Caring for Silk Patchwork Quilts from smokers house
 

Last week, inherited a few precious family quilts, some cotton from the 1930's, and three heavily embroidered, silk patchwork quilts. These are from the 1920's (cigarette silks here and there) and fabric has degraded in a couple of areas. But my biggest concern is the cigarette smoke!

Laying the quilts out to air has helped a bit, but no where near what is needed. Perhaps can carefully handwash the cotton one's, and attempt to remove the stains where quilts were folded for over 60 years. Suggestions? But the silk quilts...absolutely NO idea what to do. Thanks for the help!

With any product there is going to be some concern over the possibility of staining or whether the dyes are color fast.

I can say that I've been very happy with unscented Fabreeze on cotton fabrics. It can be a little hard to find the unscented but is worth it.
https://www.febreze.com/en-us/produc...her-scent-free

You can also try packing with layers of baking soda (which can be in a pillow case. I would keep it as open as possible instead of folded, maybe if you have a spare bed you can I've also had good success with removing car odors with charcoal packets.
https://www.amazon.com/charcoal-odor...+odor+absorber

I know there are claims of ionizers working well, but don't have direct experience or know where to go to find them. Maybe a company that offers after disaster/fire clean up can give you some recommendations??

You can get an ozone generator on Amazon for about $50. My son bought one when my grandmother left a pot on the stove, fell asleep, and her entire apartment at the Wrinkle Ranch was filled with smoke. Took about a day, but it worked beautifully. If you know someone who works at a hotel, check with them, maybe they could lend you their ozone generator, or next time they have to clean out a smoker's room, they'll let you hang the quilts inside. Most hotels have one. I think fire & water damage cleanup companies would also have one, maybe you can rent?

car dealers have these machines too, the make old cars have that new car smell. know any salesmen? ask if they can give your quilts a ride through the ozone

Thanks for the ozone idea!. Appreciate your help!

Ozone machine at such a bargain price? Thanks for the information!

Thanks for the ideas, especially alerting me to Febreeze offering a scent free product. Plan to try that remedy first.

Boaters use the ozonator units all the time as boats get moldy over winter in cold area climates. I have used it in our house to get rid of the cigarette/pot smoke odours from previous occupants...works like a charm!

Thanks for sharing your experiences!

getting rid of the odors in old textiles still doesn't address the problem of old cigarette tars and gathered dirts.

I like the idea of a home ozone machine though, I'd happily sew with recycled men's shirts to rest of my sewing life but the scent the second hand sstores put into them is a real booger to get out. I run them through a full wash cycle twice at home and another wouldn't hurt. that smell is Really stubborn.