Hi everyone! I'm a first-time poster but have been lurking for a while. I recently purchased my first house, and I've noticed that the previous owner smoked in one of the bedrooms and possibly the bathroom—there are some stains on the exhaust fan. I'm planning to repaint the entire upstairs, including the living area and dining area, and I'm also going to replace the baseboards. However, I'm a bit concerned about the lingering smoke smell. The house has been empty for a few months, so it's a little hard to gauge, but I can still faintly detect it. I'm thinking of using Killz restoration odor and stain blocker to prime all the walls after I deep clean them. Is there anything else you would recommend to help get rid of the smell? I also plan on cleaning the HVAC system and opening up the windows for a couple of days once we move in.
3 Answers
Washing the walls and applying a couple of coats of primer should definitely help. Don’t forget to do the ceilings in those rooms too!
Before you jump into painting, I suggest washing down the walls first. It's a bit of work, but if you skip this part and just paint, you might end up seeing all the smoke trails. I learned this the hard way when we moved in; it felt like we were scraping off layers of smoke residue from everywhere!
Thanks for the tip! The previous owner seemed to have kept it clean, but I'll definitely make sure to give the walls a good wash beforehand.
Make sure to paint the walls and ceilings with at least two coats—primer plus paint works best. Just give the first coat enough time to dry fully before you apply the second coat so those odors don't seep through the wet paint.
Ugh, I dread doing the popcorn ceiling! But I appreciate your advice!