I have been smelling phantom cigarette smoke(update)

[Pinot's Mom]

Wash or replace your pillow. They hold smells unbelievably long. That's my only suggestion....

[Medusa]

I experienced the phantom smell but not of cigarette smoke but of Pine Sol. When I was cleaning houses, a client asked me to use Pine Sol and I obliged but when I opened the bottle, I hit the floor. When I came to, I had to go home and the smell was so overpowering that I had to drive w/all the windows open in the dead of winter. I was sick in bed for 3 days b/c of it and I smelled and tasted Pine Sol for two weeks after that. It just finally went away on its own but I never want to experience that again. I feel for you, truly.

[kokopup]

Thanks everyone for the advice and stories of similar experiences. I have done everything but the Vicks trick. I will give it a try tomorrow. Vicks is sure better than an ashtray. I hope that it will eventually go away on it's own because it's really driving me crazy. I have lived in my home for 17 years and there has never been a cigarette near my home but right now it seems to reek of cigarettes. My wife assures me it's in my head because she can't smell a hint of cigarettes. Tomorrow out comes the Vicks.

[kitten645]

Have you tried a Neti Pot? It takes a couple of times to get used to it but I swear it has helped my sinus and nasal passages greatly. I highly recommend it.
Claudia

[Catlady711]

I've experienced phantom smells from time to time, but they just go away by themselves.
I don't know if this is relative or not, but with me, it is always the smell of something burning - anything from wood to electrical - and always in or around the house. I drive myself bonkers looking for the source if I am home by myself, but if others are home and say they don't smell anything, then I just ignore it.

I know the feeling!! I'm frequently convinced something in my house is going to burn up, but everyone else swears they don't smell a thing.