To ask your tips on getting rid of nicotine stains

[Justanothernamechange2]

Posting here cause youre usually a bunch of honest folk and also cause i need this to stay anonymous for now.

MIL is long term unwell and now the younger SIL and BIL are getting ready to fly the nest she wants to move closer to me and DP cause at the minute we regularly do a 15mile rouns trip to help her out with appointments and shopping.

Shes been offered a house swap 5minutes from us.

The people currently in the propety have smoked in just about every room and it's quite evident.

I dont know how many people on here know about home swaps but you only get 1 day once all forms are completed to move so there will be no time the house is vacant.

We own a decent 3 bed house 5mins away like previously stated so MIL and B+SIL can make do with room sharing to stay with us a few days to get the new place clean etc... but how do we tackle the yellowing walls and ceilings + the smell ao quickly?

Oh.. its a secret cause my DPs other sister is currently NC and cant be involved for a whole host of reasons.

Sugar soap should get rid of the yellow most places sell it £ shop is where i got some .

You need to air out the house throw the windows open

The best cleaner to use is sugar soap, wash the paint work with a strong solution. Definitely use rubber gloves though as it's strong stuff. The smell of nicotine is difficult to get rid of, all I can suggest is to redecorate through out the house. Try and keep some windows open all the time. Best of luck

Whoops cross posts

I had to completely redecorate a house previously owned by smokers and have the carpets professionally cleaned and even then some had to be replaced. I didn’t find any quick fix that got rid of the smell unfortunately.

Thats ok 😁 i think you can buy sugar soap solution too but as i said go £ shop, home bargains B &Q will be expensive if you need to do the whole house.

I'm a cleaner and would throw open all of the windows, wash paintwork with sugar soap and water with a few drops of essential oil or zoflora starting from the ceiling and working down. Sprinkle carpets / rugs and soft furniture with bicarb mixed with a few drops of lavender oil or similar, leave for 10 mins and hoover. I also love activated charcoal bags (you can buy them on amazon for around a tenner for three) and they absorb nicotine smells really well. And burn a nice insence stick or candle.

My mum's last house buy was like this - she ended up having to use specialist paint on the ceilings as the yellow kept coming through

scrub everything, hire a carpet cleaner, open the windows - it might work but be prepared if it's seriously long term

Yes to sugar soap and probably pulling up and ripping out all soft furnishings (curtains, carpets, etc). Sometimes it is so badly impregnated that the plastering needs to be redone.

White vinegar works really well too as a way to get the smell out when liberally sprayed on walls.

For woodwork, a capful of fabric conditioner in a bowl of hot water but wear gloves when wiping as some people can react to the fc.

ANOTher one for sugar soap. It’s so cheap you can buy concentrate and dilute it

Also those moisture boxes (about £1) can absorb odours but bowls and bowls of bicarbonate round the house will also help

I bought a property that was thick with nicotine stains - the ONLY thing that worked for me - and I tried everything else, sugar soap included, was a product called Zinnser Bin 123 - its shellac based and it is a primer that you paint on walls/ceilings and it blocks stains and odours. It is not cheap at all but it works.

I made the mistake of sugar soap scrubbing one wall and painting over it only to find the nicotine seeped through a few weeks later!!

Nicotine on paintwork will bleed through new paintwork unless it has been sealed.

Google for best products to use to seal it after cleaning. Loads of websites about this.

For plastic window frames use T-cut which will bring them up like new very quickly. In fact this is brilliant at cleaning so many things as it takes off a thin top film from anything so great if that film is nicotine. So great on mirrors and glass too.

Soak fabrics in Baking powder to remove nicotine as just washing will set the stains in.

T-cut, the car valeting thing?

Thanks for all of your suggestions. I will be referring to them ALL!

We have a carpet fitter in the family that has offered to recarpet with trade off cuts as a birthday present to her so luckily there will be no carpets to treat.

Both my family and DPs family get on cept SIL in question (i know, arent i lucky)! So there will be plenty hands on deck etc.

Gonna be a big job!... who even smokes in bed? Thats what has baffled me most.