Keeping Your Home Fresh and Well-Ventilated for Indoor Smokers

One of the most frequent issues indoor smokers and their loved ones encounter is maintaining a fresh smelling home.

Smoke adheres to walls. It absorbs into furniture. And eventually, every room takes on that lingering odor that friends and family notice as soon as they walk through the door.

However….

If you have the correct ventilation system and follow a couple of helpful smoking habits — you can absolutely keep your home clean, fresh and odorless even if you smoke inside regularly.

Here’s what’s covered:

• Why Indoor Smoke Is Much Stickier Than You Realize
• The 5 Best Ventilation Solutions for Indoor Smokers
• Why Air Purifiers Are Every Indoor Smoker’s Secret Weapon
• Helpful Smoking Habits To Adopt
• How To Keep Everything Smoke Free Including Fabrics and Furniture

Why Indoor Smoke Hangs Around So Stubbornly

The first reaction most folks have is crack open a window.

Nope. Doesn’t work.

Even if you ventilate and filter your home, you can’t completely eliminate tobacco smoke contaminants indoors. The tiny particles go deep into carpets, furniture and even your walls. Particle concentrations inside homes where people smoke can be twice as high as particle concentrations inside non-smoking households.

That’s not negligible.

It takes intentional effort and a combination of solutions to really tackle the problem.

Try These Ventilation Methods For Keeping Smoke Inside Smoke Rooms Only

Ventilation is where everything starts.

When smoke is produced indoors and fresh air isn’t being pulled through the home regularly, smoke particles accumulate. Layer upon layer. Air movement is your first priority. When set up correctly — smoke has nowhere to stack up.

The best ventilation solutions for indoor smokers include:

• Choosing one room to smoke in and keeping the door closed — Ventilation is great. But smoking in one room with the door closed and an open window prevents smoke from spreading throughout the rest of your home.
• Installing an exhaust fan — This can be as simple as installing a bathroom fan over the area where you smoke. It doesn’t need to be expensive and makes a massive difference.
• Crack open windows on opposite ends of your home — Cross ventilation is super effective. Having two windows open on opposite sides of the house creates a through breeze that pulls smoke out with it.
• Leaving your HVAC fan on constantly — Set your heating and cooling system to “fan on” instead of “auto”. It keeps your home air continuously moving through the HVAC filters.
• Upgrade your HVAC filters to high-MERV ratings — Standard HVAC filters aren’t designed to capture the microscopic particles of tobacco smoke. Upgrade to the highest MERV rating your system allows.

When it comes down to it — keeping air circulating is priority numero uno. Smoke is greatly minimized when your air is in constant motion.

Invest In An Air Purifier If You Smoke Indoors Regularly

The single biggest investment for homeowners that smoke indoors is a good air purifier.

Really.

Not just any air purifier.

When it comes to cigarettes and vaping, a HEPA air purifier with an added activated carbon filter is the top recommendation. HEPA does a great job filtering fine particles but does not remove odors. An added activated carbon filter will absorb those tobacco smells and lingering chemicals.

Air experts recommend 8+ air exchanges per hour for indoor smoking areas. Essentially, make sure the air purifier you buy is rated for a room larger than the one you plan to use it in. Or buy two!

When purchasing an air purifier for smoking indoors, look for:

• True HEPA filtration
• Activated carbon filter
• High smoke-specific CADR rating
• Filter change reminders — HEPA filters should be changed every 3 months minimum

Keep your air purifier near where you plan on smoking indoors for best results.

Adopt A Few Helpful Smoking Habits

The best ventilation systems won’t help if you aren’t trying to help them.

Little things add up. When smoking indoors, choose smoother less “heavy” tobacco blends. Like bb cigarettes are reported by users to create much smoother smoke that doesn’t smell as strong or linger as long indoors.

Here are a few helpful smoking habits:

• Smoke near an open window — Exhaust fans don’t eliminate smoke on their own. Having a window open while smoking tremendously reduces smoke in the rest of the room.
• Use a deep ashtray — A deep ashtray traps a lot more of the smoke that escapes between pulls. Look for ashtrays with a lid.
• Put your cigarette out — Avoid letting your cigarette rest in the ashtray between pulls. All that smoke is still escaping into the room.
• Air out the room after smoking — Spend 10 minutes airing out your smoking room with all the windows open after each session. Prevents smoke residue from settling.

Simple stuff. But these habits add up over time. Smoke in your house will smell fresher if you keep this stuff in mind while smoking indoors.

Don’t Forget Surfaces and Soft Furnishings

While proper ventilation solutions handle the smoke in the air, indoor surfaces are another beast.

Smoke residue (commonly referred to as thirdhand smoke) sticks to pretty much anything it touches. Walls, ceilings, curtains, sofas and carpets. All of them soak it right up. Did you know 97% of homes contain more than one major indoor pollutant above WHO guidelines? Smokers homes are even more likely to have excess toxins.

Regular cleaning equals a fresher home!

The most effective cleaning tips for thirdhand smoke include:

• Wash soft furnishings — Cushion covers, throws and curtains should be washed every couple of weeks in homes where people smoke.
• Wipe hard surfaces weekly — Walls, windowsills and hard back furniture all benefit from a vinegar based wipe down. It doesn’t just push around smoke residue like water does. It actually counteracts it.
• Paint your walls — Giving your smoking room a fresh coat of stain blocker and paint is the most effective way to truly get things fresh again.
• Baking soda floors and upholstery — Leave baking soda on any upholstery and carpets overnight and vacuum thoroughly in the morning. It’s one of the best natural odor absorbers.

Ceilings. Do not neglect ceilings. A lot of smoke will settle there over time.

Wrapping Up How To Maintain A Fresh Home When Smoking Indoors

Three things keep a home fresh when smoking indoors:

• Know your ventilation options and use them.
• Get the right equipment to back you up.
• Maintain helpful smoking habits while indoors.

No one thing is going to fix indoor smoking air quality. But when a whole ventilation strategy (proper exhaust ventilation + air purifier), helpful habits and surface cleaning are all working together — there’s a smoke free smoking room to be had.

Back to the top 3….

• Smoke in one room. Contain the smoke to that area.
• Add exhaust ventilation and upgrade your HVAC filters.
• Get an air purifier with HEPA + activated carbon filters rated for your smoking room.
• Open windows, deep ashtrays and air out your smoking room after each session.
• Keep home surfaces and soft furnishings clean.

Give these things a try. It’ll take some effort to get going, but once the proper systems are in place, maintenance will be easy peasy.