13 Ways To Get A Smoke Smell Out Of Your Home

As you strive to make your house as comfortable and perfect as possible, you must look beyond its visual appearance. In addition to making your home look great, you should do your best to make it smell great. If you have a lingering smoke smell due to a fireplace, a recent house fire, or a previous tenant who smoked cigarettes, you’ll want to do all you can to get rid of this smell.

To remove a strong smoke smell in your home, open all windows and turn on fans. If you have an HVAC system, replace your filter with a HEPA filter. Consider buying an air purifier if this is a frequent issue. Wash all your linens, including pillowcases and curtains. Use a vinegar mixture, baking soda, or activated charcoal to extract bad smells, or buy odor-removing spray from the store.

There are all sorts of reasons why your house can smell like smoke. Maybe you overcooked a meal in the oven, or there was a mishap with the fireplace. Whatever the reason, you’ll want to do all you can to remove the odor, so your home can once again smell lovely and welcoming.

13 Ways To Get A Strong Smoke Smell Out Of The Home

1. Open All Your Windows

If you had an incident in your home that left your interior smelling of smoke, the first thing you need to do is air out the smokey areas. Even once the visual appearance of smoke is gone, there are still particles and smelly air that can keep your home smelling burnt.

Open all the windows, on all floors. Remember, smoke rises, so the upper floors must have good airflow, even if the source of the smell is on a lower floor. Keep your windows open for several hours. Ideally, while your windows are still open, you can try some of the additional cleaning and smell-mitigation methods listed below.

2. Turn On All Your Fans And Direct Them Outside

After you open all the windows, you want to direct the smelly air to the outside. The quicker you get smoke out of the home, the less time it has to seep into your furniture, linens, and carpet. 

Use all your box and oscillating fans as exhaust fans. Place box fans in windows on high with air blowing out of the home. Use oscillating fans in hallways to help circulate smoky air out of the home. The faster you start this process, the quicker you can get the strong smoke smell out of the home.

3. Swap Out Your HVAC Filter With A HEPA Filter

After a smoky experience in the home, there’s a good chance your HVAC filter is filthy and filled with smoky debris. Check your HVAC filters, and swap them out as needed. Furthermore, consider replacing your existing filter with a HEPA filter. 

HEPA filters are great at removing extra-fine impurities from the air. They are also great for people with allergies and asthma. This type of filter will make your air safer and can also help it smell better.

4. Clean All Surfaces

Once you finish removing smelly and smoky air from the home, it’s time to start the cleaning process. You should start near the source of the smell, whether it’s the kitchen, fireplace, or otherwise.

You can use whatever cleaner or odor-removing cleanser you prefer. Make sure you scrub all the surfaces, including walls, floors, and even windows. Once you’ve wiped all surfaces, you should notice a significant decrease in the strength of the smoke smell.

5. Apply Baking Soda To Carpets And Problem Areas

Sometimes smoke smells get trapped in harder-to-clean spots in the home, especially carpets. One great way to suck out bad odors like smoke from hard-to-reach and clean areas is with baking soda. 

Baking soda has many uses, including its unique ability to neutralize unpleasant smells. You can sprinkle baking soda on carpets, and leave several boxes of baking soda in particularly smokey rooms. Vacuum up the baking soda after you let it sit overnight. Just make sure you don’t walk on it and track it through your home in the process.

6. Try Activated Charcoal

Activated charcoal is another natural product that is known for its ability to remove bad smells from the air and materials like a magnet. Place activated charcoal in any room with bad smells, and it uses an absorption process to help remove these odors. 

Whether you use baking soda or activated charcoal is a matter of personal preference. Both are natural and effective ways to reduce smoky smells in the home.

7. Use A Vinegar Mixture To Remove Bad Odors

If you want to clean and spray your home with something natural to help remove a smoke smell, look no further than the vinegar you have in your pantry. Distilled white vinegar is highly effective at getting smells out of the home, including a strong smoke smell.

You can use vinegar with warm water and dish soap to clean your surfaces. You can also spray a combination of distilled white vinegar and water in a spray bottle to clean stinky furniture. Vinegar will neutralize odors and help the smoke smell in your home go away for good.

8. Wash Curtains, Pillowcases And Other Linens 

Once you have cleaned all your surfaces, it’s time to wash whatever fabrics and linens you have. Wash all your blankets, pillowcases, cushion covers, and curtains. All of these fabrics likely absorbed smoky smells, especially if you had a particularly smoky episode.

Wash them delicately, so they aren’t damaged, and let them air dry on a clothesline so there’s no shrinkage.

9. Buy Odor Remover Sprays Or Powders

If you want to get rid of a subtle smoke smell and don’t have a lot of time, consider using one of the many fragrant odor removers that are available in stores. Febreeze is the most popular brand, but several odor removers use fragrances to mask bad smells while odor fighters slowly remove the smell altogether.

10. Invest In An Air Purifier

If you are not only worried about a smoky smell but also the air impurities that come along with this smell, consider an air purifier. An air purifier has many uses, and it is great for those who struggle with seasonal allergies or have respiratory issues. They can also help remove particles from the air that are contributing to the bad smoke smell in your home.

11. Use An Essential Oil Diffuser

If you have followed several of the cleaning methods above, but still have a mild lingering smoke smell, consider masking the smell with a more pleasant one. Essential oils have many therapeutic benefits. They can reduce stress, stimulate your mind, and even help you fall asleep. These fragrant oils can also help cover any lingering smoke smell in your home.

12. Light Scented Candles

Scented candles are another cheap and easy way to cover any lingering smoke smell you have in the home after you air it out and clean it. Since scented candles use flames, they both mask the smell and make a slightly smoky smell seem more natural. 

This is a good solution if you have a smoke smell in the home but are inviting company over before you can completely remove it.

13. Add Fragrant Herbs Or Potpourri To The Home 

Lastly, consider using herbs from your garden or potpourri to bring new refreshing smells into the home. Fragrant herbs and store-bought potpourri can provide a natural fragrance in your home while you wait for the smoke smell to slowly disappear. 

Final Notes On How To Get A Smoke Smell Out Of The Home

A lingering smoke smell in the home can take a long time to go away, but there are ways you can get rid of it faster. As soon as the smell enters the home, open all your windows and point fans outward to remove the smoke. Use an air purifier or HVAC filter to get rid of smoky impurities. Clean all your surfaces with your favorite cleanser or distilled white vinegar. 

You can also use baking soda or activated charcoal to absorb lingering smells. To mask faint smoke smells, use an essential oil diffuser, scented candles, fresh herbs, or potpourri. 

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