Homeowner Forum / Cleaning / March 2005

Hi All

This is tough because it's a skin and not a cloth, so spraying anything onto
the surface may cause colour change, colour loss or a change on the feel of
the suede.

You could try spraying a smoke treatment as a last resort or putting the
jacket into a bag with an odour treatment, such as an odour gel, or a
natural moth repellant.

Take a look at www.DrClean.co.uk/Retail_DrClean/Odourtreatments.asp and also
www.drclean.co.uk/Retail_DrClean/ProtectGarment.asp for specific treatments
and moth repellants. The pot-pouri odour is probably strong enough to work
on the smoke over a period of time.

Hope this helps

Take it to someone that specializes in leather work.  You might try
placing the jacket in the sun for a few hours.  

Dear Taiyaki,

Try hanging it outside for a day, preferably a mildly windy day.  Too
bad
Febreeze can't be used on leather--it works wonders on other things.
But I
hang my stored things outside to get out the mothball smell and it
works.

Teri

Dry cleaning is your best bet.  Are there any other cleaners close by?  Call
a few others and see what they say.

There are products like Odorcide on the market.  But I would be very careful
putting that stuff on a suede jacket.  Look around and read labels.

Sharon

Have you tried baking soda? It absorbs odors very well.

What I would do is to put the jacket in a box (maybe a Rubbermaid
container, if you have something like that), and in the same box place a
container of baking soda, at least 1/2 cup. Leave it in the box, sealed,
for at least a couple of days and then see how much of the odor is left.

Hope this helps!

By the way, there are tons of tips for using baking soda on the Arm &
Hammer website. This is an amazing product, environmentally friendly,
and it's dirt cheap, too.

http://www.armhammer.com/basics/

Karen Maslowski in Ohio

Could you hang it outside in sunlight for a few days?  That works with
beads, so it might work with fabric!

Charlie.

Activated charcoal is very good for absorbing odors.  I think you can get it
cheaply at a pet store, they have it for aquariums, etc.  I would place the
loosely folded jacket and a mesh bag of charcoal in a large tub with a close
fitting top, and leave it for several days.  Check and refresh the charcoal
if necessary.

Another way, if that fails, is to place the jacket in a bag with some cedar
chips or the little cedar balls you get in the closet supply department.
The jacket may end up smelling like cedar, but that is probably preferable
to cigarette smoke.  This worked for me when I won a serger on an eBay
auction, and it smelled awfully of cigarette smoke.

And if none of the above works, well, $45.00 to have a *free* leather jacket
professionally cleaned doesn't sound unreasonable to me.

Just fresh air will take the big part of it out......hang it in a protected
(roofed) area of the deck, or outside for several days.  Really helps a lot.
Of course, you would bring it in at night or if it threatened rain.....

The safest thing is to hang it for a few days somewhere outside where it
will be out of the sun and rain/snow. Brush down the suede and lining
with a clean clothes brush every day.

The next thing to try if that doesn't remove all the odour is to work
plain *dry* baking soda into the suede and lining. Leave it for half an
hour and brush out the baking soda (easiest to do this outside too LOL).
Repeat if needed. That worked for a suede jacket I received from an
ex-smoker.

Whatever cleaner you take it to make certain they are qualified and set
up to clean suede properly. The shop will normally advertise themselves
as specialists in cleaning suede and leather.

oh my.   does the liner come out in order to wash it seperately?    can
you *get* it out to wash it?

I would probably try something like a dryer with damp cloths and no
heat, tumbled.   or hanging on the line in the wind.   Read Febreze
label and see if that works?  have you googled leather freshening,
cleaning?

I despise tobacco smoke odors so I feel for you.

--
--
Kate, http://systems.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/advantages-of-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (10), Sage (7.5), Benno (4!!)    Nothing is more
conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all.  ~
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Looking for a thinking moms list?  see
<http://listserv.uts.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/parent-l>

Try Febreze.........it has worked for us with smoke in other fabrics.

Denise at Bellybutton Bears [memory teddy bears, for people and pets]

--
The Homestead Store and More........
For a little bit of Alaska and a lot of the Northwest, drop by for a visit!
http://www.homesteadline.com

Wash it. I wash my suede jacket and my suede vest and they come out
clean and buttery and soft like new. Oh, and they started out black...
and they're still black. Use a detergent that contains no enzymes, such
as powdered All. Do not use bleach. Use a liquid fabric softener, and
no dryer sheets.
Tom, laundry heritic
  http://www.tomfarrell.org/laundry

this is bizarre- I know I responded to this but the response isn't
here!   I suggested tumbling on low or no heat with damp towels, or
removing the lining and washing that seperately, hanging the coat out
in the wind for several days or checking the labels of products like
Febreze to see if you can use them on suede.

I feel for you- hate tobacco smoke!

--
--
Kate, http://systems.cs.colorado.edu/~kolina/advantages-of-formula.html
Mom to Ursula (10), Sage (7.5), Benno (4!!)    Nothing is more
conducive to peace of mind than not having any opinions at all.  ~
Georg Christoph Lichtenberg
Looking for a thinking moms list?  see
<http://listserv.uts.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/parent-l>

First dry brush the suede and vacuum the surface, use an upholstery
attachment.

Hang the jacket in a sunny and airy location for a few days.

Find a box or bag large enough for the garment and place the garment in
with a few broken pieces of charcoal (don't use fast-light or other
modified charcoal, only pure burned wood chunks) You can also use
activated charcoal found in aquarium shops, sold as filter medium.

Make certain to seal the charcoal in a cloth or paper bag so it won't
smudge your garment.

Seal the container and place in an out of the way location for a week or
so. Check the garment for smell, and repeat the process as necessary
(use fresh charcoal).

You may want to remove the lining if you can (sometimes they zip out or
unbutton) and have that dry cleaned separately. You may alternately try
suface cleaning the fur fabric, use a protective layer between the
lining and the suede interior.

Tobacco smoke is very sticky, best of luck!