Where to start when cleaning a smokers house?

Question

My grandmother passed away recently and the task of cleaning her house has fallen to me. She smoked a pack a day in the house, everyday, for 20 years. I have done tons of research about how to go about the cleaning process, but have not seen any advice on where to start. I read somewhere that you must be careful when cleaning not to re-dirty areas you have already cleaned... so, where do i start? Floors or walls? Do i deep clean before or after painting walls and clenaing the carpets?

Any advice from those who have cleaned a smokers house would be greatly appreciated, i think i am in for a battle...

Answer 1

First, because your dealing with tobacco that I'd imagine is stained on.....everything, whichever way or technique you use to clean, you will be doing yourself an enormous favor by starting at the top and working your way down.  Now here's my story explaining why!

After my dad died we realized just how much the house was covered in disgusting brown from tobacco.  (This at least goes back to 1994 when we had the house repainted) Twice our heater gave out and left us without heat for a short time. One of the things we did was to fill pots with water and boil them on the range.

**Beware** This is quite expensive!! (my family did this for at least a good several days though, so that's probably why) BUT works really really well.  

Basically in doing this, with the windows shut if not just cracked, you will literally steam off all the tobacco that is on the ceiling, walls, shades/blinds, windows, EVERYTHING.   lol I am not kidding.  It was so unimaginably disgusting though because I would just be standing there and these big brown droplets started attacking me. XD So then I grabbed a simple flat sponged mop, gliding it across the ceiling took it off and I could see the hugest difference.  

Before doing this you will want to move or cover any furniture, etc that could be damaged in the process.  Good luck. :)

Answer 2

You should clean the windows - as nicotine sticks to windows.  Also, wash curtains and/or any fabrics in the house.  Air the house out - open windows/doors for a day.  Before you paint, wash the walls and then primer.  Nicotine can bleed back through the walls if it is really bad.  Remove carpet - depending on how old it is - if it isn't too old - have it steam cleaned.  Scrub every surface.

Or hire a cleaning service to do a detail clean - it won't get everything but would be a big help for you.

Answer 3

You want to start from TOP to BOTTOM... That way you are working your way down and won't dirty up what you've already cleaned..

First you'll want to OPEN all the windows and let the house breathe!  Fresh air will help a stale house...

Remove any furniture from the house- or put in another room and work room by room!  

Clean the windows with vinegar/water- the vinegar will take away smoke smells and get nicotine/tar off the windows....

Wash the curtains- vacuum any other soft surfaces...

You can wipe the walls down with TSP or trisodium phosphate available at most hardware stores... .You can also use vinegar/water... Use a sponge and rinse the sponge frequently work in sections....

Next sprinkle the carpet(s) with a mixture of baking soda/iodized salt.  The bs will help eliminate stale odors like smoke/pet(s) and the iodized salt will lift dirt/debris... Leave it on at least overnight... It won't hurt anything.. The longer the better!  Then vacuum like crazy!  If you have a vacuum with bags get a few extra bags and give the house a good vacuum.....

You can wash tile, linoleum, wood floors etc.. .With vinegar and water- Let the fresh air work wonders....

Then you can prime the walls, clean the carpets or remove the carpets all together....

good luck

Answer 4

Love the first answer but instead of using bleach and hot water for the walls you need something that is going to cut through grime and tar I would use 409 or pine sol instead of bleach. 409 works best but that is a lot of area to cover.

Answer 5

Get rid of everything thats not staying in house then. Take all curtains down and wash windows and wipe walls with bleach and water mixture.  Then paint with a stain blocker primer Kiltz ceilings and walls and then paint both, also. Put up new curtains and shampoo carpets wash all bedding and clothing in house with something like simple green and then launder as normal.

Answer 6

I would start by air freshening the room your in cuz i cant stand the smell of cigarette smoke.

Answer 7

I would say clean from the floor to the top then paint then after the paint dries clean the floor again.  I have a few rental properties and before I get new tenants I complete this list

1. Remove everything from the property

2. Clean the walls and appliances

3. Sweep

4. Vacuum

5. Mop

6. Clean the walls

wait 1 day

7. Paint

Wait 1 day

8. Sweep

9. Vacuum

10. Mop

I use steam cleaning for carpets and curtains

Bleach and Pine-Sol for linoleum floors

Murphy's Oil Soap for hard wood floor

Hot water and Bleach for walls

I start with the bedrooms then living area then dining area then bathroom then kitchen

I open every window while I clean

Answer 8

Always clean high to low. I recommend you go to a local Fire restoration business in your area & buy product to remove smoke odor.  I used to work at a local one & we had a product called smoke free, worked great but it's commercial & I don't think you want a 55 gallon drum, but a local business might sell you a gallon, it would be worth the effort