MartiMorga

wow so many good suggestions! I have a travel case that I bought from a lady cheap - it came with a musty smell and it drives me nuts when ever I use it. Tried the bounce sheets - smelt great as long as they were fresh and left in there. Think I will have to try one of these charcoal products - maybe the odor eaters. Always great information available on this board!

Shayla

I'm guessing the smell is on the plastic parts ... don't know if your machine has plastic parts, but I'll assume it does. Unfortunately, plastic is one of the materials that really absorbs odors - especially smoke

Wash the plastic all over using a mixture of 3 Tbs baking soda to a quart of water. Then, leave a baking soda paste all over the plastic parts as much as you can for at least 20-40 minutes. Put the machine in the bag with crumpled newspapers and some loose activated charcoal, close the bag and leave it for a few days. The charcoal and newspaper will absorb a lot of the odor. It may take several treatments....

Lady Diana

I had the same problem with a used machine. In fact, when I called the lady who sold me the machine, she told me that the owner was a heavy smoker...she was selling the machine for the lady's husband, because the owner died from lung cancer. So sad.....I used a soft cloth with febreeze on it. Set it in the garage for a few days, used febreeze again, I got rid of the plastic bags that they sent with the extra feet, threw away all the thread she sent, and cut all the thread from the bobbins.....anything that would hold an odor. BTW Plastic does absorb odors. I put the machine box in the attic after I light sprayed it with the Febreeze. I wiped down every inch of the machine and all of the feet...everything.
I was surprised at the nicotine that was wiped off the machine, I could see it on the clean cloth. It worked on my machine hope you get rid of your smell too.

maviskw

We found lots of solutions that might work.
Murphy's Oil Soap
Soda
Vinegar
Odor Eaters
Charcoal
Newspaper
Soap and water
Leave it outside
Coffee grounds
And if none of these is actually working, put it in the FREEZER! When our Tupperware was holding a smell, we were told to stuff it with crumpled BLACK AND WHITE newspaper and put it in the freezer. It worked. The thing that did the job was the black ink. I hope someone has room in a big chest freezer for this. I would leave it in the freezer for a week or two. Just do the clean up job first as much as possible to get off the tar still clinging to it.

Raine54RN

Activated charcoal in a case helps but if there is no case I agree with setting it outside in the sun for a few days the sun really does help deodorize a lot of different materials! I'm not sure about the freezer suggestion, I'd worry moisture would collect on internal parts. All the rest are great! Even vinegar left in an open dish is supposed to help take odors out of air!

scarlet14

You might check with the Fire Dept---they may know of something to deodorize smoke---if you can get rid of that you can get rid of almost any odor---also your insurance agent may know of a deodorizer---my DH was in insurance and he had a a jell something that took out fire smoke smell---been out of that business for a long time

patchwork

Try putting the machine and case in a plastic bag with Irish Spring soap bar and let it set for a day or two. That was suggested in a Featherweight class I took.

tessagin

I know this may sound crazy but try the Goo B Gone. Another thing try wiping down with Dawn dish soap and baking soda. Others on the board I'm sure will have other suggestions. Just sitting outside won't get rid of the smell. You have to wipe the residue off.

tessagin

All the suggestions are ok. But masking the smell only works for a short time. You have to get rid of the tar residue. If you don't you will continually catch a whiff of the smoke. It will find a place on you sewing project. People with sensitive noses will smell it.

tessagin

I had a case like that. I pitched it. Bought a new one.