Removing Smoke Odor

[Gotterdamerung]

I bought a used tenor guitar to compliment my playing a short while ago; I did not realize how much the smoke smell emanating from the soundhole would bother my allergies. I have tried a few minor things to mitigate the smell, but I am nervous about doing anything major. Does anyone have any advice? Thanks!

[Mike Bullard]

Give it plenty of air and call me in the morning. I had one a few weeks ago to setup for a friend and it smelled awful. He smokes and I don't (anymore). Took the case and put it outside on a screened porch for a few days and left the Mandolin in my basement on the workbench. Most of the smell in the case was gone after a few days of fresh air. You may also want to try some Fabreeze spray in the case. It helps with some of the odor.

There is nothing worse than an X-Smoker or X-Spouse. Both tend to get on your nerves.

[Dolamon]

Someone showed me this trick ... put a handful or two of whole Barley "pearls" into the instrument. Shake it around for a bit to loosen up any of the stuck on smoke / tars. Then let it sit inside for a day or two. Shake it several times to absorb most of the crud.

This may take one or two applications to get all the smoke out but it does work. As a caveat ... don't try to reuse the Barley to make any soup! Nicotine flavored Chicken soup is a delicacy not worth experimenting with.

Yecccch -

[Don]

I sold a mandolin and a guitar to a guy a couple years ago.A few days later,I heard from him.He wanted to know what was that nice fragrance emanating from the soundholes.He thought it was some kind of polish or something I was using.The only
thing it could have been was fragrance from incense,which I burn frequently.Hadn't occurred to me that it might freshen up the instruments.

[peterbc]

My mandolin aquires the smell of smoke after a visit to the bars... But it goes away, I keep the case open and/or the mandolin out most of the time and it goes away pretty quick. Beside, it gives it an aged smell!

[Tom C]

We once picked in my friends house. We had the fireplace cookin'. After about 2 hrs
we noticed we were having a hard time seeing each other. -Rented house with pretty bad ventilation. My mando smelled like a fire for 2 months. -All better now.

[ethanopia]

My mando usually smells like smoke after my bar gig on fridays but a few hours sitting on a stand in my living room and it's all gone,

has anyone ever tried baking soda? If you put a small amount in a little container say a baby food jar near the headstock then carefully closed your case and left it fora a day I wonder if that would work?

-e

[GTison]

fabreeze is weak. get some "odoban" that's what restoration folks use sometimes for reducing smoke damage in houses. I wouldn't use it in or on the instrument I don't think. just the case. lot's of fresh air. I like the barley Idea.

[dj9124]

I have heard of people putting tea bags in their instruments before to absorb the odor, they say it works.
Dave

[Mark Marino]

If you really want to get rid of it, seek out a company that does fire restoration work. The one's around me have what they call an "ozone room", where ozone gas is pumped in. The ozone gas breaks down the carbon based smoke residue, and kills it. That will probably require a week of the instrument sitting in there, but it should be pretty inexpensive if you haggle with them.

I had a house-fire a few years back, and they got all the smoke odor out of my acoustic instruments nicely.

[GTison]

THAT'S THE BEST IDEA YET!!, THEY HAVE OZONE GENERATORS OR SOMETHING. THAT WOULD BE THE TICKET.

[thistle3585]

Along the lines of what Mark said, our local ice rink has an ozone machine for hockey equipment. It is about the size of a deep freezer. Put the equipment in, push the button and come back in a half an hour. The one at our rink runs $10.00. My wife says it is well worth it, as she is tired of smelling my equipment.<g> You might check with some sports complexes, or a dry cleaner might even have one.
Just a thought.

[Gotterdamerung]

Thanks for the replies. I have tried leaving baking soda in the instrument for a while, and I am currently trying tea bags. I have washed the gig bag twice, sprayed febreeze a number of times, and it is currently on my clothes-line, where it has been for over a week, with a small reduction in the stench. I think that this smell must have come from more than just a casual smoker or someone who played in smoky clubs. I think that the previous owner must have been ambidextrous in his smoking. I will see how the tea bags work, then I will try the amusing barley suggestion before I move to ozone. I appreciate all the advice.

[Tom C]

I read the person above did the ozone thing for their instruments after ahouse fire, but can O3 have any deteriorating effects on glue, binding or wood?