Cigarette smoke smell in a sofa

Why the smell of smoke does not go away by itself

Smoke is not only in the air. Its residue settles on surfaces and stays there: researchers call this thirdhand smoke. In a study published in PLoS ONE, cotton and polyester still retained significant amounts of chemicals 19 months after exposure to smoke. Cotton released much more nicotine than polyester.

In practice this means that airing reduces the smell for a time, but the source stays in the fabric. Studies of fabrics have also found residue on furniture fabric. In the laboratory it was largely removed from terry cloth, but some fabrics responded less well, and a laboratory is not a sofa in a flat.

What to do before you order anything

1. Remove the source. While people smoke by the sofa, new deposits build up. If smoking continues in the same room after cleaning, the result is short-lived.
2. Air the room. Open a window when the weather allows and keep the air moving. This does not remove the residue, but it reduces what you can smell.
3. Vacuum the sofa. Go over the surface, the areas under the cushions and the gaps with a vacuum cleaner. This does not remove the smell, but there is no point leaving ash and dust in the fabric.
4. Find the label. The code W, S, WS or X sets what the fabric allows. If the sofa has no label, test in a hidden spot before any cleaning.
5. Do not cover the smell with moisture. Do not soak the fabric. A lot of moisture can leave water rings and reach the upholstery, where it stays for a long time.

What may stay after cleaning

The sources do not say after how many years of smoking cleaning stops helping, so we give no number. The longer and the closer to the sofa people have smoked, the less reason there is to hope for a complete result. From photos and your description, the specialist will tell you what you can expect.

A used sofa from a smoker's home

If the sofa was bought or received used, the smoking has usually ended and no new deposits build up. That is a better start, but what has built up in the upholstery stays. More on this case: used sofa cleaning. If you plan to sell the sofa, see sofa cleaning before selling. It is better to tell the buyer that the sofa has been in a smoker's home.

In a rental flat after a tenant who smoked, the smell is usually not only in the sofa but also in other textiles and in the walls. We work only with the textiles on furniture: rental flat furniture cleaning after tenants. Treating the room is a separate job that we do not do.

What to write in the form

• how many years people have smoked by the sofa and whether they still do;
• whether the sofa stood in a room where people smoked every day or only rarely;
• what the fabric is and what the care label says;
• whether there are also ash marks, burns or yellowing;
• whether the sofa is in your home or in a rental flat.

A burn is damage, not dirt, and cleaning does not fix it. With this information, the specialist can tell you what to expect from this sofa and whether cleaning is worthwhile.

Price for a sofa with a smoke smell

Sofa cleaning costs from €35 for a two-seater, from €45 for a three-seater and from €50 for a corner sofa. Smell treatment is extra, from €15. The minimum order is €45: if the total is lower, you pay €45. Travel is included in Riga and up to about 15 km outside Riga; further out it is from €10. The price also depends on the smell, and we agree it before work starts. Send a photo and the specialist will give you the price and tell you what you can expect.