Airing Out Solutions to Tobacco Smells

Question: My daughter recently moved into an apartment that was previously occupied by a heavy smoker. The manager painted the entire apartment, shampooed the carpet and installed new drapes, but a stale odor still exists. Any suggestions on eliminating the smell?

C.S.

Laguna Niguel

Answer: “The walls may have been painted, but what about the ceiling?” asks Joe Ragsdale of Color Center in La Mirada. “If the ceiling’s acoustic and it hasn’t been painted, you’re probably getting a lot of odor from that. If the walls haven’t been prepared properly, it may still be coming from the walls. They should have been scrubbed with a detergent like TSP and rinsed. Then a sealer should be applied that will lock any odors into the wall. However, even after taking all these steps, you still may have some residual odor. Try keeping the windows open as much as possible to help air the rooms out. Eventually the odor will die out.”

Q: Tree roots are interfering with our underground sewer pipes, which we’ve had to have cleared. I’ve heard we can pour something down the drain to kill invading roots; what is it?

B.G.

La Palma

A: “There are some products you can use, the most effective containing copper sulfate,” says Rod Albright of Albright Plumbing and Heating Supply in Los Alamitos. “These are available at most plumbing stores, and they’re easy to use. The best time to do it is soon after the pipe has been cleared of root growth. Pour it down the drain at night or just before everyone in the house will be gone for a while. This allows the sulfate to work without being diluted by water running through the pipe from showers and drains. Doing it about twice a year is a good way to control root growth.”

Q: We have French doors on the south side of our house that are about 10 years old and are stained and varnished. Every year we have to sand and revarnish them because the finish becomes blistered and flaked. What can we do to prevent all the work so often?

L.W.

Costa Mesa

A: “Unfortunately, I don’t think you’re going to find much relief,” says Gene Teramura of Dutch Boy Home Decorating Center in Santa Ana. “If you haven’t already, you could try a marine spar varnish, which is used on boats and is designed for heavy use, although it does tend to yellow over time. The sun really wreaks havoc on finishes, as does exposure to the elements, and your annual revarnishing work is about normal. Check to make sure that you’re using a good, brand-name varnish or polyurethane finish that can be used for exterior wood and make sure your preparation is good.”

Q: The corners of a large mirror we have in our dressing room have been damaged by water and have become blotched. I don’t want to have to replace the mirror; can these areas be fixed?

A.L.

Irvine

A: “If it’s not an antique or an heirloom, you may want to avoid re-silvering because of the expense,” says Richard Morales of Westminster Glass & Mirror. “You might be able to replace it or have the bad areas cut away for less than the price of fixing it. Corners are especially vulnerable to damage, generally because of the chemicals used in glass cleaners, which get behind the mirror and damage it. I always recommend to people who buy a new mirror to have a sealer put on it to protect it from chemical damage.”

Q: We live in a noisy area and we’d like to know if installing dual-glazed windows will reduce outside noise enough to make it worth the expense.

S.D.

Seal Beach

A: “No one can tell you for certain that dual-glazed windows will solve all your problems,” says contractor Chris Stevens of Lake Forest. “You’ll probably notice a difference, since regular windows do allow most sounds from the outside into the house. But you’re probably also getting noise from the doors and ceilings. If you’re really undecided, it might be worth having an acoustic engineer come in and look at your windows and the sources of your noise and tell you how much of a difference you’ll hear with new windows.”