Remove smoke smell from your apartment

When you smoke, the cigarette smoke permeates your clothes as well as the clothes on people around you. This odour usually does not go away by itself and will linger all day, which many will find unpleasant. The best way to remove smoke smell from clothes is to to let them sit out in fresh air and then wash them according to the instructions. If this does not remove the smell, try putting the clothes in a mixture of 1 decilitre of vinegar and 5 decilitres of water. Leave for approximately half an hour and then wash the clothes as usual. This hack should, however, be used with some caution as delicate fabrics can get damaged.

To remove smoke smell from walls or other parts inside the home, more work might be required. You can try using an odour blocking paint which prevents nicotine- and smoke smell from seeping through. Before doing this, you can try placing a bowl of vinegar in the room with the smoke smell and leaving it there for a few days. Then put a bowl with lemon water to get rid of the last odours.

Removing the smoke smell from furniture and textiles can be a little bit more complicated. The best is to try getting rid of the smell with vinegar. Use the same method as with the clothes. If the upholstery is removable, you can take it off and wash it. Alternatively, you can take a damp cloth with water and vinegar to clean the furniture. If this does not work, your only option might be getting rid of the furniture.

Removing the smell of smoke from furniture is not always easy and requires patience. How to remove the odour depends on the type of furniture. If you have upholstered furniture, such as an armchair or a sofa with removable upholstery, you can start by removing the upholstery and letting it soak in a mixture of 1 decilitre vinegar and 5 litres water. Leave for approximately 30 minutes and then wash the fabric in the washing machine according to the instructions.

If the upholstery is not removable, you can try to get rid of the smell of smoke by putting vinegar on the furniture. Mix vinegar and water, soak a cloth in the mixture and gently wash the furniture with the cloth. You may have to repeat the process several times to get rid of the smell of smoke from the furniture. Let the furniture dry and open the window for a few hours to get fresh air into the room.

If you have large carpets that are damaged by the smell of smoke, you can either wash the carpet with a mixture of cold water, soap and vinegar or try to sprinkle bicarbonate or baking soda onto the carpet to remove the smell. Let the powder sit for a couple of hours and then vacuum thoroughly.

Both vinegar and bicarbonate are excellent ingredients to neutralise and remove bad smells. Vinegar should, however, always be used with some caution to avoid damage to delicate textiles.

To remove the smell of smoke from a room, simply cleaning the furniture might not be enough. You might need to clean the room thoroughly, too. Start by washing the furniture and then put a bowl with vinegar in the room. Leave it for at least one day and then exchange it for a bowl with lemon water to get rid of the previous odour.

In the worst-case scenario, the smell of smoke is just too strong to remove. In this case, you might need to renovate and repaint the walls with an odour-blocking paint, which prevents nicotine and the smell of smoke from penetrating the walls. The furniture is then likely to be unsalvageable and you will probably need to throw it away.