# Need help getting smoke smell out of wood furniture



## Teresa

Yikes!

I found just what I wanted.  An older dining room set with 8 chairs and a large table.  Finished (polyurethaned) wood.  Large massive pedastal legs.  Carvings.  Lots of wonderful curves and such.  There's also a beautiful lighted hutch with it with all those same things.  It is in great shape - or so we thought.   Came with table pads.

The trouble started when we got it in the house.  Over the course of just about an hour, we started smelling stale cigarette smoke.  And overnight it got so bad that I had to block off the room we have it in.  Opening the door nearly knocks us over.  Except for the smell it is in marvelous shape so it doesn't 'need' to be refurbished.   What can I do, short of having it refinished, to get rid of the smell?   The chairs (which have some upholstery on them) are now in the garage - along with the pads.  Table is so heavy so don't want to move it out there - but will if a week or so in the garage (with exposure to some fresh air when the weather outside is nice) will help a lot.  (May have to move it out somewhere just to get the smell out of the house though.)

I'd like to know if anyone has tried and had success with any of the following:  

Ammonia (saw this on the web but not exactly sure what it will do to the finish or how to use it).

Vinegar/water solution (hot or cold???)

Formula 409

TSP

Other?

As of right now, I've wrapped some of it in blankets and the blankets seem to be picking up the smell.   Does this mean the smell is transferring to the blankets and if I keep replacing and washing the blankets it may take it out like that?  I tried to find the 'science behind how long a smell lasts' and haven't come up with anything.

HELP!  I can't breath.

Teresa


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## swasuth

OMG, that is such a disappointment for you.  Has anybody else had luck with Murphys Oil Soap.


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## Jestjoan

Perhaps you could call a few antique shops and ask. They may have experience with this sort of thing.


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## ctreelmom

I use lemon oil on my wood furniture--it may mask the smell a bit but I don't think you'll get rid of it.

Have you tried some of the "celebrity" cleaning or woodworking websites?  Heloise, the Good Housekeeping Insitute, Martha Stewart, the Queen of Clean, and This Old House come to mind.  Is the table or chairs stamped with the name of the manufacturer?  Maybe you could track them down and call?


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## opusX

If it has a urethane finish I would think that you could clean the wood with murphy's oil soap and it would remove the smell. Be carefull about vinger and tsp as they are both acid and may effect the finish. If the finish is good the smell has to be just on the outside and should be able to be cleaned. The chairs I would use fabreeze. Good luck.


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## Janie

Try a product called AtmosKlear:  it is an odor eliminator, not just a perfume.  I do not know if you can use it on wood, but it works great on fabrics.  My local hardware store sells it, and you can also buy it online.


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## Teresa

*Thanks for the suggestions!*

I appreciate all the suggestions.   I have been paranoid about using something that will ruin the finish.

The 'blanket wrap' I've been doing is picking up a lot of odor into the blankets.  I just have no clue if it's just picking up the smell or removing it from the wood while it's picking it up.   Hmmmm.

Someone suggested Wood Doctor to me and I tried to get info about it online.  It is made by Zep.   I went to the Zep website and called their 800 number.  Asked the rep if Wood Doctor would solve my problem.   He was skeptical.   He thought it would help a little bit (it's a cleaner and polisher) but probably wouldn't eliminate it.   He said it may help cover it up though.  I asked if there was something else he could recommend.   He said Zep has an 'odor eliminator' product that might help (he said it may not help completely because it seems it is really embedded in the wood fibers).   My husband picked some up and we'll try it over the weekend.

If that doesn't work I'll look into that Atmosclear stuff.   I had seen that on a website about getting odor out of partially burned houses but I don't recall it was for wood (but I'll certainly check if we get to that).   

Someone else also suggested getting an 'ionizer' which does something with ozone.  That means I would have to rent something and it could be pricey - so we're going to try other stuff first.

Fortunately, I don't really need to use the dining room set yet.  We're remodeling and rebuilding the dining room.    So that gives me some time to 'deal with it'.

Again, thanks for the sympathy and the suggestions.  I'll let you know how the Zep stuff worked (or not).


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## Jestjoan

I was going to recommend a company that cleans up after fires. The only one I could name has complaints galore. Nevermind.


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## PBlais

Are you sure it's the wood and not the upholstry in the chairs! Most wood is sealed so lemon oil or orange oil cleaners should work. If it cloth just remove it and recover it.


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## Karen G

My mother-in-law was a life-long smoker before she passed away at age 93. Anything that came out of her house just reeks of cigarette smoke.  We had a few pieces that we wanted to keep professionally cleaned, but the smell is still there. I never found any product that made any difference. Even things that were sealed, like unopened items in any kind of packaging, still smelled of smoke when opened.

Upholstered items were the worst and most had to be thrown away, but wooden and plastic items still have the stench.  I was amazed that even frozen food in her freezer smelled of smoke.


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## NTHC

My grandmothers furniture smelled the same way.  The pieces that we all brought in to our houses reeked of cigarette smoke.  
I used vinegar to wipe down the furniture and then just oiled it. I also put baking soda near it and eventually the smell has faded. 
Cindy


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## Teresa

*Update*

Just giving an update (as I had said I would do).

So far - some of the smell is going away.   I've tried the 'Odorliminator' from Zep.   Iffy on results.  It seems to help right after I put it on (a citrus-y scent) and then after a day or two it starts to smell smokey again (but not as bad).   I'm still wrapping in blankets and, boy, do those blankets pick up a lot of the smell.   I swap and wash the blankets every few days.   It seems to be less (or I'm just getting used to it).

As I mentioned, the table is in the house but the chairs and the hutch are in the garage (attached to the house).   I've been opening up the garage door on nice days and for a few days, we've set the chairs outside on the driveway (on blankets).   That seems to be helping most of all.

The fabric on the chairs seems to be clearing up faster than that coming from the wood.  I put some of the Zep product on the fabric and that seems to dissipate the smoke-smell pretty well.   The table pads don't seem to have any smell lingering at all (without any chemical treatment at all - just airing).

Next time I get to a hardware store, I'm going to check out that 'Atmosklear' (or however it's spelled) to see if it will help with wood).

I'm thinking there will always be some sort of 'musky-type' smell with the wood parts - but it appears to be lessening (or I'm just getting a bit used to it).   I'm going to keep putting the blankets on the table while they are picking up the 'scent'.   When we actually move it into the new dining room (not rebuilt yet) I figure I will polish it with something that will mask it some.

Thanks for all the suggestions.  All you chemists out there - get to work on a product that will get the smoke out of wood!


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## EvelynK72

If you haven't already done so, I would first get a good furniture cleaner and clean all the pieces.  I had a painting in a wood frame that had been in my mother's house (she was a smoker).  I cleaned the wood frame and this yellow gunk was removed. The same yellow film was layered over the oil painting also. 

You might also try using Fabreze.  I used it on a musty bookcase but I'm not sure it had a real wood finish.  I sprayed the piece every few days or so and eventually the odor disappeared.  In your case, Fabreze would work on the cloth parts.  For the wood, you might try it on the underside of the table or some other part that isn't readily visible to see what Fabreze does to the finish. 

Good luck!


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## moonstone

I asked eldest DS (who works for a major restoration company that deals with fires & floods in residences) about your problem & he said all the unfinished areas  (underside of table, insides of cabinets) will absorb the most smoke smell. His company usually puts large pieces of furniture in an "ozone" machine but says sealing all unfinished parts of wood with urathane (sp?) or paint will do the same thing. Good luck!
~Diane


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