Pepita

A really good friend of mine went to clean her parent's home after they died. They were both smokers and she got rid of most of their goods. However, she found that the chronic smoking actually put tar-or residue on the walls. They had to go and strip the walls wash, and paint. The carpeting had to be removed and all woodwork cleaned as well. I am saying this because I too believe you can make an odor disappear, but their may be some of this residue left. On the post where they talked about folks using different items in their house for quilting one poster mentioned using her salad spinner for the drying process, especially for things like fat quarters.

abdconsultant

Where there is smoke there is yellow residue.......................wash....

Cheryl

I don't know if this would work or not it might sound dumb but when I use to drive truck and we hauled chickens in the refrigerated trl. or something that had a bad smell we would sprinkle coffee around. right out of the can doesn't have to be any name brand that would take the smell away.
Try putting some in lids or little containers close to the fabric, other than that I would try washing it.

Ggburlew

Those packs of coffee that fit in hotel room coffee makers, you can buy them in the coffee section, are amazing. A mover told me once that when moving refrigerators they always put them inside. I have used them to take out intense smoking order in a rented car

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charsuewilson

My in-laws were smokers. We bought them an air cleaner, an ozone generator, when they quit smoking. They are not cheap, about $600. A little cheaper is an electrostatic precipitator type of air cleaner, but they're at least $200. The HEPA filter type of air cleaner would not work for this purpose. It took about 3 days to eliminate the odor. It had to keep running after that because smoke would keep coming out of the upholstered furniture. FIL started smoking again. And after he died, just one day of running the air cleaner cleaned the stale smoke out of the air. The hardest place to remove the smoke from was the speakers for the stereo system in the ceiling.

Motels and hotels usually have one of the ozone generating air cleaners. They can clean one hotel room in about 30 minutes. That would be enough for someone smoking a cigarette or two. But I agree, the residue will still remain, so washing or at least rinsing with something that would remove the residue would help. Detergent and vinegar would help with that. I would try just removing the odor first, and then wash only if necessary.

callie

Interestingly enough a can of coffee will also absorb odors. Truckers use this trick all the time. Especially if they have delivered fish because the odor gets into the wood. they will buy a small cheap can of coffee, put it in the back of a truck and wala - the next morning odor is gone. I have used this trick in my house as well. Good luck wilth t hat wonderful wonderful find!

Prism99

This is a wonderful idea! Going to mentally save it for some future need, having visited ill-smelling basements more than once in my life. Thank you!!!

Janice Thompson

I was gifted some fabric from a smoker. I soaked in fabric softner over night==spun out and dried

littlebitoheaven

Thank you for this solution. I will try it in my stinky basement. Yolanda Wood River

Sewlmatesister

There is a product in Canada called "Air sponge" You can get it at the grocery store or Walmart! Comes in tub like margarine.....You'll probably need 4 or 5, depending on the size of your room..... It is a combination of charcoal and pine I think...it does not put a smell in...it only eats odours!! I rented a house one year ( when our house was being built.) It came with a separate guest house that was used by the adult daughter. Shbe smoked a lot and partied I'm sure as there was more than one kind of smoke in there!!! We had to get the smell out as we wanted to store our furniture in there....now granted it was into everything....walls rugs everything but with lots of open windows and fabreze...and the main thing ..the air sponge..... we got it smell free enough to store our stuff there!!! I have used it in old trunks and lots more !! Works!!!