De-stinking wood chairs from a smoking household

December 7, 2020 11:46 AM

I acquired four nice wooden chairs from my Buy Nothing Group, then realized on the way home that they reek of cigarette smoke. Can I / how do I get the smell out so I can use them? Help!

These chairs are solid wood. I like them well enough that I’d rather put in some effort than throw them away. I do not smoke, others aren’t allowed to smoke in my house, and the smell is revolting and strong. If I can’t fix this, these chairs are going to the dump.

There are lots of tips for this online, but I don’t want to waste time trying something ineffective. What has actually worked for you to remove cigarette smell from solid wood, and at what point do I give up and dispose of these? Thanks!

posted by centrifugal to Home & Garden (9 answers total)

It depends on how they are finished, but cleaning and time should take care of it.

Wipe with a cloth dampened with water with a little soap or even [gasp] a little detergent. Don't soak and don't flood. Wipe dry right away. Repeat damp/dry as needed. Get more rags as needed. The color on you rag will tell you you are removing dirt.

Repeated barely moist rounds of this is best to not get the wood too wet.

You will find patches where body oils [from hair or hands] have left heavier deposits of grime. Some gentle scrubbing may be called for. Removing these may take some finish with them, but really, you want to get that stuff off.

Initially/during this process they may smell worse.
posted by Glomar response at 12:14 PM on December 7, 2020 [3 favorites]

If cleaning doesn't work, then sanding (possibly pretty aggressively) and refinishing may be necessary. That may defeat the goal of not buying anything, though, if you don't have the supplies on hand. You may be able to borrow a sander from your local library, if it has a tool library. It probably goes without saying, but I would do the sanding outside if at all possible.
posted by jedicus at 12:45 PM on December 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

If they're not painted, I'd be tempted to take them to a carwash, suds them very lightly, wash them off very thoroughly with high pressure plain water, then take them home and dry out the joints where water will have been forced in with a hairdryer.

That last step will be quite a bit of work (though it would tell you how well you've gotten rid of the smoke), and their finish may look considerably distressed, but very light sanding and a llittle wax would probably make them look pretty good.
posted by jamjam at 1:03 PM on December 7, 2020

For bare wood or plastic, I will never stop advocating for soapy water with a few drops of lemon juice. This is a miracle work, especially for getting odors off of plastic.

For fabric cushions, generously shake on baking soda, let sit for a long time (hour or more), then vacuum off. Repeat frequently until smell is gone.

Also don't underestimate the power of wind and sunlight to remove odors. If you have a safe place, leave the chairs out for a few hours at a time.

Some combination of those should do the trick. After the chairs are odor-free, you'll probably want to treat the wood in some way, even if it is just a cheap paste wax like lemon pledge. All of that cleaning will make the wood in need of a new topcoat.
posted by seasparrow at 1:26 PM on December 7, 2020 [2 favorites]

I would seriously consider a professional product. Make sure you clean every surface, including the underneath.
posted by theora55 at 3:37 PM on December 7, 2020

I was in the same boat a few summers ago. I left the furniture outside, on covered patio, for about a week. Smell was gone.

I realize this may not be possible in your situation, but it worked for me, and there was no actual work involved on my part, except to move the pieces in and out of the house.
posted by SuperSquirrel at 4:20 PM on December 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

This is an ideal situation for shellac. Something like this would be good, but any clear dewaxed premixed shellac will do. Most big box hardware stores sell it.
posted by Poldo at 6:17 PM on December 7, 2020

My mom is a contractor who does exclusively insurance restoration work, including lots of fire damage where smoke smell is a big problem. They swear by this stuff.
posted by saladin at 4:24 AM on December 8, 2020 [1 favorite]

I bought a china cabinet from a heavy-smoking house. It was VILE. I kept it in a large area for a few days with baking soda inside - didn't remove the smell.
I wiped the whole thing with soapy water - didn't remove the smell (also, smelled worse because wet wood).
I shellac'd the whole thing - that mostly sealed in the smell.
I then painted the whole thing with 3 coats. Every surface including the underside.
At the end of all that, I couldn't smell it any more.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 3:00 PM on December 8, 2020