Smoke Odors in My Apartment from Neighbors

My downstairs neighbor is a smoker and the odor seeps through my floor boards. My clothes and my apartment reek of stale smoke. I need something that can absorb this odor.

By rch from Philadelphia, PA

Answers:

Baking Soda

Stick some boxes of baking soda around, but for your windows, another trick that works is to take a fabric softener sheet and put it over your screen on your windows kind of in an incognito location and it should filter all the air that comes into your house as well, dispersing a nice bearable scent. (02/26/2010)

By abrupt_silence

Ask Them to Smoke Outside

Personally, I would politely ask them if they wouldn't mind smoking outside instead and the reason why. If they are decent people they will take your health and feelings into consideration. If they don't, then talk to your landlord about it.

In the meantime, another thing that helps is to place small bowls of vinegar around your apartment in inconspicuous places. (02/27/2010)

By Deeli

Listerine and Water

Listerine and water in a pump spray bottle sprayed onto the carpets should get rid of the odour. Spray your curtains or blinds, too, as they will absorb a lot of the smoke also. Bad luck for having smokers as neighbours, since I stopped smoking several years ago I know now just how much it stinks! (02/28/2010)

By Monique

Vinegar for Odors

1. Find several sauce dishes (they are shallow dishes with wide brims at the top).
2. Pour white vinegar into them and place them under furniture. (Cats and dogs won't bother them and vinegar isn't toxic.)
   
3. Vinegar absorbs and neutralizes all odors from everything and everywhere! You won't be paying money to cover up one odor with another and if someone comes to visit who has an allergy to perfume, your place is a safe haven.
   

   White vinegar is cheap. Make sure not to use cider vinegar or cider-flavored vinegar, though, they won't work nearly as well and are more expensive. Just keep replacing the white vinegar in your sauce dishes until all your odors are gone. If new odors appear later, just repeat this treatment. (I buy white vinegar by the gallon at the cheapest price I can. White vinegar is white vinegar.)

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4. The final result is that your house or apartment smells "new" and literally has no odors associated with it. (Your rooms may smell very slightly like vinegar at first, but it very quickly disappears and all odors will be removed.)

If your neighbors continue to smoke, you might want to talk to your apartment managers about your "allergy to cigarette smoke" and see what can be done.
It works every time, in the car, by litter boxes and in the garage, too. (03/01/2010)

By Mensan

Seal Air Leaks

You probably have some sort of air leak into your apartment. Look around the plumbing, heat vents, electrical outlets, and anything else that goes through the floor or walls. Find and plug.

This is also a good time to give the kitchen a good cleaning behind the stove, under the sink, etc. (07/24/2010)

By Phillep