How To Get Cigarette Smoke Stains Off Walls
If you have smokers in the house, or bought a house owned by smokers, you may notice cigarette odors and stains on the walls. Cigarette smoke hangs around long after the smoker puts out the cigarette. Cigarettes leave a yellowish reside from the nicotine. The longer they stay on the wall, the harder they are to clean.
However, you can remove the stains and odor using a little elbow grease. Here are tips to remove cigarette smell and stains from walls.
Prepare to Work
For this project, you need:
- rubber gloves
- wash cloths
- sponge
- scrub brush
- spray bottle
- bucket
- white vinegar
- liquid dish soap
- trisodium phosphate
- ammonia
Open a window, and set an exhaust fan in it to ventilate. Wear gloves when working with ammonia, trisodium phosphate, and vinegar.
Remove Tough Stains with Vinegar
To remove tough stains, use vinegar. Pour some vinegar in a spray bottle, add several drops of water to dilute it.
Warm the mixture in the microwave several seconds, and squirt it on the stain. Warm vinegar should dissolve the stain.
Let the solution stand several minutes. Dip a sponge or scrub brush in clean water, and rinse the vinegar. Don't use too much pressure or too much water, or you may loosen the paint. Dry with a microfiber cloth.
Apply Dish Soap
Mix two tablespoons of liquid dish soap in a quart of cool water in a bucket or bowl. Stir it well
Dip a clean sponge or scrub brush in the mixture, and wring it. Scrub the walls from top to bottom. Rinse with a sponge soaked in cool water, and use a microfiber cloth to dry.
Make an Ammonia Solution
For unfinished walls, mix a cup of ammonia in three gallons of warm water. For painted walls, lower the ammonia amount to one-quarter cup .Pour some of the mixture in a spray bottle.
Spray the solution on the stain in a small section. Let it stand several minutes, then scrub. Use warm water to rinse.
Apply Trisodium Phosphate
Trisodium phosphate (TSP) works on tough smoke stains, and it also degreases. Buy TSP where you find household cleaning products or from hardware stores.
Combine a gallon of warm water with a tablespoon of TSP. Scrub the wall from top to bottom to avoid streaking. Let the mixture sit several minutes, the rinse it with a clean sponge soaked in cool water.
To avoid smoke stains, regulate smoking to outside. If you don't trust your skill, or you can't remove the stain with any of these methods, contact a house cleaning service, such as NorthStar Cleaning & Property Services.