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I bought a lovely vintage 60s faux leopard fur coat from eBay recently but when I received it I found it smelt strongly of stale sweat but was unable to send it back. I have had it dry cleaned hoping that this would freshen it up but it did nothing to improve the odour! The dry cleaner said that the perspiration odour had gone through the lining and impregnated the fur fabric, which is 75% modacrylic and 25% mohair.
I can't say for sure that any of these will work, but they are worth trying.
Put the coat in a paper bag. Fill another bag with kitty litter. Put the bag with the coat in the bag with the kitty litter. Place in the sun for several days.
Spray the coat with a mixture of water and white vinegar. You might want to test this first on the lining or an edge. Let dry.
Febreeze sometimes works on BO. Try that if nothing else works.
You might try putting in a box with some charcoal briquets to absorb the odor. Don't put the bricquets on the jacket just next to it and seal up the box. Also you might try some baking soda.
I'd try to turn the coat inside out, with lining showing, and gently spray with an odor remover with an enzyme activator. These can usually be found in pet & urine remover formulas and they smell nice & work great! The enzymes will "eat" the odor. Just like the sweat penetrated the coat lining to the fur without ruining it, you might be able to get the odor remover to penetrate a little to the fur without damage. Worth a try. I'd test it out on a little section first.
Good luck
I have done this with my leather coat with a fur collar after having been in a smoke filled place all night (which makes me gag lol) First I sprayed the coat with Febreeze and hung it out to dry over night.. Most of the time all smells are gone by morning, but If not, I have also put the coat in the dryer for only about 5 minutes on low with about 5 bounty sheets in with it..
This works for almost any "smelly" item (clothing, refrigerators, freezers, semi-trailers with stinky cargo....everything!), no matter what the smell:
Turn your faux fur wrong side out, & place it into a large plastic bag, along with an uncovered bowl (or other open container) with about 7 oz. of fresh coffee grounds in it. Seal bag with twist tie, but be careful not to spill the coffee grounds....it may not hurt your fur, but play it safe. Leave it this way for a few days. Remove fur from bag, do sniff test.....the offensive odor should be gone. See my note in the tips section.
On real fur they say to rub in cornmeal and brush out.....lightly for both, you don't want to damage the fur, otherwise send it to a furrier, a dry cleaner is not quip to work with such garments
MAC (modified acryllic) can be machine washed in cold water. Mohair (N.B. strange mix faux and angora together? are you sure?), but if it is the following washing instructions for the real material. Mohair is a smooth fibre so a good shake will dislodge most dust and dirt particles. If the product needs further washing it can be handwashed in water with a light wool detergent or some fabric softener.
Try to avoid over washing as this can affect the pile. Rinse with clean water. It can be spun dry and then hung over a line or laid flat to dry. I work for the largest producer of faux furs in Europe.
I have just bought a faux fur throw rug. It has an odour. It is a dreadful synthetic smell, almost like oil or petrol. I have tried putting the rug through the washing machine but it still smells. Any advice anyone please? I have thought of baking soda but the pile of the rug is very deep - about 1 inch and I am worried I would not be able to get all of the powder out again.
If the rug is washable, use the baking soda, and then wash it out.
If you have a box/storage container with a lid big enough to hold the rug, place the rug in the container with 8-10 lumps of plain charcoal, or 2 cups of dry ground coffee. Cover for at least 3 days. Both absorb odors. Put the charcoal/coffee
in an open dish on top of the rug.
If a product called Febreze is sold in Australia, spraying the rug with it might help.
the rug is made from petroleum products. that could be why it smells.
Sorry, but it sounds like you got a cheaply made rug. Some fabrics that are entirely synthetic and are not going to be used for clothing are made more cheaply and sometimes smell. I had a rug like that too. I bought it to use in the bathroom but it ended up on the back steps! Better luck next time.
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I bought a faux fur jacket on e-bay and didn't think to ask about a "smoke-free" house. You guessed it, the jacket is just full of cigarette smoke. How can I get the cigarette smell out of this jacket?
Jeanne
Try spritzing it with Febreze. My son's girlfriend's family are heavy smokers and after visiting over there he comes home with his coat and clothes all smoky smelling. Febreze took the odor right out.
I've also heard you can put diluted fabric softener (50/50) in a spray bottle, spritz and achieve the same results. (01/22/2005)
By Cheryl from Missouri
I was given a faux fir coat that had been in a very musty closet for several years, smelt so bad. I put it in the dryer on a synthetic heat setting with 2 dryer sheets and when the cycle was done it smelled great, the smell never came back. (01/23/2005)
By Anna from Maine
Mother Nature is the best at removing smoke-scent. When a breeze comes your way, hang the coat outside. (01/24/2005)
By Sandy
Don't febreze real fur coats. Take them to a furrier to be cleaned and glazed (about $40-$50 ). Heck, I took in a coat from ebay that stank bad and had my furrier look it over and give me an appraisal for minor adjustments. I left it for a few days, when I got it back he did something to it - it smelled great. He probably didn't want the smell to get on the other coats in the shop.
(02/11/2006)
By Mothermole
Hers my trick (my daughter smokes and when the grandkids come, I can't have their suitcase in the house without getting a sinus infection.) If the item is washable, put one cup ammonia and one cup white vinegar in the washer with the item on as low a water level as possible and run the delicate cycle on cold (no additional soap). When the clothes are through, smell them BEFORE putting them in the dryer. If all the smell of cigarettes is gone (you will smell the vinegar/ammonia a little), put them in the dryer or hang them in a wind. The vinegar smell will disappear with the drying process. If the cigarette smell is still there, a second run in the washer with the vinegar/ammonia and you're good to go. (05/12/2006)
By Mildred Schwartz
I took the advice of a friend of mine and tried a product called Vamoose 1808T. The only company I know that sells it is called Hill Country Distribution. I saw several blogs on the product and decided to give it a try. It smells really strong at first but after a few hours the odor disappears and the cigarette odor was gone. A few days later I noticed a slight odor again so I retreated it and its been completely gone since then. I don't think they have a web site but their email is sales@hillcountrydistibution.com... The guy I spoke with said they sell mostly to hotels and motels and were not set-up for credit cards but he was willing to ship the product C.O.D. I thought it was a little expensive but after using the product, I'm glad I decided to try. (09/12/2006)
By David
I had the same problem and just found a solution this weekend. I purchased gorgeous fur coat from EBAY. When it arrived, it REEKED of cigarette smoke and I thought the coat was ruined. But I hung it in our small bathroom with the Biozone 3000 (an air purifier with negative ions, ozone gases which we bought to remedy a mold problem a year ago as it kills mold and smells with the gases) on high and closed the door. All weekend long the coat was exposed to the Biozone. I was shocked today when I went in to smell the coat. I swear the odor is GONE. Amazing... If you have a purifier that uses ozone (not the filter types) than this might work for you. (09/25/2006)
By Kellie
Thanks for the tip on Vamoose, it works great. Hill Country Distribution does have a website now and also takes credit cards. Thanks again for the tip. (01/01/2007)
By Lynn
