Meet&CoFurniture can remember and often hold or absorb smells and odors. One of the most stubborn odors that furniture can absorb is cigarette smoke.
You could have moved into a former smoker’s home, or picked up a second-hand sofa, or even inherited a beautiful family piece; the tobacco smell can feel like a persistent, unwelcome guest that lingers behind.
The smell sticks to fabric fibers and seeps deep into the wood grains. It also finds comfort spots between foam cushions, so much so that air fresheners and diffusers fail miserably at removing it.
This will make you wonder: can I get the cigarette smell out of furniture? The answer is not a simple yes; successful odor removal depends on several factors. How you clean and the approach
What you take will largely be based on the type of furniture you have, as well as how much the odor has seeped into the furniture.
While surface treatments are enough for most mild cases, deep cleaning and professional services may be needed for heavily saturated nicotine odor.
We will discuss some effective, tried and tested, and reliable approaches for removing cigarette odor from furniture, from quick DIY fixes to professional solutions. You can choose the right strategy for your situation!
However, to ensure that the furniture is cleaned effectively and correctly, and also to ensure that the cigarette odor does not return, it is first important for you to understand why the nicotine odor lingers and clings.
Only when you understand this will you be able to ensure that it is permanently removed from your furniture, not just masked.
Key Takeaways:
- Cigarette smoke often sticks to furniture and surfaces.
- It is one of the most difficult odors to eliminate in the household.
- The most effective method of cleaning will vary with the type of material the furniture is made from and the severity of the odor.
- For light to moderate nicotine odors, simple home-based solutions are often effective.
- Furniture that is heavily affected may need to be deep cleaned or treated by a furniture cleaning company that has expertise in removing odors.
- The most important thing to get rid of the smell is to eliminate the source of the odor.
Why Is the Cigarette Smell So Hard to Remove from Furniture
Tobacco smoke is a mixture of different chemical components. This includes tar, nicotine, ammonia, formaldehyde, and acrolein.
These compounds don’t just drift away and disappear; they deposit on any surface they come in contact with and bond with the molecules in wood, foam, and fabric.
When you smoke near furniture, the particles often seep through the surfaces.
This is because most furniture has porous surfaces. As a result, regular cleaning and wiping fail to remove the cigarette residue.
Removing the Cigarette Smell Out of Fabric and Upholstered Furniture
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Fabric and upholstered furniture are very common, not only in offices but also in our homes.
Though they may look beautiful and easy to maintain, most fabric quickly catches and save residue from cigarettes, leading to a buildup of a lingering smoke odor.
The following steps can be followed, in order, to try to remove the smoke odor from fabric and upholstered furniture:
Step 1 — Ventilate First
Remove furniture from the house or place it near an open window. Let fresh air pass through the furniture for at least a day or two.
Placing the furniture in direct sunlight will also help, as the sunlight will slightly disinfect the furniture naturally.
It is important not to skip this step. Ventilation is free and will enhance the effectiveness of all subsequent treatments.
Step 2 — Vacuum Thoroughly
Vacuum all surfaces with an upholstery attachment, including seams, crevices, and armrests, as well as top and bottom cushion surfaces.
This removes loose smoke particulate and also prepares the surface for wet treatments.
Remove the cushion covers if possible. Depending on the care instructions, you can wash them in the washing machine directly as well – using half a cup of white vinegar with the detergent to get rid of the odor.
Step 3. Apply Baking Soda
Baking soda works wonders for neutralizing and removing smells. It absorbs the acid particles that cause odor buildup.
Apply baking soda to all the furniture surfaces. Make sure to get baking soda into all the seams and cracks.
It is recommended to leave the applied baking soda on furniture overnight or even for twenty-four hours. Then you can vacuum up the baking soda.
Do not forget to vacuum the seams and cracks where the baking soda might have settled.
Step 4: White Vinegar Solution Spray
You need to make a spray to get rid of the last of the smell. To do this, you mix water and white vinegar together in amounts.
Then you put this mixture into a spray bottle. Next, you spray the furniture with this water and vinegar mixture.
The vinegar will help get rid of the residue from the cigarette smoke and the baking soda. The smell of the vinegar will go away when it dries.
Source: https://www.istockphoto.com/
Step 5: Use An Enzymatic Cleaner Or Odor Eliminator For Strong Smells
For cases where the baking soda vinegar solution doesn’t work, use a commercially available enzymatic odor eliminator, like Rocco & Roxie Stain & Odor Eliminator or Zero Odor Multi-Purpose Household Odor Eliminator.
These products work to actively break down the molecules of odors at a molecular level, not just cover up the odor.
Wait the required amount of time per the manufacturer’s instructions, then blot dry.
How to Remove Cigarette Smell from Wood Furniture
Wood furniture is common in houses and offices. This includes not only bedroom sets and tables, but also bookshelves, cabinets, and dressers.
Wiping the furniture does not remove the cigarette residue, and hence, the smoke odor continues to linger.
The following steps identify ways in which smoke odor can be removed from wooden furniture.
Step 1: Remove Nicotine Residue
The initial step is to get rid of the nicotine deposit that is responsible for most of the smell.
Use warm water with a couple of drops of dish soap, and use a soft cloth or sponge to clean all surfaces.
There may be a yellow or brown residue on the wood, indicating the removal of nicotine buildup.
A special Nicotine Cleaner, or a diluted Degreasing solution, may be required for stubborn stains.
Step 2: Vinegar Wipe
After cleaning and drying furniture, use white vinegar to wipe it down.
Also, deep clean and wipe the drawers and cabinets with the vinegar mixture; these enclosed spaces usually contain the strongest odors.
Step 3: Cleansing
Put bowls of baking soda, charcoal, or coffee grounds in drawers for a few days to absorb any lingering smells.
Sealing the wood with shellac or polyurethane can prevent the return of odors that may remain after a faint odor has been detected.
How to Remove Cigarette Smell from Office Furniture
Older offices allowed indoor smoking. This is why much furniture in older buildings and offices has a smoky odor lingering about.
This is because smoke particles had accumulated on top of surfaces and penetrated the office chairs, conference room sofas, and lounge furniture, for example.
The most appropriate cleaning technique will differ based on the furniture material.
If the chair is a mesh chair, plastic surfaces, or hard-shell seating, a simple wipe-down with a white vinegar and water solution can usually be used to wipe away any surface residue and neutralize any odors.
Having activated charcoal nearby can help uptake any remaining odors.
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In the case of upholstery furniture like office chairs and lounges, you might need a deeper clean.
One of the most effective solutions is steam cleaning, which is able to get into the fabric and foam layers, allowing the smoke particles to be removed. It also helps to deep-clean the upholstery.
If your office furniture is beyond salvaging, or you simply want a fresh start, Meet&Co Office Furniture manufactures and supplies a wide range of commercial-grade desks, chairs, sofas, and workstations built from materials that are easy to maintain and resistant to odor absorption over time.
Preventing Cigarette Smell from Returning
Some of the ways the smell of smoke can be prevented from turning include:
Method | Why does it work? |
Evacuated Tube Method | This method keeps water from freezing in the tube. |
Use a HEPA Air Purifier | This will remove smoke particles, dust, and odor-causing compounds before they settle into furniture. |
Add Washable Slipcovers | Keeps a protective layer that can be easily removed and washed when necessary. |
Keep Smoking Outdoors | Keeps smoke from moving around indoors and landing on furniture surfaces. |
Vacuum Upholstery Regularly | Clears away smoke residue, dust, and particles before they become embedded in fabrics. |
Knowing When To Call A Professional
Although many pieces of furniture can be treated by using DIY plans, some furniture might need expert. You can hire a professional when:
- The furniture comes from the home of a smoker. Even though the furniture has not been exposed to new smoking residue, it clings to the smell from its previous life.
- The furniture is a beloved family heirloom.
- There’s simply a lot of furniture that you cannot manage on your own.
Professional furniture restoration and upholstery cleaning services have access to the latest technology, including a number of different industrial ozone generators, high-quality commercial-grade vapor cleaners, and specific odor-removing products that can handle odors that aren’t resolved with standard house cleaning techniques.
Conclusion
Deodorizing furniture after cigarette use is more than possible, but it takes patience, the correct approach for the specific furniture, and a determination to deal with the source of the odor instead of just masking it.
Baking soda, white vinegar, activated charcoal, enzymatic cleaners, steam cleaning, and any sealer with shellac are all helpful for different situations based on the severity of the problem and the type of furniture.
In most cases, a deep cleaning to clean off the nicotine residue and an odor-neutralizing treatment should suffice.
Ozone treatment or paint sealant treatment can provide almost permanent results in more severe cases.
When it’s past repair, or you’re looking for a new, clean, fresh office furniture environment for your home or office, check out the entire cataloge at Meet&Co, where quality craftsmanship meets modern office furniture design.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Baking soda removes odors instead of covering them up. Its mode of action is to undergo a chemical reaction: the acidic odor molecules of the tobacco smoke are neutralized by the baking soda (an alkali) and destroyed, rather than just covered. It will work best on surface odors and as part of a treatment program. It is recommended to use it in conjunction with vinegar wipes, activated charcoal, or enzymatic cleaners when the smoke is deeply embedded to take care of the smell at many levels.
This will depend on how bad the contamination is. Occasional smoke exposure may cause light odors to respond within one to two days after the baking soda and vinegar treatment. Moderate exposures (furniture from a typical smoker’s house) generally take 3-5 days of repeated exposures to treat.
Yes, ozone generators are extremely effective on upholstered furniture and are regularly applied by professional upholstered furniture restoration companies. Ozone at effective concentrations is harmful to humans, animals, and plants; however, the furniture must be treated in an unoccupied, sealed space.
Yes, if you use the correct primer first. A shellac-based product like Zinsser B-I-N odor-blocking primer will form an impermeable barrier so the smoke and nicotine compounds will not continue to off-gas through the paint finish.
Very slowly, and seldom without help. Nicotine and tar compounds are highly absorbed by porous surfaces and can last for years without taking any action.
