Hello Raptor,
I worked for a large (smoke, fire, water and mold ) restoration company prior to becoming a Sr. Large Loss Property adjuster for an insurance company, and have been working with getting rid of bad odors ( smoke, fire, water,body decomposition etc) for around 20years, and have some suggestions for you.
With regards to changing filters and cleaning the ducts, this is a must as the only way to get rid of an odor, is to remove the source. Make sure that the duct cleaning company is aware of your concerns, as they have ways of spraying deodorizers (spelling?) into the ducts once they are cleaned. Also i have attached a link to a product that we use to use in the business, when we were looking to get rid of residual odors, place some of these in the ducts, they are called bad odor sponges, and they absorb the odors. Changing the filter is also a big help
This is the cheapest way to get rid of the problem. The average cost of duct cleaning a normal 3br home ( in my area eastern PA )is approx $400.00, deodorization may be a little extra.
Bad Air Sponge link
http://www.thebadairsponge.com/cigarette_odor_remover.htmlNow the bad news, or better yet lets say the worse case scenario,
As you have found, painting may not work,as the smoke may have worked its way into the wall cavities of the home. No worries though, there is a way to take care of it. Any local Property damage restoration company should have a machine called an Ozone machine. Without getting all scientific on you, basically it is brought into a home along with a couple of airmovers ( fans help pressurize the home and pushes the Ozone behind the walls) What this machine does is uses electricity across metal coated porcelain plates, and takes the oxygen in the home and turns it into Ozone. Ozone is the best system out there to remove odors from a house. Think of the nice clean smell after a lightning storm, what has happened is the lightning turned the oxygen in the air to Ozone. Bars use to use them also to help get rid of the smells that bars get, smoke,stale beer, vomit etc etc. I once used Ozone to remove the odor in a home caused by a body decomposing for approx 2 months in 90degree heat. A good clean up did not work, removing the contaminated building componants did not work. After running the Ozone machine for 3 days, no odor. I mean nothing. The process is not all that expensive also, the down side is that you ( or your pets ) cant be in the home when they are doing it. ( no oxygen )
When the process is done, the home will have an odd odor, what it is is the lack of odor. I know that sounds weird but every home has a smell. A lived in, cooked in smell. What you will smell after the process is the lack of the homes normal lived in odor, but better yet the smoke smell will be gone. A couple of days of living in the home and cooking in the home and things will be right as rain again.
If you PM me your city, town and state i would be glad to see who is available in your area, and touch base with some of my fellow adjusters to see who could take care of you the best ( and most reasonable )
I was certified by the IICRC ( Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification,
http://www.iicrc.org/home.shtml) for the mitigation of odors, and many other insurance related restoration trades, and will be glad to help you in any way that i can.
If i had the time i would tell you about the lady that i had ( when i was a restoration contractor ) that had approx 15 cats, and used a childs plastic pool for the litter box, and hadn't changed the litter for 2 years, but that story is for another day ( btw, i got all the odor out of that house too
)
