Getting rid of smell of cigarette smoke

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FTB, looked at several properties. The two that seem to suit best in terms of price, location, shape and condition of house are clearly being sold by people who have smoked inside the house.

Has anyone managed to purge the house of the smell ?
Neither were horrific, but obviously noticeable as soon as stepped in to the house(s).

Looking on line there are various tips - cleaning with vinegar seems the favourite, but am looking for real experiences as to if it really works.

Don't need to move in on the day of exchange if there is something that takes a week or two to work (indeed, likely to be decorating first anyway).

Thanks

So, does this lack of replies mean it isn't possible to ever get rid of the smell ?

Sugar soap everywhere- floors walls ceiling. Even then paint is your only option. My first house was from a smoker. Never ever again!

I think it’s very difficult, because it gets into the fabric of the building, especially if it’s been over a long period of time.

DH rejected a car because a previous owner had been a smoker and although the car had been professionally cleaned, the smell was still there.

I should think industrial amounts of cleaning, followed by decorating would help, but I don’t know the best method. Something acidic, like vinegar, lemon etc should work.

Yup, this. And remove all soft furnishings/carpets etc.

Obviously all soft furnishings need to go, including carpet and vinyl flooring. Strip off wallpaper, sugar soap all walls/ surfaces then do again with vinegar.

Use a primer under paint, like a Zinzer one. Use a LOT of primer as you're trying to seal any remaining smell in. Then paint.

It's not always completely reliable - it does depend on how long and how regularly someone smoked in the house.

We're currently looking and have passed up a couple of really nice houses because of the smell of smoke. I just would drive myself mad if I couldn't get rid of the smell as I absolutely hate it, so didn't want to take the chance.

Thanks all.

It certainly wasn't overpowering.
I suspect they've only smoked in the one room as I didn't notice it in the rest of the house.
He's willing to put in the graft if it does work.

If it's not permeated the whole house then I think you won't find a problem to get rid of the smell once the soft furnishings etc have gone.

Hmm a friend bought a house that a smoker had lived in. They took up the capets, underlay, cleaned the walls/ceilings... and it still stank. They ended up removing floorboards and replastering.

It's a noxious smell to get rid of because it gets absorbed by everything.

Yes, it can literally be a case of back to the brick, if it's bad enough.
I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole.