Did you know keeping your home clean and smelling fresh as a smoker is one of the toughest things you can do?
Smoke permeates everywhere. Not just in the air for ten minutes after you finish a cigarette. Smoke seeps into your walls, carpets, furniture, curtains — layer upon layer over time. Especially if you smoke slim cigarettes or stockpile slim cigarette packs — the smoke exposure really adds up over the course of a week, month, year in ways most people never consider.
Hold up…
Studies have found homes that permit indoor smoking contain particle levels nearly twice that of smoke-free households. That’s a hefty statistic. And it’s why choosing the right upgrades can make such a difference.
Fortunately there are some simple swaps and household improvements that can vastly improve how your home looks, smells and feels. And you don’t have to completely overhaul your life to do it.
Smoke Stays Forever: 7 Home Upgrades to Tackle It For You
Let’s take a look…
- How Your Home Soaks Up More Smoke Than You Realise
- Air Purifiers: The Home Upgrade That Works While You Sleep
- Ventilation: Improvements That Actually Make a Difference
- Painting Walls: Start Fresh With These Tips
- Flooring Options That Aren’t Destroyed By Odour
- Creating an Outdoor Smoking Zone You’ll Use
- Odour Eliminating Soft Furnishings and Materials
How Your Home Soaks Up More Smoke Than You Realise
Did you know walls, carpets and furniture soak up more than most people realise?
Residue from tobacco sticks to just about everything in a home. Walls, ceilings, carpets, furniture, upholstery and even wall insulation. This residual build-up is known as thirdhand smoke. And studies by San Diego State University researchers found residential spaces stayed polluted with thirdhand smoke for up to SIX MONTHS after smokers moved out entirely.
See the issue here?
Smoke residue doesn’t just vanish. It hangs around, accumulating in a home over years — despite best cleaning efforts. Vacuuming the carpet and allowing rooms to ventilate doesn’t remove thirdhand smoke. That’s why upgrades to a smoker’s home need to focus on improving surface areas, air quality and circulation.
Air Purifiers: The Home Upgrade That Works While You Sleep
If there’s only one thing to do to improve air quality in a home, make it this.
Investing in a properly made air purifier complete with HEPA filtration and activated carbon layers actively seeks out and eliminates fine particles of smoke residue as well as VOCs (smoke gases). HEPA captures dust. Activated carbon binds with odour causing gases. And they work together to continuously clean the air day and night. Even when no one is at home.
Look for units recommended for a room size larger than the space they’ll sit in. This allows the machine enough breathing room to run efficiently without being overworked. The best places to position air purifiers are:
- The lounge room
- Bedroom(s)
- Any room where significant time is spent smoking cigarettes
Ventilation: Improvements That Actually Make a Difference
Most people don’t realise homes aren’t made to handle smoke very well.
Installing or upgrading roof extractor fans helps expel stale, smoke-filled air and pulls fresh air back in through passive airflow. Fan upgrades are one of the most affordable improvement options available, especially for rooms that tend to trap air. In older homes it’s also wise to have the HVAC system professionally cleaned. Dust and smoke build up inside ductwork and redistribute every time heating or cooling turns on. Changing HVAC filters every two months is another simple task that helps.
Painting Walls: Start Fresh With These Tips
Read this before moving on…
Tar and nicotine bond directly to paint on walls. Normal household cleaning doesn’t remove it. Data from the American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation determined toxic sticky residue left on walls and ceilings after smoking can literally re-enter the air for MONTHS after smoking indoors has stopped.
You know how paint shops do those cool REAL-MAX blue painter’s rolls? They do that because cigarette smoke residue re-emits back into the air at a much faster rate through non-blue rollers.
Ok, so paint needs replacing. Here’s how to make sure it stays freshest longest:
- Wash walls with an alkaline cleaner first. Really get in there.
- Apply a stain blocking primer. This seals residue into walls and prevents re-emission
- Add two coats of low VOC paint on top
Repainting is one of the most underrated home upgrades for smokers. It eradicates years of buildup and immediately improves how a room feels and smells.
Flooring Options That Aren’t Destroyed By Odour
If there’s one thing smokers love to hate, it’s carpet.
It soaks up everything. Think of it like a giant dust magnet sucking up particles, nicotine and odour into its fibres. Vacuuming helps but over time carpet absorbs so much a vacuum can’t remove it alone. Hard flooring alternatives (timber, laminate, tiles) are far easier to clean and don’t absorb residue like carpet. If replacing carpets isn’t an option, steam cleaning regularly and using washable throw rugs on top of high wear areas is a great place to start.
Creating an Outdoor Smoking Zone You’ll Use
If smoking happens indoors, dedicating an area of outdoor living space to cigarettes makes a big difference.
Seriously. Make it happen. Doesn’t have to be extravagant. A pergola, covered patio area or even a comfortable chair under cover with a small side table and ashtray can work wonders. It creates a designated spot to smoke that’s actually comfortable. And when the outdoor smoking zone is nice, it gets used. When it gets used consistently, there’s far less smoking indoors. Simple.
Place it away from open windows and doors if possible. Smoke won’t drift back indoors every time someone lights up.
Odour Eliminating Soft Furnishings and Materials
Soft furnishings absorb odour. That’s their job.
Swap couches with open weave fabrics for tighter woven weaves or leather upholstery. Smooth leather is far easier to wipe down and doesn’t absorb odours like cloth sofas do. Same rules apply for curtains. Heavy fabric curtains absorb smoke residue for months on end. Where possible switch to easy-to-wash blinds or regularly wash curtains. Throw activated charcoal bags around the home and watch them silently absorb odour at minimal cost.
How to Keep a Fresher Home: Start With These Upgrades
Smokers don’t have to live with smoke filled homes.
There’s no one silver bullet upgrade that fixes everything. But each of these recommendations targets a specific way smoke accumulates in a home. Layer enough solutions together and the transformation in how a house smells, looks and feels is remarkable.
One more time before jumping off….
- Invest in air purifiers with HEPA and activated carbon filters for main living spaces
- Improve ventilation with air extractor fans and HVAC cleaning
- Paint walls with a stain-blocking primer beforehand
- Replace carpet with hard flooring alternatives
- Build a comfortable outdoor smoking zone guests will use
- Swap soft furnishings for leather, tight weaves or odour absorbing blinds and curtains
The upfront time and cost is worth every cent. Life (and guests) will thank you for a cleaner, fresher home.
