How do you stop a house from smelling of smoke and dog.

[RorysRacingMa]

Hopefully we will be moved into our new house in a fortnight and it stinks. Other than open the windows, what can I do? I can't stand 'air fresheners as they smell too chemically for me and I'm v. pregnant so no nasty chemicals wanted either.

lavender oil burners

fresh air

cinnamon sticks on very low oven

all temporary

smells are probably ingrained in carpets and walls so will need washing and painting

Don't smoke and don't own a dog

I would try boiling some nice spices in a pan of water as well as leaving the windows open. And can you get the carpets cleaned professionally? What about curtains? Try and replace/clean curtains and I think a lick of paint helps get rid of the smell too as the smell of smoke can linger everywhere. It will go eventually though I think.

I would say shampoo the carpets or buy new ones and same with curtains.

Reed diffusers are nice.

A few drops of pregnancy-friendly essential oils on a bulb ring around the light makes a huge difference.

soft furnishings soak up smell so clean or replace anything soft like carpets/curtains

clean all floors very well and wash down skirting.

A lot of the smell is likely to be in the carpets. If you mix bicarb of soda with whatever essential oil you like, sprinkle on, leave overnight and hoover in the morning, that should help.

cut open an onion and leave in room overnight, amazingly effective.

Agree i'm afraid, you are going to need to wash everything... Even having done that my sisters bedroom carpet still wafted smoke smell when the heating came on (hot pipes underneath...). Good luck

Thanks for your helpful tips. And following from that how long does it take to steam clean carpets - will i get a chance before the removal company start filling the house....

No chance I would say and even if you do get time to do it, its still going to be damp when you start bringing everything in...

hope someone else has an idea that you could go with...