Dress cleaning suggestions?

[Sayyadina]

Got a dress off Ebay. Price was right, dress is beautiful. Only one problem: it REEKS of cigarette smoke. I mean bad. The tag says hand wash only. I did, still smells. :o Barely made a dent.

 

Now, it is rayon and polyester with a layer of 'disco-dots' under the sheet top layer. One of my coworkers suggested I dump vodka in with the next handwashing. I was thinking of trying baking soda. I was also thinking of just taking it to the dry cleaners, but is that a no-no because it says hand wash only? I've never been sure on this.

 

Any suggestions? My parents smoked for years, but I've never had anything not get the smell out after the first washing...

[NurseAngela]

I wonder if you could turn in inside out and Febreeze it like crazy. Also, dry in the sun helps. My parents smoke bad, and that's what we do when we come back from visiting them.

[Happy ks]

Good luck. I had to throw out a lot of my dear mother-in-laws nice clothing after she passed away because of the rank cigarette smell. Nothing I tried seemed to get it out. The stuff, although very pricey and much of it new, was refused by consignment stores. The baking soda is worth a try, it may may work, disolve it and let the dress soak for a while, rinse and dry outside. Anything is worth a try at this point, otherwise the dress is worthless.

 

Is there a possibility you can get a refund, send it back? I was under the impression people had to disclose things like this, no? If not, I'd definitely put a remark in the persons feedback comments, this should not have to happen to anyone.

 

Unfortunately, this is one of the best reasons I don't buy from Ebay, even if the item is new with tags, it has still been hanging around in someones house. If they are a smoker, or live with a smoker, everything in the house smells of cigarettes. Even cooking odors permeate clothing, or anything with a strong odor. I have a very sensitive nose, I'm not fond of many odors.

 

Good luck, I hope you have a good outcome.

[ocngypz]

Dry cleaning is not going to help because the heat will melt the dots.

 

Try the dry cleaning bags,, put several of the cloths in the bag with the dress.

 

Tumble on no-heat, gentle.

 

Heat and anything with solvents or alcohol with hurt the fabric.

[rabx5]

but soak it in white vinegar. I would let it set in the vinegar water for quite a few hours then soak it in plain water to rinse then hang it to dry. The vinegar smell will evaporate and should take the smoke smell with it. I use vinegar in my rinse cycle at home for my sons stinky ( gas, oil, ) clothes and it works.

 

Jodi

[Andee]

Some dry cleaners have an ozone room--they hang the items in there, and, I believe, there is an ozone filtration system.

 

That's what my friend used for her family's entire wardrobe when they had a fire in their home.

[Nliedel]

but soak it in white vinegar. I would let it set in the vinegar water for quite a few hours then soak it in plain water to rinse then hang it to dry. The vinegar smell will evaporate and should take the smoke smell with it. I use vinegar in my rinse cycle at home for my sons stinky ( gas, oil, ) clothes and it works.

 

Jodi

 

Jodi has it (DING, DING, DING!) there is not a smell in the world it won't fix (inlcuding can urine). I would not use it straight, about a cupful for every gallon of water.

[mspink98]

I swear by Oxiclean for odor removal. I have actually soaked things in Oxiclean and water overnight, and it seems to help.

[Sunshine91]

Is there a possibility you can get a refund, send it back? I was under the impression people had to disclose things like this, no? If not, I'd definitely put a remark in the persons feedback comments, this should not have to happen to anyone.

 

I bought 2 dresses from ebay for our cruise, plus a golf shirt for the husband. His shirt & 1 dress were new w/tags, but all 3 auctions stated that they were from non-smoking environments. The 1 gently worn dress still had the dry cleaners tags inside. I noticed these tags & e-mailed the seller, who confirmed that it had just been dry-cleaned.

If the smokiness was not disclosed, you should definitely post this in the feedback, as well as ask the seller about it. Even if it WAS disclosed, comment on it. How tough it is for you to get the smell out is affecting your use of the item. It can be neutral, just to let others be aware.

Good luck & let us know how it turns out.

[pcur]

Jodi has it (DING, DING, DING!) there is not a smell in the world it won't fix (inlcuding can urine). I would not use it straight, about a cupful for every gallon of water.

 

I was thinking to recommend this, too, as I read through the thread. Vinegar neutralizes just about anything, and is a stronger agent for it than baking soda.

 

I wash my tile floors with vinegar and water, and if there's any cooking odors in the house, they are gone, and the vinegar smell is also gone in a few hours.

 

After soaking and rinsing in vinegar, then let it dry hanging outside or near an open door or window. THEN, I'd use the dry cleaning cloths in the dryer to get any wrinkles out. The problem with using these first, is the cloths will trap the odor, but it's in an enclosed bag, so the odor has no where to go but stay in the same bag with the dress. So, some of it is transferred back to the dress.

 

Good luck!

[Happy ks]

I've had vinegar discolor some items, test a small area first, like an inside seam allowance.

 

A cleaning woman once used vinegar to clean our tile floor and it discolored the grout!

[kyriecat]

Vodka worked good for odor removal, especially for delicate items. My husband works on a barbecue cooking team. I think the smell of mesquite is harder to remove than cigarettes. I've been to some of the cook-offs with him and my clothes will smell even with minimal exposure. My bras would smell after hand-washing with Woolite so I'd put it in a bowl with a 50/50 mix of vodka and warm water overnight. I'd wash it in the morning and no funny smell. Oxiclean also seems to work well for the less delicate items, like his jeans. I put a scoop in the washer with the laundry soap.

[Sayyadina]

I put it through 4 rinses with baking soda, which took out some of the smell. Then I lysoled it to death (outside) which got rid of almost all of it. It is wearable now, but I can still smell it a little. I'm going to put it through a vinegar bath next, diluted.

 

Thanks for all your help! You guys are great!

 

Jody

[pcur]

Yes, DILUTE! Always, even on floors.

 

Glad the dress is coming out OK. Sounds beautiful.