When people buy or lease a new home, their expectation is always that the residence will smell good. If a home smells like cigarette smoke, its market value drops dramatically because it’ll receive fewer offers. That’s potentially good for you if you’re a buyer because it means that you could get a great deal. It’s a very bad thing if you’re a seller, though, because the smell of cigarette smoke can reduce a home’s value by as much as 29 percent.

There was a time when seemingly everyone smoked. Many of the homes in which those people lived are still standing today, but the majority of them don’t smell like smoke anymore because they’ve been cleaned out. You can do the same with your home. DIY smoke remediation is definitely possible, but it’s a project that you need to go into with both eyes open because you won’t get the result you want if you don’t handle the details properly. Here’s what you need to do.

If you want to do a cigarette smoke remediation project that’ll actually last, it’s imperative that you stop smoking in the home permanently. If you must have a cigarette, go outside. Better yet, grab a selection of Geek Bar flavors and make the switch to vaping instead. The vapor won’t penetrate and stick to porous surfaces in the way that cigarette smoke does, which means that it won’t leave a lingering objectionable smell.

The easiest way to remove the majority of a cigarette smoke smell from a home is by maximizing the airflow. If the weather is cooperative, open all of the windows and leave them open as long as possible. Consider placing box fans in windows at opposite ends of the home to increase the cross-ventilation. Although air circulation alone won’t remediate the home fully, it’ll help a great deal. Bear in mind, however, that it can take many days for this to produce noticeable results.

Before you begin your cigarette smoke remediation project in earnest, you need to make sure that the HVAC system is as spotless as it can be because all of the air in the home circulates through it. If the home has a central air-conditioning system, you’ll probably find that the coils smell strongly of cigarette smoke. The foaming aerosol coil cleaners available in most home improvement stores can make the system smell dramatically fresher. You should also replace any air filters and clean the ductwork.

Once you’ve taken care of the air circulating throughout the home, it’s time to start cleaning the residence itself. Start with solid surfaces such as the walls, ceilings, windows and any hard floors. Clean every surface with detergent and a generous amount of white vinegar, which bonds to odor-causing molecules and neutralizes them.

When you’ve completed the rest of your DIY smoke remediation project, it might be worthwhile to consider covering the walls and ceilings with odor-encapsulating primer and paint. Restorative paint products from brands like KILZ are specifically designed to seal away problems like mold, water damage and smoke residue. Repainting the home can be a very effective last step after you’ve done everything else.

Smoke can penetrate deeply into soft surfaces like furniture, carpets, bedding and drapes, making it very difficult to fully remediate these items after someone has smoked around them. The easiest way to take care of these items is by replacing them, so you should consider doing that if you have the budget. If not, here are some cleaning techniques that can help.

• Take removable items like curtains, blankets and sheets to a laundromat. Wash them in large machines with strong detergent, adding a cup of white vinegar to each load.

• Sprinkle baking soda liberally on the carpets and leave it there for a day. Vacuum it up and then clean the carpets with a commercial carpet shampooer.

• Sprinkle baking soda on your furniture and leave it there for a day before vacuuming it up. Also consider misting the furniture with white vinegar if it’s safe for the upholstery. Putting furniture outdoors in direct sunlight for a few hours can also be helpful, as the sun’s ultraviolet radiation can help to neutralize the odor-causing molecules.

• Leave saucers of white vinegar around the home for several days. Vinegar may not smell great, but it works very well for neutralizing airborne odors.

After you’ve done everything above, consider hiring someone to treat your home with an ozone generator for extra effect. Ozone is commonly used by professionals for cigarette smoke remediation, and it can neutralize almost any foul smell.

Homes are full of tight spaces that can’t be cleaned easily. It’s very difficult to scrub drawers, cabinets and closets in the same way that you would wash ceilings and walls. Clean these tight spaces to the best of your ability. If you find that they still smell like smoke afterwards, purchase small bags of activated charcoal online or at a local home improvement store. The extremely high surface area of activated charcoal makes it very absorbent, and it can remove the smell of cigarette smoke from hard-to-reach places. Place the bags strategically around the home and leave them for several weeks. When the bags start to smell like smoke, it means they’re working. Discard the bags and add new ones if the areas still smell.

If a home has been smoked in for many years, you may find that it has a bit of a lingering smoke odor even after you’ve done everything recommended in this guide. The smell will go away eventually as long as you continue to encourage maximum air circulation. It may be helpful, though, to augment your efforts with an air purifier. An air purifier is essentially a fan that forces air through a series of filters to remove allergens and unwanted smells. A good air purifier will typically have an activated charcoal stage that provides excellent odor absorption for several months.