High-quality furniture is very expensive, and you want it to last as long as it possibly can. It can be a bit problematic, then, if you don’t actually enjoy using the furniture. Suppose, for instance, that your parents or grandparents have given you an old couch. That’s a great thing if you’re outfitting your home and are trying to save money, but it’s a little less great if the couch’s previous owners were smokers. Furniture is very absorbent, and getting the smoke smell out isn’t going to be easy – but you can do it. In this guide, we’ll explain what your options are. You’ll probably find that the best way to remove the smoke smell from your furniture will be some combination of these methods.
Don’t Smoke Around the Furniture
It might go without saying, but if you’re a smoker yourself, you can never smoke around the furniture again if you want to get the smoke smell out for good. If you do smoke around it, the foul smell is just going to return. Either go outside to smoke or get a Geek Bar that you can use when cravings hit.
Use Baking Soda to Absorb the Smell
Baking soda is very absorbent, which is why some people put boxes of it in their refrigerators and freezers to remove musty odours. Try sprinkling baking soda liberally on the furniture and leaving it there overnight. Vacuum it up in the morning and see if the smell has improved. By the way, baking soda also works well for removing pet smells from carpets.
Use Bags of Activated Charcoal
Speaking of powerful scent absorbers, activated charcoal has so much surface area that it could possibly be even more effective than baking soda. You can find it in bags at your local home improvement store. Put the bags under and inside the cushions and leave them there for several weeks. Don’t open the bags because the black charcoal will stain your furniture. Remove the bags after a few weeks and check them. Are they stinky? If so, they’ve done their job. Toss them and replace them with new bags if your furniture still smells.
Put the Furniture in Direct Sunlight if Possible
Did you know that sunlight can do an amazing job of removing unwanted smells? The sun’s ultraviolet radiation neutralises the odour-causing molecules through the process of oxidation, so taking your furniture outside on a sunny day and leaving it there for a few hours can greatly help to remove a smoky smell. Before you do this, though, you might want to start with a single cushion placed upside down and see how the fabric holds up. Sunlight can cause some types of upholstery to discolour. It’s also generally not safe for leather.
Launder the Cushion Covers if You Can
If your furniture has cushion covers that unzip, you’re in luck because it may be possible to remove the covers and wash them. Add a good amount of distilled white vinegar to the load because vinegar does an excellent job of removing the smell of smoke. Before you do this, though, you might want to test the fabric by spraying some vinegar in an inconspicuous location. If the vinegar bleaches the fabric, you probably won’t want to launder the cushions. Are you afraid that the fabric might shrink? Bring the cushion covers to a dry-cleaning service instead. A well-equipped dry cleaner will have specialised chemicals that can remove a smoky smell.
Replace or Clean the Cushions
The cushions might be the most absorbent parts of a large piece of furniture like a couch. Furniture cushions are generally made from foam that’s dense and very porous, and the foam can absorb an enormous amount of smoke. You should consider replacing the cushions if you can. Good furniture cushions can be expensive, though, and you definitely don’t want to buy cheap ones that can’t support your weight. To remove a smoky smell from furniture cushions, try spraying them liberally with vinegar and leaving them out in the sun to dry.
Replace the Stuffing if You Can
Do you have a couch or chair with a zippered back? If so, you’re in luck because you can remove and replace the stuffing without ripping a seam. Just like the cushions, furniture stuffing is very porous and will readily absorb the smell of smoke. Stuffing is generally very inexpensive, and you can find it at a furniture repair shop or in any store that sells supplies for sewing.
Use a Steam Cleaner for Fabric
If you’ve tried some of the other tips in this article for removing the smoke smell from your furniture and haven’t had any success, it’s time to break out the heavy machinery. Go to your local supermarket and rent a steam cleaner with a wand attachment. A steam cleaner will shoot detergent and hot steam deep into the cracks and crevasses of your furniture and vacuum it back up. You’ll probably be shocked by how dirty the cleaning solution is after you’ve done this. Don’t forget that if you’re renting a steam cleaner, you shouldn’t let your money go to waste – clean your carpets at the same time.
Use a Leather Cleaning and Conditioning Compound
If your furniture is leather, you’re going to have a tough job when it comes to getting the smell of smoke out because many of the cleaning methods that are safe for fabric could cause leather to discolour or crack. You definitely don’t want those things to happen because leather furniture is quite costly to repair or replace. Try treating the furniture with a leather cleaning and conditioning compound. You can also replace the cushions and stuffing as we described above. If the cleaning compound doesn’t help, try spraying the furniture with vinegar in an inconspicuous location. If the leather doesn’t discolour, spritz the furniture with it and allow it to dry. Follow by applying a rich leather conditioner to ensure that the leather won’t dry out.