I have just bought a second red leather 3 piece suite. How do I get rid of the smell of smoke without damaging the leather and colour? Also, how can I keep it looking lovely? I don't want to get rid of it because I just bought it second hand;it is in excellent condition.
By Sharon
I spent a total of two months with my daughter where there is always someone with a cigarette going. My iPad cover cost $100 and it smells like an ashtray. None of the solutions can help me as this is not a purse. Any ideas?
By Debra B from Cleveland, OH
I just purchased a $188 leather Fossil purse on eBay and it reeks of cigarette smoke. It is horrible! Any ideas how to get rid of the smell?
By Deb from SC
I sympathize. I have had a similar problem. If the seller did not advertise the fact that it came from a smokers house, you can get a case opened on E'Bay. I did. It's a vile smell. I think the hanging outside and a soft cloth slightly dampened with water and baking soda solution. Try an inconspicuous area first! Other ideas are-lavender essential oil diluted in warm water-shake mixture well (oil sits on top of water) and (again on an inconspicuous area), clean leather-don't saturate it! Helped me!
My daughter purchased a small leather satchel at a flea market. Unfortunately the prior user must have smoked as it reeks. Any suggestions for removing the smell? A shoe repair person suggested diluting Lestoil with water and rubbing. Will this work? Damage the leather?
By Cynthia
The best odor remover of all is sunlight. I once bought a great tote bag that was perfect except that it smelled strongly of smoke. I put in on my lawn in the sun, turned it occasionally, then turned it inside out and flipped it. Within two days, the smoke odor was completely gone never to return.
We received three pairs of leather shoes from a friend. They have never been worn, but she is a heavy smoker and we cannot get the smell out of the shoes. Does anyone have a cure? There are two pairs are heels and the other is patent leather.
They smell inside and out.
By L Peters
Sprinkle fine salt or bi carbonate of soda and leave them in the sun.
I just bought a 210 dollar handbag off of eBay. It is new with tags, but it sure doesn't smell new. It smells of cigarette smoke doused with perfumes. The seller won't respond on giving it back. I don't know what to do. Any ideas how to make this thing smell new again. It is a Michael Kors leather handbag and smells overwhelmingly bad. It gives me a headache to be in same room with it. Sheesh!
By Cathie
File a resolution with eBay unless it has gone over its length of time - I "won" smokey purse on 6/19/12 and must file with Resolution Center by 8/2/12.
Best of Luck
Anyone got any ideas on how to remove cigarette smoke from a leather purse? I have tried Febreze and saddle soap, neither made much difference.
By SLMc from Pueblo, CO
Anyone got any ideas on how to get the smell of cigarette smoke out of a leather purse? I have tried Febreze and saddle soap, but neither made much difference.
By SLM
Sprinkle baking soda or kitty liter in purse. Shake and let sit for an hour. After shaking out to remove, brush well with a soft brush. Hanging out in sunshine or fresh air may also help.
I was given the most beautiful suede fringe jacket I have ever seen. It would retail for $300, but it reeks of cigarette smoke. What can I do? I dearly love this person and they know I love fringe jackets so they gave as gift.
By V.Lenihan
How do I get cigarette smell out of a leather jacket?
By Wendy from Dallas
Any good leather cleaner should remove both the nicotine and the odor from the leather. The lining, however, is more than likely what is holding the odor-a good dry cleaner certified to clean leather will be able to clean and deodorise the lining as well as the leather.
You can try damp sponging the lining at home if you prefer to avoid dry cleaning chemicals.
Turn the jacket inside out and either hang on a good quality wooden hanger with those supportive wide, thick shoulder areas, or lay it out on a kitchen worktop.
Mix a half-water, half vinegar solution and dip a sponge into the solution.
Wring the sponge as hard as you possibly can and wipe the lining down. Be careful to avoid getting the lining actually wet or touching the leather with the solution.
You may want to test this method in a small and inconspicuous spot on the lining to be sure the solution won't damage the lining, and I can't stress enough that you do not want to get the lining soaking wet with the solution. Very-very-very-very slightly damp is what you are going for here.
Pay special attention to the sleeves and underarm areas, also the shoulders and back top of the lining as this is usually where the odors are trapped and held by the lining fabric. If the first go-round doesn't completely remove the odor you may want to repeat the operation especially in those areas.
When you've damp-cleaned the entire lining hang the jacket (still inside out) in a well ventilated area out of the sunlight-the vinegar smell will dissipate (within 24 hours) and take the cigarette stench with it.
| I bought a leather coat from an online auction and it reeks of cigarette smoke. How do I get the smell out of the coat? It is a very nice soft leather.
Ruthie from Kingston Springs, TN | |
| Answers: | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke from Leather | 10/11/2004 |
| Try both baking soda as this absorbs order and spray with lysol neutral air odor eliminator spray found at grocery stores. | |
| By Conni (Guest Post) | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke from Leather | 10/11/2004 |
| In the Supermarket super products book by Jerry Baker, he suggests the following methods for cleaning leather:
1. Wipe bag with one part alcohol and one part water, then follow up with a good leather conditioner, found in supermarkets. 2. Wipe it with a cloth dipped in milk, then use a clean cloth to polish. | |
| By rdoe1976 | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke from Leather | 12/19/2004 |
| Wipe with one part vinegar and one part water. You may need to go over the leather a few times. A paste made from baking soda and water is also good; but it's also harder to clean up. However, if the smell is particularly stubborn, baking soda will do the trick. Let the leather dry out a little and wipe down with some leather conditioner. | |
| By Cleaning without chemicals (Guest Post) | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke from Leather | 08/09/2005 |
| Put a fabric softener sheet in the purse for a day, this also takes the odor out of the car if you use a few sheets in the car overnight. | |
| By claude (Guest Post) | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather | 10/17/2005 |
| I have had great success of removing odors of many kinds from many things with coffee. Put about a tablespoon full of dry coffee grounds (right from the can), put in an envelope and seal and place in purse and let sit for several days or as long as necessary. | |
| By Anna from Maine (Guest Post) | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather | 01/20/2006 |
| When my leather jacket gets smokey (YUCK!) I put it in the dryer on low or on fluff, with a dryer sheet in it and turn it on for about 10 minutes, so far it has not done any damage to it at all and I have been doing this to my leather jacket for about 2 yrs.... Also, sometimes I will hang it outside overnight and stuff the sleeves with dryer sheets and it takes the smell out. | |
| By kimmcg | |
| RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather | 01/23/2006 |
I also bought a beautiful (& expensive) black leather handbag online. Too bad it smelled like an old ashtray. Here's what I did:
This was a pain in the @#$%, but now the bag is safe to use (i.e., folks don't think I'm some kind of chain smoker when I walk into the room). And the bag still looks beautiful. In retrospect, I doubt the saddle soap step did much, so I'd skip that one and go straight to the vinegar. Only the exposed layer of baking soda actually absorbs odors so removing the top layer each day allows more absorption (BTW, same for your fridge box, too). If you buy some fancy leather conditioners, you may get that distinctive leather smell back, but the neats foot oil (used for my son's baseball glove) did just fine. You may want to repeat this step as well since you've done what you should never do to good leather: get it wet. Best of luck! (and I hope your leather isn't light colored). | |
| By Ellis (Guest Post) | |
I bought 2 beautiful all weather leather vintage handbags by Dooney & Bourke and wallets from ebay. I did not know, but the owner was a smoker. I get a migraine from the smell. I love these items, there are in excellent condition. Could someone help me out by telling how I may remove the cigarette smell permanently.
Thanks!
Jamie from Garden Grove, CA
By froglady
Most of the glove-tanned will tolerate a washing, but be careful to totally saturate to avoid water marks, especially on colors other than black. Because the lining covers the "raw" leather in newer bags, I don't have hope for this bag. This Seller advertised the item as MINT. The odor is so offensive that it is nearly a throw-away for a non-smoker. Plus the leather has bad abrasions on the bottom edge. I have contacted the Seller and am awaiting a response. If I do not get a response, I am going to return the bag tomorrow with tracking. If she does not credit my paypal account within 12 hours of receiving the return, I am bypassing paypal and going straight to my credit card company to file a chargeback.
It is bad enough that, as a Buyer, you have to worry about a bag being fake. To receive this smoke-infested piece a crap is totally unacceptable. This is one of the few auctions where I did not ask about smoke odor before bidding. I figured that the bag was "mint" and "hardly used" so I would not have to worry. Boy was I wrong on this one. I will be sure to ask before bidding from now on. Don't trust "MINT CONDITION" as a description. And go one step further and ask if the bag has any odors, especially smoke.
I used to worry about offending sellers, but now I worry that this could happen again. All of us ran across this post while desperately googling to see if the odor could be removed. Oh, and I tried Meltonian leather conditioner, it has a pretty distinct scent. It had no chance on overpowering the smoke, though. Good luck to everyone. (09/07/2006)
By Dawn
How do I get the smell of cigarette smoke out of a corduroy/suede purse? I don't think I can wash it, because of the suede and the metal fixtures, and I haven't got a way to hang it on a clothesline.
Xena from London
If you have a designer bag that stains with water, do not use any liquid type of cleaner. Lovin My Bags Cleaner is non-darkening and has a wonderful aromatic scent that can camouflage the smoke odor nicely. (01/12/2007)
By David
I tested for color fastness and then applied all over. The smoke odor was almost completely neutralized, all that was left was the light fragrance from the cleaner (it deodorizes, it's not just a cover-up). I let it air out for a day and then applied a leather conditioner that restores the "quality leather smell". Worked like a charm. (12/20/2007)
By Jason
By Charity
The product "Ozium", as aerosol found in grocery and hardware/home stores is great to get rid of smoke odors. It will not hurt the fabric or leather. I would also get some "natural" charcoal (found in pet stores in the fish dept) and put the charcoal pieces into an old nylon stocking and tie the top in a knot.
Spray the inside and outside of the pocketbook with the Ozium (more on the inside if it's fabric) and slip it inside a large plastic bag with the pouch of charcoal and twist-tie the top and let set. Check it after a day, you may have to redo this several times. Leaving it out in the sun after spraying it with Ozium would also be another step to insert. If the leather needs a little perking up-use "Leather CPR".
Source: http://en.allexperts.com/q/Stains-Mopping-Wiping-2505/2008/7/smoke-smell-leather-purse.htm (11/23/2008)
By Rev
I have some leather clothes (blazers, skirts, jackets) that I inherited after my mother passed away two years ago. She was a heavy smoker and the clothes smell like smoke. Is there a way for me to get the smell out of the clothes without taking them to the cleaners?
By Bridgette from San Francisco, CA
By boxergirl76
By takelababy
How can I clean a Coach purse to remove smoke odor? I purchased a used Coach leather purse online. The seller didn't disclose that she was a cigarette smoker. I have not used the purse, because I detest the odor. I tried to sprinkle it with carpet deodorizer, but it did not help. I love the purse, but can't use it as it is.
By Zari from Tucker, GA
By monday67
How do I get cigarette smoke out of suede leather chaps? I tried putting them in a bag with a dryer sheet, but it didn't absorb the odor. It is a very strong smoke smell!
I just bought a purse from eBay and it smells of cigarette smoke. How do I get that horrible smell out of this nice leather purse? It is a good brand.