Buying house from a smoker - can you get rid of the smell/residue?

[nyc7]

We are looking to buy a bungalow that has been lived in by a heavy smoker for 20 years and the smell is absolutely awful! We would replace carpets, curtains etc and clean and redecorate but would this be enough? - I assume the smoke residue would get into cupboards, loft, etc also. Has anyone else bought property from smokers? Any advice/experience would be gratefully received. Many thanks.

Yes I bought a similar house, everywhere was covered in a thick yellow reeking patina. Sugar soap got it all off. Three applications of sugar soap diluted in warm water on every surface; walls, ceilings, woodwork, everywhere. It was back breaking but it all came off and the smell went.

It gets into every surface. behind radiators, ceilings, woodwork, floorboards are the worst to clean.
As Kleptronic mentioned sugar soap and back breaking work.

Vinegar is very useful as a cleaner too. Scrap any fitted cupboards and consider replastering ceilings / walls if you can. Our living room ceiling was artexed so it was an easy choice to make, but the plasterer was nearly crying as he couldn't stop the yellow drips pouring down the walls!! We haven't been able to replace the gas fire yet and there is still a slight smell there when it's switched on but we don't use it often so it's not much of an issue.

A friend bought a house that had been owned by heavy smokers. As others have said a lot of sugar soap and a lot of effort got rid of most of the brown, but there were some ceilings they had use a special paint on to stop the brown coming through on.

It did take a good couple of weeks to clean. Also they kept windows and doors open to air it and replaced all carpets. The house is fine now.

I'm currently in the process of doing it, heavy smoker lived there from new, almost 40years ago and never smoked outside.

You couldn't move in then sort it, so you need somewhere to live and store furniture whilst you do it.

Windows wide open all the time we are in the house. Remove anything that can be (light fittings, lamp shades, bare ply wood cupboard shelves, carpet/underlay (the carpets had already been removed on mine but there was still underlay on the stairs). Just doing that significantly improved the smell (from chokingly bad to noticeable but not eye wateringly bad).

Then sugar soap mixed to be twice as strong as normal and scrub - this is surprisingly satisfying work as you literally see the wall colour change before your eyes from strong orangy-yellowy-brown type colour to slightly yellowed white - and you can't loose where you had got to because the difference is so drastic.

Some friends of ours bought a house from a heavy smoker. It took replacing floorboards and removing plaster to get rid of the smell, as well as back breaking cleaning.

I'd be too worried about chemical residue, tbh.

Also hoovering got rid of a lot of smell as a lot is in the dust (I'm using a cheap second hand Dyson, rather than my proper Dyson) - the hoover now stinks despite being cleaned though - so I really wouldn't recommend using a good one!

Floors mopped and almost all the smell is gone (hints of it in the worst areas that are yet to be painted with anything). The worst stained ceilings and walls have been painted in leyland oil based undercoat, as per advice from a very good decorator - it's the cheapest way to stop the nicotine stains 'bleeding' through the new paint (it would have cost an arm and a leg in specific stain blocker) and the ceilings haven't actually needed a coat of white paint, the undercoat has sorted it.

It's getting there now but it is hard - I wouldn't do it without getting a major discount compared to similar properties in the area that are in good condition.

We ended up having to replaster some rooms in the end. Also spent days scrubbing out the insides of open windows.

We sometimes thought we'd done it then the weather would warm up and the smell came back. We also used to get yellowy brown syrupy drips coming from behind the radiator.

Wouldn't do it again personally.

Mil and fil were 60 a day smokers all their lives until they gave up one day. The house stank and everything was yellow, you couldn't go there without coming it smelling of fags. It was gross. You'd never know now though, they redecorated and had a new sofa and carpets etc but the floorboards/plaster etc are the same. It smells fresh as a daisy which I'd never have thought possible.

The people who we bought out house from smoked in the kitchen and lived here 40 years. The smell only took a few weeks to go and that was without any crazy sugar soaping or anything, although the colour of the water when I did get round to washing it down was a sight to behold 🤢

Just wanted to say thank you to everyone for your messages - they were really helpful - we have decided not to make an offer on the bungalow.

Good decision. We turned down a lovely house which stank of smoke. Even though no one was smoking whilst we were there, the smell was so strong I had to cover my face.

It was a quick viewing.