How to Banish Lingering Cigarette Smoke Smell in Bathroom Cabinets?

[erinyourpclady]

Ok y'all........I have a smell issue! The house we moved into a month ago has recently been renovated. No one has lived in the house for about six months. My bathroom cabinets (the master) REEKS of cigarette smoke! I "thought" maybe it was just residual from workers but it is not! You can smell it all the time but once the cabinets are open.....WHEWE! We are pretty sure the bathroom was the smoking room as well.............SO

has anyone been successful getting the smell out? FYI...we cannot paint the cabinets.

TIA!

 

[cathyskitchen]

Oh, no - YUCK! - I would have to just rip the cabinets out and start over!! Sorry, I don't have any advice, just wanted to wish you GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[akggirl]

Have you tried Febreeze? I used to work in a smoky bar and used this all the time on my jackets and non-machine washables, although I'm not sure if it would work on cabinets, I would try it if I was desperate.

 

[PamperedDor]

Erin - PINESOL!!!! works wonders and cleans at the same time - we also had that problem when we moved in our house (19 years ago) - clean any carpets professionally - air as much as possible the rooms with fresh outside air and pinesol, we washed down everything and then some - if the cabinets are wood -that is fine - just dry well and a little pledge and you are set to go - also get some of liners for the inside and just put a little carpet fresh for a day or so and then vacumn out - hope that works for you!!

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

You need to wash out the insides of the cabinets (I love Dr. Bronner's Sol Suds for this task - I've used it to wash up soot damage after a furnace malfunction) and if you still have the odor, put dishes of vinegar in the cabinets. (Food prep bowls should be about right!) Change the vinegar every day or two until the odor is gone.

 

[PamperedDor]

KG - never heard of Dr. Bronner's - where do you get it?? And I was talking about the inside as well as the outside of the cabinets - can you use that stuff on wood as well? ( we own 2 houses that we rent out and unfortunately, sometimes tenants don't leave them so "nice") - Love the vinegar idea!!

 

[rebeccastt]

Vinegar keeps popping up on these boards....it always reminds me of Heloise. Maybe I'll have to send for her vinegar booklet!

 

[PamperedDor]

Or take stock in it!! LOL!!! - it really does work wonders though!

 

[erinyourpclady]

Ugh...I HATE Pinesol! I am on the search for Dr. Bronner's...and will start the vinegar when we retuirn from our weekend away!
Thanks SO much Dor and KG! Oh and I do use the febreeze but it goes away and the smell stays

 

[daniellemorgan]

you can find dr. bronner's at any "organic" type store, whole foods, and maybe even your grocery store.

 

[PamperedDor]

Thanks Danielle!!!

 

[rennea]

Baking soda!!! Wash your cabinets down with a mixture of water, vinager and baking soda. Rinse and then up a bowl of baking soda in the cabinet to take away and left over smell. My parent smoke like they are on fire so I'm pretty good at getting smells out.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

KG - never heard of Dr. Bronner's - where do you get it?? And I was talking about the inside as well as the outside of the cabinets - can you use that stuff on wood as well? ( we own 2 houses that we rent out and unfortunately, sometimes tenants don't leave them so "nice") - Love the vinegar idea!!

Well, I actually get my supply of Dr. Bronner's from Dr. Bronner's son, who happens to live close to me. But you can find it at most health food or natural stores. You can also order online from Dr. Bronner's website.Sal Suds is (from the website) Sal Suds is not a soap, and is our hard-surface all-purpose cleaner made of plant-based surfactants with natural spruce and fir-needle oils: it cleans and rinses with exceptional power, yet is mild and gentle on the skin. Sal Suds is equally effective in hard or soft water, rinsing freely, hot or cold. It is 100% cruelty-free: no animal testing. Sal Suds will biodegrade rapidly after it has done its job. (Available in 16 oz., 32 oz., and 1 Gal. bottles)
http://www.drbronner.com/images/ssuds.jpgBy the way...if you were able to poll most models and Hollywood types, you'd find many of them use Dr. Bronner's lavender, peppermint, and tea tree oil soaps. I use the tea tree oil soap to control athlete's foot and...well, let's just say another place that I have a problem with a similar fungal growth.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

FWIW, my problem with Febreeze is that every hotel in the world uses it, and I don't like using it at home because it makes my house smell like the hotels I frequent.

 

[PChefRenee]

I swear by Odo-Ban. I know the wholesale clubs usually carry it. (Sam's, Costco, BJ's). Someone gave us a practically new sofa when we were first married but it reeked of mothballs. (Yuck!!) NOTHING we tried would get rid of the smell. Then we found Odo-ban and it worked a miracle; the smell never came back. Not sure how it would work on a non-porous surface, though. You can even use this in your laundry. It is a commercial strength deodorizer, with a fresh smell.

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

I just did a search and I see Dr. Bronner's is available all over the Internet, even http://amazon.com has it now, even http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_hpc/104-2629399-5265513?url=search-alias%3Dhpc&field-keywords=sal+suds&x=0&y=0.

 

[pampered.chris]

A friend of mine gave me a breakfast corner table w/ two chairs and the L shaped benchs w/ storage in them. I didn't think anything of it until I got them home and in my house, the neighbor and my BF carried everything in and then my BF and I were outside talking to the neighbor, I went into the house and couldn't believe the smell...w/in 10 min my house REEKED!! The smell was giving me a headache and I didn't know what to do...well what worked for me was Orange oil. The straight thick oil. Not only did it make the table shine, but it got 'sucked" into the table, chairs, benches everything and w/in 2 days there was no smoke smell at all!!
Unfortunately, your smell is probably going to be in the walls as well, but I hope this helps!!

 

[KellyTheChef]

I would agree....a deep cleaning inside and out, vinegar in bowls, and I used orange oil on my cabinets too! You may have to apply it more than once (it may get sucked into the wood quickly if it's pretty dry) but it should help a ton!

(I know this cuz we moved into my parent's home last December and they both smoked in here like crazy!) After washing down and PRIMING with Kilz and painting...tearing up all of the carpet and padding and replacing it...and doing the above mentioned on the cabinets, I can FINALLY no longer smell smoke.

 

[janetupnorth]

Vinegar keeps popping up on these boards....it always reminds me of Heloise. Maybe I'll have to send for her vinegar booklet!

Yes, I swear by vinegar for many things!!!!

 

[katie0128]

DH has been driving me really nuts for awhile and the 4yo DS has been really gassy tonight, so my first thought when I read the title was, "Get rid of all male creatures - human, dog, cat, everything - and the smells (along with odd noises) should be gone within a few minutes!!!"

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

And that would be because the female of the species never creates gas?

Gime a break. Yeeesh. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

 

[chefann]

We do. But the males seem to think it's something to be celebrated. In public. With much laughter and pulling of fingers.

 

[legacypc46]

Oh, how true Ann! I worked with a guy who thought farting in front of others was just hysterical. It was sophmoric humor at its worst.:yuck:

 

[The_Kitchen_Guy]

Your point?

 

[chefann]

Oh, how true Ann! I worked with a guy who thought farting in front of others was just hysterical. It was sophmoric humor at its worst.:yuck:

Was it my DH? That man thinks it's hilarious. Which is why our bird makes fart sounds now, too.