I've often wondered this myself - great post! I have seen Property management companies applying a special treatment to homes that were lived in by smokers that they were repainting. Anway, here is some info from a site I found (reference:  http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/classifieds/homes/477477,3_7_PR22_NARIQNA_S1.article):

First clean walls and ceilings with Tri-sodium Phosphate (TSP). This will remove the nicotine build-up on the walls. Then apply a primer sealer to the walls. This will seal in any nicotine or smoke odor and stains on the walls and ceilings. The final step is to apply a fresh coat of paint. Any stained woodwork such as trim, doors and furniture just need a good cleaning with a mild detergent. You can also apply a polyurethane sealer. Again, this seals the odor in and creates a fresh surface. Next, follow up with a good carpet cleaning. You could do this yourself, but in this case, hiring a professional carpet cleaning company may be more effective. Let them know your primary concern is the smoke odor. Many carpet cleaning companies will also clean your vents, which may not be a bad idea. Change out your furnace filters. Your house should smell as fresh and clean as new.

Hope this helps :)

I suppose it beats replacing the carpet and ripping out the drywall. I'd be willing to bet that people have done that in order to get rid of these smells.

Plus, look on the upsite: You'll have a client with clean carpets and neutral colored walls! I always love the pinks and purples with the big mural of the princess in the kids room that people are attached to :)

Chantal - that is great advice! Thanks for taking the time to share.

Brian Wilson, Zolve.com

shouldn't Kilz take care of the walls? As to carpets, I had a listing kind of like that and after the owner stopped smoking there and then moved out, they got the carpets cleaned and the smell was pretty much gone. I would give the carpet a shot if it's otherwise in a good condition. But both carpet and walls should be taken care of pretty much at the same time so that the smell don't go right back in from the untreated one.

[Michaela sez: shouldn't Kilz take care of the walls?]

Theoretically it should seal in the 'yuck' but TSPing first, then Kilz is the ticket . . .

where do you get this TSP? I've never heard of it before. Just any home improvement stores?

TSP is GREAT stuff.  You can get it at most home improvement stores.  I know Lowes has it.

Caution!!!  Wear Gloves.  It is very hard on your hands.

Thanks, Joe. Good to know.

TSP - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trisodium_phosphate

Try a good carpet cleaning using a deoderizer and wiping down the walls with a TSP solution 1st.  Try that before you go out and paint/replace everything.  Like Joe said... follow the safety instructions!

Should be found at Lowes, Home Depot, Walmart, Kmart, etc.  Pretty common cleaner.

great post

Yes, TSP is easy to find and has been being used for a very long time . . . here are some more thoughts on how to de-smoke smell a house:

Change out AC/heater filter and if possible, have ducts cleaned.

Clean air intakes and registers.

If you're gonna replace the carpet, make sure and replace the tack strips too.

And you'll need to either replace or wipe down ALL blinds and rails and have all drapes cleaned.

Smoke permeates EVERYTHING. This is one of those fine toothed comb things.

Gloria,

A good professional carpet cleaning company can get the dirt and the smell out of the carpets.  As far as the walls go, if like you said the clients were heavy smokers cleaning probably will not get the stains off.  A professional painter should clean and prep the walls before painting.  A good house cleaning service can do the rest including cleaning the wood floors.  This should not take more than a week if your clients coordinate it properly.  

Good luck with your new listing.

Jana

Glorida, do all of it, my mom once moved into an apartment that had the carpet and pad replaced, the walls were painted 2 coats, new vinyl floors but after a few weeks the smell came back!!! By the time she moved out she had to replace the furniture, her clothes smelled like she was a smoker!  They must have skipped a few steps in the cleaning process, good thing she had lost her sense of smell, she could not smell it,  but for the rest of us it was awful. The landlord thought that maybe it had gotten into the drywall. On a good note the next renter going in there was a smoker!!!! At least it would not bother them!!