Nicotine coming out of the walls!

[Aydel]

We are currently living in a house that was occupied for years by a heavy smoker. She stopped smoking about five years before we moved in, but we’ve noticed that when the bathroom gets steamy the walls and ceiling are dripping with brown water. The same happened in DD’s room when she used a steam facial machine. Short of redecorating, and presumably we would have to make sure the walls were deep cleaned before painting them, is there any way we can get rid of this? The walls don’t look brown; it looks clean and freshly painted. It’s only when it gets wet that it happens.

Sugar soap is probably the most effective way to get rid of it.

Does involve decorating, but mould resistant paint would work. You don’t need to do anything first at least. This sort of stuff.

https://amzn.to/3H0qn3Z

That sounds awful, smoking indoors is one of my peeves

Painting over with a stain blocker should help. It's so disgusting isn't it!

Bin zinnser all coat is what you need. Dh is a painter and this is what they use.

I found out my dh was vaping in the bathroom when it started having orange runs down the wall after showers. Dirty bastard!

We had this when we moved to our house 20yrs ago. It had been owned for many years by an elderly lady who'd died and was covered in nicotine stained woodchip wallpaper and the ceilings were yellow with brown patches over her favourite chairs and even the bed!!

We naively thought that it would be sorted by stripping the paper, a sugar soap wash and repainting but it immediately all bled through with yellow stains. Then I tried stain stop paint which was more successful but still had brown/ yellow patches. Honestly the only thing that stopped it completely was replastering all the walls and ceilings.

I am so pleased, for so many reasons, that no one smokes inside any more.

@Bandolina that sounds horrendous! I think the walls are painted here directly onto the plaster, so not papered. We’ll have a go at sugar soaping the bathroom at least, to see if that helps.

Another vote for zinsser stain paint

One of the DC moved into a house with heaving nicotine staining etc on the walls. Sugar soaping/scrubbing etc is going to result in more nicotine leeching out. The only option which worked was heaving duty primer & sealant like Zinnser.

Can't recall which brand name they used but once they had cleaned and primed the the walls and ceilings with the sealant they were able to paint afresh and have had no more problems.

Oh god, I have always wondered why a relative's house seems to have brown splashes everywhere!

Eww you are reminding me of scraping artex off our living room ceiling only to find underneath was thick spongy wallpaper (on the ceiling!!!!) I had dark brown tar and nicotine streaming down my arms when I used the steamer …thanks to what looked like 50+ years of heavy smoking from the previous owner. You have my sympathies OP! We replastered pretty much the whole house.