How to fill it in
Allow about an hour for a typical three-bedroom house or a two-bedroom condo.
Close up the night before
Shut windows and run the heat or air conditioning normally overnight so the home is in honest condition.
Gather supplies
Clean white cotton cloths or unscented baby wipes, zip bags, a marker, a step stool and your phone camera.
Sniff first
Step into each room from outside and note your first impression before your nose adjusts. Score it using the scale below.
Wipe three surfaces
Ceiling corner, the wall at eye level, and inside a closet or cabinet. Bag and label each cloth.
Note soft goods and floors
List carpet, drapes, upholstery and anything else absorbent left in the room.
Photograph
One wide shot, one of the ceiling and one of any visible staining.
Scoring scale
- 0
- No odor, clean cloths
- 1
- Faint odor noticed only up close; light tint on cloth
- 2
- Odor noticeable on entry; tan cloth from at least one surface
- 3
- Strong odor; brown, sticky cloth; visible yellowing on walls or ceiling
Worksheet
- Room
- Living room
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Drapes, carpet, sofa
- Planned action
- Room
- Kitchen
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- None
- Planned action
- Room
- Primary bedroom
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Carpet, closet clothing
- Planned action
- Room
- Second bedroom
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Planned action
- Room
- Den or study
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Planned action
- Room
- Bathrooms
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Towels, shower curtain
- Planned action
- Room
- Hallways and entry
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Coat closet
- Planned action
- Room
- Basement or garage
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Planned action
- Room
- Furnace and return grille
- Odor score
- Ceiling cloth
- Filter color:
- Wall cloth
- Closet or cabinet cloth
- Soft goods present
- Humidifier pad
- Planned action
Copy this layout onto paper or a spreadsheet and add a row for every room, closet and hallway.
Reading the finished sheet
Patterns matter more than any single score. A row of threes on the ceiling column with ones on the walls tells you the ceilings are the priority, which is common where someone smoked seated. High closet scores in otherwise moderate rooms point to stored clothing as a reservoir. A dark filter with modest room scores suggests the air system is doing much of the spreading.
Hand a copy to each provider you invite to bid and ask them to respond room by room. It becomes easy to see who plans to clean the closets and who skipped them, and it gives the painter a clear picture of which rooms will need a full coat of stain-blocking primer rather than spot work.
Common questions
Why bag the wipe cloths?
Labeled cloths give you a visual comparison between rooms and before-and-after evidence. They are also useful if you need to show a provider, a seller or an HOA what you found.
General information for Cherry Creek, not a quote or professional advice. In an emergency, call 911.