So I'm a dumbass. I fell asleep while I had a sauce on the stove top reducing on the lowest heat possible. Woke up to the sound of the smoke detector and my apartment completely filled with smoke. The air filter was yellow/brown. I tried wiping all of my trim with Windex, all of my cabinets and counters, and I used hardwood cleaner on the floors but the smell is noxious and even all of my clothes in my closet several rooms over behind closed doors smell like asshole. My hair doesn't seem to come clean and today at work the first thing my boss said to me was "have you been smoking?"

Anyone have any tips on what to do, or know how much professional crews cost to deal with it? It's an 800sf condo and I literally had the walls, trim, and ceiling painted only a month ago.

6/15/2015 12:23:40 PM

you're gonna have to wipe down every surface (walls, ceiling, floor, etc...), clean carpets, clean fabrics (couch, curtains, etc...), wash all your clothes and bedding, and get a good ozone generator

check your renters insurance to see if it covers cleaning

[Edited on June 15, 2015 at 12:31 PM. Reason : .]

6/15/2015 12:29:36 PM

I own, bought two months ago :/

6/15/2015 12:34:59 PM

sunbelt or any of the rental companies will have air scrubbers and ozone generators that you can rent

6/15/2015 1:05:08 PM

check into that 'smoke soap' that 'heads use to clean their smoking apparatuses.


if you have pets, please get them checked out by the vet.

6/15/2015 1:13:15 PM

no pets.

it's funny you mention the bong cleaning soap or whatever because that's exactly what this smoke smells like. my clothes smell like resin and it's awful.

I've got a company coming out tonight to estimate how much it will cost to professionally clean. I have a feeling it will cost $texas

6/15/2015 1:18:47 PM

What a shitty way to start your Home Ownership.

6/15/2015 1:51:45 PM

yeah it sucks. my couch has a slipcover, so I can get that washed at least. my rug will probably have to be thrown away. I just had the carpet in the bedroom replaced when I moved in - hopefully it didn't get enough smoke to ruin it. If it does need to be replaced that's another $700 or so. If the walls/ceilings/trim have to be painted it would be like $2,500. I'm not sure if the smell will even come out of my clothes but I'm either going to have to wash everything I own or pay a laundromate to do it for what I imagine would be another few hundred dollars.

6/15/2015 2:00:06 PM

if you don't have cash to cover all of that, maybe giving your insurance agent a call would be a good move.

6/15/2015 3:10:16 PM

I'm going to see what they say today and try some stuff I've read online (using vinegar, baking powder, etc.).

Does anyone know where to take a slip cover (sofa) to be washed? Like, where they have commercial sized washing machines and dryers in Raleigh? The Pottery Barn site said that my model/fabric can be cold washed in a commercial machine.

6/15/2015 3:56:32 PM

How much did you have to drink?

6/15/2015 4:13:11 PM

get off your hoity toity smoked-out couch and check out the yellow pages, dood

[Edited on June 15, 2015 at 4:24 PM. Reason : and do some patch tests with rubbing alcohol, phosphate-based cleaner, etc. windex is weak shit]

6/15/2015 4:23:21 PM

I googled but all I found was rental places for w/d units. after work I'm going to be trying some combinations of vinegar, diluted vinegar, oxyclean and rubbing alcohol.

6/15/2015 4:30:28 PM

Do you have any insurance over and above what your condo association provides? If you really fucked some shit up an insurance claim might be justified (assuming its covered).

6/16/2015 12:19:03 AM

What was the quote from the cleaning company (assuming this was an after-disaster type company)? It's probably not worth risking losing your insurance over, probably better to pay out of pocket unless it's a lot more expensive than I am thinking.

6/16/2015 8:18:39 AM

There's a laundromat on Newton Rd (near Six Forks) called Laundry Express

The big commercial washers cost like $12.75 to wash but they don't charge for the dryers.

6/16/2015 9:29:01 AM

^^^not sure, I just spent all night cleaning after work. wanted to get the quote first

^^quote-guy didn't show up. I can't seem to get contractors out to my place to save my life. he's like the 5th no show for various things I've tried to have done.

^awesome - thanks Sam

I went over everything again with stronger products (Zeb degreaser and rubbing alcohol). Found on top of the cabinets (needed a ladder as my ceilings are 11') were covered so I spent a solid two hours scrubbing them clean up there. Rubbing alcohol was the only thing that would work there and on my countertops. I bought three box fans to blow air from the bedroom (cleaner area) into the living room / kitchen and then set up another fan in the window to suck the dirty air outside. Got a bunch of glad plug-ins and a higher quality filter. The filter from Saturday was like orange brown. The one I replaced it with was already grey/black by last night. I'll probably replace it again today after work. I also set up baking powder/soda in different areas to absorb whatever I could and left out a bowl of vinegar (read about this online). I'm gonna run this setup until this weekend and see how much it helps before I try to get more intense with stuff (throwing out rug, washing slipcover, entire wardrobe, shampooing carpet, using something harsh on my hardwoods, etc.)

6/16/2015 10:32:03 AM

https://www.sunbeltrentals.com/equipment/detail/960/0610449/ozone-machine-small-area/

run an ozone generator while you are not in the space

6/16/2015 10:54:12 AM

Insurance is the way to go for this. I doubt any contractors will respond to you, as they are all dealing with ins companies.

6/16/2015 9:03:04 PM

Quote :

"Does anyone know where to take a slip cover (sofa) to be washed? Like, where they have commercial sized washing machines and dryers in Raleigh? The Pottery Barn site said that my model/fabric can be cold washed in a commercial machine."

I wash my Pottery Barn slip sofa cover in my own washer.

6/16/2015 9:55:37 PM

my washer is tiny. I can't even put a comforter cover in there with out it overflowing

^^^I've read mixed things about the ozone generators, but if it's still smelly by tonight I'll probably just rent one over the weekend and go out of town or something (assuming you don't have to be there to keep an eye on the machine or whatever)

[Edited on June 17, 2015 at 12:03 PM. Reason : .]

6/17/2015 11:56:52 AM

Nah...I think you should leave an appliance on while you're out of town. Might as well finish the job your sauce started.

6/17/2015 12:08:58 PM

http://www.nachi.org/ozone-generator-hazards.htm

to me it sounds like ozone generators are a bunch of bullshit to me

6/17/2015 3:46:46 PM

Nah, they are effective, especially when paired with air scrubbers, just don't hang around when it's running

6/17/2015 6:36:47 PM

after going over surfaces over and over and then putting doderizing baking soda/powder? on everything and vacuuming it up it's getting much better. it's at least not to a "punch your olfactory bulb in the mouth" when you walk in. still looks like I'm going to have to wash the slip cover and literally all of my clothing (large walk-in closet - no dresser/bureau). might have to toss the area rug.

6/22/2015 10:59:16 AM

Just wash the rug and slipcover at a laundromat. Their washers are huge.

6/22/2015 11:03:16 AM

it's a jute rug, I'm not sure if you can wash those. slipcover and cushion covers, etc. for sure though.

6/22/2015 12:31:42 PM

Guess you'd have to dry-clean that

6/22/2015 12:46:01 PM

i would try washing the rug outside with soap or phosphate-based cleaner and a scrub brush.

6/22/2015 5:45:08 PM

Found a place to wash the slipcovers and all cushions for $32. I was afraid it would be a lot more. I feel like the smell is less intense just having that out of my apartment. You kinda get acclimated to the smell when you're in there and I couldn't find a source but when I got it bagged up and in my trunk I could definitely smell it.

Getting there - people that visit don't notice the smell now at least.

6/25/2015 10:57:54 AM

Put pieces of charcoal in plates and set them in different rooms. This helps to absorb and get rid of the smell.

6/26/2015 4:29:02 PM