If I scratch my head long enough, 
I can usually figure out how something in a home got to be the way it is. This picture shows such an opportunity---and it took me quite a while to come up with the answer.
So take a look at the picture below.
Can you figure out how the wall got marked like this?
Now imagine a couch under the window.
Then picture the curtains being drawn for 25 years.
Next, turn on the TV, sit on the couch and smoke cigarettes for 25 years.
As the air circulates under the couch and up behind the curtain (or visa-versa)----each fold acting like a little chimney----the cigarette smoke collects on the wall between the folds of the curtain. The only requirement for this to happen (with the cigarette smoke as a given)-----don't move the curtains!
While this house wasn't quite as bad as one I blogged about previously----it was still bad enough for me to ask once again: "Cigarette anyone?"
Charles Buell
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It looks really scary, how was the smell?
Anne
Thank GOD that is a habuit I never picked up!
Hi Charles, Helped a friend clean/paint a house in which the couple were chain smokers ! The entire house and all surfaces were a dull yellowish color which would not accept primer paint ! Tried cleaning the floors with a commercial scrubber and strong chemicals. Imagine the inside of theri lungs !!!
I don't think homeowners who smoke realize how they could be negatively affecting their property value. If you must do it, consider smoking outside or this could be your walls!
The carpet looks to be "done" as well...nice use of the emoticons!
Hi Charles. I have seen ceiling stains like that. The stain is only located where the joists or rafters are contacting the sheetrock, and you get that 'jailhouse' look. Pretty good assumption on your part, Sherlock! - Ray
It makes me think, "glad it's not my house!". I had this experience with a flip house that we purchased. The occupants had smoked for many years inside the house and all the walls were brown. We had to hand scrub each wall with cleanser, then two coats of primer, and two coats of paint. The neighbors couldn't believe the difference at the first open house! I love the stories of what everyone else experiences out there! Keep them coming!
Anne, these types of house ALWAYS smell REALLY bad!
Katie, I used to have the "habit"----not for 26 years though
Bill, unfortunately, walls are more forgiving than lungs
Liz, yes, smoke outdoors if you must
Gary, sure you don't want to buy some used carpeting? Maybe Craig's List?
Ray, that "jail-house" look can be very pronounced.
Tina, thanks for stopping by----it is always going to be a pain in the "butt" (nice pun yes:) cleaning up these conditions
Smoking and pets cause an awful lot of damage at many homes I see.
Charles, I am starting to think you have genius qualities. Not only are you knowledgeable from the inspection standpoint, but you are like the house detective. Now how did this condition occur? Brilliant! This one wasn't quite like the dirty dog story but shows how heavy smoking can impact a house. This is SUCH a people business for all of us isn't it??
Steve, so true
Gary, better use spell check---I am sure you meant "genus":)
Charlie, that wall is awful. I put up a blog about smoked-walls a few weeks ago and got the photo from the MLS. I was surprised the other day when I actually went inside the house while showing homes to a client. It smelled so bad we could hardly stay inside it. Now it has been reduced. It will have to be bought by a smoker.
I was wishing you were around this week because I'm visiting in a home that has a musty smell. I think it is from an enclosed patio that was built without any visqueen or barrier between the concrete and the soil. Do you think that is a good assumption?
P. S. I love having a free home inspector!!
Barbara, I can't be sure. In your neck of the woods I would think that patios on the ground would be prone to condensing moisture out of the air---especially if they were already saturated because of no moisture barrier under it. Moisture in enclosed spaces then becomes bad juju and could very easily lead to mold etc. Any carpeting on the floor?
Cigarette smoke causes so many problems, not just in the lungs but all over a home, car or any other closed in area where people choose to smoke. Nasty Habit
Sean Allen
Charles you are right on about the cigarettes... When I first looked at the picture, the first thing that came to mind were the butts... Amazing isn't it what 25 years of smoke accumulation will do... I wonder what their lungs looked like...
I posted an article yesterday that was picked up as a featured post today, called "This House Smells Like an Ashtray! Pay Now or (really) Pay Later". It didn't cover anything like this though. YUCK! Can you imagine not moving/opening drapes for the length of time it would take for this to happen? Unbelievable!
Sean, couldn't agree more----want to meet for a smoke some time?
Michael, it would be quite the mountain of butts wouldn't it?
Kathy, congrats on the feature---I will check it out.
My wifes grandmother died and we found the same things in her house.
Michael, it would be interesting to know how many cumulative years of human lives have been wiped away by cigarettes.
Man...that's some nasty stuff. I won't take a listing that's been smoked in. They just won't sell. The ones with cats are next in line as expired listings.
Lizette, I wonder if these "smoked" houses were more common back 50 years ago when everybody smoked?