Filter for Owners and Sitters who smoke?

Owner Questions, Advice & Chat
21

I state in our profile and in our applications that we are non-smokers.

Maybe smoker hosts have declined our application, I have no way of knowing.

So far, we haven’t had a sit for a smoker, nor had a sitter for us that smoked.

I don’t know what I’d do if I got there and discovered a smoker household.

It takes weeks for me to recover from being in a smokey atmosphere, I have all the symptoms of having a heavy cold with bonus sore throat.

And smokers don’t realise, (looking at you, my brother) that even if they are only smoking outside, the smell permeates everything, their hair, their clothes, their sofa, their curtains, their pillows.

I can smell when someone in the car in front of me has lit up, or as in recently, someone, somewhere, in the (non-smoking) hospital had surreptitiously lit up. Bleugh!

A tick-box for both hosts and sitters would be wonderful!

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22

Home owner and ex smoker here! I used to smoke mostly outside and in the winter sometimes near the open windows, and within 7 or 8 years or so never had sitter complain about it. I remember one sitter that explicitly asked if I smoked and withdraw her application because of it, and one sitter who was an outdoor smoker and did smoke while house sitting for me. We didn’t discuss this before the sit at all, but I didn’t have any issues with it either.

Although my tolerance for the smell of smoke is getting worse with every year that I don’t smoke anymore, I still believe tolerance is the key. I am much more allergic to all this smoker bashing than smoke itself. If someone wants to make sure the other party doesn’t smoke at all, it’s a question that can be politely asked in the application email. Otherwise I still consider this a personal decision that I wouldn’t want to disclose in my profile.

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23

I apologize if it seems that I am “bashing” smokers. I am sensitive to the odors caused by smoke, therefore, I would like to know if the Owner smokes. That is all. I think it is a fair question, as it would be a dealbreaker for me. Smoking is absolutely within one’s rights. Great job for quitting!

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24

@PVGemini,

I add on my profile that I am a non-smoker because it can be a deal breaker for some HO. I would love to be able to select a filter as wanting non-smoking houses. As even if they aren’t there, if they are heavy smokers, all of my things are going to smell of smoke when I leave

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25

I’d like to add nuance to this thread & a cautionary tale for folks sensitive to smells: A home can be currently a “non-smoking home,” but still have residual odors of cigarette smoke (as in - it was formerly a smokers home,) which can be unsettling to someone who is very sensitive to smells.

We have been on a sit where the HO profile stated non-smoking home, so we had no hesitation to apply and confirm the sit. I didn’t even ask in the video chat about it - my mistake. But once inside, it was clear that smokers had resided in the home for a long time, even if that might not have been the current reality. It was clear that maybe these people used to be smokers, or the former owners of the home were smokers. The house had an underlayer of cigarette smoke scent, esp. noticeable in certain parts of the house. They also had heavy use of scented plugins maybe to mask or cover up the scent, but for someone like myself who is uber sensitive to any scents, that just made it worse.

Thankfully, none of the furniture, linens, curtains, blankets, etc smell of smoke (yes, I smelled everything), so I do think they are truthful in saying it’s currently a non-smoking home, but I am more than a little disappointed/disillusioned that there was not more transparency on their profile about this house formerly inhabited by smokers - whether it was them or former owners. The home clearly smells of residual cigarette smoke. But it’s also on me to not ask specifically, although I had no inkling that this could even be a situation prior to this sit!

I have nothing against them - they have a highly rated profile, with many 5 stars over the last few years, which is why I didn’t hesitate to apply and confirm. They welcomed me with a bottle of wine and a wonderful Home Guide. Their cats are easy peasy friendly companions. They even have a cleaning lady come every other week. However, had I known about the odor, I would never have applied because even the lightest scent of cigarettes is off-putting to me. Thankfully, I can manage for the next 2 weeks, but what if I was pregnant, or had a more severe allergy and could not stay in the home? Both sides would have been in a situation.

I think the question should be multiple:

-Are the HOs currently smokers?

-Do they smoke inside or nearby the house, even on occasion?

-Has the home EVER been a smoking home? (even prior owners)

If these don’t become questions/filters on the profile, they surely are questions I am asking in the video chat moving forward. And I even put it in my application now to bring more attention to our non-negotiables, so it’s very clear out of the gate.

Thanks for reading! Aside from this, we’ve had wonderful experiences on all sits and I know it’s a learning curve to refine how we each find the right fits for ourselves :slight_smile:

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