Smoke smell remover

"I think we've all known or have heard about that one aunt who smokes like a chimney and no one wants to visit her because her house smells like death—and now, thanks to her habit, she's dead and it's up to you to deodorize her house before your family puts it on the market."

My landlord has done nothing to maintain his house so I'm stuck in the smoke smell. Okay, he did something as putting lavender fragrance which smelled nothing at all. I even asked him if he had put something to remove the smoke smell or not, and he said yes. What the chicken? The smell still stayed, could you imagine? Whose responsibility to satisfy my nose? Me or him? You landlord are just dush dush person and I feel like kicking you dush dush.

Here are some tips on how to get rid of smoke smell:-

• Baking soda 

Baking soda is a good way to get rid of smoke odor. Now, this takes time because what you want to do is get a box of Arm & Hammer, dust the furniture and the carpets (if they haven't been shampooed), and leave the baking soda to settle for a day or so. That will give it time to absorb some of the smoke smell and moisture around it. Then, vacuum it up and repeat the process a few more times over the course of a week. Use scented baking soda if you like.

•  Cleaned window fixtures

Shades, curtains, and fixtures need to be cleaned to get rid of smoke odor. A lot of people forget to clean things like shades, chandeliers, curtains, and wall hangings, but these things have probably collected quite a bit of tar and resin from years of hanging smoke. Do yourself a favor and put the curtains in the washer, buy new shades, and wipe down the chandelier with a good dose of ammonia, just to make sure that smell is gone.

• Fresh air

Fresh air is probably the best way to remove smoke smell and odor from a home. It turns out that opening the windows and doors every couple of days for a whole day will help get the stink of cigarettes out of a home. Lord knows why, but I imagine the air flow allows tar and resin particles to escape, leaving the house smelling more like a house than a tar pit.

• Fabreeze

Don't be fooled by the claims of odor removal products. If it doesn't have a cleaning agent in it, you're not going to get rid of the smoke smell. Scent-generating deodorizers only serve to mask the smell. Once you take them out of the house, you'll notice the smell of old cigarettes again. Of course, we've all heard of Febreze, and wonder why it works. 

Well, Febreze uses a chemical compound called cyclodextrin that has been used in household and custodial cleaning products for quite some time. The sugar-like substance doesn't necessarily "clean" the odors out, but acts as an absorbent like baking soda or charcoal, to help soak the odor out. Yes, Febreze does work, but let's be honest with ourselves. Spraying everything down with Febreze isn't the answer to years and years of built up cigarette tars and resins.

• Charcoal

There is one thing I would suggest in an odor removal product and that is activated charcoal. Charcoal is used not only to filter water and other things, but is also used to soak up odors, just like baking soda. If you see charcoal in an odor removing product, it's likely to succeed at removing odors.

I took off the blue long curtain which was there ever since I moved in. And suddenly it made sudden drastic change to the room. The bad odour merely removed and my nose was not that dissatisfied also. So, it concluded that bad smell came from the curtain itself. I decided to wash it but my friend said "just throw it away, it's damn 'buruk'". Haha.

By the way, baking soda option is also in progress. I sprinkled the powder on the carpet and chairs. I don't know if it has reduced the smell or not, but from this morning, the smell is still there a bit, although not too strong as it was before. I put a status on facebook to ask if anyone in Newcastle has left over charcoal from summer barbecue pits and one replied. So, I'm gonna take the charcoal from him this afternoon and put it in the room. Hope it works *pray hard* and removes completely the bad odour.