Removing Smoker's Stench

[mahoganydog]

Hi all,

Just received some wagons bought on Ebay. They absolutely reek of smoke. Anyone got any ideas how I get rid of the disgusting stench? It's on the box too so something more gentle needed there.

Ideas anyone?

Jim

[Flashbang]

As there are no electrics in the wagons, a simple wash in warm soapy water and then a rinse under running water should remove all traces of smoke and smell. Pat dry with a piece of kitchen paper towel or a soft cotton cloth etc.
As for the cartons.. Not too sure, but I think I would leave them outside on dry days to air. This should dissipate much of the contamination but possibly not all of it! Gentle mist spray with something like Fabreze may help? But don't wet the cartons too much?

[Bufferstop]

Yes repeated washing of the wagon should get rid of it, but I fear the box will be hard to improve. Paper and card seem to have the capacity to hold the smell for years. My wife is an examiner and for a number of years the project work from a school in K*******d arrived in a parcel which always reeked of tobacco, as did all of the folders inside. One year she was running a feedback meeting for the teachers involved and as it finished I went in to help her pack up the computer and AV gear. She was talking to one of the teachers and she introduced him to me by name and I said "Ah from K*******d!". He left still trying to figure out how I had placed him.

[Admin4]

The trouble is they no longer smell it so don't see the problem

Good luck with it

[Bigmet]

I had a collection of Triang TT to sell off for charity, a quantity of which was totally honking with cig smoke, enough to make the eyes prickle.

The items responded well to Windolene spray - my wife's suggestion - as this is non-abrasive but cuts through the grease which is where the smell is located. Pretty quick and easy to do, usually just a couple of applications followed by wipe up with kitchen roll did the job. No subsequent complaints from purchasers, so I should hope this means it did no damage: usual caveat of try the worst item first and then leave a while to ensure there are no side effects.

The boxes are a dead loss, best to just accept it. Even laid out in the sun for a couple of months during the excellent summer of 2013 didn't touch it; the boxes simply faded but the pong was as vile as ever!

Fire! That fixes it...

[Ironduke]

They use bi-carb of soda to soak up fridge smells. Maybe you could put the boxes in a box with some of that? Or coffee grounds.

[heda]

Might be worth giving this a try
http://www.neutradol.com/Room-Gels/Neut ... l-Gel.html
As Ironduke suggested put the boxes in a box. At least if it doesn't work it won't damage your boxes.

Dave

[mjb1961]

I worked with a woman who along with her husband bought a house ,she said it absolutely stank of tobacco and after numerous different methods they decided the only way to get rid of it was to have the walls re-plaster boarded / skimmed / redecorated ,,,at Christmas ,my wife bought a hand knitted minions hat off eBay ,when it arrived it also stank of fags ,,the knitter must have sat there with a fag hanging out of her mouth while knitting ,my wife put it in a bag with some strong perfumed bath salts etc ,that got rid of it ,,,,filfy habit ,,glad I gave up in 2003 ,,,,,mjb

[mahoganydog]

Hi all,

Thanks for all the suggestions. I'll try the gentle methods first and at least they aren't anywhere near as bad as a Myford lathe I once helped extract from a shed. It was supposed to be grey but had turned brown as had all the other machines. On every surface a sticky brown slime including the lights and windows. Never did manage to get it off properly.

Jim