camlan - at first I thought it was coming through the bathroom vent, so I closed it. However, I have still smelled it in my bedroom, so it may very well be the ventilation ducts. It's funny, because I went to the office and explained everything and they told me that my upstairs neighbor had mentioned the same thing (I think she said that it was coming from her linen closet which is also located in the bathroom). To the best of my and the office's knowledge, neither the upstairs nor the downstairs neighbor smokes, so it's kind of a mystery. The office said they were going to have maintenance look into it to see what could be done, so at least they're willing to try to do something about it. Since the OP, I haven't smelled anything yet. gammyt - Really? No complaint? Soooo a health issue isn't a valid complaint if it IS cigarette smoke? If it is not, then it still needs to be looked into as something may not be functioning properly.

This could be tough. I am convinced there are oils in cigarette smoke which can permeate just about anything. My mom was a heavy smoker. After her death, everything fabric in her home had to be thrown away. Walls had to be painted with Kilz, a special primer-type paint that is also a sealer. As for leather, you could try wiping with a cloth dipped in vinegar, then let it air-dry as long as possible, perhaps in an empty room or enclosed porch. If you get a suuny dry day, hang it outdoors. Good luck.

The previous owner of our house smoked. I kept getting a whiff of smoke every once in a while. Turns out it was the light bulbs in one of the closets. You really do need to wash down each and every surface. Priming and repainting will seal any smells on the walls if that is where they are coming from. You could also look into having a company come in and run an ozone machine.

The smell is coming from some type of mold or fungus growing in your PVC pipes. I have this problem in the kitchen of one of my beach condos. Every couple of years I have to replace the disposal, and the pipes under the sink. The smell is SOOOO strong, and nothing will get rid of it. It took years to figure out the cause. I have soaked the PVC pipes in about everything, and it will not go away. But it is seasonal, flares up worst in the fall. Smells exactly like stale cigarettes. Will permeate everything, blankets, soft surfaces, everything stinks. The smell will penetrate black garb bags, thick ones, even 2 or 3 over each other (I wrapped the pipes to buy the same ones and it stunk up my car, even triple wrapped). I have no idea what type of mold this is, or fungus, but it's bad, and it's like the fungus smell is actively spewing from the sink. It will stink up the entire place. I'm not sure how to really solve the problem for good. So I solve it periodically by replacing the PVC pipes under the sink and the disposal. Then gone. When it comes back, initially it smells vaguely organic like rotting cucumbers for a day or so, then like cigarettes, stale cigarettes. I hope that helps. I wish a biologist would find this blog and ask for a sample. I'd love to know what I'm dealing with. I'm happy to donate an old disposal for testing when it happens again. I've smelled this smell in nature too in swampy areas, but it's MUCH stronger when contained inside.