Help me rid my house of acrid smoke!

June 4, 2006 11:30 PM

Help me get the nasty smoke smell out of my house after a cooking accident!

The wife and I were on vacation from Thursday - Sunday, and my mom was staying here to watch the kids, take our daughter to school, etc. On Thursday, when she's taking my daughter to school, she left a pan with turkey cooking in it on the range(!), and came back 45 minutes later to a house filled with smoke(!!). We just got back tonight (Sunday night) and the house smells like it was the venue for a smoker's convention! My eyes are watering, and the smell makes me feel like I'm going to throw up; and this is nearly 3 days after she did this. There isn't any visible smoke damage, but the odor has permeated the ENTIRE house, and we're going to be moving in just over a week!

How can we get this smell out of our house fast, before we move?! (if we leave it this way, it seems certain that we'll lose our deposit)

Thanks!

posted by AaronRaphael to home & garden (7 comments total)

Try placeing bowls of white vinegar around the house - it is supposed to absorb or neutralize odors.
posted by jvilter at 11:46 PM on June 4, 2006

Light lots of candles - even ones that aren't scented - apparently because they use up lots of air in burning they will help to eliminate the odor.
posted by schmoo at 11:52 PM on June 4, 2006

Open all the windows. Get charcoal-activated air purifiers. The odor is probably in your carpets, soft furnishings. You can sprinkle baking soda on them, leave on a few hours to overnight, then vacuum up. Might even want to spray down your wood furniture with murphy's oil soap and wipe up, it smells better than kitchen smoke.

Homemade natural air freshener spray from this book:

8 oz. white vinegar, 20-30 drops of your favorite essential oil in a spray bottle. Shake before using. Spray the area you want to deodorize (ie. the whole room), then leave the room. The vinegar is supposed to absorb the odors, like jvilter was saying.

Also, can put baking soda in a box, add 5 to 10 drops of essential oil and leave it in the room(s). Need to keep lid open at least partially for this to work. With cats, I have to find creative out-of-reach places.

She also says you can soak a cotton ball in pure vanilla extract, then leave it in a jar in the room. I haven't tried that yet.
posted by overanxious ducksqueezer at 12:40 AM on June 5, 2006

You should also read this thread.
posted by iamabot at 1:18 AM on June 5, 2006

As an aside there are professionals that specialize in smoke/fire damage clean up, which may or may not be required depending on the size of your deposit.
posted by iamabot at 1:19 AM on June 5, 2006

Open, shallow bowls with fresh ground coffee will absorb some odour. Toss the coffee out after, of course, don't use to make your brew!

I'd also have some windows open 24/7 for fresh air, especially if you can get a cross breeze, assuming it's secure to do so.
posted by Savannah at 7:08 AM on June 5, 2006

Wipe down the walls, do all the laundry, clean all the upholstery, carpet, and floors. Use lots of carpet freshener. Open all the doors and windows. Light candles.

Just before you have your walk-through with the landlord, go crazy with the febreze.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 10:31 AM on June 5, 2006