QUESTION:

"While gone for two days, a relative smoked a couple of packs of cigerettes in our 800 sq ft 'A' frame house. Even though we try to air it out daily, after being closed up all night, it still smells of smoke. What are methods to remove the residual smoke smell from the house - wash the walls, repaint, steam clean carpet, and/ or ? Thank you!"

ANSWER:

Getting the smoke smell out of the house can be handled a number of ways.

• Time - Over time, the smoke odors that have permeated the home will eventually dissipate. Pro's - nothing needs to be done. Cons - depending on the extent of the problem, the amount of time is unknown and you have to suffer through the bad smell until it resolves itself.
• Cleaning - You can attempt to clean the carpets, wash down the walls and do upholstery cleaning. Challenge here is that you could spend a good bit of time and money and if you don't get it all out, you may still have residual odors. Smoke had a tendency to be absorbed into any soft materials. Carpets, fabric furniture, curtains, bedding, you name it. Pro's - you end up with a cleaner home. Cons - can't be completely sure that the problem will be resolved.
• Utilize an Air Purifier to keep the odors in check until they are done seeping out of the fabrics and carpets. As mentioned above, with time, this problem eventually WILL go away. But what to do in the meanwhile? You could spend a bunch of time and money cleaning everything, washing walls, carpets, fabrics and maybe even repainting only to find the problem may or may not be resolved completely. By employing an air purifier like the Air Oasis 1000 to eliminate the odors in the air you get multiple benefits.

1. Immediate results - odor control within hours
2. Ongoing protection - as the odor seeps out of whatever they have been absorbed into, you have an ongoing process knocking the odors down.
3. The benefit of cleaner air to begin with. Bacteria, germs, mold, viruses, pollen spores will all be killed. Any chemical fumes from cleaning products, paint fumes, or any other source will be eliminated.
4. And most importantly, ODORS will be removed keeping your home odor free.

So, my take is that the quickest result can be attained by employing an air purifier that is capable of eliminating odors.  A standard HEPA filter from Wal-Mart or Home Depot won't do it.  Neither will a Sharper Image or Oreck.  The UV light capabilities of the  Air Oasis 1000 Air Purifier has the right technology to eliminate the odors and provide cleaner and healthier air for the long term.

Hope this helps.  Any questions, feel free to call me direct at 1-888-472-8736.

Dan Buglio
The Air Quality Guy