Dear Moms,
I usually just use this forum for serious stuff, but need help on something trivial now. My husband and I found two armchairs, clean an in perfect condition. We took them because we did not have furniture after our move. Well, the chairs came from a smoker's home and I am trying to find a way to clean them without toxins. I just moved to the Netherlands and I don't think they have febreze, so that one won't work.
Thanks all of you and have a beautiful Sunday!
http://www.fresh-wave.com/pages/Smoke.html
Fresh Wave is awesome! It definitley works. I would contact them from the above website and see if they ship to the Netherlands.
You may have to resort to a professional cleaner. I would also check for bedbugs!!! Good luck!!!
If they are fabric, I would suggest dumping baking soda all over them and then vacuuming it off after it sets for about 24 hours.
Stanley Steamer cleans carpets but they also do upholstered furniture.
Some other carpet cleaning company might have similar services.
Depending on how bad the smoke saturation was, you might be able to fix the problem with surface cleaning but if it's got into the stuffing, you are going to smell it every time it gets wet.
Use a mixture of some lemon juice and water and spray. Don't soak the chair. I have found that citrus is the best at getting rid of the smoke smells. You can also try orange or grapefruit, but I have found that lemon works the best. I think it also kills off bacteria.
Baking soda and sunlight. Keep it outside for as long as possible with the baking soda.
I would sprinkle them heavily in baking soda and let them sit for several hours - maybe even outside to air out. And then vacuum them really well. That should do the trick.
Baking soda and sunshine should work. Or try spraying the chairs with a solution of 1/3 cup white vinegar and 2/3 cup water.
I second the suggestion to sunlight.
Good luck!
Well, I know of NOTHING that can get cigarette smoke out of upholstery...my family members are all heavy smokers and I have tried pretty much everything you can imagine to get the smell out of handmedowns. The smoke gets into the foam under the fabric and into the wood and even if the surface treatment (citrus, baking soda, sunlight - I have tried it all) works for a little while, the smell will come back.
Febreze (which is available in the Netherlands, check a drugstore "Drogist") will help temporarily and is the most convenient, but it masks the smell more than getting rid of it.
If you are somewhat tolerant of it (as in no allergies) and can live with reapplying whatever method you choose whenever the smell comes back, that's the route that I would go... my mom does Febreze when I visit and it works alright.
Two more things... again unless you're allergic (in which case I would get rid of the chairs) you will most likely get used to a low level of smell...and if you are just in the process of getting set up you could consider this a temporary solution and get replace the chairs once you get settled.
I LOVE the Netherlands and would move there in a second! Good luck and have fun!
I also agree with sitting them outside in the sunshine.
If you have the option to set them out in direct sunlight, do that. I'm not sure how it does it but any fabric set out in direct sunlight for several hours (as long as you can) will do wonders removing any odors.
I don't know about how to remove the smoke, but Febreeze isn't much better - it has nasty ingredients like formaldehyde in it.
The baking soda idea looks like it is worth a try - I love using baking soda for all kinds of things!
The problem is, if they were heavy smokers, the chair actually has residue, like tar, on it. When I got stuff of my smoker parents after their deaths, there was literally brown goo covering things.
So I would steam clean it, and then put it outside for a while. Also, I've had a lot of success with Nature's Miracle pet odor remover and various smells, but I don't know how it would work on cigarette smoke.
