We have a few Do It Yourself (DIY) tips of help potential eliminate smoke-smelling furniture. Smoke-smelling furniture is a problem that we all may encounter at some point. What you need to know is cigarettes smoke is one of the toughest odour to eliminate because of the nicotine. Here are a few good DIY tips to try and combat that pesky smell:
1. Soak it up. Before you start scrubbing away at your pretty wood furniture, you may want to try a few of these simple methods that may eliminate the smell by absorbing the odor, without running the risk of harming the wood:
- Sprinkle baking soda on the furniture. Be sure to do a test patch in an inconspicuous spot before sprinkling baking soda all over the furniture – if nothing happens, then you’re in the clear and can sprinkle it all over the furniture. After a few hours, vacuum up the baking soda. Repeat as necessary.
- Place fresh coffee grounds into coffee filters and tie them closed. Place these little pouches of coffee on the furniture and spread them out to cover more area. Leave them there for several hours.
- Dab a cloth in vinegar and set it on or near the furniture. Leave it there for a couple hours.
- Cut up an onion and place the pieces on a piece of plastic wrap on the furniture. Allow the onion a few hours to do its work and discard it.
- Place bowls of crushed charcoal around the furniture and leave it overnight.
2. Scrub a dub. The reason that cigarette smoke is such a difficult smell to get rid of is because the nicotine from cigarettes actually soaks into (unfinished) wood, and also leaves a nasty residue on the surface of wood furniture regardless of whether it has been sealed. Even though it will pain you to do so, the word on the street is that you’ll likely have to scrub the wood with a wet solution to remove the layer of nicotine from the wood. When you scrub the wood, you’ll want to use a stiff plastic brush and a cleaning solution. Be sure to use a brush with flexible bristles – you don’t want to scratch all of that gorgeous wood! And to protect your wood from warping or staining as much as possible, be sure to dry the wood thoroughly with a cloth (do not leave any water pooling on the wood), and leave the piece to dry for a day or two indoors – don’t leave the wood in the sun, as it could cause the wood to warp like crazy.
3. Clean it up. There are a lot of different opinions on the best cleaning solution to use on the wood – here are a few of the top contenders:
- Murphy’s Oil Soap
- 1/4 cup of Witch Hazel and several squirts of Dawn dish soap.
- Lysol Basin and Tub Cleaner
- 50% white vinegar, 50% water
- Lemon or orange oil cleaners
It is likely that the wood will have to be cleaned several times before the smell is gone (or faded enough so that it’s no too noticeable), and in some cases it may never disappear without professional machines. The tips above may only work depending on how long the wood has been exposed to the smoke. If it has had years to absord into the wood or if the wood is porous you many need professional help. Servpro offers a OdourPro the only harmless technology on the market to date. If will not harm, the funiture or its owners. Find out more here.