Does Vaping Stain Walls?

If you smoke, you are already aware of the effects cigarette smoke can have on your surroundings. If you smoke indoors, the impact of the smoke is apparent on walls. Your walls will take on a yellowish hue. This is caused by a gradual build-up of a compound found in cigarette smoke. However, this unsightly stain can be removed by adding a fresh coat of paint to your wall.

With that said, if you are a smoker, you are probably wondering if the same is true for vaping. With the amounts of vapor people get from vaping, your concerns are valid. But here’s the good news – smoking and vaping have different effects in a closed environment.

In this piece, we seek to uncover the truths.

What causes the stains?

To understand the differences, you need to understand what causes staining in the first place. Usually, cigarette staining is called nicotine staining. This is because nicotine has the power to stain your fingernails, teeth, and curtains. But nicotine is not the only staining culprit in cigarette smoke. There are numerous chemicals with staining tendencies as well.

Why not also read: Vaping Indoors UK Law

The resulting stain is difficult to clean off. If you have time and diligence, you can scrub the wall every day for several days. But why would you dedicate so much time when you can repaint the walls?

In addition to staining your wall, the chemical compounds also result in poor air quality and cause breathing problems.

So how is vaping indoors different?

Now that you know how cigarette staining works let’s have a look at what vaping vapor contains. The vapour indeed has some nicotine in it. But given that the nicotine is vapourised and not combusted, it doesn’t leave a similar residue. Most of the nicotine is absorbed instead of being blown away in the smoke. So does this mean that vaping causes more damage to your body that the walls?

Of course not. The second thing you need to take note of is that vapes contain reduced amounts of nicotine (significantly lower than nicotine levels in cigarettes). It’s also worth noting that the nicotine in vaping isn’t combined with other chemicals. Experts say that second-hand vape vapour is just like ambient air only with a fruity scent.

Because of this, there is a world of difference in the length of time it takes for the stains to build-up and the type of stains that form.

So does vaping stain walls?

The simple and direct answer for this is – yes, eventually. But even then, the resulting stain doesn’t cause the same damage as cigarette smoke does. The fact that it contains reduced levels of nicotine means it will take ages for stains to appear.

Why not also read: Top 10 Vaping Safety Tips

But on the flip side, vapour in the room will pick up dirt and dust faster than cigarette smoke. So if your room is always full of vapour, there are high chances that a lot of the dust in the room will get stuck to surfaces (including walls) in the room.

Luckily, you can easily clean off dirt and dust using a sponge. And you don’t have to do it every other day. Also, the air quality in your room will not change drastically.

Overall, vaping can stain your wall, but it will take ages even with intense vaping. However, getting zero nicotine e-liquid will eliminate staining chances altogether.