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We bought an ex-smokers house too, it had also been sat empty for a while, we took out the carpets and everything soft and binned it and have set about cleaning every surface, stripping all the wallpaper (of course, every wall had 3 layers) and otherwise trying to eradicate the stench. The ceilings were grim AF, we ended up skimming them all after cleaning them to make sure there was no leak through. We couldn’t get the UPVC front door clean at all, but were planning to replace it anyway, and there were no radiators installed to clean. We still have one built in cupboard that smells of fags. 2/10, would not do again.
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RodSaetan
stevo_com
The hours of sponging, painting and then sanding (the floor) did the job. We stopped getting whiffs of stale cigarette about a year ago. I think the smell sustains in some places as they don't get forensic on the cleaning. We were lucky that this was a room with tongue and groove floor boards. The other rooms have so much dust and shite under the floor boards what could have absorbed the smell that it would have been impossible. The living room (the next worst room) had laminate flooring. That and the underlay below it took the hit. Once we removed that it was 95% gone from that room.
For the rad, being thorough about getting all the dust from the fins on the back and being liberal with the cleaning fluid really worked. No damage to the joints, no leaks a year or so on. Used Dulux Quick Dry Eggshell (Timeless, an off white colour we use for any woodwork that would normally be painted brilliant white) and the stains have not come through. Even where there was surface rust.
But, I agree on the comment about replacing. We have replaced quite a few in this house, the only ones we repainted were this one and the one next door in ms_com's office. They may well be replaced in future but they are in small, well insulated rooms so there has been no real rush. An hour and a couple of coats of that eggshell (mostly brushed on then a roller over the main flat surfaces, need to make sure the brush strokes in the "valleys" are long and straight or else it looks like a dog's dinner) and they are grand from 5 ft away.