Decorating a severely nicotine/tar stained house

[HomeOfMyOwn]

My new house was obviously previously home to a heavy smoker. The ceilings, walls and woodwork are very badly stained and coated in the vile yellowy substance. The house also stinks of stale smoke (flooring was already stripped out).

What's the best way to clean it off walls and will I need to use any kind of primer or undercoat on walls before painting to fully stop smell and staining coming through new paint? If so what's best?

Do you actually need all those doors? Can you not just take some of them off their hinges and leave the doorway open? If that's ok but not ideal you can always replace later when you've saved up a bit.

It sounds like a brilliant buy! You will be looking back in a few years and laughing, as you sit in your glorious lovely home!

I don't think a floor mop on a stick would give enough pressure but worth a try.

It was a long time ago but I think I stood on an old table (with bowl of warm sugar soapy water at my feet) and did it all by outstretched hand and several cloths / those sponge scrubber things, moving the table to another section of the room at a time. I soon realised orange gunk was dripping off the ceiling on to me (yuk), hence the bath hat! That way you can get right into the corners and junction of ceiling and wall where it seemed to have gathered the worst.

You can sort it out without replastering - you need to work really really hard with sugar soap cleaning, and out on one or two coats of stain/smell primer like BIN.

I would replace the doors - you don’t need all those doors to start off with. Just leave the cupboards open until you can afford doors.

My sister got a smokers home for a bargain, it was awful. The nicotine in the walls, the smell.

Anyway one room at a time they cleaned, primed and painted and the house is beautiful now.

I soon realised orange gunk was dripping off the ceiling on to me (yuk)