We clean sheer, night and lined curtains in Riga and the Riga region, from €2.30/m² of fabric. Send a photo and write whether only the curtains smell or the whole room.
Why smoke smell stays in curtains
In a study of tobacco smoke residue in textiles (Bahl et al., 2014), the residue stayed in cotton and polyester for 19 months. An overview in Tobacco Control concluded that ordinary methods, such as cleaning carpets, repainting walls and wiping surfaces, often reduce the smell and the residue only for a time.
Curtains are a large area of fabric hanging at a window, in the path of moving air, so they can take up the smell from the whole room and take it up again after cleaning.
Sources: Bahl et al., 2014 (tobacco residue in textiles); the Tobacco Control overview on thirdhand tobacco smoke. Checked 07.11.2026.
If the whole room smells
If the smell is in the walls, the ceiling, the soft furnishings and the carpets, cleaned curtains will soon take it up again. Then curtain cleaning is only part of the work. For treating the room, see room smell treatment. If smoking continues in the room, the smell will come back in any case.
Nicotine yellowing on sheer curtains
Light sheer curtains in a smoky room can turn yellowish. This yellowing can fade with cleaning, but not every yellowing can be removed, and we do not promise whiteness. More on the page sheer curtain cleaning.
Curtain cleaning after a fire
After a fire, or smoke from a neighbour’s flat, the smell and the soot are all over the room. Curtains are only one of the things that have taken them up. Send a close-up photo of the curtains and write what happened; before the job, a specialist tells you what to expect. If the fabric is scorched or melted, cleaning does not repair it.
Cleaning curtains for grease and kitchen smell
Kitchen curtains take up fumes from the hob, and they can turn yellowish. If the curtains hang close to the hob, write that in the request and add a photo of the bottom and the edges of the fabric.
With pick-up or on site
For curtains with a smoke smell, cleaning with pick-up is usually the better choice: the curtains are cleaned in a workshop and brought back. While the curtains are away, there is time to air the room and clean other surfaces. If it is hard to take the curtains down yourself, see curtain take-down, cleaning and rehanging; it is priced case by case.
What to do before the request
- Write whether only the curtains smell or the whole room.
- Photograph the curtains and the label, and measure the width and length of each curtain.
- Do not mask the smell with perfume or an air freshener: then it is harder to tell how strong it is.
- If there are carpets that smell too, write about them in the same request.
How much it costs
Thin and day curtains, sheers: from €2.30/m². Heavy, night and double curtains: from €3.70/m² of fabric. Example: one large window with two night curtains, each 2 × 2.8 m: 11.2 m² × €3.70 = €41.44, so the charge is €45. The minimum order is €45: if the total is lower, you pay €45.
Pick-up and return in Riga costs €10 (both ways together); in the Riga region up to about 15 km from the Riga boundary it is also €10, and further out another €10 is added. All prices: prices.
What usually comes out and what may stay
Usually comes out
- smoke and kitchen smell may fade;
- dust and greyness;
- part of the yellowing on sheers.
May stay
- smell, if it comes back from the room or if smoking continues in the room;
- old nicotine yellowing;
- burns and melted fibre after a fire;
- soot marks that have soaked into the fabric.
Sources
- Tobacco smoke residue stayed in cotton and polyester for 19 months checked 7 November 2026
- Carpet cleaning, repainting and wiping often reduce smoke residue only for a time checked 7 November 2026
- Light dries fibres and fades colours checked 10 November 2026
