Removing Smoke Smell From Wood Table?

Judi
Bronze Feedback Medal for All Time! 239 Feedbacks

March 18, 20080 found this helpful

I'm betting you're going to get advice about using vinegar...seems to show up a lot on here! I would wipe it down really good with vinegar and dry it well with a towel and then leave it out in the sun for awhile but not long enough to fade it and certainly not in the rain or at night.

I learned from a fire reclaimation company that an ionic air cleaner is what they use for fabrics holding the smokey smell. They put it in a sealed room with the smokey clothes until the air smells lightning fresh and there is no longer a smokey smell.

I found this question when I searched the site. Take a look at:

www.thriftyfun.com/tf554040.tip.html

Kim Churchman
Silver Feedback Medal for All Time! 378 Feedbacks

March 19, 20080 found this helpful

I would drench it with Pledge spray polish, leave it on, and after a half hour wipe it off. That means drenching every surface, underneath and all. The smell is the tar (not the nicotine, a common myth) and the wax will help lift the tar.

Thank you everyone for you suggestions. I appreciate them all.

you cannot leave the pledge on the wood for more than a minute or two. if the table is solid wood and does not have a veniere finish, it will leave white spots. If it has survived in a fire, it is likely that some of the urethane has come off of it and the oil from the pledge can damage the unfinished wood, making it extremely hard to put more urethane or finish on it. If the vinegar does not take away the smell by just wiping it down a few times, the best thing to do is to kilz and paint it or sand and refinish it.