How Smoke Odour Might Affect Your Health 

The dangers of smoking cigarettes and being exposed to secondhand smoke are well known. But recently there has been a lot of research into whether the lingering odour of tobacco in a property can also cause health problems.

ICE Cleaning is a specialist cleaning company that offers cigarette smoke odour removal services. Its technicians use non-abrasive, non-toxic chemicals and state-of-the-art equipment to make properties safe and fresh-smelling. They are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, nationwide.

Continue reading to find out why a tobacco smell in your home can be harmful.

What causes the cigarette smoke odour?

If you smoke inside your home, the pollutants the cigarette releases can settle indoors. Known as thirdhand smoke, it contains nicotine and other dangerous, cancer-causing chemicals like formaldehyde and naphthalene.

Thirdhand smoke builds up like dust on hard surfaces such as walls and ceilings, and settles deep into porous surfaces like furniture, fabric, and carpets. It can remain for many months in a property even when you stop smoking inside.

What are the dangers of thirdhand smoke?

After the chemicals settle, they undergo an aging process which affects their chemical structure. Some of these chemicals form carcinogens and emit harmful gases into the air. Should you breathe in the gases or touch the pollutants, you could be at risk of many health problems.

According to research, it can cause cancer, heart disease, respiratory illnesses, and damage your DNA. However, there is no concrete proof to establish a link between thirdhand smoke and these health issues.

Thirdhand smoke is particularly hazardous because everyone inside the property is at risk, even if they don’t smoke. Children are especially vulnerable as they are likely to put their hands in their mouths after touching a contaminated surface.

As we tend to spend lots of time in our homes, people living in contaminated homes are also at risk of long-term exposure.

How to get rid of the smoke odour

Thirdhand smoke is very difficult to remove from a property because it embeds itself into surfaces and can therefore last for several months. Airing out the property, using fans and air purifiers, and cleaning surfaces, for example, cannot remove the smell.

To get rid of the odour, you must remove all the particles in your property. You can do this by bringing in professional cleaners for odour removal services, or replacing all your affected belongings and repainting the surfaces.

ICE Cleaning’s technicians are smoke odour removal specialists that have years of experience eliminating the most stubborn smells. It operates 365 days a year including bank holidays and its technicians can be on site in several hours in an emergency.

You can find out more about ICE Cleaning’s services on its website.