• Getting Cigarette Smoke Smell Out Of The Car
• Getting rid of fireplace smell
• Controlling stale tobacco smell from downstairs neighbors
• More advice about Removing Bad Odors

Getting Cigarette Smoke Smell Out Of The Car

We recently bought a used car that smells heavily of cigarette smoke. Any suggestions or testimonials about how or what will take the oder out would be great. We prefer a product that doesn't have a strong chemical oder (ie Fabreeze). Thanks

Getting rid of fireplace smell

I bought a house a few months ago and used a fireplace a few times with no residual effect. When I used my fireplace last time a lot of smoke came into the house. Since that time my house smells like a fireplace itself. Is there any way to get rid off smell? Does anyone know why this happened? Is it a problem with the chimney? Can the wind or the rain outside reverse the way the smoke goes? Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Julia

The smoke smell was a bit of work to get out but not difficult. We washed the walls, woodwork, ceiling and miniblinds with a solution of Simple green and water. (Simple green is fabulous for greasy smokey fire damaged stuff.) The curtains had to be laundered. The smoke had stayed high in the room so the upholstery, carpets and floor were fine. (Now I know why youare supposed to crawl out of a building in a fire). Follow your nose to see what soft surfaces need to be cleaned. If there is residual smoke/soot on hard surfaces, they'll be grey/dirty and greasy looking esp easy to spot on light colors. Good luck, e-mail if you want more particulars. Natalie

I assume you've steam-cleaned & shampooed the carpet and upholstery. If not, or you can't afford it, you could sprinkle baking soda all over the carpets and leave overnight. Next, shampoo carpets and upholstry with: a 1/4 cup of a vegetable-oil- based liquid soap (i.e from Trader Joe's or any natural grocery store), and 5 gallons of water. Adjust depending on the volume taken by the shampooing machine you rent. If you decide to add some essence in the water (usually oil-based), beware not to add more than a 1/4 tsp. to 5 gallons of water, since oil will bind with the soap, making the soap less effective in solubilizing other oily substances in the carpet and removing it. Depending on the hardness of your water, if you get too much foam, decrease the amount of liquid soap or add a bit more of the essence based in oil. Next load of hot water, add less soap. If you want the convenience of a prepared bottle, you can purchase from Grany's at 818-577-1825 orAFM at 1-909-781-6860. Both in CA

For air deodorizing, try bowls of baking soda in several areas of the room or bowls of vinegar, or bags or zeolite, a natural mineral found near volcanoes. Get it from Dasun Company 1-800- 433-8929.

Parents for a Safer Environment is a grass roots organization working with other non-profit organizations and government agencies to educate schools and parents about safer alternatives to unnecessary environmental hazards in schools and in our local neighborhoods. Please look in future ''Announcements'' on how you could get your pre-school involved in our May, 2003 workshop- conference. Susan

Controlling stale tobacco smell from downstairs neighbors

My sister and brother-in-law have moved into an apartment in a duplex building. To their extreme dismay, they discovered after moving in that the downstairs tenants are heavy smokers who have lived there for 20 years. Can anyone recommend a product that will control the stale tobacco smell that permeates my sister's apartment, both the living areas and the closets? They are also looking into installing air purifiers for the apartment as well as for the inside staircase that they share with the downstairs tenants. Any recommendations? Thanks!