Singing Loudly

The smell of cigarette smoke was pretty strong in my apartment when I moved in, so I've been trying to get rid of the smell using a variety of methods. I've sprayed Febreeze enough to make the carpet soggy, lit candles, and used various plug in air fresheners.

The smell remains.

I resorted to my last ditch effort: calling Mom. Mothers always have some sort of a cure for problems such as these. Indeed, she suggested that I should boil some water and vinegar because the vinegar is good at absorbing smells.

Why not?

On my first try I boiled a lot of water with a little bit of vinegar. I could smell the faint odor of vinegar in the air while the water was boiling. I cleaned up the mess after all the water was boiled and went to bed.

Mission accomplished? No. I got home last night and was overpowered with the smell of cigarette smoke.

Did I not use enough vinegar? I guessed not, so I took off to the store to buy a nice sized drum of vinegar. Nothing is stopping me now. The lingering effect of someone who smoked in their home is soon to be erradicated. (By the way, who smokes inside their home? Don't most people, even serious smokers, go out on the balcony? I just envision this 80-year-old lady who has smoked her whole life and couldn't give a crap anymore sitting on the couch puffing away while watching day time soaps. Maybe I'm incorrect.)

Last night I poured a little bit of water into the pot and then a lot of vinegar. I got it boiling and went to the living room to finish a book. It wasn't long before I could no longer read as my eyes were watering. I smelled the odor of vinegar overpowering me. Then I look to where Sophia is laying because I hear a noise.

"Bless you," I offer.

She sneezes again. "Bless you." She doesn't understand my offering. Of course, being a cat, she is a little confused about what the source of the sneeze is, so she doesn't leave the room. I can barely breathe, yet I don't leave the room either. Instead, I venture closer to the boiling water where the air starts to burn my nostrils.

Sophia comes over to see what it is that I'm doing and sneezes. Then she sneezes again. I see that there isn't too much left to boil, but I don't want her sneezing anymore, so I pick her up and take her to my bedroom. In there my eyes still were watery, but I couldn't smell the vinegar as strong in the air.

The sneezing stopped. Feeling confident that she will remain in my bedroom I go back to clean up the boiling vinegar. Sophia stays in my room as she started to scratch on her little box. I come back a few minutes later ready to go to bed.

Let us only hope that the smell of cigarette smoke is gone, because I can't figure out which is worse. Being in a room with vaporized vinegar or stale cigarette odor.