ask for the victim's compensation forms and fill them out and sue the previous renter or they can take him to small claims for the amount.   Which they definitely have to pursue.  Old or not, if you are able to rent out a place, you are able to go to court.  And have to in order to protect your assets and recoup costs.  

Other than doing that, I would reccommed they repaint with Kilz and add a few packets of Paint Pouri  http://search.store.yahoo.com/cgi-bin/ns...   after they have had the house and floors cleaned professionally and aired it out for a week.  And also place bowls of white vinegar everywhere.  That works for cigarette smoke, but that is the best do-it-yourself advice I can offer.