General Chat

Claire, we moved into our house just over 9yrs ago and due to the pre3vious owners being heavy smokers in the main bedroom and bathroom... I'm STILL getting nicotine from the windows where it had seeped into the joints!!!! And i didn't think about nicotine seeping thru the paint so bathroom ceiling has been painted several times in past 9 yrs!!!!!!!!

Oh, and before you repaint or repaper, scrub everything down with sugar soap - if you don't the nicotine bleeds through. OC

its suprising once you start cleaning where its affected i wipe a mark off the walls and you see its left awhite patch, pictures on the wall are like a brown yuk when you wipe um OH smokes, pvc is the worst to get clean hope you manage it without too much effort

Well onion is good for getting rid of smell of paint! dont see why it shouldnt work on tobacco!! Dx

(Smoker speaking) I find Neutradol is fantastic for ridding the place of fag smoke. It has no smell of its own and it 'eats' the smell, rather than just covering it up. You would probably need to put one in each room though. Burning candles also get rid of the smell, but I think that is more for current smoke, rather than a build-up in the walls. OC

Vinegar or chopped onion... some use chopped orange and lemon rind too and wash all paintwork. Anne :)))

Thanks for that, we can give it a try. I've heard a saucer of milk for paint smells but did not know if that would work for cigarette smells but had not heard of vinegar! I'd not thought of the effect on the paint. That will be one to watch out for. Nice to see natural remedies and things that should not cost a bomb to try out! Thanks Claire (a non-smoker!)

My sister moved into a house that had had 2 heavy smokers living in it. It wasn't so much the smell of smoke she had a problem with - it was the nicotine seeping through the new paintwork!!!!! She had to paint every wall and ceiling with a stain cover. Mind you she did paint the house white throughout, instead of the nicotine beige I suggested! maggie (a smoker)

my mum swears by a bowl of vinger .....

A friend is moving into a house at the weekend but found out today that it smells of cigarette smoke. It has to be redecorated, but not all rooms will be done straight away. What is the best way to get rid of the smell of cigarettes that has built up in the house, apart from opening the windows and scrapping the wallpaper off the walls! Thanks, Claire