What Is Thirdhand Smoke?
Thirdhand smoke is the residue tobacco smoke leaves behind. A 2014 study in PLOS One describes it as residual tobacco smoke that sorbs to indoor surfaces and remains after most of the airborne components of the smoke have cleared. The Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, a California research center, says it can linger for years in dust and on household surfaces and become embedded in carpets, furniture, clothes and building materials.
Studies back up how long it lasts. The center says its studies have found high levels of thirdhand smoke on surfaces more than 5 years after the last known cigarette was smoked. A 2011 article in Environmental Health Perspectives reported that its constituents have been measured indoors months after smoking last occurred, and the 2014 PLOS One study found fabrics aged 19 months after smoke exposure still retained significant amounts of thirdhand smoke chemicals, though it reported that standard washing easily removed nicotine and related compounds from cotton.
The center describes three approaches to removing it from a home, cleaning washable household objects, cleaning unwashable items and cleaning the home's structure. It says that if thirdhand smoke is embedded in building materials, the only way to guarantee the residue is gone is to completely remodel by removing and replacing walls, flooring and air ducts.
Sources checked September 15, 2026. Every point below links the page it came from.
The sources behind this answer
- StudyA 2014 PLOS One study describes thirdhand smoke as residual tobacco smoke that sorbs to indoor surfaces and remains after most of the airborne components of the smoke have cleared. PLOS One, via PubMed Central ↗
- Medical referenceThe Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center says thirdhand smoke can linger for years in dust and on household surfaces, become embedded in carpets, furniture, clothes and building materials, and be difficult and expensive to remove. Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, via web.archive.org ↗
- StudyThe Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center says its studies have found high levels of thirdhand smoke on surfaces more than 5 years after the last known cigarette was smoked. Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, via web.archive.org ↗
- StudyA 2011 article in Environmental Health Perspectives reported that thirdhand smoke constituents have been measured in indoor spaces months after smoking last occurred. Environmental Health Perspectives, via PubMed Central ↗
- StudyThe 2014 PLOS One study found that fabrics aged for 19 months after smoke exposure retained significant amounts of thirdhand smoke chemicals. PLOS One, via PubMed Central ↗
- StudyThe 2014 PLOS One study reported that nicotine and related compounds, including two carcinogens, can easily be removed from cotton fabrics by standard washing methods. PLOS One, via PubMed Central ↗
- Medical referenceThe Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center describes three approaches to removing thirdhand smoke from a home, cleaning washable household objects, cleaning unwashable items and cleaning the home's structure. Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, via web.archive.org ↗
- Medical referenceThe Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center says that if thirdhand smoke is embedded in building materials, the only way to guarantee the residue is gone is to completely remodel, removing and replacing walls, flooring and air ducts. Thirdhand Smoke Resource Center, via web.archive.org ↗
Sources checked September 15, 2026. A brand statement is the company’s own claim, which we report but have not verified. Our grades are model-based estimates, not lab tests.