Smoke Smell in Garage Sale Fabric
06-26-2011, 10:12 PM
#41
Super Member
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Texas
Posts: 3,440
Thanks Grambi , I PMed you and I totally understand now about your being a x smoker , and I know that the lady will be very proud of what you are going to do for her with the Fabric
. :D I also want to say that I'm proud of you also for giving up that bad smoking habit, I wish I could , but it's harder to do then it sounds .Maybe one day :D
. :D I also want to say that I'm proud of you also for giving up that bad smoking habit, I wish I could , but it's harder to do then it sounds .Maybe one day :D
06-26-2011, 10:23 PM
#43
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Central Square NY
Posts: 823
ALSO, WHAT A FIND AND HER MEMORY WILL LIVE ON FOR SURE WITH SOMEONE WHO IS A QUILTER AND HAS ALL HER STASH.......ENJOY OK AND WITH ALL THE HELP ON THE BOARD, U WILL GET THE SMOKE SMELL OUT, PLEASE LET US KNOW WHAT ACTUALLY WORKED OK.....
06-26-2011, 10:55 PM
#44
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
Posts: 7,484
Originally Posted by Grambi
I have always been awed by the garage and estate sale finds that are posted on this board. I figure I would never experience that since I rarely make it to garage sales, especially first thing in the morning before they are picked over. My cousin-in-law is a master garage saler and called me a couple of weeks ago to ask about a sewing machine she was looking at. I went over to give her some advice and when the man who was holding the sale heard that I was a quilter, he said "follow me" and led us into the garage where he had boxes and garbage bags stuffed with fabric, quilt tops, rulers, dozens of books, thread, etc that belonged to his late wife. He had tears in his eyes and said "I knew a quilter would come along today--just take it all please". Free!!!!!. His daughter picked out the finished tops to keep--that's all she wanted of the stash. I paid $20 for an oak quilt rack. His only request was that any fabric I didn't want to keep be donated in his wifes name, Sharmaine.
Sadly they were both smokers and the fabric reeks. I laided it out on my hammock and every other piece of furniture on the porch to air out for days. There are hundreds of yards (many 6-8 yard cuts) so it couldn't be completely unfolded as I didn't have the room. Because of our severe drought and the time it would take, I can't wash it all. So I have 5 bins packed with sorted and folded fabric. I placed 3-4 bars of deoderant soap in each bin. I will have to wash a load at a time when we get rain and our rainwater tank is full again. I don't feel that I can donate any with the smell and I don't want to use it that way either.
Any tips on what products to use and how to wash it to get the smoke smell out? I can hang the lighter-colored fabrics on the clothesline in the sun after washing but don't want to fade the brights. I did a test with one white piece and hung it up for a few days without washing. Don't know if the smell went away as a cow pulled it off, chewed it up and spit it out--yuck!!! :roll: :roll:
Sadly they were both smokers and the fabric reeks. I laided it out on my hammock and every other piece of furniture on the porch to air out for days. There are hundreds of yards (many 6-8 yard cuts) so it couldn't be completely unfolded as I didn't have the room. Because of our severe drought and the time it would take, I can't wash it all. So I have 5 bins packed with sorted and folded fabric. I placed 3-4 bars of deoderant soap in each bin. I will have to wash a load at a time when we get rain and our rainwater tank is full again. I don't feel that I can donate any with the smell and I don't want to use it that way either.
Any tips on what products to use and how to wash it to get the smoke smell out? I can hang the lighter-colored fabrics on the clothesline in the sun after washing but don't want to fade the brights. I did a test with one white piece and hung it up for a few days without washing. Don't know if the smell went away as a cow pulled it off, chewed it up and spit it out--yuck!!! :roll: :roll:
I'm a firm believer in Oxy-clean-------well, the generic SUN brand. I soak stuff in the cleaner, either in my stock pot or in the bath tub, drain then wash with detergent and a bit more oxy-clean. Then I add vinegar to the machine instead of softner to help assure that I've gotten most of the soap out.
Sometimes it takes more than one soak to get the smoke residue and smell out, but it does come out.
I bought a comforter Friday that had a cream/blue/green check pattern. (rummage sale) I know the color scheme because I'd just bought the matching shower curtain just days earlier at a thrift store. This comforter had so much smoke on it, that the blue showed as green. I soaked it twice in the tub with oxyclean, then soaked with detergent, then kinda rinsed it. It weighted a ton wet but I did manage to slosh it around some. After all that and when most of the water had drained out, I put it in my big washer to run thru a regular cycle. It's blue & green & cream now! And on my bed waiting for me to crawl in.
AND IT SMELLS GOOD!
06-26-2011, 10:58 PM
#45
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: S. W. Indiana
Posts: 7,484
Originally Posted by Pickles
I got a good suggestion put it all back into the contraners it was given in and run a ad in the papper to give it all away to a smoker that Quilts. I smoke and I know that if I should pass on that I would want my DH to make sure my Stash and Notions
will go to a Quilter that want mind the smell and just love my stash as much as I did and be greatful for getting it all. There is
still a bunch of smoking quilters out there that would love to own that poor womens stash, wish you luck with it :-D
will go to a Quilter that want mind the smell and just love my stash as much as I did and be greatful for getting it all. There is
still a bunch of smoking quilters out there that would love to own that poor womens stash, wish you luck with it :-D
06-27-2011, 02:38 AM
#46
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Queensland, Australia
Posts: 684
I am a smoker and had despaired of the reek of the fabric and projects!!
But I heard about using Bi-Carb Soda in the wash so I tried it.
IT WORKS!!!
So just wash it all with Bi-Carb and enjoy :)
But I heard about using Bi-Carb Soda in the wash so I tried it.
IT WORKS!!!
So just wash it all with Bi-Carb and enjoy :)
06-27-2011, 02:38 AM
#47
Member
Join Date: May 2011
Posts: 2
I, too, had problems with a smell -- I read an article to use newspaper to absorb the odor!!! I tried it and it really worked!!! I am so glad that something so simple and so cost effective worked!!!!!! [email protected]
06-27-2011, 03:13 AM
#48
Junior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Reston, VA
Posts: 165
Fill a coffee cup of ammonia and put in the area where the fabric is. It will hide the smell (and evaporate) until you can get the fabric washed. Keep replenishing the ammonia as it evaporates. I was successful in getting smoke smell out of upholstery by using ammonia with the steam cleaner, Ammonia in the washer when you wash the fabric should eliminate the smell.
06-27-2011, 03:17 AM
#49
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: North Texas
Posts: 449
ok, you will think I am nuts, go to your local pet store and get a product called nature's miracle. it is all an natural product that is normally used to work on animal orders, but the premise is the same, it breaks down the enzymes that cause oder to remove it from any type of fabric source and once done it doesn't have a perfume-y smell like some of the frebreeze products do.
06-27-2011, 03:32 AM
#50
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: SE Alabama
Posts: 821
If you have the big plastic tubs, get baking soda,( I get mine at the Dollar Store), sprinkle the whole box between the fabric and close it up for a few days or until you can wash....put the soda in the water when you wash, will take the smell out.
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