HELP!!! SMELLY FABRIC!
#61
UPDATE:
Thank you all to your suggestions. I have loosened the rolls and put in 2 open baggies with baking soda and one with a dryer sheet (bounce) so I dont risk stainging. Then they are all tied up tight in a big plastic bag. I am in St Louis this weekend and when I get home i will be checking and let you all knpow how it is going.
Thank you all to your suggestions. I have loosened the rolls and put in 2 open baggies with baking soda and one with a dryer sheet (bounce) so I dont risk stainging. Then they are all tied up tight in a big plastic bag. I am in St Louis this weekend and when I get home i will be checking and let you all knpow how it is going.
#62
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Westerville, Ohio
Posts: 711
MU MOM WAS A SMOKER AND HAD SOME BLANKETS AND AFGHANS THAT REALLY SMELLED OF SMOKE. WHEN SHE MOVED IN WITH US I JUST TOOK THEM AND PUT THEM IN THE DRYELL AND IT GOT ALL THE SMELL OUT OF THEM. GREAT STUFF AND CHEAPER THAN DRY CLEANING.
#63
Member
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: NE Wisconsin
Posts: 22
I like all the above answers, but wouldn't it help more if the rolls were "slightly" unrolled or relaxed so the air could penetrate easier and quicker? I like the deod. soap solution. Will keep that in mind for other projects also.
#64
If you don't want to unroll the jelly roll, boil some white vinegar to get a good steam going, remove from heat and put a rack over the pot and let the steam penetrate the jelly roll. The smell will be gone.
#65
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: South Carolina; half hour away from Charlotte, N.C.
Posts: 158
I have heard that you can put the fabric in a plastic bag and make little fabric bags of activated charcoal and tie up and put in the plastic bag with the fabric. Activated charcoal is relatively cheap. You can buy activated carbon from pet shops, industrial supply stores, or wholesale commercial stores.
#66
Super Member
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Texas currently
Posts: 1,222
I'd go with the baking soda. I've used it before to get other odors out of fabric. Just put all your unrolled rolls in a large bag, like ziploc or a clean white trashbag if you have a hugh amount of fabric, use a small box of baking soda and pour it all in, tie the bag and shake it around a bit. Let it set 2-3 days, shaking it again at least once a day, then dump everything out and shake off your fabric (but shake it off really hard, so the soda doesn't end up coating your sewing machine when you sew it.)
#68
#69
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Small town south of Ottawa, Ontario
Posts: 1,692
I recently traded some fabric with a friend, and man-o-man talk about cigarette smoke. I mean I knew she smoked ( I am an on again-off agin smoker) but talk about a good way to ruin fabric. I placed the fabric in a box and layered it with Bounce dryer sheets(unscented version- no perfumes/no dyes) and that seems to have done the job of getting rid of the smell. My question is: How do you remove the yellowish/brown streak that cigarette smokes leaves on the fold of the fabric? I knew there was a reason why I and everyone smokes outside at my house!
Last edited by quilterella; 12-26-2011 at 01:31 AM.
#70
I know this answer - helped my sister in law unsmoke her household items after a fire. If you have a garage, open the roll and just let the fabrics air out. Don't put them in the sun as I saw recommended in another post or they will be a faded disaster in no time. If you still have a smoke issue after a day or so, put them in a confined space with a tray of charcoal. If you have briquetts, break them up with a hammer. That is best done in a bag with the hammer on the outside or buy some charcoal meant for fish tanks. The more exposed area of charcoal the faster it deodorizes. The charcoal trick is one i used when managing some apartments that the tenant left fish in the fridge and had the electricity shut off. They moved out without telling anyone and it was a week before we realized they were gone. Put the charcoal in a shallow tray, then maybe put a cooling rack over it and spread your fabric on the cooling rack. Now an inverted box will cover the whole thing up and confine the charcoals activity still allowing you to periodically check on progress.
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