How Cigarette Smoke is Absorbed in Your Carpet
Here's what we can do about it…
If your carpet constantly smells of cigarette smoke, you may be risking your health.
Insidious smoke and ashes that have been grounded into the carpet fibers sometimes bond with the adhesives and carpet padding, emitting volatile organic compounds.
In extreme cases, constant cigarette smell on carpets that regular carpet cleaner products cannot remove may make your eyes water, and even make your lungs burn.
Overtime, you may develop upper respiratory irritations, skin rashes, headaches, cough, and even shortness of breath – even if you are not too sensitive to the smell. You need a good carpet cleaning service to get rid of this smell – fast.
Why does my carpet smell of cigarette smoke?
There is no doubt that living in a home or working in an office with dirty carpeting and lack of may have negative long-term health effects. The cigarette smell from your carpet can be dangerous, and at the very least annoying. How did it get there? Here are some explanations.
- Poor ventilation. If you smoke in a space with poor ventilation – such as a small condominium unit or a kitchen with no windows – the stale smell of burning cigarette tends to linger long after you have finished the stick, and eventually seeps into your carpet’s fibers. The result is a persistent, unwelcome smell. Without proper carpet stain removal, the smell can spread to other fabrics in your home, from your sofa to your bed sheets.
- Dropped cigarette ashes. You may have stubbed your toe while holding your ashtray causing the ashes to spill, or the wind might have scattered the cigarette ashes on your carpet. No matter how they get there, cigarette ashes left uncleaned can make its way deep into your carpet’s fibers, filling your whole house with annoying smell. Like any other form of dirt, it “cuts” through the carpet and damages it. The deeper it cuts through, the harder it is to remove, and the worse the smell it causes.
- Nicotine and tar. The smell of cigarette smoke is caused by nicotine and tar, which can give your carpets, walls, and curtains unsightly stains. These ‘carbohydrates’ behave just like oil or grease, making them hard to remove. Blame them for the stale, acrid carpet odor that standard detergents just can’t seem to clean out.
Solutions that work
Cigarette smoke on carpet can be a big cause of frustration – not to mention a health hazard. The usual detergent or lemon juice solution simply isn’t enough. Vacuuming won’t help either. And in these hard economic times, changing your carpeting completely just isn’t practical.
Don’t lose hope, because there are specialized Baltimore carpet cleaner services that use methods and products formulated specifically to combat this pesky smell.