Smoke is the Worst Offender
Even with the housing picking up, estate agents say they have difficulty selling homes with odour problems, especially the smell of tobacco smoke. Buyers often believe such odours indicate that a home is “unhealthy,” the report says. All over the world there is greater public awareness and concern today about indoor air problems in homes—and apparently, there should be. Second-hand tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, 200 of which are known toxins, and more than 50 of these are confirmed cancer-causing agents.
Potential home buyers may not always be able to articulate exactly what a ‘healthy’ house is, but they know an unhealthy environment when they smell it
Even smokers are turned off by the smell of second-hand smoke when they are looking for a new home. Just ask anyone in the smoke, fire, and cleaning business—nothing sticks to carpet, walls, and furniture like smoke
Sellers of houses with odours needn’t loose hope. There are ways sellers can remove these odours. Carpets should be cleaned by a professional carpet cleaner using hot water extraction. This will help break up the smoke molecules and remove them.
Also select a carpet cleaning machines with variable pounds per square inch of pressure (psi). A machine with 300 to 500 psi is needed for carpets but, for delicate fabrics and draperies, lower psi is a safer option.
Additionally, in some severe cases, carpets may need to be cleaned twice. If odours still persist, it may be necessary to treat the areas with ozone. Ozone produces an oxidizing agent that helps eradicates odours
