How do you remove smoke odor?

Remove smoke odor from a home by cleaning the carpets, eliminating odors from the walls and cleaning fabric items. Eliminating all the odors from a home where a smoker has lived is a labor-intensive job.

1. Clean the carpets

   Apply dry, granulated carpet cleaner to the carpets, and follow the manufacturer's directions for waiting and vacuuming. Dispose of the vacuum bag to keep the smoke odor from remaining in the home. If the carpets continue to smell of smoke, use a carpet shampooer to clean them.

2. Eliminate odors from the walls

   Try using an all-purpose detergent to wash the walls and ceiling. Avoid saturating the walls to prevent damage to the drywall. If you are unable to remove the odors from the walls by washing them, repaint the walls. Begin with a sealer-primer, and finish with the top-coat color of your choice.

3. Clean any fabrics in the home

   Clean any fabrics you intend to keep in the home. Curtains, pillows and upholstery all retain smoke odors. Machine-wash fabric items that are safe to wash, using the warmest water that is safe for the item. Send other fabrics out for dry cleaning. Dispose of any fabric items that you cannot clean or that continue to smell.