Removing The Cigarette Smell From A Carpet

Nearly 38 million Americans are smokers. When people smoke indoors, the smoke doesn’t just dissipate and leave out the door—it often clings to surfaces and can, ultimately, have an unpleasant impact. Once smoke’s odor gets into your carpet, it can be difficult to eliminate. Is your home’s carpeting currently giving off an impression that’s more “dilapidated chimney” than “inviting, cozy house?”  Here are a few techniques you can try out to get rid of the smell—and things you should keep in mind.

Baking Soda Works Magic

Baking soda is a natural odor eliminator—you may have realized this if your mom ever kept an open container of baking soda in the back of the fridge. Unlike air fresheners, which typically mask scents, baking soda actually absorbs them. To give your carpet a refresh, cover the entire area with a full box of baking soda. We recommend doing this in the evening before going to sleep, or in the morning before going to work, because you should allow the baking soda to work its magic for a full eight hours. Then vacuum it all up, repeating as necessary until the smell is gone.

Steam Cleaning

Steam cleaners heat water to about 360 degrees Fahrenheit and turn it into a vapor steam that can be used to give carpets a deeper clean. Not only will it kill bacteria and loosen up dirt, but it can also work to eliminate some of the unpleasant scents that smoking has left. Steam cleaning is only step one, though. Steam loosens up grease and debris from your carpet, which then has to be vacuumed up.

Don’t Play Games With Your Health

The issues with second-hand smoke have been well documented, and these health issues don’t come just from inhaling smoke. If cigarette smoke has left an odor in your home, it has also left potentially harmful chemicals on surfaces as well (this residue is sometimes referred to as “thirdhand smoke”). Contaminated dust can build up over time, and contribute to smoking-related health problems like asthma and SIDs, especially in children.

Resale Value Drops Dramatically

If you’re looking to resell your home, then you’re definitely going to want to eliminate that stale smoke smell—one study found that the smell of cigarettes in a home can lower the resale value by up to 30%. Failing to address the smell can potentially lose you thousands and thousands of dollars when it comes time to call a real estate agent.

If you’ve tried eliminating that smoky smell from your carpets and it doesn’t seem to go away, contact the carpet cleaning experts at ECS Carpet Cleaning either online or by phone at (781) 643- 6140to find out more about our carpet cleaning and other services.