How to Make Your Rental Property Smell Smoke-Free
As a landlord, you want to keep your home in peak condition. This way, it will draw in the best tenants possible. Future tenants will want to sign the lease right away due to your new appliances, lovely landscaping, and light windows.
But what’s that odor all about? It can truly turn away prospective excellent tenants if there is a lingering cigarette smell in your rental property.
Don’t worry; there are several techniques to eliminate the odor. Your rental property won’t continue to serve as an ashtray.
Be sure you are aware of all the best ways to get rid of that unpleasant smell. Whether you decide to do it yourself or hire a cleaning service. It can be simpler than you imagine to put an end to your persistent nightmare.
Consider the following remedies to get rid of the smoke smell in your home before potential tenants come. We’ve compiled some of the best ways to achieve this.
Purify The Air
Improved air circulation throughout the entire apartment or house is the first step. In order to help create a cross breeze, start by opening all the windows and doors. To hasten the process, you can also make use of an air filter and a dehumidifier.
Finishing the deodorizing process with some air-refreshing methods is never a bad idea. According to SFGate, there are a few do-it-yourself ways you may use to eliminate scents. You can boil orange or lemon peels to create an additional sense of freshness. Another way is to set bowls of white vinegar or ammonia in smelly rooms.
To further neutralize the smell, you can also boil lemon or orange peels.
Clean the Walls and Ceiling.
Scrub ceilings and walls with a strong cleaning solution to get rid of the surface odor. A blend of ammonia and water is one of the solutions approaches.
Option 1: Ammonia and water. Try combining 2 tablespoons of ammonia and two cups of water, then rub down the walls.
Option 2: Water and vinegar. Clean your walls and ceilings with vinegar. To get rid of odors and stains, combine one part vinegar with one part water. Apply directly to the affected area.
Make Sure The Carpet is Clean
Now is the time to clean the carpets. This might be one of the trickiest parts of cleaning up cigarette smoke. Past tenants may have put ashes on the ground, increasing the scent.
Howtocleanstuff.net provides a tried-and-true deodorizing method. First, spread baking soda over the entire area in a uniform, thin layer. Allow it to remain on the carpet for many hours or even overnight to help get rid of the odors. Then vacuum it up to expose the fresh carpet. This method may often be used to clean all types of carpets.
You need to call in the experts when your attempts at home remedies are insufficient. A carpet cleaning firm should be contacted for particularly strong odors. Steam cleaning and dry cleaning treatments are just two of the several carpet cleaning options available. Depending on the carpet’s material, the optimum approach could alter.
If you are unable to eliminate the obnoxious smell, it may be necessary to completely replace the carpets. Although initially more expensive, this choice can ultimately save you time and money. Tenants will value the makeover and your clean house will draw in quality tenants.
Clean Hardwood Floors
Wood floors in apartments and homes necessitate slightly different cleaning procedures. Warm water and soap with a neutral pH should be combined to clean wood floors. Allow it to air dry.
Return to that handy water and vinegar mixture for laminate floors to get rid of any remaining odors. Make sure you are aware of the presence of no-wax flooring. You may use a polish designed especially for no-wax vinyl to revive dull floors.
Tiled and grouted floors can be more difficult to clean. There are more nooks and crannies for the odor to hide in. Although using vinegar and baking soda to scrub it is a common DIY solution, it’s vital to disregard this suggestion. Vinegar can corrode grout, which will harm your flooring in the end. Instead, wipe the floor with a solution of ammonia.
Clean Windows and Window Treatments
It’s time to fine-tune your technique once you’ve coated all of your property’s major surfaces. After all, the devil is in the details. Be sure to wipe down all window sills, corners, and curtain rods when cleaning windows. When there is a breeze that takes the smoke outside, it can settle in these places.
The worst culprits, though, are the window treatments. Curtains and drapes should be washed in hot water with regular laundry detergent and a cup of white vinegar. However, as vinegar naturally bleaches, add it right before you put the draperies in the washing machine. If you don’t want some weird tie-dye curtains, never leave them sitting in vinegar. Check to see if the drapes need to be dry-cleaned before beginning this procedure.
Remove the blinds from any residences that have them so you can soak them in a warm vinegar water bath. They should air dry.
Keep The Drawers and Cabinets Clean
If you’re serious about getting rid of the cigarette smell, don’t forget to clean all the cabinets and drawers. With a soft, lint-free cloth and vinegar solution, clean all hard surfaces. If a renter opens their cabinets, you don’t want them to be engulfed in a smoke cloud. Be sure to clean the interior of the drawers as well.
Overnight, leave all drawers open to dry so that the stink can go away naturally. Place lemon halves or bowls of dry coffee grinds in particularly smelly areas to assist absorb odors.
Getting the Right Tenants Will Help You Avoid The Smoke Smell
The key to managing a successful rental property and recouping your investment is attracting the right renters. But you know it’s time to handle business when a smoke smell threatens to turn away qualified renters.
If you don’t get rid of the smell before a new renter moves in, they may ask you to do it.
Take some proactive steps when it comes to bringing on a new tenant to avoid any conflicts or expensive renovations. Your home won’t remain unoccupied for months at a time.
Specify in the lease whether smoking is permitted everywhere on the premises.
If the driveway is a designated smoking place but all indoor usage is prohibited, be sure to specify that in the guidelines. Make sure to include a strict punishment for violating the smoking restrictions because prolonged exposure to smoke can seriously harm your apartment or home. Regular inspections of the property might be a fantastic approach to catch tenant smoking infractions early on. Additionally, be careful to ask your Homeowner Association (HOA) whether there are any smoking restrictions in the area.
Ensure that your rental agreement makes explicit whether smoking is entirely prohibited on your property and that your tenant is aware of it. The rental agreement should specify the repercussions for failing to meet your expectations. Even going as far as to allow for eviction if required. When you meet a possible tenant, it’s always a good idea to ask for references. You can confirm the previous renter and interest behavior. Ask them things like: Do they smoke? Did they comply with the regulations of the property? Did they clean up after themselves and leave the place odor-free? You may make sure you hire tenants who will make your job simple by double-checking your sources.
Conclusion
Once you have a renter interested in your rental property, spend the time to thoroughly screen them so you can prevent anyone who might disobey your rules. It can be a good idea to include your smoking policy in your rental post so you can screen out unsuitable applications right away.