Fix Nicotine Damage in Your Home

If someone has been smoking in a property, that nicotine is sticking to everything. Cigarette smoke takes a huge toll on a home AND its value! Whether the property is your home or an investment property, here are the steps you can take to get rid of nicotine damage in your property. (Please note, the proper steps may vary depending on the severity of the damage)

Additional detail broken down under infographic.

Step 1: Empty the House Remove all furniture, belongings, carpet (if possible) Nicotine grabs hold of everything.

Step 2: Clean All Surfaces We would recommend using TSP on surfaces you plan to paint and Simple Green on everything else. Use these cleaners to mop floors, ceilings, walls, cabinets. All surfaces must be cleaned. DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP! This is arguably the most important.

Step 3: Sand your Cabinets (If you plan on painting them) A circular sander works nice for this. Use 120 grit sandpaper to get deeper and finish with 220 grit to get a nice smooth finish.

Step 4: Use a Special Paint Primer Use this on ceilings and walls and cabinets (if painting cabinets) Here are a couple of our favorites: BIN Zinsser brand – Shellac primer. This brand is very heavy duty. You will need a hefty mask for this job yet you can be assured it will cover any leftover nicotine. KILZ – Oil based primer. This is the industry “go-to” for smoke mitigation. You will still need a good mask for this project.

Step 5: Paint At this point, you can use whatever paint you prefer. We prefer Home Depot’s Timeless brand. Color: Drift of Mist if you’d like to get away with painting your walls and ceilings the same color.

Step 6: Assess the smell of the home after it has had a few days to “rest” At this point, you will know if the mitigation has done the job. You may notice yellow seeping through the walls. If this is the case, you have not cleaned thoroughly enough, and you may need to clean again using the Simple Green and paint again. If the smell still persists, follow the following steps:

Step 6 : Get your Air Ducts Cleaned If you are located around the Madison, WI area, we like Dirty Ducts. They can take care of getting your ducts cleaned and they provide an array of other services.

Step 7: Use an Ozone Machine An ozone machine neutralizes odors in the air. You should run overnight in the house. DO NOT allow anyone into the home while the machine is running. It can damage your lungs. Once turned off, allow a few hours before entering the house. For more information on how to safely use an Ozone generator in your home, check out Home Air Advisor’s article, How to Use an Ozone Generator in Your Home. Once you have followed all of these steps, your property should look and smell nicotine-smoke free!

If you currently own a property with severe smoke damage, and you have no interest in doing this work yourself, please Contact Us. We can purchase a burdensome property from you for FAST for CASH under YOUR TERMS.

Best of luck!