How to eliminate cigarette smoke odor from leather jacket???

S

swan

Kickstart, shift on right, drum brakes and spokes
DTT BOTM WINNER
I just bought (sight unseen) another vintage leather motorcycle jacket off Craigslist. It is 35-40 years old, Sears leather shop, very heavy steerhide, black Perfercto style jacket in fantastic condition except it absolutely REEKS of cigarette smoke. The price was right ($60) and it fits like a glove. It must have sat in a smokey Wisconsin bar for the last 35 years until the smoking ban finally went into effect. It is so bad could not bring it into my house and my car smelled this morning after the jacket was inside for 15 minutes. Yuck.

I read up on this online, but am looking for some practical advice from one who has actually successfully eliminated odors from leather. So far I wiped it off with vinegar and water solution, packed it in a thick garbage bag with two boxes of Arm and Hammer baking soda. Also I bought two cans of Natural Magic odor eliminating gel and some Febreeze for the interior liner and am going to pack everything into a large Rubbermaid storage container and let it sit for a few days.

My local dry cleaner and leather cleaning companies said they could only do so much.

Thoughts or suggestions?
 
air and febreeze... always worked for me :D

could also try getting it professionally cleaned
 
put it on and ride for a week. It might get it out but it might not, but it sure would be bun to try. :)
 
It still reeks, so I am going pro. I found a regional cleaner with an ozone chamber which will remove all odors and I'll post my results.
 
Sadly smokey Wisconsin bars are a thing of the past. The only way I've ever got smoke smell out of leather is lots of air and lots of time. It never goes away completely.
 
Keep us posted - lots of musty / smokey old jackets out there (i have a couple I'd like to clean too)
 
i always fabreeze them and hang them outside with dryer sheets in the paockets and sleeves, works great and only takes like a day or two, if that does not work i tuble dry wiht no heat with a bunch of dryer sheets in there
 
I had a similar problem too.. old jacket off ebay.. smelled like an old road side bar..
My grandma taught me a little trick.. hang it in a closet.. or tight space.. with a bowl full of vinegar for a day or two.. vinegar will absorb the aromas.. I meant to hang it for only the weekend, but forgot about it.. and left it in for almost a week.. the smoke was gone.. but smelled like vinegar wine.. But, after a couple rides it went away.. and all is good.. except for finding out the jacket was too tight for me.. LOL
 
Well, it took FOREVER but I picked my jacket up from Dison Cleaners in Rochester, MN and smells great. I had them remove the odor with an ozone chamber. It was only $21.50, but through a series of misunderstandings on behalf of the staff ("Do you want it cleaned?" "NO, I want the odor removed just as you list on your website") It took nearly two months.

I learned that home remedies do not work that well. Go pro, it is cheap and the results are great.

Now to bundle up in my new jacket and catch the last few weeks of riding before building my winter project.
 
Gweenz said:
Sadly smokey Wisconsin bars are a thing of the past. The only way I've ever got smoke smell out of leather is lots of air and lots of time. It never goes away completely.
Click to expand...


yeppers, being in central WI, it is all any one does, so thick that you cant see across the bar, and on any givin time some pack of guys are sucking down 6 inch cigars.


the best i could do was though the thing in the garage, and the hood of the truck while i was at work. it is a small office.

good luck
 
Fabreeze. Left my car out in the wood for a few weeks. Some animal was hanging out underneath. Smelled like piss for awhile. Fabreezed the car about two, three times per week and it was gone in about a month or two.

Last time I will ever do that!
 
i worked for a trucking company that worked for a factory that smoked ham and when the trailers would come back there would be green pork on the wood floor ND YOU COULDNT GET THAT SMELL OUT FOR NOTHING AND THE ONLY THING that would get that smell out was a five gallon bucket half full of water then 12 - 16 onions cut up in the water 2 days later smelled fresh and clean so thats what i used to deoderize stuff just on a smaller scale in my closet worked every time
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

DTT Light or Dark

  • DTT Light

    • Spread the Love

    Back
    Top Bottom