Wildfires, cigarette smoke, burnt toast, or unfortunate house fires – no one likes a smoky house. Nobody wants a home suffering from smoke damage or any annoying smoke smell that leaves you nauseated or with headaches. Burning scented candles and fragrant aerosols can help to get rid of some nasty smell from your house, but they do not remove the smoke odor permanently. 

Aside from learning the tips from this article, contact a fire and smoke damage specialist to help you solve your smoke odor concern in your home.

6 Tips For Removing Smoke Smell from Your House

To remove the smoke smell from the house, you may do the following tried-and-true tips.

Increase Ventilation and the Air Circulation in the House. 

• Have enough ventilation in your home by opening up all the windows in your home. 
• You can also use a running fan to improve the air circulation inside, and another one near the door or the window to further expel the bad air.

Use Vinegar on Fabric Items.

You may do the following suggestions:

• Remove all the fabrics from your homes such as curtains, blankets, pillows, and bedsheets. If you have a big laundry machine, you can wash them up through a cold wash cycle, and don’t forget to add two cups of white vinegar to the load.
• Do not use high heat to dry your fabrics for it seems to reactivate the smoke odor in them. Use low heat instead – or have them air dry in the sun if possible.
• You may bring bulkier and delicate items like curtains to your local dry cleaner. Let them know that you need help getting rid of the smoke smell.

Sprinkle Baking Soda on Soft Surfaces

Baking soda absorbs odors. Sprinkle a generous amount of baking soda on each soft surface and other furniture in your house. To spread it evenly, you may use a liquid measuring cup and a strainer. 

• Fill up the measuring cup with baking soda and bring it to the areas where you want to sprinkle.
• Pour some baking soda into the strainer and shake it over the carpet and other soft surfaces.
• Let the baking soda sit for about 30 minutes to 1 hour before vacuuming or cleaning them up.

If there’s still any lingering smoke odor in the soft surfaces, repeat the baking soda step a couple of times until the smoke smell is gone.

Clean All Hard Surfaces Using Vinegar

Most smoke molecules attach to walls and ceilings. The best thing to remove them is by making either one of these mixture options: 

Option #1: Water and Ammonia. Combine two cups of water and two tablespoons of ammonia. You can increase the amount if you are using a bucket.

Option #2: Water and Vinegar. Make a mixture of 50% white vinegar and 50% hot water (or warm water).

You can do either of these two ways to clean all parts of the wall and the ceiling.

• Using a spray bottle and a towel or rag, wipe down all the walls in your house. Include other hard surfaces like doors, portraits and picture frames, decorations, kitchen counters, fan blades, and lighting devices. 

Remember to spray generously.

• Fill half your bucket with the cleaning mixture, and immerse a towel or rag at a time into it. Squeeze the towel or rag to remove most of the liquid, then scrub down one section of the wall. Rinse your rag or towel in the mixture and repeat scrubbing on the next section. 

Do the entire process across the ceiling, too. You can also use the same cleaning solution to cleanse the floor using a rag or a mop and a bucket. 

Clean Air Ducts and Change HVAC Air Filters

HVAC filters may have accumulated smoke odor particles, so changing them is a good choice. Another effective thing to use to remove the smoke smell is activated charcoal or a HEPA filter. 

In addition, you need to make sure that all air ducts are open and clean. 

Use an Ozone Generator for a Thorough Clean

An ozone generator can destroy smoke residue. You may need to rent one or hire a professional to remove the smoke smell from your house completely.

What to do to Avoid Smoke Buildup

The following proactive measures may be done on a regular basis to avoid smoke buildup and remove odors:

1. Use activated charcoal to absorb the smoke smell. Change them every week.
2. Keep ventilating your house to invite fresh air.
3. Use an air purifier that has a HEPA filter. It can further help in eliminating the smoke smell and clean the air. 
4. Replace HVAC air filters regularly. Inspect all air ducts of air conditioners, heaters, or furnaces as often as possible to avoid accumulating the smell.
5. Use a steam cleaner to steam clean soft surfaces like carpets, upholstered furniture, etc. 
6. Wash fabric items like curtains, bedsheets, tablecloths, and stuffed toys once a week.
7. Clean up all hard surfaces with DIY cleaning solutions that contain vinegar, baking soda, or ammonia. 

Seek Help from Fire Damage Specialists 

Does your home still smell smoke after doing all the tips? No worries because Superior Restoration will help you remove the smoke smell from your house completely. We have skilled and trained professionals when it comes to getting rid of annoying smoke smells and fighting fire damage in your home.

Call our local office today! Water Damage Lake Elsinore. We are available 24/7 in emergencies.