How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!

[Taylor Martin]

Not the good kind of smoker, with pork and chicken. The kind where people lit cigarettes inside and the smoke is gunked up in the carpets. This is just one of the many new home owners renter's questions I'll be asking Oppo in the coming weeks.

In other news, I'm spending my first night at the new place. Took my first shower. Drank my first root beer. It's far from a home, but there's an air mattress in the master bedroom and that's really all that matters.

The place does have a few quirks. For example:

• The downstairs AC is okay, the second floor AC is great, the third floor AC is nonexistent. Unfortunately, the master bedroom is on the third floor. Waiting for the 1 of 3 working vents in here to cool the room enough where I can sleep

• The previous tenants apparently did drugs, and if I had to take a guess, this is the room they did them in:

• Previous tenants also took the blinds, meaning I can't walk around in my undies unless I want everyone to see me.

• Because of the smoke, the rugs are filthy. Here's a photo of my foot in the shower after walking down and then back up the stairs:

• I've killed about a dozen spiders, most of which were in the garage. Ultrasonic bug repellers come tomorrow.

• This decor was already in the master bedroom:

• And in case you ever forget to kiss me goodnight, here it is again:

But all these things are minor, and hopefully, the landlord will take care of most of them (preferably the decals/mirrors and a deep clean so I don't have to, though they may be stingy like me). And there's one nice quirk to the place. Cause for the first time in well over 2 years, Iris gets to sleep in a garage:

Plenty of room to do work too, just need to clean the floor. May have a friend help with that.

Alright, the room is finally bearable. I'm gonna get some shuteye. Work tomorrow, cleaning and County Fair on Wednesday, work till Saturday, with constant cleaning throughout... hopefully we get some WiFi in the place by then too... lot's of little things, but we'll get there.

G'night Oppo

[Exage03040]

@taylor-martin

You really should just get a smoker and do briskets in the house.

#fightfirewithfire #ifyoucantbeatthem

[Longtime Lurker]

@taylor-martin Carpet shampoo machine for the carpets. Mr clean magic eraser for walls( you can get bigger sizes) and the ceiling if they are smooth

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@taylor-martin you can hire someone to ozone the house. It'll make a big difference.

[facw]

@taylor-martin

Seriously though, ideally have your landlord shampoo the rugs, and clean and then repaint the walls, ceilings. Honestly even that might not be enough. I've been in hotels that use those ionizing air purifiers, but no idea if those work (they definitely didn't short term).

I lived in a place that had previously been occupied by a heavy smoker once, and while frequent vacuuming and such seemed to help, I think it was mostly me just getting used to it. After I moved, I'd go to open a box of something (sometimes months after the move), and the box would reek of smoke when opened. Was really marinating in it I guess.

[Taylor Martin]

@carsoffortlangley said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

you can hire someone to ozone the house

I've never heard of Ozoning the house... elaborate, please!

[jminer]

@taylor-martin Heavy cigarette smoke is extremely difficult to get rid of. The previous owner(s) of our house smoked and it took a long time to get rid of the smell. It takes replacing carpets, painting walls, cleaning ducts and so on. It is a huge pain and if you’re sensitive to the smoke it can suck.

After everything gets a thorough clean @CarsOfFortLangley suggestion of Ozone can be effective but it can be expensive to have done.

[Taylor Martin]

@facw No, I'm not burning the house a day after I signed the lease... give me a week, then we'll see.

Seriously though, ideally have your landlord shampoo the rugs, and clean and then repaint the walls, ceilings. Honestly even that might not be enough.

I think it will, it's just one particular area because the AC doesn't work in there, so there's no fresh air masking the smell. The master bedroom and even the drug room on the third floor are just fine, though could still use a cleaning.

[ranwhenparked]

@carsoffortlangley second this, ozone generator + deep clean everything (scrub walls, inside closets and cabinets, shampoo rugs, etc)

[Taylor Martin]

@jminer said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

It takes replacing carpets, painting walls, cleaning ducts and so on. It is a huge pain and if you’re sensitive to the smoke it can suck.

Thankfully, the smell is centralized in one area, the stairwell leading to the 3rd floor. A good shampooing should do the trick, as there's no smell of it in any of the other rooms, even the presumed drug zone (especially none on the second floor, which is entirely hard floors).

[ranwhenparked]

@taylor-martin oh, in that case, ozone probably won't be necessary. Just shampoo and scrub that area, and put a good air freshener there, should work if it's that localized

[BicycleBuck]

@taylor-martin

Commercial ozone generators are used to oxidize the smoke. Ozone will damage your lungs which is why there are companies which will come ozone your house for you.

[sn4cktimes]

@taylor-martin I've seen some of the stuff others posted so I'll try not to be redundant. So, before you repaint the walls, wash ALL of them with TSP. It'll degrease the walls and remove a bunch of the smoke residue and its smell. It'll also help the new paint stick a LOT better. And it'll disgust you how much shit flows down the walls. So that, THEN clean the carpets. Our house was built in the late 60's. The tenants BEOFRE the people we bought from smoked. It had been repainted and the smell was still a little present here and there. We cleaned the walls, repainted (ceilings too), shampooed the carpets, cleaned the ducts and it was all gone.

[Someoneatacura]

Hire a professional carpet cleaning company to do the whole house then have it ozoned. It’s as good as you’ll get without replacing stuff.

Buy a lot of oil diffusers and run them round the clock.

[CarsOfFortLangley]

@taylor-martin https://www.puroclean.com/blog/how-to-remove-smoke-odors-after-a-home-fire/

It's part of what restoration firms use to remove smoke odors. That, paint and a carpet cleaning would greatly help

[KITT222]

@taylor-martin Having a garage is fantastic, and one of the best things about my place. Lots of space for activities in there, too! Craigslist may have good deals on garage cabinets and other stuff. My cabinet hung out the back of my Vibe for four miles, but $20 is $20.

Keep an eye out for deals on carpet shampooers. I got mine for real cheap just because it was a good deal. It's better than blotting the floor with a rag every time there's a pet stain or otherwise.

The blinds are a weird one. If the landlord doesn't put some up that may fall to you. Get some sick racecar curtains and show the world how awesome you are.

[BicycleBuck]

@kitt222 said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

Get some sick racecar curtains and show the world how awesome you are.

Cars? I got you, fam!

[Taylor Martin]

@sn4cktimes Part of me would prefer not to re-paint the whole house, that's a lofty task (though the landlord should already be repainting my room. Maybe he'll just do the whole third floor cause he likes me... or maybe not...)

[Taylor Martin]

@someoneatacura said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

Buy a lot of oil diffusers and run them round the clock.

Got any good ones you'd recommend? Send links here.

[dejock]

@taylor-martin said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

Previous tenants also took the blinds, meaning I can't walk around in my undies unless I want everyone to see me.

go ahead, walk around in your underoos, who cares who sees? worst case scenario is someone sees you, doesnt like what they see, and never bother to look in again

[BicycleBuck]

@taylor-martin said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

@sn4cktimes Part of me would prefer not to re-paint the whole house, that's a lofty task (though the landlord should already be repainting my room. Maybe he'll just do the whole third floor cause he likes me... or maybe not...)

This isn't the first house you've rented on your own, is it? Most landlords won't paint after a tenant has moved in. There are liability issues.

You might be able to work a deal with the landlord - you do the work, the landlord pays for supplies. You both get a repainted house at reduced cost. As for the carpets, in many places the landlord is required to provide a clean environment. At the very least, document that the place was filthy when you moved in. That will go far when you move out and he tries to hold your cleaning/security deposit. If the landlord isn't willing to clean it himself, you can try to hire a carpet cleaning company. Some of them won't touch it if they find out you're renting. Second option is renting the equipment from a big box home store. Steam is better, but the wash/rinse style can do a fair job. Don't have high expectations and you won't be disappointed.

[Taylor Martin]

@bicyclebuck said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

This isn't the first house you've rented on your own, is it?

That's the kicker: this is the first place I've rented on my own. Also, it'd be the first time I paint a house, so that's a whole other thing.

I'll be gone for a couple of weeks from the 23rd to the 11th of September, so maybe he'll paint it then since I won't have "moved in" you know?

[RallyDarkstrike]

@taylor-martin Loving the updates! You must be so excited friend! Are there any bedrooms on the second floor? You could always just use one of those as your bedroom where it's cooler for the time being?

As for smoker smell, I've heard people say that getting ozone generators and letting them run a lot helps?

EDIT - Aw, I see @CarsOfFortLangley suggested ozone already!

[BicycleBuck]

@taylor-martin said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

@bicyclebuck said in How does one get rid of smoker smell, and other houselopnik stuff!:

This isn't the first house you've rented on your own, is it?

That's the kicker: this is the first place I've rented on my own. Also, it'd be the first time I paint a house, so that's a whole other thing.

I'll be gone for a couple of weeks from the 23rd to the 11th of September, so maybe he'll paint it then since I won't have "moved in" you know?

I was afraid of that. Take a look at the local renter laws before you do anything. There are things that are required of both the landlord and tenant. Don't make a mistake that will cost you money. In general, most places require the landlord to maintain the property - that includes cleaning before you move in. Some maintenance items are debatable, but if the place doesn't really need paint, then the landlord doesn't have to do it. Who decides whether or not it's needed? That depends....

The same is true of the carpet. You can complain, but if he didn't have it cleaned before you moved any of your stuff in, he's probably not going to be willing to do it unless you sign a longer lease.

It's hard to think about it this way, but he's running a business. His goal is to keep it occupied as long as possible with the least amount of maintenance cost. It's generally taught that real estate should be set up to be profitable at 80% occupancy. If it's occupied 10 months out of the year, that should be enough to cover the mortgage, taxes, and maintenance costs. Under that assumption, you can expect the landlord to be willing to spend no more than two months of your rent on maintenance-related costs. Painting is expensive. If you can split the cost by providing the labor, he'll probably be more willing to do it. Painting the whole house AND taking care of the carpet is probably not going to happen. I'd be surprised if your landlord agreed to do both.

[onceicaughtafishalive]

I'll piggy back off of what @BicycleBuck has said since I work in property management. I don't know what West Virginia's laws look like or more importantly what your lease looks like but in general once a tenant takes possession of the dwelling the condition is deemed satisfactory to the tenant. This is why you should always do a very thorough walk-through of a property before signing a lease and take the time to point out any areas of concern that you would like addressed before moving in. Hopefully you have a good landlord who would understand your concerns and would help you out as some of the items you noted should definitely be corrected, especially the A/C issues.

If you run into issues getting things addressed or have any questions in regard to renting feel free to send me a message and I'll offer any advice I can. Unfortunately not all landlords are great and it's easy to get taken advantage of, especially when you're new to all of this.