Lots of smokers look for proven ways to get rid of cigarette smells in their home or car. But sometimes non-smokers need to eliminate cigarette odors, too. Such as apartment and condo dwellers who have a neighbor that smokes.

Eliminating a neighbor’s second-hand smoke can be tricky. But there are a few easy ways to reduce the cigarette smell in your apartment, condo, townhouse – or even detached home. This article explains how.

1. Stop cigarette smells from entering through your windows

Many smokers prefer to smoke outside, such as on their balcony. Or, in bad weather, they’ll sit by an open window and blow the smoke outside. If your balcony door or window is close to that of your neighbour, tobacco odors can easily seep into your apartment this way.

Fix: Close all “smoke-entry” windows and doors whenever your neighbor smokes. If you want to air out your apartment, open windows as far from your neighbour’s smoking as possible. This will help prevent tobacco smells from entering your home.

2. Clean the filters on your stove hood, air exchanger or ventilation system

Odors can easily seep from one apartment to another – even in buildings that are well insulated. Smoke is especially good at travelling through small holes in walls, plumbing systems and ventilation ducts. If you’ve ever noticed a cigarette smell in your bathroom – or around your range hood, air exchanger or ventilation system – these entry points are probably where the smoke smell is coming from.

Fix: Clean the filters with Smoke Odor Neutralizer for Hard Surfaces. This all-purpose cleaner contains an odor neutralizer that specifically targets tobacco odors.

If you’re a condo owner, consider sealing any gaps or spaces that cigarette smoke may be seeping through. You can ask your smoking neighbor to do the same in their unit to create a better seal to minimize the spread of cigarette odors. If you’re a tenant, talk to your landlord first.

3. Use an odor neutralizer, not an air freshener

If you want to truly remove the smell of cigarettes from the ambient air in your apartment or condo, you need to use an odor neutralizer, not an air freshener.

Air fresheners use scents to temporarily mask unwanted odors. In contrast, odor neutralizers bond with and modify the odor-causing molecules so there’s no odor left at all.

To eliminate smoke smells from fabrics:

Use Smoke Cleaner & Odor Neutralizer for Fabrics & Ambient Air. Simply spray it on clothes, curtains or fabric furniture smelling of tobacco and let the product act. No need to rinse.

To eliminate smoke smells in the ambient air in your apartment or condo:

If you have a ventilation system or air exchanger system, spray the filter with Smoke Cleaner & Odor Neutralizer for Fabrics & Ambient Air. This is the easiest way to eliminate smoke odors. As the system runs, it will circulate the product throughout your apartment.

After this initial treatment, you can simply respray the filters as needed.

Don’t have a ventilation system?

Spray Smoke Odor Neutralizer for Fabrics & Ambient Air on a clean cloth. Simply hang the cloth over a pedestal fan and run it for an hour or so in every room that smells of tobacco.

Pro tip

You may need to repeat the process a few times for the product to treat all the air in the room, but don’t worry – it will do the trick. The longer you run the fan, the more the product will spread throughout the room and come into contact with all the nicotine-smelling particles.

You can repeat this treatment from time to time whenever you notice the cigarette smell returning.

Breathing easy when you have a neighbor who smokes

Eliminating a neighbor’s second-hand smoke can be tricky. Air fresheners only layer one smell on top of another, and odor neutralizers need to come into contact the source of the smell to be 100% effective.

You may never be able to get rid of your neighbor’s cigarette smell completely, but the above tips will help you keep the smell to a minimum. You’ll be able to breathe easy – until your neighbor finally quits smoking, or you find a new place to live.