How do I clean cigarette stain off walls and woodwork?
By David
How do you clean paneled walls and get cigarette smoke film off?
By Brandy
By tanyamichalski
11/11/2011
For paneled walls, you could try Avon skin so soft. Water could discolor paneling so if you must use water solutions, do so sparingly. Dusting sprays such as pledge or old gold are also good for cleaning paneling as is Murphy's oil soap.
What is the best product to use to clean nicotine and cooking grease from walls?
By G. Riggs
By Sandy
02/04/2012
A little ammonia, a little white vinagar, a squirt of dawn dish soap, 1/4 cup of baking soda, and some hot water. At least one gallon of hot water. This takes it off fast and you don't have to go back over it to rince. I have even used Easy Off Oven Cleaner in the blue can on stubborn areas on the wall. With that though, you have to work very fast because it will remove the paint right off of the wall.
Nicotine in the wall makes us sick, with cough and sore throat. Can I clean the walls with cleaner or do I have to paint over?
By Emil D
By Poor But Proud
03/18/2013
TSP or Tri Sodium Phosphate is the best thing you can use. It's in powder or liquid form. Best stuff you can get.
I would like some advice for getting cigarette smoke off of walls and painted woodwork. I tried using Scrubbing Bubbles on a small area of my painted work.
Wow, it was amazing. It feels a little sticky. Should I wash it before painting and with what. Can you use it on varnished woodwork?
By Joan
By frugalsunnie
04/22/2013
LOL, you're asking several questions at once:)
Re getting the cigarette smell out-a wash with vinegar and water (half water-half vinegar) will safely clean, disinfect, and even 'prep' walls for painting, all at the same time. You may want to wash twice if there is a lot of nicotine (will show as yellow on the sponge and will turn the vinegar-water wash solution yellow too). Don't rinse, vinegar 'fragrance' will dissipate after about an hour and take the stench of the cigarettes with it.
As an FYI, vinegar is a great cleaner. It kills mould safely (no potentially lung damaging chemical reaction as happens with bleach), it disinfects and deodorises incredibly well, and is just about the most inexpensive, cost effective cleaning agent around. A shallow bowl in room corners is a safe (pets won't drink it but if they do it won't hurt them) air freshener, just for one example.
Now, about the Scrubbing Bubbles-did you read that part on the label about being careful when using on painted wood?:) The sticky you mention is because the cleanser in the product has 'eaten' through the surface of the paint and you will need to repaint.
To repaint effectively (that is, to keep your new paint where you put it without peeling and blistering) you will need to prep your walls in accordance to what type of paint you need to paint over.
If oil based paint (usually the glossy paints but not always so it's best to find out if possible), you'll need to either sand or scrape the paint off your surface, then use a primer to cover and prep surfaces that have been painted with an oil base paint.
If a latex (water base) paint was used (usually flat, matte, and semi-gloss but again, not always), generally a simple wash with something that will 'rough' the surface is sufficient. You can buy (if in the US, not sure about other countries) a product called TSP that works great as a cleaner and surface prep wash for latex painted surfaces.
Vinegar and water will also do the job on the flats and mattes; the semi-gloss applications are usually best prepped by the TSP wash.
Hope this helps:)
I just purchased an old home with old wood paneling that reeks of nicotine. What is the best way to clean it?
By Donna G
By punkster1984
05/08/2013
I have done an entire home that was suppose to be white but it was literally yellow with dripping nicotine :P So there is really no easy way but if you get a good scrub brush a bucket and some water/bleach solution it will come off nicely and smell much better. It does take some elbow grease but produces nice results. don't forget eye protection,gloves and a respirator of some sort and lots of fresh air while working with bleach! And for painted surfaces after being cleaned and drying they can be primed and repainted. But wood should only need cleaned and dry.
How do I clean fine furniture that has accumulated years of nicotine residue? I live in a mobile home. My walls are also stained from nicotine--how do I clean this stuff? - Lynne from Georgia
By spelch
By Shari
By Marylin
By john
By Annie.
By Dana
By Darby Rose
I am purchasing a new home where there were obviously heavy smokers in the house for a long long time. The walls are plaster!
Does anyone have any "valuable" recomendations about cleaning the residue off of the walls, cabinets, original wood molding, etc. ?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Best regards.
Cindy
By CeiliSue
By bunnyboo
By Allison
By JimmyD
Hi everyone, I have recently discovered this site and have to say that the tips on here are SO helpful, especially to a young newlywed!
I was wondering if anyone knows how to get rid of nicotine that has saturated the walls. I live in an apartment, and while my husband and I are not smokers, the previous resident(s) were. In our bathroom, I have cleaned the walls and ceiling many times, and the nicotine drips on the wall disappear easily with regular bathroom cleaner. However, they always come back within a week. When we shower, and the steam condenses and drips down the walls, the drops become yellow again with nicotine that I think has saturated into the paint.
I think this is the place in the house where the most recent resident did most of her smoking, since there are several burns on the sink top that appear to be made from cigarettes (don't you just love your first apartment).
My apartment complex isn't likely to fix the problem for me, so I'm turning to you all. I simply can't do a full scale wall and ceiling cleaning every week, and this is just too gross.
Sara
By karicarlson
By Kim
By acraftycat
By Thissie
By
By walker
By SWeyer
By Sherry
By Grandmashadit
I use an ultrafine (the light grey ones) Scotch Brite pad available from whatever place the local 3M sales rep tells you sells them (usually industrial supply places) on a "doodle bug pad holder" available at any janitorial supply store and wash the walls and ceilings with that. Get the kind you can put on a pole so you can do the ceilings with a long pole and the walls with a shorter one.
The GP Forward softens latex paint, so you'll find you can scratch it off the wall easily once the GP Forward has soaked in. Don't worry about that, it'll return to normal after it dries. Dip the Scotchbrite pad in a shallow pan containing about 1/4 inch of GP Forward and scrub the wall with that. You'll notice the cleaner turns the same colour as the wall. That's because it's removing the surface layer of paint. Don't worry, it won't remove it all. Once you've cleaned a section, remove the cleaner off the wall with a squeegee. Make a pass or two with the squeegee, then wipe up the collected liquid with one pass of a damp sponge. After you've cleaned the cleaner off, rinse with clean water and an Atlantic Bee Mop. Keep two buckets going; a dirty water bucket and a clean water bucket. Wring the sponge mop out in the dirty water first, then the clean, and pour out the dirty water often and then use the clean water as the dirty water and new water as the clean water.
Cleaning the walls this way will clean the smoke film off. But it'll also roughen the surface of the paint so it'll look flatter. It's not flat because the gloss goes all the way through the paint. I use this method to clean apartments after tenants move out. Once every ten years or so I paint. Then over the next 10 years I remove the surface layers of that paint after each tenant moves out. Guestimating by the colour of the dirty water I pour out, I figure I take off about 10% of the thickness of the paint each time I clean.
GP Forward is sold at any janitoial supply store that carries S.C. Johnson Wax products. It comes in a gallon jug or a 20 liter "enviropac". One gallon will do 4 or 5 two bedroom apartments. But it's also a great cleaner for other things too. (12/04/2006)
By Anonymous
By silkynjoe
By
By Jamie
By Adks
Customer Testimonial
" I own a rental house and my tenant had smoked there for over 20 years. The popcorn ceiling was dark brown like chocolate. Where the pictures had been hanging on the wall was white and the wall was brown. The carpet stunk and was stained. I needed to get this house rented quickly so I was in a panic. I was glad to find your website and get next day delivery. One jar cleaned the whole house. I just sprayed the ceiling and it turned white after a few hours. The whole house smelled and looked clean after using your product. WOW! thanks again for such a great product". Bobby L., Dallas Texas
Clean-n-Brite's formula comes in the form of all natural Power Crystals and mixes with your own tap water to release its full cleaning strength (05/08/2008)
By Steve
By Paul
Scrubbing Bubbles is great for cleaning walls. It melts away the nicotine too. Spray on, wait 1 minute and wipe off with paper towels. A building contractor told me this, I was amazed how well it worked, even my hand held steam cleaner didn't get it all. He also said it won't damage your carpet if it drips on it. Some did and it never left any spots. Try it!
By Sharon C. from Maine
By Norma
By Lynn
I have purchased a mobile home to rent. The walls are stained with nicotine.
I know someone out there knows the answer to this. We are moving into a place where the person was a heavy smoker.
I have just done a test with several different cleaners including TSP and the only one that really does the job is Scrubbing Bubbles.
I rented a home where we all smoked for ten years and the walls were terribly stained. I used bleach as well as many different things. I found the easiest way to clean and deodorize was to use white vinegar and water with a mop.
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