Smoking in the house

[Cheroot]

This must have been asked before, but a quick search with the title showed too many generic results.

I always smoke outside, but due to the upcoming Michigan winter, I am considering smoking a pipe inside the house. Just ordered Boswell's Christmas Cookie and Chocolate Cream. I will most likely smoke one bowl a day. House is a decent size with half hard-wood and half carpet. Walls are off-white.

What I'm wondering is:
1) How bad is the lingering smell the next morning? The day after? Even if the room note is nice, I'd prefer it gone by morning.
2) Will the couch (not leather) or carpet absorb the smell? How long would it take to go away if I stopped?
3) I am planning to try this out for a month, and stopping if I see bad results. Is this enough time for the walls to change color?
4) Will the smoke alarm go off? I am planning on disconnecting the closest one to the smoking area.

Thanks for any advice you can give to this newb pipe smoker.

-Cheroot

[ongreystreet]

I don't have any experience with the smoke, but a good air cleaner will do a lot for odors. I use to fry up sausage and my house would smell like it for a day. Got an air cleaner, for other reasons, now when I cook it eats up the smell.

[bkeske]

Being divorced/single, I don't have to worry about others objections. But....

You might think about an air cleaner. They can get very expensive, but I recently purchased a 'Surround Air' multi-tech 3000-C which has a replaceable filter that does a pretty good job, and only cost about $105.00. The replacement filters are about $25-30. That said, you can spend upwards of $500-800 for some, and some may be well worth it, but I am pretty pleased with the 'Surround Air' for the money.

Search the Internet and you will probably find the link for it.

I have been using air cleaners for some time now. As I am a cigarette smoker, and working many days out of my home office, it can become an issue, but since picking up a pipe again, have smoked very few of them (yea !). Lingering cigarette smoke/stench even bothers me, but my pipe, not so much. Regardless, I still run the air cleaner(s) in my office and my first floor constantly.

....... ;-) ongreystreet beat me to it. And he is right, I get more bothered by cooking odors than smoke much of the time.

[Reverie Forest]

How bad is the lingering smell the next morning? The day after? Even if the room note is nice, I'd prefer it gone by morning.
Depends on ventilation. Ideally, you could have a small fan propped up the window blowing out, acting as an exhaust. If I maintain this set up while smoking and a half hour after, there are no lingering smells detected.
I've found that aromatic blends, though smelling delicious at the moment, degrade into a much more sour odor than what the ''pure" tobaks leave behind.
I am planning to try this out for a month, and stopping if I see bad results. Is this enough time for the walls to change color?
Highly unlikely
Will the smoke alarm go off? I am planning on disconnecting the closest one to the smoking area.
You have a...sound...plan.

[Requiem]

Air cleaner. I use "Oust" with good results... the wife stopped complaining, in the morning.

[ongreystreet]

Originally Posted by Reverie Forest

Will the smoke alarm go off? I am planning on disconnecting the closest one to the smoking area.
You have a...sound...plan.

Is the detector wired or battery powered? I have a battery powered one designed for kitchen use (Kidde with Hush button) basically if it's start going off you hit the button and it won't go off again for quite awhile. This is good because you won't run into the problem of disconnecting your smoke detector to smoke and forgetting to reconnect it afterwards.

[Hermit]

Two words:
Window fan.

[paul1454]

While my wife is at work, I will smoke in the house. Granted, this ends up being only about 3-4 bowls per week, but she has yet to notice (and believe me, she has a nose for lingering smoke smells). But, after reading about these air cleaners, I think I'm going to have to spring for one!

[Pipe Organist]

If I may recommend, Honeywell makes a line of absolutely fantastic room air purifiers. The one I have will recirculate filtered air (two-stage filtering: charcoal prefilter and HEPA secondary filter) up to 6 times an hour and is good for up to 350+ sq. ft.

Well worth it, I can tell you!

As I've taken up rooms in my parents' house, and they being "reformed" smokers, they wouldn't let me smoke my pipes in my rooms without it. So far, no complaints! (Cigars are, however, non grata, purifier or otherwise).

[StufnPuf]

I live in an apartment and have vaulted ceilings and you can't smell it at all the next day. I would stay away from the window fan idea because you will have to keep the window open and your heating the house plus blowing the hot air out...not very efficient. I would do as others reccomended and get an air purifier.

[Pypkius]

Since pipe is not inhaled and the main pleasure comes through my nose, I hate to smoke outside, unless there is very little wind and I'm still, not walking that is..
So most of my time I smoke in my lounge. I keep the window slightly opened, and fortunately enough, the smell does not permeate upstairs to the bedroom, nor does it linger in the lounge the next morning, which is why I love pipe smoking.
I don't smoke aromatics, which tend to stay in the room , and if smokier blends, i.e. balkans or ropes leave smell in the room, then my wife would light up an insense stick to soak that. However, no major issues so far!!

[tmanqz]

Being a fellow Michigander I feel your pain.
I have dedicateded a small bedroom as a winter haven for smoking, recenetlly divorced and have plenty of space now.
I will crack the window to exhuast the smoke, turn the heat off before doing so and shut the bedroom as to not suck the heat out of your home.
A decent air purifier and hit the room with oust or Fabreeze afterwords.
Furniture in room is 2 leather chairs and a table.
Walls painted with washable paint to ease cleaning. Door has gasket around edge to keep smoke sealed in this room only.
This does the trick. Room smells a little smoky but not bad and the smell is contained in this room only.
Hope this gives you some ideas.
Good luck this winter.

[RJpuffs]

Originally Posted by Hermit

Two words:
Window fan.

be sure to point the airflow OUT, so it sucks all the smoke out instead of bringing icicles in. Sit as close as sensibly possible to the window/fan so the smoke spends less time percolating around and sticking to furniture. Regardless of what you do, be prepared for spousal screeching

[Roddy]

I picked up a bit of an attitude years ago. I figure it's my house and I'll do what I want in it. If I want to paint green stripes down the walls then that's what I'll do. If visitors don't like the smell of the place they can move on. I don't smoke in their house but they'd better not complain about the smell of mine or their visit is going to be mighty short.

My wife used to want to please everybody else. Over the years she's gotten to be just like me.

[Cheroot]

Lots of great ideas in this thread, I want to thank everyone for their input. Window fan sounds popular, but I'd hate to blow out hot air as others mentioned. I already have a window fan, and a small bedroom upstairs, so I will give this a shot nonetheless.

As for the air purifiers, if the smell is bad enough to require one, I'll most likely just move to the garage and use my space heater instead. It's cramped, and without entertainment, but it is quiet.

I will definitely look into Oust as suggested, sounds like good stuff to keep around even if nothing is being smoked. Thanks again for the advice.