Recently I received a call from a homeowner who has had her home on the market for over 4 months and has had 4 showings...during our discussion I asked what were the comments from the potential buyers after they saw the house.... She said they all said the same thing..that it smelled like cigarette smoke..
She informed me that she was a heavy smoker...... 
I have seen the photos on the Realtors website and it is a lovey home...the price is right...the only draw back is the smell of cigarette smoke...
I have an appointment to go and see the home...I need advice as to how to get the odor out. So please any and all advice is welcome....
HOME STYLE AND STAGING, LLC
MARY LOU TEAGUE
KNOXVILLE, TN
HOMESTYLEANDSTAGING@COMCAST.NET For your Staging and Re-Design needs in Knoxville and East Tennessee
HOME STYLE AND STAGING LLC
" design support to sell or dwell "
MARY LOU TEAGUE
Certified professional stager and re-designer
ASHSR East Tennessee Chapter President
Knoxville, Tennessee
HOMESTYLEANDSTAGING@COMCAST.NET
(865) 368-8484
For your staging, re-design, de-cluttering and holiday decorating needs please give us a call
You need an industrial strength ionizer, Mary Lou.
Not a wimpy home use model like they sell at sam's club for $89.99.
Using the proper ionizer for the square footage will result in 100Z% odor eradication 100% of the time, and the smells do not come back, ever. Unbeleivable, I know. but it's true.
So true I sell them with a 100% money-back guarantee.
See my sister's blog about stinky stenches. See Tori-Lynn's testimonial...she bought one to use for her business and and also rents it to REA's.
We sell ionizers that eradicate odor and antibacterialize (99% bacteria free) all surfaces in 3000 square feet in two hours, for $649.
No B.S. It works on every odor, every time. Consequently, we use them for every listing.
Do some research. There is a fool-proof, reuseable, profitable answer to odor problems.
~Michelle
Mary Lou, My husband sells these units that Michelle is referring to and THEY WORK! It's worth the investment. We have used them in our home for several years now. It not only gets rid of odors, but has also improved our families health.
Donna and Michelle, Thank you so much ..I have a meeting with the client and will pass this info on to them. I am glad that you told me about the less expensive ones that do not work as this will save time and money....again thanks so much for the advice..I knew that I would fine what I needed here on AR !!!!
I have air purifiers from EcoQuest that eliminates smoke. They work great !
Great information on the ionizers, thanks for posting it. I will def remember this for future smelly homes. :-)
Mary Lou,
My first ionizer experience was awesome, because it was an ecoquest, which is the same story as in my sister's blog. then I bought my own ionizer (non-commercial cheapie) and was so let down. I kept buying new home-grade ionizers, which did seem work, at first, but they were not designed for large sqaure footage, not completely cleanable, and lost their strength in two weeks. I just couldn't replicate that first experience's results. So I bought an Ecoquest.
That's when I acheived total permanent odor eradication. If an ionizer can be used with humans and animals in the room, it is NOT GOING TO WORK for 100% elimination. It will help, but the smell will still come back, sooner or later, and it quickly will come to a point where it doesn't work at all.
I personally live with four odor-makers (a cat, two dogs, and a smoker). I have issues with odor! I would fairly venture to say between me, my mom, and my sister, we have bought at least 20 cheap units. Never again will I waste our money on crummy ionizers, glade plug-ins, cans of 99 cent spray from the dollar store, $9.99 "home room spray" spray from the fancy-shmancy boutiques, or lampberge oils for $18.99 a bottle.
Commercial/Industrial grade means you have to leave the house for two hours. The antibacterial action is so powerful, if you stand around breathing the air with the machine on, it will antibacterialize your LUNGS, which is very bad. We need certain bacterias in our bodies and in our organs. It is THAT POWERFUL.
The smell will NEVER return if you have the owners stop smoking in the house after COMMERCIAL ionization. If you can't get their cooperation to stop reintroducing the odor of cigarette smoke, you will still have a mild problem, but not that deep-seated issue of long-lasting nicotine and tar residue inside the soft furnishings and carpet fibers and pad. Re-ionization on a a less drastic scale will still be warranted, say, 20 minutes out of the house before showings.
Nothing will solve your problem faster or more completely than a commercial grade ionizer. And if they stop smoking in the house, it will never, ever stink of cigarette smoke again.
~Michelle
The EcoQuest unit is the brand that we use.
Would hope to be able to rent a unit rather than invest at that price. Will bookmark this, just in case I need the info in the future.
Thanks for all the valuable info....I waill share this info with the client and also some Realtors that I have spoken to.
She cannot smoke indoors anymore . Open all doors windows, have carpets cleaned All her clothes, drapes etc must be washed! Maybe its a sign for her to quit! I did 4 months ago never felt better. My nieces commented "your house doesnt small like smoke anymore!
So excited this is the first time that I have been featured on your blog...Yeah me !!!
Mary Lou- I agree with the ionizers, however,if for some reason you can't do that- bowls of vinegar in each room overnight will help tremendously. Good luck!
Thanks for the bowl of Vinegar idea..I have never tried that...does the room end up smelling like an Easter Egg ?????
Mary Lou, I totally agree about the eco-quest ionizer. We have a local distributor that rents the large units to realtors and her units are kept busy. You might google eco-quest and see if there's a distributor in your area.
Mary Lou- Actually it will smell like vinegar! But then air out and it will be as good as new.(well, maybe)
Ginger: That is certainly good news to hear that someone can rent one of the machines..the cost to buy one is pretty steep for the average homeowner that just needs to use it once. I don't need one that often, I will see if there is a distributor in my area...thanks for the info...
washing curtians & fabrics ,cleaning the windows besicly a good cleaning will get most of the smoke smell out
Jean-Marie beat me to it! I always stress the importance of removing or cleaning window treatments. I love the comments about ionizer's! I am just mad I didn't think of this earlier. :)
Janice.. The ionizer is such a gret idea..was totally unaware of them..So glad that Michelle shared that with us..
I'm with Michelle Mary Lou and we have them on our site. They are great, when I bought my car, I wanted the model and color but it had been owned by a smoker and really reeked. I knew what Ecoquest could do so I bought it anyway. My husband thought I was nuts, but a few days with it in there and there is to this day 2 years later NO residue of smoke anywhere. They work by getting inside the walls and under the paint to remove the odor too. Amazing and Kym uses them and charges her clients $50 a week as another revenue stream. GREAT product. We also have a heating duct ionizer, for keeping the air clean coming into your house through the furnace. It'll pay for itself over and over. You won't regret having bought one.
I bought a brand new sewing machine on line, and discovered when opening the box that the machine reeks of cigarette smoke, as well as everything in the box stinking too. Is there a way to get the smell out of the plastic of the machine? I've left it in the box because the smell is so strong, and haven't used it at all. Thanks!
It was brand new...it sounds like someone bought it and then returned it..that it terrible that it smells so bad..I would take it back and exchange it, as far as getting smell out of plastic, I am at a total loss on that one..