Why does (the doorway of) my bedroom smell of cigarette smoke?!

[LikeSilentRaindrops]

As the title really - in the last week or so, whenever I walk into our bedroom, I can smell cigarette smoke.

At first, I thought it was DH, who was a serious smoker 10 years ago and gave up, but has fallen off the wagon a couple of times since. Having dropped several large hints to no avail, I’ve just sat on him and tickled him, under which duress he has maintained it’s not him. Also says he’s smelled it and thought our 6 month old had driven me to take up the habit, but didn’t want to appear critical at this stressful and sleep deprived time.

Other potential suspects:
2 small DC under 5; seems unlikely.
3 felines; seems improbable.
2 separate guests in the room above ours; have never smoked and can’t imagine they started here.

So where the hell is the smell coming from? And why just in the doorway?! Help me MNetters...

A ghost...

Next door? My DS grew up in a terraced house and his bedroom smelled of smoke from the neighbours. I didn’t believe him until I went in there myself. I have a small set of drawers in my front room which belonged to my grandparents and on a warm day I can smell my grandad’s cigarette smoke on them.

@tessiegirl I didn’t think of that! It is an old house...

@howwudufeel so that is plausible, as it’s a terraced house, and our bedroom attaches to a student house. But the students have all gone home and the one whose bedroom was ‘next’ to ours was a non smoker too! He used to cat sit for us, I’m not a weird stalker 👀

Are your windows open? Someone walking past my house smoking can cause me to smell their cigarette smoke in my upstairs bedroom. Could it have floated into your room, risen and gathered around the doorway?

Our dining room sometimes smells of cigarette smoke. Next door smoke, and I think it must be them.

@PinkSquidgyPig one of them is open, but it’s at the other side of the room from the doorway and it’s quite a big room. Also it feels like it’s been hovering there for a few days, which I wouldn’t expect passing smoke to do!

We had smokers live in the house before the people we bought it off.. so about 5 years ago and the people we bought from redecorated replaced floors and carpets etc but if the house is shut up for a while like holidays there’s a faint smell but I’ve noticed it more so during this hot weather even if the house is only closed up while we are at work... could it be a previous resident?

@vroc81 we only bought it last year, but met the previous owners and pretty sure they didn’t smoke. I grew up with a mother on 20 a day, so am particularly attuned to the smell, and I didn’t pick anything up on either them or the house on the two viewings we did.

We have this too!! Our bedroom doorway also smells a bit of smoke sometimes! DH occasionally smokes so assumed it was him but I notice it even when he is away and only my pjs hang on the back of the door!!

Our neighbours smoke so I would also support the terraced house theory!

I think it’s the fact it’s just in the doorway that’s throwing me - it’s such an odd place for it to gather!

Ghosts!

I used to live in a terraced house where the bedroom had a smokey smell, most noticeable at night, that seemed to come through the floorboards. Either historic or a neighbour I suppose.

I can smell weed at the top of my stairs a lot. It's from NDN smoking underneath my bathroom window. I can smell it in the bathroom while he's smoking but it doesn't seem to linger there for some reason. Just on the landing. I'd guess something like that.

@Bezalelle I’ve just suggested that to DH, who rolled his eyes. Suffice to say, I believe in that as a (vague) possibility more than he. Any suggestions as to how to get rid, of that were the case?!

@lottiegarbanzo right, that settles it, I’m going to text the students and ask them!

@takeasadsongandmakeitbetter how do you feel about the ghost theory?

I must admit I've only just considered neighbours as the result of reading this thread. Makes sense though. It always seemed to be seeping up from the floorboards, so I thought it was from some residue down there that was more detectable in the cool night air. Neighbours smoking in the evening makes much more sense!

Someone smokes (cigarettes and weed) at the back door of our close and it travels up so if our bathroom window is open the smell gets everywhere.

@amusedbush that’s the thing, if it was everywhere, I’d assume that was what was happening here. But it’s like walking through an archway of cigarette smoke as you enter the room - then nothing!

Love the name btw

I had a cigarette smoke smell in my bedroom doorway for a while, and it was caused by a slow leak from the boiler cylinder, in the airing cupboard next to my bedroom door. It was soaking through the carpet into the floor underneath the boiler.

I think if it is a ghost you are supposed to just ask them nicely to stop smoking their ghostly cigarettes in the house thank you. Or something.