Ok, so I'm back in the Lou for 6 weeks visiting family and shooting.
My grandma, recently diagnosed with Lung Cancer, finally quit smoking after like 120 years. Her house SMELLS like she has been smoking for 120 years. Mostly just one room in the basement??
Any ways to get rid of this very weird smell?

It's kinda weird, because the house had a different smell to it WHEN she was smoking.

I really don't want to rip up the carpets and re-paint/plaster the walls. But it's gonna take more than Febreeze (?).
Any tips would be great because it's giving me a headache.
TIA!

Sadly, we dealt with this with my Grandpa and it DID take ripping up carpet and THROWING OUT his furniture. Of course, that wasn't just the smoke smell... he'd go WEEKS without bathing *YUCK*.

Anyway, I smoke and I know what you mean about the difference in smells from WHEN she was smoking and now. It's different and actually much more disgusting. I bought this little car freshener at Target that has been doing a nice job on my Jeep - it's a neutralizer and it's in a clear plastic jar... I tore the label off or I'd give you the name of it, but it was a red and blue label I believe. Of course, with a house it's going to take a lot of those things AND Febreeze AND keeping the windows open for a long while... luckily the weather should be turning nice soon!

Good luck! Sorry to hear about your Grandma's diagnosis, but congrats to her for quitting!

I thought I was crazy but it's TOTALLY different and much much worse. I don't know what is worse, breathing or this smell.

hmmm... I wonder if you could fumigate the house? No? OK.

Might smell better.

The carpet prolly has to go... but until then, try one of those air purifier/ fan dealie things. Also, just trying to get fresh air in there would help. If there are any windows down there, open them up as much as possible.

I'm so sorry about your Grandma.

We went through the same thing with my Father in Law. It has been a year and a half, but the odor has not dissipated. I know EXACTLY what you mean about the smell being different. I scrubbed the walls, opened windows, vacuumed, fabreezed - but that didn't work.

The carpet has to go. My Mother in Law isn't going to do that though, so that odor will persist.

The carpet is the main culprit... I know you don't want to, but it has to go. Maybe a carpet cleaner service??

I'm sorry for your loss.

I think I know which room your talking about lol....

I wish I had some tips! Carpet freshner? Industrial strength air freshners? Shampoo carpet?

All of this would surely help but probably not fix the problem..

I had a friend go through this not to long ago. They had to rip out the carpet AND the padding and replace it. They had to PRIME and repaint the walls AND the ceiling to get most of it to go away. The kitchen still reeked until they replaced the cabinets too. Unfortunately after that many years of smoke anything porous retained that smoke smell and had to be replaced.

If the basement has a drop ceiling with ceiling tiles those are *really* going to hold the smell and are going to need to be replaced.

I'm so sorry about your grandma

My grandmother managed apartments for many years and I lived with her so I heard it all from the maintance men. When someone smokes in a house and they leave the smell will last forever. Carpets will have to go and the walls will have to be painted but first prime them with the oder/mouister seal type prime. Any furniture will hold the smell too.

Sorry for your loss and for the clean up.

Alisha, I'm sorry to hear of the circumstances under which your grandma quit smoking.

Smells often seem worse due to moisture. if you can manage to keep it very dry, it will help, but as so many others have said to eliminate the smell, you need to eliminate the source, which will require removing the carpet. the walls could be washed with a bleach solution (which will probably make a bigger mess and be a bigger hassle than just painting.) if the carpet goes, the smell should be significatly reduced and a dehumidifier (about $100 at home depot) in the basement should help.

don't forget to wash or replace any window treatments.

good luck.

smoke odor

I will keep your grandma in my thoughts and prayers, glad to hear she quit...

I agree with getting rid of all the porous stuff.

You could also try boiling a pot of lemons. I've heard that really helps clear out a smelly house.

Hey there we went through this and like everyone is saying get rid of the carpet and I bought a little green monster and cleaned all the furniture. It is going to take a lot of work and money but it will be worth it. Especially since the lung cancer is what killed my grandfather, it was motivating to get rid of the smell.
Good luck and peace be with you during the time.
Dawn

Thanks everyone for the prayers and kind words. She is actually doing really well. She has the most treatable kind of cancer and caught it early.

Alisha,
Opening the windows will help a lot! Maybe not to get rid of the smell but to circulate the air.
Prayers for your grandma!
~Michelle

I have heard from several people that an ozone generator will help lots. Just be careful, my sister chemically burned her lungs after re-entering her home and forgetting that they had left the thing running on full power. (they use it to keep mold under control because they live in a very damp environment in India)

You can find them here: http://www.alpineairproducts.com/?action=P...amp;Product=147

They use these things to remove odors from homes of forensic cleanups so they must do something.

They are kind of pricey...maybe you could borrow or rent one?

I second this. There was a little accident in my apartment where a pot was left on the stove when no one was at home and the firefighters had to break down our door because our apt had filled with smoke. It smelled sooooo bad in our apt and the leasing office said that if the smoke smell doesn't go away within a week they would bring a ozone generator to get rid of the smell. Apparently it really works, but it's pricey.

i helped a friend of mine try to clean out their grandparents trailer to get rid of the smell. They could not paint because it was a trailer and the walls would not hold paint. anyway, they cleaned the carpet and washed down all of the walls with some type of orange scented heavy duty cleaner and kept all of the windows open as much as possible.

If you cant replace the carpet and paint then that would be a suggestion. Paint is fairly cheap though and would really help.

invite Sticky over for some Timco fajitas and then just wait.....

I third the notion of an ozone machine. Check with some of your local carpet cleaners, or people who do fire restoration. They often keep the industrial model of these ozone machines on hand, and would probably be willing to rent one out for a day. It will work miracles in getting rid of the smells, but be sure you can be out of the house for the entire time it is running, and that it is well ventilated before you reenter the house. Ozone is especially dangerous for anyone who already has breathing problems.

(my dad owns a carpet business and owns one of these machines. I once tipped over an entire bottle of perfume, which smelled horrible throughout the house, and it got rid of the smell.)

Please don't be suckered into buying a consumer version of these machines on the premise that you can keep them running all the time. They can be very damaging to your lungs, and they are not as effective as the industrial strength versions.

Hope that helps!
Heather