Cigarette smell from the past

[lopri]

My parents are starting a new business, and rented an office space which is somewhat aged. The space has pretty nasty cigarette smell from the past and air freshener doesn't seem to be a solution. What can possibly done to reduce the odor, instead of masking it?

 

[rudeguy]

they make industrial strength smoke eliminator. Its what hotels charge $75 to spray after someone smokes in a no smoking room.

 

[VinylxScratches]

Baking soda!

 

[kranky]

I would ask the landlord to do something about it.

 

[lopri]

they make industrial strength smoke eliminator. Its what hotels charge $75 to spray after someone smokes in a no smoking room.

Oh? Could you link to such a product? I'd appreciate it very much.

Baking soda!

How does it work? I'm sorry but I've not dealt with this before and need a little more direction.

I would ask the landlord to do something about it.

Will do that but wouldn't the landlord need to know what to do as well?...

 

[Jesusthewererabbit]

Ozium

http://www.amazon.com/Medo-OZIUM-Air...234943&sr=8-10

It works well in my vehicle. It's smell isn't exactly pleasant (kind of like squeezing a lemon directly into your nose) but it gets rid of the smell.

 

[rudeguy]

http://www.cleanitsupply.com/p-9-air-freshener-smoke-eliminator-2-cans-aaf-2cmn.aspx

We used to spray that stuff in the garage. We weren't supposed to smoke in there but this stuff fixed it right up.

 

[Ksyder]

well cleaning the carpet and the walls would be one option, and some new paint afterwards to cover the layer of cigarette tar on the walls

 

[kranky]

The landlord will know what to do - clean the carpet and walls, and perhaps the ceiling.

 

[Bateluer]

My parents are starting a new business, and rented an office space which is somewhat aged. The space has pretty nasty cigarette smell from the past and air freshener doesn't seem to be a solution. What can possibly done to reduce the odor, instead of masking it?

You're going to have to do a thorough cleaning regardless, steam clean the carpet, scrub the walls, etc. Smokers leave a residue of crap everywhere.

 

[waffleironhead]

New coat of paint.

 

[Stifko]

Let a few bowls of white vinegar evaporate in the space.

 

[lokiju]

Fresh paint, professional carpet cleaning.

 

[Cogman]

Burn the building down and start anew. Its the only way to be sure (other then nuking it from orbit)



Smokers residue is the pits. Old smoke smells terrible and is nearly impossible to completely remove.

 

[bobdole369]

rubbing alcohol rids that disgusting yellow tar residue that smokers leave on everything. Repainting the walls and ceiling accomplishes the same thing.

 

[blurredvision]

Fresh paint, professional carpet cleaning.

This.

Using the Killz brand of primer worked wonders for my dad's house when him and his wife stopped smoking. They were chain smokers and the walls were yellow after years of smoking.

 

[Modular]

The grossest thing is working on a smokers PC.

 

[eits]

step 1: killz primer
step 2: repaint
step 3: new carpet installation
step 4: windex windows
step 5: mark the total as business expenses

 

[rudeguy]

step 1: killz primer
step 2: repaint
step 3: new carpet installation
step 4: windex windows
step 5: mark the total as business expenses

step 4 could be maximized with the coke trick. First clean the windows with coke, then use window cleaner to clean the coke. Coke will grab on to a lot of stuff that Windex won't.

i use that trick in my car a couple times a year. I'm a smoker (again...GRRRRRR) and my car windows get nasty.

 

[SaDiZTiKStyLeZ]

Drink alot of beer. Enter room with full bladder. Empty bladder where you see fit. It may take a couple tries to not smell like cigarette smoke anymore.

 

[Lifted]

Hotels use something called an ozone machine/cleaner that sits in the room and neutralizes the smell.

Best bet is paint the walls & rip out any carpeting. Landlord should do that before renting it to anyone know, assuming the place isn't a total slum.

 

[eits]

step 4 could be maximized with the coke trick. First clean the windows with coke, then use window cleaner to clean the coke. Coke will grab on to a lot of stuff that Windex won't.

i use that trick in my car a couple times a year. I'm a smoker (again...GRRRRRR) and my car windows get nasty.

cool, i never knew about that. i'll have to save that one under the "trivial tidbits" file.

 

[lopri]

Thank you all for the wonderful sugggestions. I'll take every one of them into consideration.

 

[lopri]

step 1: killz primer
step 2: repaint
step 3: new carpet installation
step 4: windex windows
step 5: mark the total as business expenses

What is killz primer and what does it do?

 

[moshquerade]

My parents are starting a new business, and rented an office space which is somewhat aged. The space has pretty nasty cigarette smell from the past and air freshener doesn't seem to be a solution. What can possibly done to reduce the odor, instead of masking it?

Re-paint. The smell is likely into the walls. Also, replace anything on the walls, lamp shades, any fixtures you can replace, as the smell will have permeated those also.