Removing Cigarette Smoke Odor from Leather

Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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: clean with saddle soap wipe down with vinegar/water solution as stated here; let dry wipe down again with Nature's Miracle (pet store product-enzymatic cleaner for killing organic smells); let dry; repeat if necessary. rub in neats foot oil or leather conditioner to soften the leather set an open box of baking soda inside the closed bag every night for a few days (removing the top 1/4-inch layer of soda each time). 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)

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Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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

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RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

Clean the outside with leather balm and put crumpled up newspaper inside pockets and purse for a week or so. (06/01/2006)

By froglady

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

I received a newer Coach bag from a Seller today, and, like some others on this post, I could smell the smoke as soon as I signed for the box. Honestly, I cannot even have this in my home, so it is out on my deck. I paid over $140 for this used bag and I could just cry. I have found that, if the bag has a lining, there is not much hope of removing the odor. On the vintage Coach, lined in suede, I have been able to remove smells by thoughly washing them with vinegar, ivory soap and water, air drying them in the shade, "sunning" the item in direct light and using air neutralizers and lysol.

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

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Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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

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RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

Just some advice. Do not use saddle soap on your handbags. It is much too alkaline and will cause pH damage. Lysol spray is a great smoke odor remover for handbags. As mentioned above, if your leather is finished, a water/vinegar solution is good and the baking soda can help.

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 BoldbyBarbara

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

I bought a designer leather jacket on eBay and it reeked of cigarette smoke. Here's what I did after reading the many posts on this forum and others:

• Turned inside-out and sprayed lining with Febreze.
• Put in dryer (no heat) for 30 minutes with 6 fabric softener sheets and a baby tube sock filled with baking soda.
• Hung outside overnight.
• Repeated above 3 days in a row.
• Wiped leather with cloth soaked in solution of 50/50 vinegar and water. Did this just once.
• Hung outside overnight again.
• Wiped leather with neets foot oil.
• Allowed to dry for 24 hours and hung outside overnight.
• Repeated above twice.

This finally got rid of the smoke odor and I now have a beautiful leather jacket that I paid $60 for. Good luck. (07/29/2007)

By David

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

I bought a leather cue case on eBay that smelled really bad. A few days worth of online research revealed next to no solution. I ended up calling a 5 star hotel in New York (for free long distance on cell phones), asked to be connected to housekeeping, and I asked what they use to clean rooms when "guests" smoke in non smoking rooms. It is a product called Airlift (Spartan Airlift Smoke and Odor Eliminator).

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

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

I have a concoction that takes smoke out. It works, I smoke and when it came time for me to sell my car it wreaked of smoke. I used it and the smell came right out. It's worth a try. You need:

• Oxi clean granulated 1/2 a spoonful (one should come in the container)
• 1 capful of your favorite fabric softener
• 6 cups of water
• 1/2 capful of color safe bleach.

This works on just about any type of fabric/carpet/upholstery. I even noticed when I was cleaning my car, I used a white rag, and the nicotine stains were coming out onto the rag. (10/17/2008)

By Charity

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

I found this solution online:

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

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

Smoke odors can be hard to remove. A thorough cleaning may be necessary by someone familiar with fire restoration. A "professional leather cleaning process" is strongly recommended. The jacket may have some residual odors after fully dried. In most cases, through ozone technology, the residual odor can be removed. (06/23/2009)

By Spotlessleather

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Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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

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RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

I';m not sure if this will work but, you could try sealing the clothes in a garbage bag (with the hanger sticking out the top so you can still hang) and putting baking soda in the bottom of the bag to draw the smell out. I would think this would be worth trying, inexpensive and safe for you items. Good luck. (11/18/2009)

By boxergirl76

RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

Turn inside out and spray the fabric parts with Febreze and allow to dry, then turn right side out. Using a sponge, dip in vinegar water, (about 1 part vinegar to 6 parts water). Pour a little Murphy's oil soap in a small bowl if you have it or a lanolin bar soap. Dip the end of the sponge in the Murphy's or rub on bar and apply lightly to the leather. The soaps act as a lubricant and the vinegar helps cut the odor. Hang in a breezy place out of the sun. (11/20/2009)

By takelababy

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Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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

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RE: Cigarette Smoke on Leather

A garbage bag with a gallon or so of kitty litter in the bottom, put your purse or whatever the item (I use this for books), put your purse in a bowl or shoebox on top of the litter. Tie up the bag, check after one week. If the smell is not gone leave it in longer. (06/09/2010)

By monday67

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Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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!

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Cigarette Smoke on Leather

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.