Understanding Thirdhand Smoke | Ask This Old House

Ask This Old House home technology expert Ross Trethewey and painter Mauro Henrique discuss how to remove a cigarette smell from a home and why it is important to do so

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Cost: $25,000 and up

Skill Level: Professional

Steps for understanding thirdhand smoke:
1. Ross explains that the lingering smell left behind by cigarette smokers is actually a form of smoke called thirdhand smoke.
2. Thirdhand smoke is a residue that contains the chemicals from a cigarette and sticks to any porous surface, including carpeting, drywall, furniture, etc.
3. Aside from the nuisance of the smell, thirdhand smoke is also as harmful as secondhand smoke; a recent study indicated that children exposed to thirdhand smoke had equal levels of nicotine in their urine as children exposed to secondhand smoke.
4. To remove the smell and the residue, Mauro suggests that, at a bare minimum, everything needs to be cleaned with a tsp solution. This process includes cleaning the ceilings, the walls, baseboards, floorboards, etc. and then painting over the materials with an alcohol-based paint to seal the building materials.
5. Ross suggests that cleaning the surfaces may not even be enough. If that thirdhand smoke residue has been on the surface for a long time, then the building materials have absorbed it and they need to be completely replaced, which would require a full gut renovation.

Resources:
And Peter DeCarlo, PhD, Johns Hopkins Environmental Health & Engineering

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Understanding Thirdhand Smoke | Ask This Old House

[donnlowe]

Reason enough not to buy a house that had smokers living in it.

[jakeschroeder]

Everyone is saying this teaches you not to buy a house from a smoker. It also teaches you don't smoke in a house you want to sell anytime soon.

[serjstoned]

I’m a Realtor here in Illinois and I run into smoky houses all the time. It’s a super turn off for buyers.

[baddogduering]

For someone who doesn’t know, TSP can be bought at hardware stores. It’s an amazing cleaner and degreaser. And always read the label for the proper measurements.

[RebelAlliance]

I'm an ex smoker, never smoked inside, always had a "smoking robe" I'd take off when coming back inside, kept my clothes and self clean to minimize the transmission to my kids while I kept trying ALL the things to quit the addiction. My parents were heavy smokers. I'd always hated the smell of a house that had been smoked in, and I had always worried about fabrics, but the insulation behind drywall!! That is a brand new eye-opener! Wow! I rent, so I'm extra glad I've never smoked in any of my rental houses, but it makes me even more worried about a particular house I lived in when my kids were younger. Luckily, the last and current rentals I've lived in were newer houses and have never had smokers living in them. This is scary because in today's cut-throat renting market, rentals are medium term at best, eventually we'll have to move on, and there's no way of guaranteeing the next house will be completely smokefree!

[personalaccount]

That 25k must all be in labor costs. TSP, alcohol-based primer, and new paint is less than 500 bucks. I'd even spend the extra money to get an ozone generator to really get the odor out (another 60 bucks for a basic one). The only way it would be more than that would be if it's so smoky that the smoke seeped way into the wood of the house and the ventilation.

[scallywag]

I suffer from 8th hand smoke my entire life of 43 years.

[createlovehappy]

Would an ozone machine do anything? I think I can rent one.

[brycedrexler]

First! Please like this .this old house

[lenn]

Burn it down. The only way to be sure. lol

[chineseredneck]

you could soak the house with ozone for a few days. It would take care of much of the smells

[helendropinski]

Smoke smell is bad, but I wouldnt buy a house that had dogs or untrained cats either. Pugh!

[xoxooxox]

Here comes the next requirement/abatement with purchasing a home. We have asbestos, lead, radon, mold and now 3rdhand smoke testing, coming soon! What about spices? I've frequented some open houses and the stink from cooking spices means that walls, HVAC, appliances, etc, need removal/replacement. And for smoke, I live near a 40yr mother that smokes around her 3yr old and 3 month old children. You walk into their enclosed patio and your lungs burn from the menthol (Camel Crack?). Can't imagine the children, let alone the next buyer of that home. Ignorance is rampant lately!