K.C. asks from Las Vegas, NV on May 10, 2009
What's the Best Way to Get Cigarette Smoke Out of Clothes?
My MIL is keeping my son in clothes by shopping yard sales and mailing me her finds when she has a boxful, which I appreciate beyond belief. The problem is, she and her husband are chain smokers, and by the time I get the stuff it REEKS. This last load had a ceramic cookie jar that I had to scrub three times to get it to stop smelling of smoke.
I have been using a full scoop of Oxyclean and a capful of Febreze for laundry in the wash, with a presoak cycle and an extra rinse, but even doing that I have to wash the load 3-4 times to get the smell out, and sometimes even more that. I'm hoping someone will have a solution that might be a little more effective.
1 mom found this helpful
So What Happened?™
Thanks for all the responses. I used vinegar on the latest load of clothes which still had a lingering smell of cigarettes after several washes, and it got the remaining smell out. Next batch, I'll know to start with vinegar.
I also used tea tree oil in the water in which I soaked the toys she sent. It's certainly decreased the smell a lot, and hopefully with more soaking they'll stop reeking, too.
Featured Answers
R.J. answers from Los Angeles on May 11, 2009
Here's a link for you. http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_smell-cigarette-smok...
hope it helps
Good Luck
1 mom found this helpful
J.L. answers from San Diego on May 11, 2009
Hi K., This is funny because, I had this same problem when we klived over seas, my mom was consantly sending the kids care packges, not to mention birthday, Christmas, all celebrated holidays, I would open the boxes and like to choke to death, every box reeked with cigarette smell, when she sent the clothes it was the worse because the clothes and soaked up the smell, what i did was i sprayed the clothes with veinagar and a little bit of water, let them sit over night then washed them as regular, every now and then it still had a vaint smell, but tons better, she sent them electric blankets one year, and I don't half to tell you how bad they smeeled, after I did the veinagar I put them in a brown paper bag with a couple og the nice smelling dryer sheets, over night, this was like 18 years ago, so i don't remember what kind of dryer sheet it was. Hope this orks for you. J. L.
1 mom found this helpful
S.C. answers from Los Angeles on May 11, 2009
let it soak in Oxyclean overnight...that should help. Use two scoops...I've never tried it but in the old days didn't people use amonia in their laundry...
More Answers
R.J. answers from Los Angeles on May 11, 2009
Here's a link for you. http://www.ehow.com/how_###-###-####_smell-cigarette-smok...
hope it helps
Good Luck
1 mom found this helpful
M.S. answers from Los Angeles on May 11, 2009
If the vinegar doesn't work try tea tree oil. Just buy a small bottle (trader joes has as well as health food stores) and just put one drop in to the wash cycle. I used this for getting the smell out of cloth diapers so I'm sure it would work for you. It also has lots of other great uses!
Best wishes,
M.
1 mom found this helpful
J.L. answers from San Diego on May 11, 2009
Hi K., This is funny because, I had this same problem when we klived over seas, my mom was consantly sending the kids care packges, not to mention birthday, Christmas, all celebrated holidays, I would open the boxes and like to choke to death, every box reeked with cigarette smell, when she sent the clothes it was the worse because the clothes and soaked up the smell, what i did was i sprayed the clothes with veinagar and a little bit of water, let them sit over night then washed them as regular, every now and then it still had a vaint smell, but tons better, she sent them electric blankets one year, and I don't half to tell you how bad they smeeled, after I did the veinagar I put them in a brown paper bag with a couple og the nice smelling dryer sheets, over night, this was like 18 years ago, so i don't remember what kind of dryer sheet it was. Hope this orks for you. J. L.
1 mom found this helpful
C.T. answers from San Diego on May 11, 2009
Hi Katrina,
Have you heard of Shaklee? It's the #1 natural nutrition company in the U.S. and they have the most amazing line of natural laundry products that are non-toxic. Oxyclean and Fabreeze both contain toxins and that's on top of the cigarette smoke! They're laundry detergent is made from corn and coconut surfactants and they get your laundry really, really clean. There is also a laundry booster called Nature Bright that works like Oxyclean, but it's safe. Both are super concentrated so they'll last a long time. You will love how clean, stain-free, and odor-free you laundry will come out and you can have piece of mind that the products you are using are safe for your family's health. You can view them at www.shaklee.net/greennutrition and register to win $200 of free products at www.freegreenproducts.info. Good luck!
D.M. answers from Los Angeles on May 11, 2009
The vinegar solutions are great. I would add to that airing them out in the sun the minute you open the box. A day of strong sunshine is a good way to start. Then soak in vinegar and so forth.
G.M. answers from Las Vegas on May 11, 2009
Add some vinegar to your wash, it works wonders for removing smells.
T.F. answers from San Diego on May 10, 2009
Wash with a cup of vinager.
S.T. answers from Los Angeles on May 11, 2009
Add a cup of vinegar to the tub of the washer. Wash everything in hot water on the longest wash setting you have. It's safe, inexpensive and totally works!
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