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Cigarette Smoke Indoors
How to Remove Cigarette
Smoke From Your Indoor Air
Jeff Flowers
At this point, we all know that smoking isn’t good for
your health.
You also probably know that breathing in the smoke
that comes off of cigarettes, whether or not you’re the one smoking, can be
just as dangerous.
If you are concerned about the impact of lingering
cigarette smoke in your home, or just tired of your home smelling like an
ashtray, there are many things you can do to get rid of the smoke and odor.
Cigarette
Let’s take a look at the dangers of secondhand smoke,
as well as a few methods you can follow to remove smoke from your indoor air.
It’s time to clear the air and start breathing easier once again.
The Dangers of Secondhand Smoke
Secondhand smoke is the combined effect of the smoke
that comes off the actual end of a cigarette and the smoke that a smoker
exhales.
While people who smoke don’t necessarily intend to
harm those around them, this is what they are doing when they smoke, especially
indoors.
Secondhand smoke can contribute to lung cancer,
emphysema, and a variety of other illnesses.
This is because secondhand smoke contains nearly 4,000
chemical compounds, many of which are known to cause these diseases, clog a
person’s airways, and even trigger asthma attacks.
Because of these effects, it is essential that you are
diligent about controlling the amount of smoke in your home.
Open the Windows
One of the easiest ways to control secondhand smoke in
your home is to open up your windows and let in some fresh air.
While this cannot get rid of all the smoke in your
home completely, it will certainly help. It’s a great start to clearing the
smoke from the air, not to mention will immediately remove the noxious odors of
cigarette smoke.
If it’s too cold or hot outside to open your windows,
then we’d suggest opening a door or window in intervals.
This will allow the smoke to clear out, albiet at a
much slower rate, but not make as big of an impact on your energy bills.
It would also be wise to sit by an open window and
blow the smoke outside. This will prevent the vast majority of the smoke from
accumulating in your home in the first place.
It won’t prevent your home from smelling like smoke,
but it will certainly help out.
Use an Air Purifier
Keep in mind that just opening up your doors and
windows on a regular basis won’t completely get rid of indoor cigarette smoke.
If you smoke or someone that you live with is a
smoker, it would be wise to get an air purifier designed to mitigate the smell
and effects of secondhand smoke in your home.
These purification systems work by pulling indoor air
into their them, cleaning it, and then circulating it back into the room.
When the air is pulled into the purifier, the harmful
particles contained in secondhand smoke are eliminated from the air.
Not only can an air purifier minimize the effects of
secondhand smoke in your household, but it can also help control the odors that
are often pervasive in the homes of smokers.
This is by far the most effective way to cleanse your
indoor air of cigarette smoke, as well as many other airborne toxins.
Getting Rid of the Smell
While an air purifier is the most effective way to
improve your indoor air quality, there are still other things you can do to get
rid of that smokey smell.
Secondhand smoke can stick to the walls of your home,
the carpets and your curtains. It can and will trap the smell inside of your
house. Here are four tips to help you rid of these odors in your home:
Remove all of the curtains, sheets, towels and other
linens from your home. Wash them thoroughly before putting them back.
You can also use a deodorizing product, such as
Febreeze, to help mask the smells.
Steam clean all of your carpets, as well as add a
deodorizing product to the cleansing solution.
Sanitize your ceilings, floors, countertops, and other
fixtures in your home with a solution of water and bleach.
Consider repainting your walls and doors. A fresh coat
of paint will help alleviate the lingering odors.
In addition to these strategies, adopt a daily,
weekly, and monthly routine to minimize the strong and unique odor of cigarette
smoke.
This should include things like opening up the doors
and windows for a few hours, adding a small amount of vinegar to your washing
machine whenever you wash your clothes and linens, regularly vacuuming and
steam cleaning your carpets, and spraying all of your furniture down with a
deodorizing product.
If you are worried about the impact secondhand smoke
is having on your household, not just because of the way it smells but because
of the harmful health consequences, using an air purifier, opening up the
windows and doors and following these guidelines for eliminating the smell can
successfully control the impact of secondhand smoke in your home.
Plagued by a chronic case of curiosity, Jeff
Flowers is just a dude that annoys everyone around him with his loquacious
goofiness. From beer to home living, Jeff is just trying to hack his way
through life and write a few notes about it along the way. You can follow his
ramblings here, or listen to him complain about Austin traffic on Twitter
at @Bukowsky.
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