Learn how to get rid of smoke smell in your house {without effort}. This is the quickest, easiest, least expensive method for smoke smell removal!
Get the secret to eliminate smoke odor in your home for good.
This post was originally published May 10, 2018 and updated with new details March 23, 2021.
This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I receive a small commission at no cost to you!
I bet you didn’t see this post coming! After a conversation with my friend Allyson recently, I felt inclined to let you in on a little secret, just in case you and your home are suffering too.
We have purchased not one, but two homes that have smelled like cigarette smoke. The garage of our primary residence was frequently smoked in, presumably with the garage door down or merely cracked.
It was frustrating, to say the least! No matter how you feel about the smell of smoke in general, most folks want their homes to smell clean or entirely scent free.
I love the art of a subtle, effortless natural scent and it’s one of my favorite ways to create a cozy home. In fact, don’t skip this post if you’re the same way: 8 Ways to Make Your Home Smell Great!
When we purchased our St. Louis Tudor (see the Before and After here), the painter left the door open every day for two weeks to help eliminate smoke odor.
Eventually, we even had the walls of the garage primed and painted in hopes of eliminating the smoke smell which inspired this garage organization project.
The larger issue however was how the smoke smell permeated the mudroom and powder room. With a full renovation, the smell finally dissipated. However, that’s not always an option.
Table of Contents
Eliminate Smoke Odor for Good
When we finally decided to invest in our lake cottage, it also smelled of years of smoke. Not the kind of relaxing getaway we were hoping for, you know?
When we purchased this home, we noticed a stale smell, but every time we unpacked our bags at home, we couldn’t wait to wash everything – clean or dirty!
Our clothes and bags reeked of stale smoke though no one had smoked in the home for years. I needed a smoke smell removal trick that really worked, and fast.
After crowdsourcing how to get rid of smoke smell on Instagram we tried several methods. Many of them require investment of time and money but I was willing to try anything.
How to Get Rid of Smoke Smell
Here’s a few ideas, many of which we tried. Perhaps a combination of any of these options will work in your home!
- Prime and paint.
- Remove wallpaper.
- Update curtains.
- Clean or replace carpet.
- Have ductwork cleaned.
- Wipe everything down with white vinegar.
- Leave bowls of white vinegar out to help absorb scents.
- Baking soda in a bowl
- Steam clean carpets, window treatments etc.
- Volcanic rock – the easiest method!
Smoke Smell Removal Secret
After I mentioned this smell to my friend Allyson, she let me in on a little secret…volcanic rock. I’ll be honest, I was skeptical. Really skeptical.
With nothing to lose but $7, it was worth a shot, right?
Find your own volcanic rock here. It’s a truly effortless way to get rid of smoke smell in your home, car, or anywhere!
While we were working on updating this home, we repainted, changed flooring, fixtures and more. Nothing eliminated the smoke smell completely until we tried the volcanic rock!
How Volcanic Rocks Work
- absorb moisture and odors
- natural, non-toxic and environmentally friendly
- place them in discreet places i.e.: under beds, sofas, etc
- recharge by placing them in the sun
Crazy, right? We started using them last fall, only putting them out in the sun twice and when we returned to our lake cottage this spring, there was absolutely no evidence of odor thanks to these volcanic rocks! They are a truly effective smoke odor eliminator.
I’m still blown away. Who knew it could be so easy?
Volcanic rock is the easiest way to get rid of smoke smell in a house and it works for other odors, too!
Smoke Odor Eliminator
You can use them for pet odors, shoe bins, and even in a refrigerator just as you would baking soda.
Have a funky odor in your car? Place a bowl of volcanic rock under the seat. We have tried it all and it works like a charm, every time!
Have you tried volcanic rocks before or have you had a smoke smell in your home?
Smoke particles are microscopic, and will generally penetrate all the surfaces of a home. Tobacco smoke is often deeply embedded in a home thanks to the HVAC system, circulating the smoky air throughout the home.
While it’s certainly frustrating, we found that with a variety of methods plus the use of volcanic rock, the smoke smell in both of our homes was eliminated for good!
While I love the fragrances of essential oils, they won’t absorb or eliminate smoke smell.
However, these oils may be effective in helping to mask the smoke smell over time. Try lavender or Eucalyptus for a fresh, subtle scent that might help to overpower the stale smoke smell.
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I love you blog julie
Thank you, Jordan!
How long did it take? I have people staying in my airbnb that smoke and I don’t have much time to get it cleaned up
A noticeable difference in just a week, but the longer you do it, the better result you’ll have.
Thanks for this information, going to try. I also use the charcoal eliminator. Thanks for always having great information.
Thanks, Mari! We’ve had great success with it. I’ll have to give that a try, too!
Thank you sooo much for the information about the volcanic rock!! We have a beach condo and are non-smokers, but the people in the condo below us are chain smokers. The smoke smell comes up through our laundry area and each time we arrive, I have to open the windows (as long as they aren’t smoking on their balcony!) and spray the place with odor eliminating sprays, which aren’t very effective. I have purchase the volcanic rock and look forward to using them in our beach condo. Fingers crossed!!
They really work! You can cook anything, and the order does not last.
Aren’t they amazing? Thanks for sharing, Nancy!
So far these Volcanic Rocks have not worked for me.☹️ I purchased the rocks from the link you provided.
I was praying they would work on an odor from 2 vintage Featherweight Sewing machines. Very disappointed.
It doesn’t happen overnight, but give them a few weeks and I think you’ll be pleased.Though I wonder because the sewing machines aren’t porous like drywall, fabrics, furniture and carpet if anything will work.
These sound amazing. There was no link available for where I live. What is the other brand name that you gave Kristine Barnhart, please.
I have an array of options we’ve used in my Amazon shop, enjoy!
I got rid of smoke smell in my car using several sheets of dryer sheets! Trick given to me by used car dealer.
Great tip! They definitely help add a nice scent.
How interesting! I want to try this in my car. It’s always stale with a “kid smell” and it doesn’t matter what I do. Thanks for the tip!
Ha! Thank you! That smell sticks around 18 years from what I hear!
Where on earth is the “link”? I do not see it. Can someone please post it.
It sells out all the time. You can purchase here.
Just bought a condo. It smells like an ashtray.
I slept here last night and found myself coughing in my sleep.
I’m cleaning with vinegar and have cups of vinegar in each room.
Help me!
Ugh! I hope you found as much relief with this as I did. I will say, it will take a couple weeks. Best wishes!
Volcanic rock also great for fridge that’s been sitting unplugged for a while. Another tip is to contact your local 24hr fire/water damage restoration company. There are a few REALLY good cleaners that will even remove the smoke smell from your walls, even WOOD. Yep, I worked for one such company many moons ago. If you can rent an ozone machine for 24 hours after cleaning , brand new house…its amazing! Thank you for great stuff to all!
Where do you get them? I’m looking forward to trying this. Thanks so much for the posting!
I linked to them on Amazon, enjoy!
Just saw this about volcanic rocks. Please let me know which kind worked for you! I have a dog smell in shower. I think previous owner gave their dogs bathes in their shower! I am hoping the volcanic rocks will work
Any idea how long these will last? Just plz give me rough idea
Forever – they recharge in the sun!
can you send me the link for the volcanic rocks I had a pot burn dry on the stove and the whole house filled fully of smoke. Im hoping the rocks work so that I dont have to bring in a restoration company
i
Oh no! It takes a bit of time but definitely does the trick. I linked to them in the post. Fingers crossed it resolves it quickly for you!
I am excited to try this!! I hate making certain things, because of that smokey smell!
Great tips- this has been a problem for me at times!!
Thank you for posting this! This is so helpful, especially when moving in or renting from a new house.
I’m 100% making this purchase… I live in a house FULL OF BOYS, so I bet you can imagine how disgusting their bathroom smells, lol. I’ll try anything!
What a trick! Saving for later
This is great! We always have a lingering smoke smell after a campfire.
WHAT??? That’s awesome. We have a cabinet from a thrift store that smells of smoke, I may have to put it on there for a bit (or in it) and see if it helps 🙂
Thankfully we’ve never bought a house that belonged to a smoker. But I am going to get me some volcanic rock to help get rid of the not so pleasant smell that comes with having athletic boys. 😉
This is great advice! Thanks for sharing!
I heard about volcano rock too but was also skeptical!
there is no link for the rock:{
Oh no! Thanks for letting me know! They keep running out of the product we used but this is the same, just a different brand.
Julie- it’s amazing, this came at such a perfect time for us. For a reason no one can quite figure out, Our home has been inundated by cigarette smoke from neighbors on either side of us. After furnace, duct cleaning etc we are left with a stale smell which is so upsetting because we don’t smoke and have a little one! We have tried vinegar, baking soda, scrubbing down walls and floors all the while the smell is still hanging on. So long story to say THANK YOU for this info!
That’s so frustrating! This has offered us great relief in both homes. It’s so nice coming home from the lake cottage without our clothes smelling like stale smoke!
These are great ways to get rid of smoke! I never thought about how the smell can stay in so many parts of the house!
You photograph really well julie 🙂
I don’t see the link.
These are the volcanic rock we use, enjoy!
Thank you for this tip, Julie! I can think of lots of places in my home to use these- and so much better than sprays, etc.
Does it help with musty basement smells, too? Any suggestions for this problem. There are no known leaks but we do have s sump pump inside a cabinet built around it. There is no air conditioner there either, but it stays cool all summer.
Thank you in advance for your response.
They should! We have the rocks and damp rid bags in the lower level closets at the lake house and don’t notice anything!
Do you have any advice for getting the smell out of furniture? My significant other got some nice would furniture from his parents, who have been smoking in their house for almost 30 years. Obviously i can’t get rid of the furniture but it makes the house smell horrible! Please help.
I’d place these in a bowl below one of the pieces!
I’ll have to give this a try. A secret my mom told me was to use vinegar water and a sponge mop to clean the walls. You can literally see nicotine run down the walls. That saved me in a few terrible smelling rentals.
Ugh! So gross to think about, isn’t it? I am still blown away how well a bowl of rock worked!
I’m wondering if you have a brand of volcanic rock you recommend (I’m guessing you knew this question was coming!) or where to buy it…I did see some options on Amazon, but would love to purchase locally if possible 😉
I don’t – I just linked to the brand we used.
Julie…do you have any idea how exciting this post/information is for me?? My husband and I literally just signed paperwork this week for our “retirement/vacation” home up on a lake and it smells like smoke!! We love this home but that darn smell was a real downer for me when I signed the offer to purchase.
Thank you so much for writing and sharing this information. I am super pumped!
It’s like a miracle, I’m still in awe and don’t smell a hint of it now! I’m so sensitive to the smell of smoke, too! Congratulations on your new home!
Where do you get them?
I linked to the ones we use from Amazon, enjoy!
I use a product sold at Walmart for about 4.00- its over by the ironing boards, etc. it has a black charcoal filter and does the same to eliminate odors. I use it in closets (mine are SMALL) to get rid of the leather shoe odor….my daughter uses one in her bathroom to get rid of a septic tank smell.
The charcoal eventually evaporates and you get another!
There may be volcanic rock/ash in there too IDK
I’ve heard of that, too! Supposedly volcanic rock is even more effective than charcoal, but what a great option. I’m in awe of all the usss for charcoal!