To eliminate unpleasant tobacco odors in your home, the best thing is to simply stop smoking or smoking outside. If, however, you live alone and therefore do not risk smoking children, the temptation is great to smoke at home. After all, you are an adult who is free to do whatever he wants in his home. And then it also sometimes happens that we rent an apartment where the previous tenant smoked. In fact, the tobacco smells do not come from you and you are in a lot of trouble! Against these nauseous and stubborn odors of cold tobacco, you will need a good plan of attack. Here are four grandmother’s tips to get there when ventilation is not enough to purify the ambient air.
1) A few good gestures and a thorough cleaning against tobacco odors
Furniture, textiles and every cubic centimeter can absorb the smell. It will therefore absolutely be necessary All to clean ! Getting rid of cigarette odors takes several small, meticulously done steps.
–Empty ashtrays very oftenespecially before going to bed. If necessary, put sand wet with Provence herbs in an emptied ashtray to neutralize the smell of cigarette butts.
–Wash sheets and curtains regularly in the washing machine. Clean your carpet and rugs more often.
–Clean your interior from floor to ceiling. To wash the walls, use a detergent containing soda crystals. For waxed furniture, use a cloth soaked in wax. And for everything else, use white vinegar.
-By the way, wash the windows with a microfiber cloth soaked in methylated spirits.
-Finally, since the books absorb odors, you will have to hang them outside on a cloth. A few hours will be enough!
2) White vinegar to remove the odor
This household product is both cleaner and deodorizer. This is why we should not hesitate to clean and scrub all surfaces with to dislodge the foul cigarette odors. You can also pour it into bowls to place in the four corners of a room that you want to deodorize. Besides, if you have charcoal, you can do the same with this product. In shock treatment, you can also boil a pot of water with vinegar and place your pan in the smelly room. Last idea: you can make a homemade air freshener spray with six cloves, 5 tablespoons of white vinegar and a liter of water. After 10 days of maceration, you will have a product ready to use!
3) Baking soda against tobacco odor
Like vinegar, sodium bicarbonate is an excellent air freshener. You can therefore sprinkle it on all the fabrics from which you would like to eliminate bad odors. This includes the upholstery fabrics (carpet, armchair, sofa, chairs, etc.), rugs and carpetetc. To do this, you can simply sprinkle it on the areas to be treated and leave it on for one to two hours before vacuuming. You can also slip a teaspoon into a spray bottle. Then add two cups of water and a teaspoon of lemon juice. This little product should be sprayed on all textiles that smell bad (sofa, curtains, etc.)
4) Essential oils can also be a big help
Many essential oils are powerful enough to combat tobacco odors. This is for example the case of eucalyptus essential oil or those of citrus fruits (lemon, sweet orange, petit grain bigarade essential oil). And if you don’t have them, a simple lavender essential oil used well can do the trick. To use your essences wisely, there are several techniques:
–Boil a few drops in a pan of water leaving the doors open to let the scents pass through
-Drop two drops on your bulbs so that the smell spreads every time you turn on the light
-Otherwise, soak the vacuum cleaner bag with a few drops. So when you vacuum after sprinkling baking soda on your carpets, it will smell good throughout the house.
-Finally, it is possible in dilute a few drops in baking soda. Then you have to dilute everything in water. All you have to do is transfer it into a spray bottle to deodorize everything (room, fabrics, etc.).
With these tips, there is no need to spend money on chemicals and invest in an air purifier! The best thing is to combine good cleaning with all our techniques to combat bad odors.
Besides tobacco smells, why should you avoid smoking inside the house?
Smoking inside the home poses many risks to health, safety and the home environment. Besides the unpleasant and very persistent tobacco odors, here are some main reasons why it is important to avoid smoking indoors!
A risk to the health of the occupants of the accommodation
Tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicalsmany of which are toxic and at least 70 are carcinogenic. Non-smokers, including highly sensitive people like children, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses, are exposed to these harmful substances when they inhale second-hand smoke, putting them at risk for their health. . Exposure to tobacco smoke (also called passive smoking) can also worsen asthma and other respiratory illnesses. It can also increase the risk of respiratory infections like bronchitis and pneumonia. Children exposed to second-hand smoke are also more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses, ear infections, and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They can also have cognitive and behavioral development problems.
Well, we don’t think much about it, but pets can also suffer greatly from it. Dogs, cats, rodents and birds in particular can develop respiratory problems, cancers and other diseases due to exposure to second-hand and third-hand smoke.
Suboptimal security and material damage
First, smoke indoors increases the risk of house fires which can be triggered by poorly extinguished cigarettes. Fires caused by tobacco are a leading cause of fatal residential fires. However, in addition to this, cigarette smoke leaves stubborn residue and odors which become embedded in furniture, curtains, carpets and walls. These residues, called “tertiary smoke”, can be difficult and expensive to eliminate. Above all, tobacco residue doesn’t just turn your fingers yellow. They can also yellow walls, ceilings and other surfacesrequiring more frequent cleaning or painting work.
For these reasons, it is strongly recommended to smoke outside the house and to create designated smoking areas in the open air, away from windows and doors or at least on the balcony or terrace to minimize exposure of non-residents. -smokers and reduce the associated risks.