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How to Remove Cigarette Smell from Books

January 28, 2010

Getting Cigarette Smell Out of Books. A pile of old books.My wife and I buy a lot of used books. The problem is, often the books have been in storage, or in a smoker's home (no offense to any smokers), or in other conditions that have left behind odors. I used to apply Febreze to rid books of these smells, but I've found a much cheaper way.

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Simply take a sample perfume strip such as are found in many magazines and slip it into the book. Place the book in a sealable storage bag for a day or so. I've found that this will replace odors with the scent of the strip.

Of course, use a scent you don't mind smelling!

Source: My personal experience

By Mad Rabbit from Lovington, IL

 

Comments

July 8, 20090 found this helpful
Top Comment

Try putting the book in a zipper-lock bag with either a new, unused fabric softener sheet or with about a teaspoon of fresh, dry, unused coffee grounds. Leave the book in there for at least 8 hours. Good luck!

 
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12 More Solutions

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February 5, 2013

I wanted to share a tip about how to get rid of cigarette odor from books within an hour. No baking soda, no use of charcoal which only mask the cigarette smoke, no waiting for days or weeks to get rid of the smoke.

 
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May 8, 2013

My daughter had accidentally unplugged a chest freezer and I didn't find it until about 2 weeks later. The whole thing was filled with nasty rotten meat.

 
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November 28, 2011

Set the opened books out to air in the sun. A further solution is to place unused dryer sheets among the pages of closed books.

 
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November 22, 2011

I bought a book at Amazon that evidently was in a fire. It took a year for smell to go away. You could try putting the book in plastic bag with baking soda or flowers to absorb the smell or spray your book with orange oil

 
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Questions

Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.

February 19, 2011

I would like help for getting cigarette smell out of hardback books and paperback books?

By patricia d from Ramona, CA

Answers

February 22, 20110 found this helpful

Hi Patricia,

I had the same problem with a large collection of postcards that I had purchased from an estate. What I tried was putting them in a cardboard box that was big enough to allow air space, put in 2 bounce dryer sheets and closed the box up for about a week.

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I was amazed when I opened the box back up - there was no sign of the cigarette smell ramaining at all. HTH

 
September 1, 20111 found this helpful

I use to smoke and since I've moved 3 years ago my entire bookshelf has been packed away in boxes. I went to take them out and omg. I can't believe what my house must have smelled like. There are 6 large Rubbermaid containers full plus a few boxes. How will I ever get the smell out of my treasured books? Quickest and most effective. Help please!

 
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November 15, 2005

Please tell me how I can get tobacco odors out of hard back books.

Carrie Shuter from Meridian, Idaho

Answers

By Helen (Guest Post)
November 15, 20050 found this helpful

I too had the task of taking that awful smell off of books and video cases, what I did was to get a pan of warm water with Tide in it , use a cloth that is wrung out fairly dry, wipe the jacket of the books,also stand the book on end so that you can wipe the ends and sides off, You will be amazed at the color of the water After I finished doing that i wiped them dry,"as best I could" and I tore up sheets of Fabric softener putting the part sheets 4-6 in each book. Then putting the books in an airtight bag for a few weeks. after that I aired them out and they were not too bad for smell. I had a real collection of about 50 books that were given me and They were just too valuable to throw out. I do hope this helps.

 
By Jennifer,CA (Guest Post)
November 17, 20051 found this helpful

When I buy used books or from the Library I wipe the outside with baby wipes and spray a shot of lysol. Then I spray Lysol as I fan the pages. Lysol dries quickly. Try and keep a 10 inch distance. If you happen to spray closer no big deal. Lysol dries fast. Smells gone! And germs too!

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Jennifer CA

 
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Archives

ThriftyFun is one of the longest running frugal living communities on the Internet. These are archives of older discussions.

October 27, 2009

Does anyone know how to get the smell of cigarette smoke out of books? A friend just gave me a wonderful cookbook that she bought at a yard sale and it smells so strong that my allergies go wild.

 
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January 28, 2010

How do I remove smoke odors from books?

 
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December 10, 2009

How do you get cigarette smoke smell off of books?

 
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June 24, 2008
Click to read more ideas from older posts on ThriftyFun.
 
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February 19, 2011

How can you get cigarette smoke smell out of books?

 
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June 4, 2008
Click to read more ideas from older posts on ThriftyFun.
 
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