Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with cleaning and smoke

How to exorcise cigarette smells and tar from an iMac?

mattybonez — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 10:32:26 -0800

How can I clean away cigarette odor and tar buildup from a G3 iMac? I loaned an old iMac to a friend who needed a computer after his house was burgled. The “week or two” loan turned into many months, and I finally got the computer back last night.

When I saw the condition of my previously minty Mac, I was very sad. The keyboard, mouse, and computer are all showing signs of living with chain smokers. There is some tar discoloration in the clear plastic bits, and there is also a very distinct smell. It's strong enough that I can't bring the computer into my house.

I'm planning on taking apart the components and cleaning them up, but wanted to know if anyone had any additional tips or suggestions before I get started. Any idea on cleaning agents that I can use that won't craze the plastic?

Thanks in advance.

Smoker's apartment.

Neiltupper — Wed, 02 Aug 2006 13:26:37 -0800

A friend is moving into a year-old apartment. Everything's great except that the previous tenant was a smoker and stale cigarette smoke has permeated the place. Any suggestions for getting rid of this smell?

Smoke From The Squatter

fandango_matt — Thu, 26 May 2005 07:35:46 -0800

One of my roommates put a pot of chicken on the stove and went downstairs to make some phone calls and answer email and while we were drinking beer on the porch we heard a strange, high-pitched, shrieking whine. After speculating about what it could possibly be, I realized it was the smoke alarm, alerting my roommate that the pot of chicken he began cooking 90 minutes ago was done--totally, completely, really, well-done.

So now the entire place smells like a burned-down Kentucky Fried Chicken. How do we get rid of the smoke smell? It's in everything--the carpet, the blinds, the furniture, everywhere. Should we hire smoke-damage cleaning experts, repaint the place, or do we just need to leave the windows open for a few weeks and spend a weekend cleaning the house from attic to basement?

Removing smoke smell from a leather jacket.

Tubes — Mon, 22 Dec 2003 14:19:49 -0800

I have a nice black leather jacket that has absorbed a bit of smoke smell each time I've gone out downtown, and it doesn't seem to let any of it go. It's gotten pretty stanky. The only advice I'm finding online is to rub baking soda into it, but I'd wonder if it would ever look black again after that. Febreze is not recommended for leather. The jacket is that very soft, pliable glove-leather -- not heavy-duty Harley gear. Anyone have experience with this?

Clearing the Air

tirade — Sat, 13 Dec 2003 17:47:37 -0800

What's the best way to clear the air in a smokey room? I'm a non-smoker, but someone in an adjacent apartment is chain smoking and it's stinking up my place. It's getting too cold to just crack the windows. I'm working with the apartment managers, but I'm not sure that's really going to go anywhere. In the mean time, does anyone have any clever suggestions? I'm considering air purifiers, but my ceilings are fairly high (i.e., lots of air to filter) and I don't know if they would to much good. Are there any good models out there? Google searches have gotten me a lot of conflicting reviews.