gray wood paneling

[Karen Sanderson]

Hello group, just bought a property for a rental unit. End row home, LOTS of nicotine, old carpet, old everything.... the unit has lots of gray paneling (covered in nicotine)... thought about cleaning then painting said paneling as the WHOLE HOUSE (think 5 br, lr, dr, kit) has it..... the only places that don't are the bathroom and basement.

Thoughts?

[Marcia Maynard]

We use white vinegar to get rid of cigarette odor. Works wonders for other kinds of odors too. Also cuts grease nicely. It is a safe product than can be used without a respirator. It is also less toxic to the environment. It does not damage surfaces such as wood, paint, plastic, glass, some metals, and some cloth. It will however dull some finishes, so if you intend to keep the finish check into it. Always rinse soon after with water. On some projects we use vinegar full strength.

In the days when there was smoking allowed in clubs, my piano entertainer husband would sometimes come home with the foul smell of cigarette smoke in his clothing. We would hang the clothing above a pan of full strength white vinegar and by morning the smell would be gone. We figured it would work nicely on the walls and woodwork of our properties too. Great for cleaning windows and window frames too.

On the house that I mentioned above, we paid three 14 year olds $10 an hour to do the first wash. Two of the kids were twins, the son/daughter of someone from our church, plus one of their friends. It was summer and the kids were idle. Since they recently had started smoking because they thought it cool, their moms were eager to keep them busy and learn a lesson about nicotine at the same time. I worked alongside them. When they first saw the yellowish goo drip off the walls, I started talking with them about nicotine and its affect on the body. By the end of the first day, the girl swore off cigarettes, soon after the boys followed suit.

When it came time to wash with TSP, and the more environmentally friendly TSP substitute, we had adult workers do the work and it was done much more quickly and effectively because of the vinegar pre-wash.

Here is something to read about vinegar and it's many uses!  http://vinegartips.com/