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Post by italianlady on Feb 6, 2016 3:48:04 GMT -5
So who all smokes or lives with a smoker and what do you do about keeping your house from having that lingering smell? I know there is no way to make it smell like a nonsmokers house but how do you cut it back some?
I put out a small bowl of vinegar and I use scented wax as well. When I had carpets I used carpet smell powder and I do notice it smelling nicer after I spray dust instead of feather dust and after I mop. I'm not sure whether dusting or mopping removes a smoke smell or just makes it smell like Pledge and Pine Sol or both.
I rarely smell it but I'm sure the occasional nonsmoker who happens to drop by may. I try to be respectful of how smoke bugs the living daylillies about of nonokers because ibised to be one too and hated it and was pretty obnoxious about it. When a nonsmoker comes over I put the wax burner in the family room where we sit. I also don't smoke in my own house while they are here and if I need to or anyone else who is in the family room or close vicinity without a closing door, we go out back. It won't kill us and it won't annoy or choke us. In fact I think we can manage to breathe fresh air a few times a day without a terrible reaction. ;-) Its only polite to do that. If somebody doesn't want to go outside then they can go in their room while smoking. If we have a party we don't do that because most of our friends smoke but we do open doors or windows or something and most are polite and don't smoke right next to them, except one boy who is 29 and still living at home because it's a farm and he helps his dad but his parents smoke, his gf smokes (even in his car and I don't think she should) and during a blue moon if he drinks too much he might smoke a cigarette three or four times a year. He says he can't smell it but I still don't smoke in his car.
If you haven't guessed, everybody who lives here smokes. That is six people now. It does not bother us at all. My youngest sons gf smokes too but my oldest sons gf does not so we go outside or to another room when she's here. She says not to but she has asthma and its not an inconvenience to go out. My son smokes outside at their house too, which is good he will cut down.
So, what are some good tips about the smell. Also how often do you clean ceiling fans and fixtures because of it? And is there anything I'm missing that might be harboring years of nicotine that normally doesn't get cleaned?
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Post by cyn on Feb 6, 2016 11:32:16 GMT -5
That's funny that you bring this up italianlady - I was just thanking my lucky stars that we don't smoke in the house, as I was cleaning my kitchen this week. Yuck, smoke residue is a royal pita to remove! Especially if you're like me, and put off cleaning for too long. DH bought me some nice figurines last year, and after soaking them in hot water and scrubbing them with a toothbrush, they changed colour! They came from a home where dusting was done regularly, so you couldn't tell how badly they needed cleaning. I remember once, having to soak things in hot *bleachy* soapy water, and really scrubbing the daylights out of them, to get the petrified smoke/dust combo off. Horrible work! We do smoke in our bathroom, with the exhaust fan running, but there's always an orange residue on every single thing/surface. I have to bust out the Lysol wipes for that chore. The smell is another story - even as a smoker, I don't like the smell of stale smoke - and I always notice when other scents are used to mask odours (I'm very scent sensitive, go figure, ) so only opening the window can help me get rid of it.
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Post by italianlady on Feb 6, 2016 11:51:54 GMT -5
I started washing all my crap on the tables about ten years ago when something spilled on a table. I have lots of white porcelain boxes all over the house and when I washed the sticky off the ones that got wet they were ivory and not cream. I got really mad that they were that dirty even though insisted them with a feather duster every day that I wasn't in squalor but not I had to wash not only them but all that crap all over the house because if I didn't then I'd know. Now it doesn't take longer than just washing dishes but I soak them first. I do it about once or twice a year. I do ceiling fans too and that means with the Windex and paper towels and I take off the globes in every light fixture and do them too. We have a big crystal chandelier in the dining room and I don't have the patience but for ten dollars my younger daughter sits on the dining room table and washes each little thing individually. Some come off.
I worry about how dirty my walls are but they are all darker colors. I painted them like that years ago because everything was white and it was too much pressure.
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Post by cyn on Feb 6, 2016 12:00:56 GMT -5
Yeah, if you *know* something's supposed to be ivory, and not cream, and it bugs you... better to not let it bother you - everything's just going to be glazed a shade of amber. Dust sticking to it is where it really goes to hades. Your walls are definitely dirty, but unless you want to scrub them down, it's not noticeable. We have to wipe the bathroom walls down, or else there's orange stains dripping down the walls where they get splashed. Gross! Look away!
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Post by joyinvirginia on Feb 7, 2016 1:13:32 GMT -5
Febreze spray is one thing that does help odors, you could try that. I have never smoked, and am very sensitive to smells.My folks did not smoke, and no one ever smoked inside our house.I never even dated anyone who smoked, the smell was too unpleasant. Now in contrast, I LOVE the smell of tobacco plants after harvest and drying, before they are made into cigarettes. If you are in the right spot in the Virginia countryside in September or October, near a curing barn or storage facility, the tobacco scent is strong in the area and I love that! Can't stand cigarettes smoke, the tobacco gets ruined by all the processing for it to be made into cigarettes. Nothing you would do could cover up the smoke smell for someone like me. It gets into the upholstery, the drapes, clothing, and I can smell it no matter what is used to cover it up. My mother in law used to smoke years ago, also sister in law and her husband. and after we visited them the dh and I had to shower and change clothes as soon as we got home. Dh had a house he was renting when we first got married. Very nice retired couple rented there and smoked all the time. When the wife passed away and her husband moved to live with his daughter, we needed to paint before we could rent again. I could not scrub the scent out of the wall. The smoke stains on the wall just seeped right thru one layer of paint, we had to get a professional painter to do the job, he had to cover everything with a coat of primer and then paint.
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Post by Harmony on Feb 7, 2016 3:01:39 GMT -5
Awwwwweeee, that is so nice that you as a smoker are concerned about your non smoking guests. Maybe you can open all the windows and people can smoke outside for awhile before and during your guests visit? Reminds me of when I smoked and would be giving someone a ride, would ask if they minded if I smoked(in my own car even back in the late 80's when most were not conscious of it's affect). Also, sadly when we smoke and even are trying to be considerate...sometimes we can come up short not for lack of trying which I will share in example. ex) Smoke bothered my father and he was over, so I decided to get up and open the door and sit right by it blowing the smoke out of it which could not possibly bother him right? WRONG! The poor guy had red itchy eyes and was so irritated even before I had done the smoke he had to leave. I tried to put out my smoke so he did not have to, although it was too late as there was already smoke inside my place bothering him. That was with super conscious effort. When my nephew would be coming over to my place, it would be aired out for hours ahead just from my smoking ....with no indoor smoking happening during that time OR until he left(which was enough for both his breathing issues and some other family members who were irritated by smoke). Covering it up might be aesthetic, although if smoke actually bothers someone... you have to do more as that is not enough. I think when a non smoker goes to a smokers home they can expect to be around smoke. If the weather permits, maybe you can all go outside....although have to tell you even outside a non smoker can smell a smokers smoke feet away(not as bothersome though..just no way to hide it). I can smell it coming from a car ahead of me while driving.... Quit 13 years ago for my own health reasons and having a tough time even smelling my own smoke, which another smoker did not understand although wanted to smoke at my place since I smoked....which then threw the smoke in my place over the edge where I would struggle with my breathing after. With 6 people that would be a lot of smoke even if people do not smoke heavy. Am sorry if what I have snared it not helpful, although what might be helpful is boiling vinegar to cut the smoke? Along with opening all the windows and airing out ahead? A friend of mine told when she went to her Moms place(which was thick in smoke as she chain smoked while she was dying), she would boil vinegar to try to cut it in the air to help her and the nurses breath while there.. My Mom knows I cannot handle smoke, so stops smoking in her own place and airs out long before I would be over or tells me it is too smokey if I am wanting to pop by and she has been smoking. There have been times where I have had to hold my breath running in to drop something off for her and barely made it in and out without choking, so if your dealing with someone who is sensitive to smoke...all I have heard of is boiling vinegar outside of airing out and not smoking(which may or may not help). Super considerate of you in your own home to want to make it comfortable for a guest who is also willing to come over to a smoking house. Remember what a smoker can smell and a non smoker smells are worlds apart. Good luck and I hope you find a good solution that everyone can be comfortable with....
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Post by Harmony on Feb 7, 2016 3:27:33 GMT -5
cyn thank you for reminding me about what the smoke does, as i forgot. i remember way back when i used to smoke in my car(before 98), cleaning the inside windows always resulted in paper towels having a yellow/brown sticky extra layer of goop and looking out the window was dramatically different after cleaning them. also yes the walls OMG....the staining on the walls and yellow drips that result from it in the bathroom after some moisture got into the air. forgot forgot forgot. took years of doing a little at a time to do the worst rooms. at first i drew words and messages on the walls that stained like "don't smoke", although eventually got them washed down. it was heavy duty work that took numerous cleaning products and i bet there are still some remnants in the wall from it. i heard there is a product one can use to seal it into the wall though before painting. joyinvirginia your right though, if someone is sensitive like you and myself...there is not anything that can be done to get rid of it completely. i am not obnoxious about smoke, although i cannot breath around it (especially in a contained space)...so do not go where it is or leave if someone lights up where i am forced to breath it in as second hand smoke. hope you can figure out a good solution to prevent that for your guests italianlady .
. once my BIL lit up with me in the back seat of their vehicle and i could not breathe, so had to have the window open the whole way to where we were going, which in the long rung caused me an ear infection etc. after which i chose to end the evening taking a taxi on my own from there. somehow he was upset with me for being affected by it and saying something about not appreciating being put in that position. sigh..
nice that you care and have consideration for those who choose not to smoke and/or cannot tolerate it..insert code her
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Post by Ally on Feb 7, 2016 4:25:24 GMT -5
I'm not a big fan of using one scent to cover up another. One solution: everyone stops smoking in the house. That would actually result in people smoking less, which is a good thing. Best solution: everyone quits smoking. Yes, I know that's not probably going to happen any time soon. The sticky yellow stuff isn't just all over everything in your house, it's in your lungs too.
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Post by imamess on Feb 7, 2016 8:23:20 GMT -5
The Egg Lady's husband smokes. When I go to their house and come home, I have to take a shower and put on clean clothes and sometimes I throw my smoke filled clothes out on the porch over night. The day he went with me to pick out my pistol, he lit up in my truck and I nearly had a fit, although I didn't say anything. It took nearly a week to get the smell out.
Years ago, my boss smoked and when he found out that it bothered me so bad, he bought some kind of fancy ashtrays that had a battery powered air filter that kind of sucked the smoke into them. I never smelled smoke in his office again. I don't know what they were or where he got them, but they definitely worked.
Sometimes when someone comes into my house with smoke scent on their clothes it lingers in the house. When they leave I usually get the vinegar out and set bowls of it around over night and open the windows if I the weather permits.
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Post by needmorecoffee on Feb 7, 2016 8:28:15 GMT -5
Eucalyptus oil helps get the sticky stuff off any surface that isn't porous, my ex inlaws used to smoke.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 9:24:21 GMT -5
Well, aside from not smoking indoors, I don't think that much can be done about the smell. Smokers don't really know how strong smoke smell really is because they smell it all the time. I think the idea of smoke sucking ashtrays is a good one. Also, if you could wash your curtains and such once a week, that would help. Smoke loves fabric. I, too have come home from smokers homes and thrown my clothes outside. I also have to take a shower immediately. I don't think Febreeze, as much as I love it, could be much help with 6 smokers. Maybe slipcovers on the family room furniture, so you could wash them too. And the throw rugs and throw pillows. Mopping the floor probably does help a lot, since you would be mopping up smoke residue. I know the residue on the walls and ceilings smells like smoke. If you ever got energetic enough to wash the walls and ceilings. Everyone has different tolerances to the smell of smoke, so some people are never gonna be comfortable. Maybe you can have one no smoking room in your house?
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Post by Fivecat on Feb 7, 2016 10:01:57 GMT -5
Smoking. wow. A squalor topic that applies to me in a BIG way.
I'm going to say this right up front. Anyone tempted to lecture me on the evils and ills of smoking, save it. I've heard it all, over and over and over. Not only is it not helpful, it makes my anxiety worse and causes me to smoke more. And it will pi$$ me off. Greatly.
I am a chain smoker, smoking between 2-4 packs a day and Mr 5, while not quite as heavy a smoker as me, smoked 1-2 packs a day until a year ago, when illness necessitated him to all but quit. He smokes maybe a half dozen cigs a day now.
Cigarette smoke residue, along with residue from the portable kerosene heaters we use to heat our house, is one of the worst causes of squalor in our house. It reeks of it. It permeates everything. It coats the walls, the windows, mirrors, knick knacks, pictures on the walls, the dishes in the cabinet, clothes in the closet. EVERYTHING. I hate it. Nor can I keep up with it. I have found no real remedy to eliminate the smell. My car reeks. My clothes reek. My hair reeks. My breath reeks.
I was born and raised in the land of big tobacco, on a tobacco farm. Its what paid our mortgage, our light bill, bought our school clothes, put food on our table. It was a way of life. For everyone.
Everyone smoked. EVERYONE. My parents, my friends parents, my brother and sister, aunts and uncles, doctors and nurses, teachers and preachers. EVERYONE. I started smoking at 13 years old. A girl my age who I thought was cool gave me my first cigarette while we were waiting for the school bus. Every day we'd meet and I'd bum one. Then I started swiping packs from my parents cartons at home. By high school I was a regular smoker. Everyone was. EVERYONE. At lunch, 95% of the student body was in the parking lot smoking. It was a right of passage, part of becoming an adult.
In 40 years, something that was socially accepted, even expected, has now made me a social pariah.
There are few tobacco farms anymore. A way of life, now falling into oblivion. It makes me sad. For better or worse, it was our life, our culture, our history and I miss it.
Today, here in the home of big tobacco, smoking has been banned in public places and in most small cities and towns. There are still a few places left where you can smoke, but not many. I miss it. I miss being able to go to a nice restaurant and linger over dinner with coffee, conversation, and a cigarette. I miss being able to go to a bar to get away from the screaming kid who invariably mars my nice dinner to have my coffee (or drink) along with my cigarette in an adult atmosphere, but nope, can't smoke there anymore, either. My home is the last place I can smoke in peace.
I've been smoking for almost 45 years now and I've been trying to quit for at least 35 years. I've tried every method, every prescription, every 'snake oil' on the market, As well as 4 years of therapy. Nothing has worked. NOTHING.
I hate that I smoke. HATE it. I hate that what once made me part of society now makes me an outcast. I hate that even though i try very hard to be a considerate smoker that I'm vilified, even when I go outside in freezing cold or pouring rain to do so. I hate that I cough so violently that I often see stars from it. I hate that my clothes stink even though I wash them twice in hot water, once with soap and a vinegar rinse and again with baking soda and lavendar fabric softener. I hate that my house stinks. But its MY house. And while I hate that it stinks, I'll be d@mned if ANYBODY is going to tell me I can't smoke in it. If you can't handle the smoke, don't come here.
I'm glad change has occurred, I really am. The chances my grandchildren will smoke are exponentially less, but I'm also bitter. Bitter because I have become one of the most reviled people on the planet. I didn't change, the world did. And nobody understands this. NOBODY.
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Post by mynicehome on Feb 7, 2016 10:06:47 GMT -5
Amen and well-said Fivecat. Reviled smoker here too.
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Post by joyinvirginia on Feb 7, 2016 12:03:30 GMT -5
Fivecat, I do remember the days when my non smoking was the anomaly. Smoking is still routine at the bingo parlors my mil went to Funny story, in Virginia now restaurants must be non smoking unless they have separate rooms for smokers and non smokers. There is a tiny beloved pizza place in my dh hometown where we go occasionally, and they let anyone who wants to smoke in there. If the restaurant inspector happens to come by, the restaurant gets a fine. When that happens, the patrons take up a collection to pay the fine! True story.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 7, 2016 12:23:05 GMT -5
My MIL has just quit smoking after about 50 years of it. Cold turkey. SO don't give up hope. By the way, my mom never smoked a cigarette in her life and died from COPD. My MIL is healthy as a horse, so go figure.
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