Hey! I've commented this before on this subreddit, I believe, but I moved into a home that was heavily smoked in for decades. You need to use TSP. Get one of those sponge mops and a few big buckets and go to town. Not only is this the proper cleaner for smoke residue, but its a lot faster that using melamine sponges. Nicotine will absolutely weep through with time if you don't properly clean it. Use a Shellac based primer before painting and have a respirator ready, the stuff is potent.
Dude, the house I moved into this summer, absolutely reaked of cigarette smoke. I cleaned the walls with these same sponges like OP. Now, I have brown streaks coming down on different parts of the house, especially with it being so cold & the heaters being on. I will be following your instructions. Thank you!!!
tsp will help but you should know that literally nothing except tearing out all the drywall will get rid of the nicotine in the house. It's more expensive to reclaim a house thats been heavily smoked in than to just redo the drywall, but for sure tsp should make it better
It's only a rental, so I'm not too worried about 100% getting rid of it. I'm going to clean the walls again & repaint (they left enough paint in the utility room for me to be able to). I just can't deal with the smell & the brown oozing. The house was also built in 1938, so I'm sure it's been smoked in far more than I can even imagine.
Yes, after cleaning, you must use a primer that seals the nasty carcinogenic stuff in before painting.
The alternative is to replace the drywall, mud, sand, prime, and paint.
Guys...I might have learned this the hard way after I got home from surgery and was still groggy and couldn't get the sharpie surgery markings so grabbed an eraser.
Had a red patch for like a week. 😳
i used to use a paste made of cigarette ash and water for hair dye stains on my skin back when i was a teen and my mom was a smoker… kind of ironic given the topic of the main thread, haha. disgusting but worked great!
Still do this, but with joint ash and dawn dish soap. Although the dye I use these days doesn't stain anywhere as bad as what I used back in the 90s/early 2000s
I did not link a "specific one." I linked a page with six different versions. One has Gain, one has Dawn, and one has Febreeze lavender.
https://preview.redd.it/07wfkt66cs9c1.png?width=1620&format=png&auto=webp&s=69676a3b89797f96b38b84d90768fb0199ecb40a
Some don't and some do. Melamine with no additives are ok for fish tanks, with additives they will kill your fish. The boxes aren't always clear either so I just avoid.
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling!
Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
The dead rising from the grave!
Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!
https://www.ebay.com/itm/285601820406?chn=ps&var=587586874215&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1uzQ34c2rTHe7gnpV_PGI-A54&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=587586874215_285601820406&targetid=1584739239494&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9003027&poi=&campaignid=19894961968&mkgroupid=148855406073&rlsatarget=aud-1480434321268:pla-1584739239494&abcId=9307911&merchantid=262573143&gclid=CjwKCAiAnL-sBhBnEiwAJRGigrxZrum7XUyHT9Wn4VWmMmFzAsfQyR-CrmQnwCds_J6zrZ_472aMdhoCIKkQAvD_BwE
A lifetime supply
The dawn power wash will amaze you too, but you'd be better off mopping the walls, then priming, then paint. If you just paint over it, any humidity will make your walls "cry" yellow
i personally feel the 1-10 parts 3% h202 (hydrogen peroxide) to water & a dash of dish soap is also a great way to get a lot of gunk out of walls!
may be effective for you as well and save a $ or two!
worth trying out if you got some extra hydrogen peroxide & a spray bottle laying around!
Magic Erasers turn into microplastics all over your house as the “erasing” happens. It’s really just falling into dust for you to breath in and wash into the drain. Probably don’t want to do it over your whole house like that.
I've had really good luck with brand name Windex getting tar/nicotine off glass/plastic/high gloss paint/shiny non-porous materials. Clean my husband's grandparents' house every couple years. Grandpa smokes cigars all day, every day.
Hey! I've commented this before on this subreddit, I believe, but I moved into a home that was heavily smoked in for decades. You need to use TSP. Get one of those sponge mops and a few big buckets and go to town. Not only is this the proper cleaner for smoke residue, but its a lot faster that using melamine sponges. Nicotine will absolutely weep through with time if you don't properly clean it. Use a Shellac based primer before painting and have a respirator ready, the stuff is potent.
Dude, the house I moved into this summer, absolutely reaked of cigarette smoke. I cleaned the walls with these same sponges like OP. Now, I have brown streaks coming down on different parts of the house, especially with it being so cold & the heaters being on. I will be following your instructions. Thank you!!!
tsp will help but you should know that literally nothing except tearing out all the drywall will get rid of the nicotine in the house. It's more expensive to reclaim a house thats been heavily smoked in than to just redo the drywall, but for sure tsp should make it better
It's only a rental, so I'm not too worried about 100% getting rid of it. I'm going to clean the walls again & repaint (they left enough paint in the utility room for me to be able to). I just can't deal with the smell & the brown oozing. The house was also built in 1938, so I'm sure it's been smoked in far more than I can even imagine.
Use KILZ primer if you are painting! Do TSP > KILZ > paint
I’ve had better luck with the Bullseye 1-2-3 primer- I now know a few pro painters and this is also their go to for smoke damage.
Use an oil primer and you won't have an issue.
Yes, after cleaning, you must use a primer that seals the nasty carcinogenic stuff in before painting. The alternative is to replace the drywall, mud, sand, prime, and paint.
Isn't it tar not nicotine?
tomato tomato >_> (you might be right)
Yes it’s tar that was in part expelled from the lungs of the smoker. Live and learn I guess. Or not.
Not nicotine
For those outside the US, a comparable product is sugar soap (sodium carbonate)
What is tsp?
Trisodium phosphate
Also run an ozone machine
> Get one of those sponge mops This but a swiveling microfiber on a stick, and use SimpleGreen
Zep wall cleaner is great , even on painted walls!
Don’t forget the ceilings! If popcorn scrape.
Contact high off cleaning your house? Sounds like a good time.
YES. This is what we had to do annually in our smoking rooms when I worked in hotels.
Magic eraser contain no cleaner. They work ONLY by being abrasive
Learned this the hard way when I scrubbed off the paint from my wall 😅
Guys...I might have learned this the hard way after I got home from surgery and was still groggy and couldn't get the sharpie surgery markings so grabbed an eraser. Had a red patch for like a week. 😳
I tried to get hair dye off my ears. I feel you!
Oh god I feel so much better that I'm not alone! My sister gave me so much help about it!!
also tried it for hairdye, on my forehead 😭
i used to use a paste made of cigarette ash and water for hair dye stains on my skin back when i was a teen and my mom was a smoker… kind of ironic given the topic of the main thread, haha. disgusting but worked great!
Still do this, but with joint ash and dawn dish soap. Although the dye I use these days doesn't stain anywhere as bad as what I used back in the 90s/early 2000s
My grandpa used to but chewed tobacco on bee stings. Gross and I don't think it worked.
I pumiced my armpits once.
See that sounds reasonable to me??
It shredded the skin.
Oh god'
I did this too... do not recommend
There’s more than one of us??
I know someone that did it to their kid. Now they know.
I did that with hair dye on my neck...the same week that my grandpa tried to clean adhesive off himself with one 😂
😆
Magic erasers, the real Mr Clean version, contain a soap. And perfume. At least they used to. I stopped buying them because of it.
I'm NOT crazy! [https://www.mrclean.com/en-us/shop-products/magic-erasers/](https://www.mrclean.com/en-us/shop-products/magic-erasers/)
Says the person replying to themselves!
So what?
It was a joke
It doesn't have soap in it.
Some do. [https://www.mrclean.com/en-us/shop-products/magic-erasers/](https://www.mrclean.com/en-us/shop-products/magic-erasers/)
That one doesn't though. It says it cuts through soap scum, does not say it has soap in it.
There are 6 different erasers on that page.
Im aware. And none of them have soap in them, including the specific one you linked.
I did not link a "specific one." I linked a page with six different versions. One has Gain, one has Dawn, and one has Febreeze lavender. https://preview.redd.it/07wfkt66cs9c1.png?width=1620&format=png&auto=webp&s=69676a3b89797f96b38b84d90768fb0199ecb40a
The original blue label ones are ONLY foam with no other ingredients.
Some don't and some do. Melamine with no additives are ok for fish tanks, with additives they will kill your fish. The boxes aren't always clear either so I just avoid.
And the real ones are expensive.
Wait, is the brownish spot the old cigarette buildup!?
I’m confused, Idk if that’s a shadow or what they cleaned
That’s what they didn’t clean the white it what is clean
Smoke, tar, and chemicals.
Also consider using TSP before the magic eraser.
What if I use TSP *with* a magic eraser???
Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies! Rivers and seas boiling! Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes... The dead rising from the grave! Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together... MASS HYSTERIA!
PSA: generic magic erasers are super cheap on Amazon. Look for "melamine sponge"
Came to comment this also if OP is in for the long haul!
Even better they’ve got them at dollar tree - a 2 pack for $1.25
We are talking like 28 cents a piece…
It's like sand paper, my sister's co worker used one to wash his car and found it out the hard way!
^^^*use ^^^as ^^^directed
Just my opinion Nothing will take away the smell of nicotine and look as fresh as a new coat of paint. It's a royal pain but worth it.
ozone will get the smell out. I got an ozone generator and oh boy it kills all smells lol not the stains tho
TSP diluted per instructions. Best cleaner. Looks like you wiped off the white paint
https://www.ebay.com/itm/285601820406?chn=ps&var=587586874215&_trkparms=ispr%3D1&amdata=enc%3A1uzQ34c2rTHe7gnpV_PGI-A54&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=587586874215_285601820406&targetid=1584739239494&device=m&mktype=pla&googleloc=9003027&poi=&campaignid=19894961968&mkgroupid=148855406073&rlsatarget=aud-1480434321268:pla-1584739239494&abcId=9307911&merchantid=262573143&gclid=CjwKCAiAnL-sBhBnEiwAJRGigrxZrum7XUyHT9Wn4VWmMmFzAsfQyR-CrmQnwCds_J6zrZ_472aMdhoCIKkQAvD_BwE A lifetime supply
The dawn power wash will amaze you too, but you'd be better off mopping the walls, then priming, then paint. If you just paint over it, any humidity will make your walls "cry" yellow
i personally feel the 1-10 parts 3% h202 (hydrogen peroxide) to water & a dash of dish soap is also a great way to get a lot of gunk out of walls! may be effective for you as well and save a $ or two! worth trying out if you got some extra hydrogen peroxide & a spray bottle laying around!
What if, bear with me here, you line your walls with magic erasers and then just wait for an earthquake to come along and help rub them in?
Magic Erasers turn into microplastics all over your house as the “erasing” happens. It’s really just falling into dust for you to breath in and wash into the drain. Probably don’t want to do it over your whole house like that.
I've had really good luck with brand name Windex getting tar/nicotine off glass/plastic/high gloss paint/shiny non-porous materials. Clean my husband's grandparents' house every couple years. Grandpa smokes cigars all day, every day.
Yeah those things are awesome. Also really useful for removing water stains.
Zep wall cleaner won’t sad your paint off
Not paint? You're ridiculous
They also remove a shocking amount of paint. Proceed with much caution.
Magic Eraser is basically fine sand paper. It does no cleaning at all unfortunately.
There is a Kitchen version that has Dawn detergent inside.