Sometimes despite a landlord’s best screening efforts and a property manager’s rules against smoking, you can still end up needing to remove smoke smells from a rental unit. Maybe you have no-smoking rules, and your tenant did not smoke, but had guests in the rental unit who did, so here are some ideas.

By Holly Welles

Your tenants just moved out, and instead of leaving a clean, fresh apartment behind, they’ve left a unit that reeks of cigarette smoke. The smell permeates every corner of the property and now poses a health hazard to neighbors and future residents.

Property managers may be discouraged by the damage that lingering smoke creates. Not only will it cost resources to repair, but it can delay apartment showings for new tenants. Fortunately, there are various ways to remove smoke smells and make an apartment or home livable again. Here are the critical moves to take.

1. Air It Out

The first course of action should be to open all the windows and doors and air out the unit. Portable fans on opposite ends of the apartment will push out stale air while simultaneously pulling in the fresh breeze. Allow them to run all day, if possible.

Landlords might also hang several bags of activated charcoal around the property to absorb odors. Expedite the process by using a few air purifiers as well.