Renting Apartment with a Previous Tenant Smoking

Lrolypoly on 09/03/2015 - 18:32

I am interested in renting an apartment but the previous tenant was a smoker. There was an ashtray inside and a strong smell of smoke within the apartment. The apartment itself has floorboards and not many soft surfaces excepting blinds which can be replaced. It also has an air conditioner which I assume was used during smoking.

An internet search seems to suggest that the smell can only be removed by repainting the ceilings and cleaning the walls.

Has anyone had any first hand experience with what is required to get rid of smoke odour? I quite like the place and would like to clean out the smell before living there but am also considering continuing the search elsewhere.

Home & Garden

Comments

  • toristo on 09/03/2015 - 19:00
    +4

    You can use sugar soap and wash the walls (and ceiling) but it's a big job to be honest. The air-conditioner may have filters you can remove and wash.

    Maybe talk to the owner/RE Agent and highlight you love it, want it, but hate the smoke. Offer to wash the walls and ceiling if they'll come to the party and have the blinds professionally cleaned (or replaced maybe if it's that bad).

    If I had a potential tenant offering that, I'd be fully supportive and sign you up for just offering. It sounds to me like you take pride in your property and would be more likely to look after it than the last tenant.

    Worst case, they say no, you find something else (or suck it up I guess)

  • mskeggs on 09/03/2015 - 20:21
    +1

    Agree. Explain you like it but it needs painting to fix the smell, perhaps offer to commit to a longer lease? Or offer $5 a week more rent?

  • Smulder on 09/03/2015 - 21:08
    +2

    I rented an apartment that was previously occupied by a smoker… the smell never went away.

    I would keep looking personally :)

  • [Deactivated] on 09/03/2015 - 21:38
    +4

    The stink always remains in things like carpet. No carpet? Then should be easy to get rid of, but it will take washing every single surface, including the ceiling.

    I've always found Sugar Soap useless. I used to clean homes. Just used homebrand cream cleanser (bought lemon one just the other day) - and I mean for everything, including toilets, walls, kitchen, really dirty floors - wet the rag, squeeze it out, pour some 'jif' on the rag, fold rag together again so it's spread right through, wipe the wall down in large circles - you have to make sure you wipe all the wall and evenly, otherwise the 'jif' has some bleach I think, as it leaves streaks. Oh - and white rag if you have it, or some rags leave the colour of their print behind.

    Have another bucket ready with just water and clean rag, wipe off the 'jif'. This has to be changed constantly.

    The stink will also be in every gap where dust collects, like between floorboards. Lots of cleaning…

    If the aircon is a window-rattler type, pull it out (in the morning), take outside, use a toilet brush or similar and dish detergent in water to clean the radiator 'fins'. Hose it down, leave all day to dry. Buy some CRC- sorry I forget the number - go some place like Repco - look for a spraycan that says it's for electrical contacts & switches. (Not WD-40.) Spray it around the motor spindle. The longer you leave it to dry the better. Two or three days is plenty. Obviously don't hose the control section - but the bit that hangs out the window and fins get moisture on them all the time anyway. Wash the filter of course.

    If it's a split system, not sure - never had to clean one of those. But I've seen aircon cleaning sprays for cars (on USA websites though) that you squirt into the vents. So maybe there's something like that available.

    Windows too - like I said - everything. Light switches - everything. Did I say everything? Half metho/half white vinegar. The vinegar cleans, the methos evaporates the vinegar. Use that on all sort of things, not just glass. (Hard shiny stuff like bathroom tiles that don't have mould for example.)

    • zealmax on 09/03/2015 - 22:08
      +1

      Ceiling isn't fun to clean, you can try a microfiber flat mop, but could end up damaging the paint with too much moisture. I had some success with baking soda on carpet. Used 30KG of the stuff. Rubbed it in, left it for few days and vacuumed it up. Then I got it steam cleaned to dissolve and remove any residue. Don't want to be snorting baking soda all the time.

      • toristo on 09/03/2015 - 23:01
        +2

        30KG?
        Tell me you at least told the kids it was snowing and let them ski on it first before vacuuming it up?

        More to the point, where do you get 30kg of bicarb without having someone call the Federal Police to report you trying to make meth with 150 boxes of Mackenzie's Bicarb soda?

  • Geekomatic on 10/03/2015 - 01:09
    +2

    I moved into a home once, just like this. I thought the walls were beige- turns out they were white- lol.

    I had to use floor-stripper to clean everything. The buckets of water smelled like a bong (not that I have any personal knowledge of that smell ;).

    Took many, many buckets to do the job proper. I soaked the kitchen cabinet handles in it straight-up, as they were also sticky (ugh). Even the light switches were greasy…no idea how people can stand to live that way.

    You might get the smell out, but long-time smoke really works it's way into things. It's your call, but I sure wouldn't pay extra to have it made habitable again. If the owner doesn't care to get it cleaned, I'd move on, personally.

    Good luck.

  • rolypoly on 10/03/2015 - 09:47
    +2

    This is my first post on any forum anywhere. I did not expect to have a strange sense of gratitude for a bunch of randoms taking time to help out. Thanks and plus ones all round! (Doesn't seem to be a rule against it)

    I am going to strike this place off the list and move on. The general feeling that I get is that I can clean it out but there is no guarantee. What a shame.

  • goosegog on 10/03/2015 - 18:29
    +1

    Isn't this why tenants have to pay a bond ? The previous person/people should be held responsible for the property to be completely clean & refreshed ready for the next tenants. The real estate agent should have had this organized & dealt with before showing the property to prospective renters. Don't think the actual owner of this property would be at all happy re the devaluation on the investment whilst paying out for management fees which at the end of the day is now costing money to correct because of negligence by the property management people. Weren't there regular property inspections which are normally stipulated to be carried out every 3 months?
    If you truly like this property, go back & negotiate to have it cleaned thoroughly & sell the benefits of having yourself as the next tenant who will keep it as the owner would wish.
    Don't believe that getting rid of the smell of cigarette smoke is hard & this does come from a reformed smoker who now truly understands the lovely fresh smell in the house as opposed to the old stale smell it used to have.
    We haven't painted the walls again ( although the kitchen ceiling could do with a coat as that was the only place inside the house that I smoked )Otherwise the only smell is dog farts - now if somebody could tell me how to get rid of that instead of having to bury your nose into your top each night when trying to watch T.V.- it would really make life a garden of roses !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Geewhizz on 11/03/2015 - 07:44

    Did you speak to the agent re the smell? They should be ensuring it's properly cleaned before returning the bond. There's no reason you should have to do it yourself anyway.

  • altomic on 13/03/2015 - 10:27

    burn a car tyre soaked in diesel in the apartment. that will get rid of the tobacco smell.

    ventilate for days on end

    burn a heap of incense to mask the smell

    then wipe down surfaces with vanilla essence.

    not much else to do

  • rainbowexpress999 on 21/03/2015 - 16:48

    a bowl of vinegar in the corner of the room will help to remove smell over time. Have to change it once a week, just use the cheapest homebrand ones.

    The A/C, i think could still be saved, turn it on and leave your windows open and hang a bag of lavender near the output, you have to do it a few times. If possible, get the A/C serviced, re-gas and cleaning of filter.

    Ceiling should be scrubbed because of the tar and nicotine build up.

    get plants such as "Mother-in-law tongue" to help clean the air over time. additionally, air ionizers helps as well, but i think plants are easier to own and maintain anyway.

    hope it helps.

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