If you happen to be a smoker or hang around people who smoke, you know what it’s like to smell cigarette smoke lingering on your clothes, often long after the butt has been extinguished. Even washing clothes exposed to smoke over time can leave a peculiar smell in your washing machine.
Truth be told, smoke scent removal is incredibly hard because of the tar in the tobacco; this specific tar causes the smoke to adhere to your clothes more strongly than other offensive odors. So, how do you get smoke smell out of clothes? To do this, you must first consider how you can remove the smell before washing.
Getting Rid of Smoke Smell from Clothes
Trick 1: Want to learn how to get smoke smell out of clothes? It’s simple. Contain the smokey clothes in a plastic bag with two dryer sheets and two tablespoons of baking soda. Next, you must secure the pack and start to shake it carefully. Keep the clothes contained in the bag overnight, shake out any remaining debris or baking soda, and then wash.
Trick 2: If you are wondering how to wash smoke out of clothes, this trick is handy! Make sure you have baking soda and white vinegar. Add one cup of each to your washing machine, and allow the smokey clothes to soak for a minimum of an hour. Pour in some detergent powder or liquid, then wash as usual. This trick will also help neutralize the other odors contained in your washing machine, killing two birds with one stone.
As a general rule, both baking soda and vinegar contain highly remarkable odor-neutralizing properties. When handling clothes that are not machine washable, hang them outside to air out before dry-cleaning.
Using a Washing Machine Cleaner
As you’re learning how to wash smoke smell out of clothes, understand that it may also affect your washing machine. Over an extended period of time, you might become aware that the smell is staying behind, in your washer. This increases the possibility of passing the smell on to other clothes you wash. When that happens, getting rid of the smoke smell becomes an even bigger burden.
Fortunately, there are washing machine cleaners that you can turn to. They’re an essential tool in getting rid of the smoke smell on your clothes, because it stops the problem from spreading to the rest of your laundry.
The best example would be Smelly Washer, a washing machine cleaner that effectively removes odors from your washing machine using natural ingredients proven safe and gentle. You can use it up to twice a month, tops.
When using a washing machine washer, set your machine at its hottest cycle, or on its cleaning cycle, with no clothes. This will give the washer enough time to kill any residual odors.
Smelly Washer is not only formulated to effectively remove odors; it also eliminates mildew and fungus that can grow on your clothes and leave them smelling musty.
Freshen Up In Between Washes
Another way to get rid of the smoke smell on your clothes is by freshening up between washes.
Using an odor-eliminating fabric spray has also proven its effectiveness in getting rid of the smoke smell on clothes. Certain fabric sprays are even formulated to remove odors, rather than simply mask them with floral or fruity scents.
If washing smelly clothes right after wearing is not at the top of your priority list, the best thing to do is to hang them up first.
Smoke Removal, Practical Prevention
Learning how to remove the smoke smell is not enough. The best method for getting rid of smoke smells is to prevent them from happening in the first place. To do this, you must adhere to the following:
- Refrain from sitting in smoky rooms with little or no ventilation. As much as it exposes your clothes to the smell, you are also exposing yourself to potential respiratory health problems. Secondhand smoke has documented health risks.
- If you cannot stop the urge to smoke, make sure to smoke in a well-ventilated area. It is also important to empty ashtrays and open windows in your home on a regular basis. By doing so, you are minimizing the impact of stale smoke in the air.
- When smoking, position yourself correctly to ensure the smoke is drawn away from you. As often as possible, hold your cigarette at arm’s length.
- Be aware that smoking damages the fine hairs on the inside of your nose, making you unaware of how you smell, even when others are.
- Consider quitting smoking. It will reduce adverse health risks and negate the need to learn how to get the smoke smell out of clothes in the first place.
If you are unsuccessful in getting the smoke smell out of your clothes, don’t give up! Bring them to us at Kelly’s, one of the best Durango, CO Dry Cleaners!
