Options besides essential oils?

[Kentuckienne]

Adding a scent only masks the unpleasant odors. It doesn't remove the offending chemicals. The latest studies I've seen show that baking soda doesn't absorb odors - all that started from commercials trying to sell baking soda for refrigerators. What helps is positive pressure. You get any kind of fan, put it in the doorway and have it blow air INTO the room. That might keep enough air pressure in the room so the smoke won't be able to infiltrate. Come to think of it, do you notice the smoke smell getting stronger when you run any kind of vent, like a vent hood? My stove hood vent enough air to pull smoke down out chimney.

What does absorb odor and chemical is activated charcoal. It has a limited life before it's used up. Another semi radical option might be to get a plastic drop cloth, big enough to cover the whole carpet, taping it along the edges if possible. Then put cheap canvas drop cloths over the top of that so you aren't walking on plastic. That might keep any odors in the carpet from entering the air. Painted floor cloths are a big trend, and they are just those cloths painted with latex paint and then polyurethane. I think they look nice on their own, very natural and neutral.

I got the hardwood laminate flooring for my basement studio from Lowes. They had this nice Bruce flooring for half price, a special return. I asked the manager for a bigger discount and got it for a quarter of the original cost. You just have to prowl the local stores and keep asking.

 

[Kiwibird]

Adding a scent only masks the unpleasant odors. It doesn't remove the offending chemicals. The latest studies I've seen show that baking soda doesn't absorb odors - all that started from commercials trying to sell baking soda for refrigerators. What helps is positive pressure. You get any kind of fan, put it in the doorway and have it blow air INTO the room. That might keep enough air pressure in the room so the smoke won't be able to infiltrate. Come to think of it, do you notice the smoke smell getting stronger when you run any kind of vent, like a vent hood? My stove hood vent enough air to pull smoke down out chimney.

What does absorb odor and chemical is activated charcoal. It has a limited life before it's used up. Another semi radical option might be to get a plastic drop cloth, big enough to cover the whole carpet, taping it along the edges if possible. Then put cheap canvas drop cloths over the top of that so you aren't walking on plastic. That might keep any odors in the carpet from entering the air. Painted floor cloths are a big trend, and they are just those cloths painted with latex paint and then polyurethane. I think they look nice on their own, very natural and neutral.

I got the hardwood laminate flooring for my basement studio from Lowes. They had this nice Bruce flooring for half price, a special return. I asked the manager for a bigger discount and got it for a quarter of the original cost. You just have to prowl the local stores and keep asking.

Hubby definitely wouldn't go for a plastic drop cloth on the floor and any replacing of flooring would have to be the bathroom, then the main living area, and we can't even afford to do either of those and they badly NEED new flooring I actually am now thinking the odor is seeping from the window and not the walls. The past few days when it's been raining, we have not smelled the odor. Either the rain has been keeping it down or they've gone to their covered back patio to smoke instead of the uncovered front walkway. This weekend we'll be trying to seal up the window better.