Rubbermaid makes these things called Odor Away, they are these small cartridges and they are AMAZING. i keep one clipped under my sink cabinet (ya know that odd smell) and this summer someone gave me a trash bag full of clothes to resell for them and they reeked of both cigarette smoke and wood burning stove smoke. i packed all the clothes into a large tote and put one of those Odor Away refills inside right on top of everything and closed it up for 4 days and the smell was gone. literally no smell, i sniffed each piece and didnt smell a thing, no after smell, no chemical smell ect, nothing. you can find them at walmart for $3 for 2 of them. they are small white carboard frame with black charcoal like thingy in the center.

Sometimes you can get it out if you take an airtight container (like rubbermaid) put a wire rack on the bottom to keep the item elevated and fill the container under the rack with baking soda. Seal it and let it set for a couple of days. The baking soda will absorb the smell. I will also do this with items that smell strongly of perfume too.

You can also try giving things like figurines a wash in a mixture of white vinegar and water. Vinegar is great for cutting odors as well. For things like glass and pottery it has the added benefit of a sparking shine without streaks. It will also cut grease and grime and lessen tobacco smoke stains. Don’t use on resin items, it can damage it, and be careful with flashed glass and handpainted items.

Distilled white vinegar is suppose to work for washing out vintage clothes. One tbsp. distilled white vinegar per 1 gallon of warm water. Liked this idea since it shouldn’t hurt the clothes.

Fresh air and if that isn’t possible due to the weather, charcoal. I learned this from an old coot who had a second hand store. He told me about a refrigerator he got once, it was nearly new, had been disconnected from electricity and everything inside went bad, REAL BAD. He said he mucked it out, actually hosed it out, dried it off a little bit and then took a bag of charcoal briquettes, split the bag open to expose the coal chunks, and closed the door, and let it sit for a week. Smell all gone. I actually helped a friend who’s tennant left food in a refrigerator after vacating and not telling of being gone, and it works. You could take your item and put it in a plastic bag with paper towel wrapped briquettes if your item can not go outside into fresh air. I’ve done that too.

Cat litter does a great job. Use it in a tote as suggested with the baking soda. The litter works even better. If you can pack it into a freezer ziplock bag, just keep it i the freezer for 3 days.

I still have some Mia Bella Melts and votives that I keep in rubbermaid tubs. Any time I pick up something that has “that smell”, I unwrap it from any plastic or tissue and put it on top of the boxes of votives or pkgs. of melts. The material absorbs the candle scents within a couple of days..and the unwanted smells are gone for good. Sometimes if I sell a cloth purse that has been saturated with stale smells, I also include an organza sachet bag inside the purse of one of the candle scents enclosed in a zip-loc bag.

Washable clothing/ set it to cold [URL removed]
1) I throw in a tray of ice cubes (usually 12 in a tray) and the cold rids out the smell during washing processing.

Figurines and [URL removed]
2) I wrap some ice cubes in a cloth or dish towel and rub the item as the cubes melt making contact from normal temp to cold and that tends to help some.

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3) On cold days, I leave item (jackets) on a chair outside in patio overnight. If its warm climate, same thing but I allow direct sun to help odors be released and generally keep item outdoors for a day or so.

- What has worked for me might also work for you, good luck

Dry cleaners and furriers have a way to remove smoke smaell

ozone cleaning on clothing at a dry cleaners and some things works.

These are all great suggestions! Sometimes I don’t even buy the item because I think I can’t get the odor out. Next time I will try these great tips!
Wow, I can’t get over how many people answered this thread. Thanks so much for these great tips! I’m sure there are many others that appreciate the good advise.

Very informative, this is good to know! Thanks from me too.

Great info on using charcoal. Thanks.
In the past I have used Febrese on fabrics with success and if the item is washable I always do that first. Vinegar/water on figurines and wipeable items. I also once had a leather address book with a smoke smell. After wiping it down with vinegar/water, I packed it with fabric softener sheets and the smell eventually went away, took a while though, something like a few months.

If it’s just clothing that can be washed, try washing them. Otherwise I have had good luck over the years using pure vanilla extract. I deodorized my car once, after I had quit smoking, by placing a bowl in the floorboard and pouring in a good bit of extract and then adding water. Let it set for a few days, and the odor was all gone. Of course, I had taken the ash trays out and washed them separately. The extract doesn’t touch anything except the bowl.

Try genuine Kona coffee hydrosol, for deodorizing nearly anything.
When aromatherapists are checking out oils, they sniff some fresh coffee beans between oils, to clean their nasal “pallettes”. The coffee hydrosol from the still works the same way. I’ve sold this to folks who have rental cars here in Hawaii, that smelled so bad, they could hardly drive them. I also sold some to a couple who spilled an entire bottle of patchouli oil (2 oz!) in their SUV, and had to drive with the windows down in order to use the car. One ounce of coffee hydrosol later, it was like it never happened! For clothing, spray it on (just a little) and let it work for a day, then wash as always. And it’s clear, so it won’t stain!

I noticed you asked about figurines also. While the smells may come out for some reason sometimes the stains do not.

Sadly, severe smoke stains may not always be washed off glass and figurines. Most of the time I can get glass clean by washing with soap and water and then a vinegar and water rinse. There was one piece that was very old that did not come sparkling clean. No matter what I did it remained dingy and dirty looking.

Porcelain figures that are glazed sometimes do not clean up. They still look like they have a dirty film over them. I mention glazed because I have never tried to clean a bisque porcelain piece.

There are probably professional restorers that could clean fine porcelains/glass.

This has been my limited experience. I am extremely allergic to smoke and chemical smells so I haven’t purchased much with the smoker haze.

I also agree with Phoenix re-sale. It is tricky on many porcelain pieces to clean them (i.e. handpainted, gold trimmed, etc.)

Good luck and happy hunting.

Wash clothes in Odoban!

This was a great informative thread..thanks for all the input everyone!

If you use vinegar in your wash, it will remove any odors on clothes. I use it in the bleach dispenser. A friend of mine says when she buys new black jeans, she washes them before wearing with vinegar in the bleach dispenser and no detergent. She says it sets the color. Haven’t tried that yet.

Crumple up newspapers and put the item in a brown paper bag, surrounded by the crumpled newspapers. Keep replacing the newspapers daily until the smoke scent is gone. This works REALLY well!

Yes vinegar is used to set a color, as when dying something like a new tie-dye. Haven’t used it for odors, but definitely prefer to recieve a fabric item that has been WASHED instead of just perfumed over (ie febreeze, cat litter, etc). I have asthma and clean is critical to those of us who have respiratory issues. Whenever possible, WASH it.

I would discourage anyone from using any unnatural or perfumed methods of trying to remove smoke or any other smells. There are an awful lot of people who are allergic to perfumes and other strong smells including smoke residue. I am one who of those who is allergic to almost all perfumes and many natural oils. At the very least they cause stuffiness and often cause debilitating migraines. I buy only unscented products and the only candles I can burn are vanilla and some of the spices.

i love the coffee way. i use this for many things. even put it on the wood stove if there is a pesky odor in the air.