Smoke smell in quilts- help please!
11-03-2010, 07:59 PM
#52
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Anchorage, Alaska
Posts: 416
One time my sister went through her clothes and got rid of a lot of items that just reeked with cigarette smoke. I took them home to wash them and donate to our church. I washed them 5 times and used everything I could think of. Baking soda, vinegar, different fabric softeners etc. They were ok after the 5th time but you could still smell it in there. I think now I would use Simple Green. It does work well to remove such smells but you have to test a small area to make sure you don't get color loss. I would rinse them a couple of times then. I learned this from the owner of a fishing camp. She said Simple Green was the only thing they found that would take odors out of their fish cleaning gloves and sacks. I would use a strong solution of it in the washer.
11-03-2010, 08:03 PM
#53
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Posts: 606
Originally Posted by Cyn
I know the best way to keep smoke smell out of your quilts is to Not Smoke but if it's in there already- How do you get it out for good? Do you have to wash them? hang them outside? Is there a better way besides avoiding the smoke altogehter? Does the stuff called febreeze work? Some should not be washed and it's getting pretty chilly to hang outside right now so any help would be greatly appreciated :) Thanks!
11-03-2010, 08:29 PM
#55
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 346
i had a problem with smoke last year - not cig smoke tho - had hung a couple of quilts out to dry - nice warm non humid day and didn't realize until later that the neighbors burned trash that day and all the smoke was blowing right into the direction of my quilts. took lots of washing to get odor out. didn't have any of the helpful hints I read here at the time. which I had.
11-03-2010, 11:48 PM
#56
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
Posts: 7,484
Originally Posted by Kas
I cant' figure out why just washing with your regular detergent wouldn't get the smell out. My son has started handging out with a not nice girl. Both she and her dad smoke and he comes home smelling terrible! But his clothes no longer stink after being washed and dried.
11-04-2010, 02:13 AM
#57
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Join Date: May 2008
Location: Louisiana
Posts: 6,764
Originally Posted by kathy
if you can't wash them, which would be best, I'd say hang them outside and spray well with Fabreeze. They need the fresh air and of course you want to be sure the spray is dry before you fold or put away.
11-04-2010, 06:00 AM
#58
Super Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Minnesota
Posts: 1,098
My hubby works at a feed mill and his clothes stink so bad. I use borax and laundry soap in my wash water and add some liquid softner to it as well. For some reason when I use the softner in the wash water the odors and stains come out a lot better.
11-04-2010, 06:08 AM
#59
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Lewiston, Maine
Posts: 529
I would wash it in warm water with detergent and borax. Borax is a natural deodorizer that works great and will also boost laundry detergent. Hang the quilt outside even if it's cold. I find that hanging clothes out in cold weather whitens whites and the freezing does something for them, also. Bring it in and hang on a rack to finish drying. You could also add some vinegar to the rinse water.
11-04-2010, 06:09 AM
#60
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Jacksonville NC
Posts: 6,510
So far the smells are coming out and there is no staining from the tar when I washed 2 quilts!!!! The one airing outside seems to be good too but I'm going to wait and see if just the airing takes care of everything. This has been great info and I REALLY appreciate all the advice/info! The water was so nasty in the machine- you would not believe. I threw a color fast sheet in there too (just in case).
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