Sometimes the smell of clothes may be your own doing.
Other times it may get there after dinner in a smoky environment or by spending time enjoying the outdoors sitting by a firepit.
Regardless of how the smell of smoke got into your clothes, you definitely do not want it to linger or become permanent within the threads of your nice garments.
How does smoke get attached to fabric?
Smoke, whether from cigars, cigarettes, or wood, is made up primarily of water, ash, and oils.
Ash is a leftover of what did not burn from the original material, and it is a sticky substance that likes to adhere to any type of cloth.
Both oils and ash detritus get released into the air as smoke with a recognizable aroma.
Whenever they find your clothes, these tiny particles will not only stick to them, but every time your nose comes near the garment, you will be able to recognize that unmistakable smell.
Avoid Home Remedies
It is tempting to conduct an online search to find out how to get rid of the unpleasant aroma and sticky feeling of smoke on your clothes.
However, by doing that, you run the risk of ruining the garment without getting rid of the smell.
You may encounter such suggestions as spot-treating the item with olive oil (which may later become impossible to remove and stain the cloth permanently), or perhaps you read about using coffee grounds or a mix of vodka and water to spray on the fabric.
Besides the risk of permanent damage to a favorite outfit, you may end up with the compounded problem of having the smell of smoke intermingled with that of the alcohol in vodka.
The Professional Way to Get Smoke Out of Your Clothes
If your house suffers damage from fire, you may bring in recovery specialists that may bombard every material with ozone to break down the soot particles.
That is a little bit of an overkill method for a simple smokey garment.
The safest route is to take your clothing item to the dry cleaner to have the smoke smell and dirt taken out without the risk of never being able to wear that item of clothing again.
They will start with a solvent that is designed to break down the oil in your clothes. Any leftover particles will then be treated with a dry clean ‘detergent.’
Finally, everything is filtered out, and the particles are caught and carried away.
Although the entire dry-cleaning process may sound pretty simple and straightforward, in reality, it is quite complex when it comes to an understanding of the chemistry and other scientific processes that are involved in giving your clothes their best look and smell.
Can I do anything before taking my dirty stuff to the dry-cleaners?
Before heading out to your nearest dry cleaner, Weston Cleaners recommends you take some actions to remove as much smoke from the garments as possible.
This is what you should do:
- Find a place outdoors where you can hang your garment under some shade.
- Shake off or brush the cloth to loosen the smoke particles.
- Let it hang for at least a day, and you may notice a significant reduction in smell.
- Then, head out to your favorite dry cleaner.