Cigarette Scented Yarn?

[Montana Mommy]

I have a contact who is willing to give me a bunch of yarn, but she told me that she was a heavy smoker for years and that the yarn smells of cigarette smoke and therefore I may not want it?

 

Is there a way to get the smell out? Or should I just forget about it?

 

[wondersheep]

Way back when I quit smoking, I had to wash all my clothes three or four times to get the smell out. I discovered later on that a liberal dose of one of those OxyClean type powders will help also (still spend a lot of time in smoky bars ). Be careful, though, because OxyClean can damage certain types of fibers and dyes.

[kariholtz]

Something else that might help, don't seal the yarn up in anything airtight. Let it have air if at all possible. We've been smoke free for almost a year now (we both smoked) and I haven't had to wash mine as I kept it out in the air.

 

 

I never realized how bad things from our house smelled until we quit smoking! I was totally in a state of shock.

[threeolivemartini]

if you have a few pairs of old pantyhose laying around you can put the skein is . tie the hose after each and wash on gentle with some febreeze laundy stuff or just throw in some baking soda with your detergent that should take care of the smell ..

[kusine]

If your weather is amenable, you can also try setting it outside to air out.

[HookandCrook]

You can limit the smell, but you can only get rid of it by washing because the nicotin and dirt stay put until washed out. As wondersheep said, it may take several washings.

 

I've cut the smell by sealing yarn in a plastic bag with a small bowl of "oil of cloves" or "wintergreen oil" (I usually have to ask the pharmacist for it.) You have to be careful that the yarn doesn't get into the oil, and it does take a month or so. Then it took a good month of airing out to make the yarn decent enough to use as I can't stand the cover-up smells.

 

It's a tough call whether it's worth it to try and get rid of the odor.

[sunshine1977]

I have found that "All" brand makes these really neat Fabric Refresher sheets. They are slightly moist and come in a tub like baby wipes - found them in the laundry products section at the local grocery store - Anyway, you can throw them in the dryer with an item of clothing, etc, air fluff for a few minutes, and it will really make things smell nice! I have even allowed them to dry on their own and then wrapped them up in a crocheted or knitted item before shipping to my mom - by the time the package arrives, it smells wonderful! I am a smoker and she is not, so that is an issue with us! The first time I did it, she called and just raved about how nice her new scarf smelled when it arrived! I think if you put one or several of these in a plastic tub with the yarn, it might solve your problem! Just a thought!

[goldi316]

Thanks for the suggestion Sunshine! I will definitely check that out. It's ironic, but my situation is reversed - my daughter doesn't smoke and I do, and it has caused me to spend an inordinate amount of time obsessing over this smell issue - not to mention my desire to participate on this forum with the swaps etc! If anything could induce me to quit smoking (finally), it just might be this issue, lol! I don't like the smell either.