How to Get Rid of Irritating Smoke Smell at Home
Published: 2024-05-08
Can you believe this? While most of us would disagree, the truth is that we, humans are endowed with one of the strongest senses of smell. Bearing testimony to this fact is research that was published in the acclaimed journal Science that asserted that we, humans can recognize as many as one trillion different smells. Needless to say, then that given the very sharp odor sensories that we have, it is highly unlikely that we can put up with a smoke smell at home. As difficult as it is for us to accept the smoke smell, the more challenging task is to remove the smoke smell. What are the probable causes of smoke smell? How to get rid of the smoke smell at home? What are the best smoke odor eliminators? These are a few of the questions that we seek answers to, here.
What Causes Smoke Odor in Home?
To keep it short and simple, smoke odor in the home is caused by negligence. It could be the negligence of people staying in the home or people living in the neighborhood of your home. This negligence, of course, can have diverse manifestations. First, smoke can emanate from the use of fuel that is used in the kitchen for cooking. Lack of attention may lead to the knob of the gas oven being left open. Second, in countries with cold climate, natural gas is highly used for keeping homes warm during winters and could be a source of fire and consequently, smoke. Third, people burning wastes and disposing those off by burning them in open air, can lead to the smoke making its way into homes in the neighborhood through doors, windows and other unintended gaps in the architecture.
How to Get Rid of Smoke Smell in Home?
Given the challenges posed by the smoke smell in homes, it is advisable to stay abreast of the best practices to remove smoke smell for self-help. Following are the best ways to remove smoke smell in homes:
Wash Hard Surfaces like Glass and Mirrors
First, when cleaning up your home in the aftermath of a fire or any incident that leads to the build-up of smoke inside your home, attempt cleaning the hard surfaces first. Surfaces like mirrors, window panes, and other glass surfaces bear the brunt of smoke because of the blanket of tar and soot that settles down on them, thus leaving behind a strong odor of burnt items. Use a solution of warm water and vinegar mixed in equal proportions for the initial wash and then rinse the surfaces with fresh water.
Be Gentle on Waxed Surfaces
It is advised that you gently wipe off the whole ceiling while paying extra attention to the areas that are frequented by smokers. Do not attempt to rinse off the vinegar. Rather allow it to dry. When trying to remove the smokescreen that settles on ceilings and walls, be cautious to not use vinegar on waxed surfaces. First, vinegar has a strong reaction on wax surfaces and causes the top layer of wax to erode, thereby damaging the look and feel of the interior of your home. Second, make sure that you do not combine the vinegar with bleach because it leads to the emission of chlorine gas which again is toxic.
Wash the Soft Furnishings First
When trying to remove smoke smell from clothes and fabrics, start with soft furnishings like bed covers, pillow covers and curtains. These soft fabric items soak up large quantities of smoke odor and therefore it makes sense to start with these. It is advised that you wash these soft fabrics first and then move on to washing clothes and wearables.
Reupholster the Soft Furnishings
If the impact of the smoke in the home is far too severe, you shall discover that many of your soft furnishings have been damaged beyond repair and thus need to be reupholstered. Seeking professional help to re-upholster such belongings can be expensive. Thus, if you can do it yourself, you get to stay away from burning a hole into your pocket.
Steam Clean or Vacuum the Carpet
When dealing with the impact of smoke smell on a carpet, you need to put in some extra efforts. The carpet is yet another soft item that cannot be fed into the washing machine. Rather, it is advised that you shampoo and wash the carpet with a steam cleaner. You may seek professional help in this regard if you are unable to do this by yourself. Yet another trick that makes the job easier is to sprinkle the carpet with baking soda and then clean it using a vacuum cleaner a day later to enable the soaking up and removal of the smell.
Lean on Charcoal
Did you know that charcoal is a great odor eliminator for homes? Yes, you heard it right. Charcoal is one the best air fresheners for a smoke. Simply leaving a few bowls of activated charcoal around the house absorbs odors of smoke.
Let in Some Fresh Air
In the aftermath of smoke in the home, it is only natural to find the air stagnate and foster the growth of fungus and molds. Given the improved insulation in modern homes and the existence of the right conditions of humidity and darkness, these kind of issues are common phenomena. To resolve this challenge, it is advised that you open all the windows and ventilators and allow the last remnants of smoke and smell of burnt substances to fade away. Placing a fan in the room can improve the circulation of air and expedite the process.
Once you are done with the cleaning of the household items, you can pick a good scented odor neutralizer that can remove smoke smell and keep the environment inside fresh and healthy. Given the wide variety of smoke odor eliminators available in the market, you have an option to choose a fragrance of your choice. Amidst the long list of available fragrances, how do you choose the best air freshener for smoke? It is simple, choose the one that shall help eliminate the smoke smell as well as diffuse a pleasing smell into all corners of your home.
Use an Air Purifier
It is advised that you make use of a good quality air purifier. An air purifier for homes works to filter odor molecules from the air and lends a healthy ambiance inside.
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Author: Waldemar Stasiak