Need Advice on How to Remove Smoke Smell

[littleironhorse]

Hi guys, I’be been trying to get the smell of cigarette smoke out of a couple of small dragons (Young and Fledgling).

I tried washing them with a gentle soap and lukewarm water, and I’ve put them in an airtight container with activated carbon for the last 10 days. So far no luck.

Any advice?

[kitsunelady]

Heh. I tried all that weird stuff in an attempt to get the smoke smell out of a piece I bought off ebay right after I started collecting. Nothing worked.

So, I just set him on my dresser, which is right under a fan, and kept the windows open during nice weather. You’d never know he was from a smoking house now. It just takes time and some fresh air.

[Lupuslunae]

Yeah, I had a very stinky one too. I cleaned him extensively with no luck. I had him behind glass in my display case, and I could smell smoke on Windstones next to him after that. He sits out now, though I hate the idea of dust touching him =P I’ve had him a few months, he still smells like smoke but he’s not as stinky as he was when first i got him.

[WolfenMachine]

I lightly misted the felt pad of my black gold young dragon with Febreeze, and made sure not to get any on the actual dragon….repeated this a couple times a week, and let him air dry-the smell went away (and I have a very sensitive nose to things like cigarette smoke since I dont smoke cigarettes)

[chrisherself]

I used Febreze too, but misted it on a paper towel first, and then set the dragon on top. 🙂 That way I didn’t have to spray directly on the dragon.

A lot of times a really really good cleaning to get every last speck of dust out of every crevice helps. Dust from a cigarette smoker’s house smells strong.

Once the piece is clean, the best thing is a lot of fresh air. The larger the piece the longer it will take to air out but it’ll go away eventually. I haven’t found much else that works.

[siberakh1]

I bought a peacock hatching empress on ebay a few years ago that smelled like it had bathed in an ashtray for a year. I can’t stand the smell of cigarettes or smoke and it couldn’t be in my presence and I’m REALLY sensitive to smells (I’m the nose of my house :P). Other than sitting him on a towel that has been febreezed after a good cleaning, I sat the dragon in a box filled with baking soda out on my porch for about at least a week (it’s a closed in porch and the weather was good with low humidity). Worked like a charm. After the cleaning and airing out, I could have the guy on a shelf in my bedroom near my bed without a problem, and even put him under my nose without an issue (I could detect a faint odor, but it was tolerable to me and no one else in my household could smell it). The piece was rehomed (I ended up with two) to another forum member shortly thereafter, who said she couldn’t smell the cigarette smell when she got her. *nods*

[Wampus Dragon]

I got a ruby mother once that reeked of smoke. I did what you are NOT supposed to do and washed her and her pad down with water and dawn soap, cleaning out the crevices with a cheap paintbrush and a q-tip. It worked wonders. The felt pad is still stained yellow from the smoke, but the dragon itself doesnt smell anymore and didnt incur any damage from my deep cleaning. I cant STAND the smell of cigarette smoke, so it had to be done.

[littleironhorse]

I got a ruby mother once that reeked of smoke. I did what you are NOT supposed to do and washed her and her pad down with water and dawn soap, cleaning out the crevices with a cheap paintbrush and a q-tip. It worked wonders. The felt pad is still stained yellow from the smoke, but the dragon itself doesnt smell anymore and didnt incur any damage from my deep cleaning. I cant STAND the smell of cigarette smoke, so it had to be done.

That was my step one, but it didn’t help. It seems the smell has soaked into the gypsum. I’ll try airing it out like several people have suggested.

Thanks everyone!

[chrisherself]

That baking powder idea was pretty neat too. Did you submerge the dragon in the powder? Was it hard to clean off if so?

[dragonmedley]

I concur, airing out is the best. I would even say to air them outside on nice days to accelerate the process, even lying on the side to give the felt a chance to air too.

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[littleironhorse]

That baking powder idea was pretty neat too. Did you submerge the dragon in the powder? Was it hard to clean off if so?

I’m afraid to try baking powder because it’s abrasive. For the moment I’m trying airing it out as several members have suggested. I’m also sunning them a bit since the colors aren’t among the more light sensitive ones and the sun is great at removing odours. We’ll see…

[twindragonsmum]

Got my fingers crossed for you, littleironhorse. May take some time, but I’m confident that you will win the battle of Stinky Windstone Dragons J)

twindragonsmum 🙂

tdm

[siberakh1]

I just put a box of opened (or bowl, small container, etc.) of baking powder in the same cardboard box with it. A box of opened baking soda left in a fridge will help get rid of odors, so I did the same for the windstone. I didn’t pour it on to the windstone. 😉 I suppose you could set down a layer of it in a container and set the windstone on it, but there is no need to pour it on the sculpture. I kept it in the box, so I could use the baking soda at a later date to cook with and not have it go to waste, so no need to really worry about it being abrasive or not if you aren’t putting it on the sculpture. 😛

– Basically, I wiped the sculpture down as much as possible.
– Air windstone in fresh air for a few days.
– Lay down a layer of paper towel in a cardboard box (I prefer plain white, so there is no inks from any pattern to worry about).
– Spray it with Febreeze. Don’t get it soaked. A little damp is ok.
– Place windstone in box on top of paper towel.
– Place opened container or box of baking soda in cardboard box next to the windstone.
– Close the lid loosely (if at all, I think I closed it for one day and left it opened the rest of the time) to allow the baking soda to work. Let sit for a few days and check on it daily. You can open the box during the day to let the fresh air in. Swap and respray the paper towel with Febreeze as needed. Keep checking on it.
– Do any fine cleaning again after the piece has aired out.

It really just takes time, cleaning, and fresh air.

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