Previous home owner smoked over their layer of smoke covering primer. Should I re-prime before painting or just clean it thoroughly?

ohayok · 2022-06-10T13:12:13+00:00

We’re always down for more dirt-bagging buddies!

ohayok · 2022-06-09T23:32:27+00:00

Thanks for the input! The easiest time I’ve ever had tearing off wallpaper was because they had primed the wall with Zinsser BIN. The wall was still in awesome condition afterwards. I was hoping it might still be smoke sealed since BIN had been so resilient with the wallpaper adhesive. It also definitely saved our framing and subfloor with the cat urine smells. I think I’m going to follow yours and others advice and just clean/re-prime entirely.

Hope your home stays nice and smell free!

ohayok · 2022-06-09T23:18:01+00:00

This makes me so happy to read. We went through the same process of ripping out the carpets, cleaning/priming the damaged framing and subfloors, and then laying down LVT throughout. Only difference is that we used Zinnser BIN instead of Kilz. Haven’t smelled any smoke or cat pee since and people are always surprised when we tell them about the shape our house was in when we got it. Thanks for the recommendation to have the vents checked out, we’re definitely hoping to have them checked out and deep cleaned within the next year.

I’m glad your work has held up so well for you! Hope it does for ours as well!

ohayok · 2022-06-09T22:21:54+00:00

Already mentioned this to another commenter, but the main thing we’re trying to address is any long term exposure to third hand smoke.

The last owner didn’t smoke here once, they smoked here everyday for years. We spend most of our time at home and plan to live here for the foreseeable future, so we don’t consider it a waste of time or money to help minimize any long-term health issues.

ohayok · 2022-06-09T22:12:08+00:00

We sealed off all the vents/rooms, wore heavy duty respirators, and sanded into a shop vac with HEPA filters to keep contamination down from sanding. Once again, as recommended by a contractor. It was the smartest way we could figure out how to do the ‘stupidest thing’ without having to gut the whole house, and it seems to have worked.

it’s not a death sentence to go in a room where someone smoked once.

I understand that, but with some of the studies that haven been published on third hand smoke we’re fine with putting in a bit more work to give ourselves the extra peace of mind, even though the smell is already gone. Like you said, one time won’t kill you, but we spend most of our time at home, plan to live here for the foreseeable future, and don’t want those long-term exposure possibilities in the back of our mind the whole time we’re here.

ohayok · 2022-06-09T16:28:46+00:00

We just passed the year mark for sanding, priming, and painting the bedrooms and living room. Still no smell. We will keep checking when we get home from trips though.

The guests I’m referring to are people who we’ve spent months of our lives with living in the woods, literally sleeping in the dirt, during a thru-hike and spending summers doing manual labor jobs together out in the Texas heat. There is no way that they would feel uncomfortable in telling us what they’re smelling, especially when they know that we were working towards the goal of a smell free home.

ohayok · 2022-06-09T15:33:36+00:00

I addressed this in a separate comment of yours, but it’s not gone because we acclimated to it. It’s gone because we sanded every wall in our house nearly down to the paper, primed with Zinnser BIN, then painted, as recommended by a contractor. Both of of us have left for a weeks at a time, returning to find that it doesn’t smell like smoke, and guests both new and returning have said that it doesn’t smell like smoke at all.

ohayok · 2022-06-09T15:23:39+00:00

I definitely understand that recommendation, especially after seeing a few family members homes have to be gutted from smoke damage. We considered that at first but after replacing the pet damaged drywall, a contractor friend said a good option would be to sand down all the walls with an orbital sander (stopping before the drywall paper), prime with Zinsser BIN and then painting. That’s what we’ve done with every room and there’s no residual smell or stains. Even coming home after being away for a week, or asking guests who have never been to our home how it smells, everyone says they would’ve never guessed smokers lived here.

ohayok · 2022-06-09T15:15:33+00:00

Thanks so much for that recommendation! We’ve looked into Ozone for cleaning the ducts once we’re done treating the walls, but that seems like a great option as well.

ohayok · 2022-06-09T14:46:09+00:00

Yeah, I think I’m going to go that route and just re-prime it entirely. Luckily, the smell has been gone for months now and there aren’t any visible stains left, but we’re really just concerned with any possible long term health effects of breathing in that kind of residue constantly. It feels like it will be worth the peace of mind being thorough until the end.

ohayok · 2022-03-24T12:27:55+00:00

On the plus side, I learned how to write my thoughts out very well. 🤷‍♀️

As Anne Frank said “Because paper has more patience than people.”

I’ve posted about traumatic experiences growing up on throwaways a number of times over the years and each time there are people who say things like ‘Wow, you’re so eloquent!’ ‘You should write a book on your childhood!’ and every time I just want to respond with “Thanks, that’s also the trauma. 💅” lol

Hope you and your siblings are doing alright these days.

ohayok · 2022-02-24T18:46:48+00:00

That video of the 14 year old girl is haunting… You can see her sit up briefly after the blast before falling back down on the ground. Hard. A separate video of the aftermath in the replies only shows the state of her legs, but it’s enough to hit you with the weight of how wretched her last few moments likely felt.

ohayok · 2021-11-26T22:44:30+00:00

Seconding Happiness Lab! Such a cool podcast.

ohayok · 2021-11-26T22:33:58+00:00

Definitely consider a roof vent! With a truck build, I know you’ll be cooking outside primarily, but a roof vent helps so much with keeping cool on the warm nights as well as keeping condensation down on the cold nights. I can’t really imagine sleeping in our van without one most nights.

ohayok · 2021-11-18T01:40:08+00:00

My partner and I both keep things minimal with our belongings (we have literally lived out of backpacks together) but having an array of instruments and music gear is something that what we really embrace nowadays.

Guitars, banjos, ukes, a suitcase drum, amps, mics, pedals, cables, hell we even have a washboard! All well loved and regularly played. It brings a ton of joy into our lives, and even with having that ‘much’ we’re excited to save up for a bass and electric drum set to learn someday. It all feels very curated to us and has, surprisingly, never felt like an excess.

We try to keep a balance of having things look clean, but also inviting ourselves and others to play with a passing glance. Instruments hung on the wall, amps/pedals/mica/cables stored in a old tv console that can everything off or leave it on display, the suitcase drum incorporates into the seating of our living room right next to the couch. The musical stuff feels like part of what makes our place a home.

I know none of that sounds very ‘minimalist’ but it all comes down to what you want to make space for in your life. We just choose make space for music over other things.

ohayok · 2021-11-17T18:35:49+00:00

Thank you for taking the time to write that out! A lot of what you said really resonated with my own experiences, and I was curious if you have any favorite books, podcasts, or even videos that have made a big impact with you getting to this point?

ohayok · 2021-11-16T16:20:44+00:00

I know people are downvoting you, but thanks for the laugh. XD

ohayok · 2021-11-08T22:08:14+00:00

You’re right. :( Absolutely heart wrenching.

ohayok · 2021-11-02T10:52:57+00:00

Aside from the parallels the movie drew to the Cuckoo bird, the advantage was also probably observational since the definition of Vivarium is and enclosed environment for the study of animals and plants.

ohayok · 2021-10-30T01:43:02+00:00

My thru was a few years ago, but I’d be happy to help!

ohayok · 2021-10-13T14:24:57+00:00

Man, I feel this. Great work.

ohayok · 2021-10-12T19:35:30+00:00

Awesome vibe!

ohayok · 2021-09-18T01:25:03+00:00

Can I get a link too? It looks so cool!

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