Do you have any tricks for getting the smell of campfire smoke out of clothes and fabric without washing? In the winter, we do a lot of outdoor campfires at the cottage, and we’re finding that laundering bulky items like parkas and snow pants, etc., after every weekend isn’t convenient.—Elizabeth Ramirez, via email
Quick, to the Crowdsourcing Machine, we thought. Fail. We asked your question on Instagram and were met with confusion, disbelief, and, in a few cases, white-hot blinding rage. (“Remove the campfire smell? I don’t understand;” “Why would you ever want to get rid of that smell?” “WTF Cottage Life? City much!?!”)
Okay, so, 99 per cent of the Insta-verse wants to smell like campfire smoke for all of eternity. You, however, do not. That’s your right. Unfortunately, despite contacting cleaning experts, camping equipment makers, and even companies that specialize in removing odours, we couldn’t get anyone to recommend a sure-fire, DIY trick. You can Google and find all kinds of strategies; baking soda, lemon juice, vinegar, steam, kitty litter, and coffee grounds, used in various ways, all have the potential to absorb lingering odour. But, depending on how strongly your gear smells, they may not do much good.
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Smoke is a notoriously difficult odour to remove, says Steve Thwaites of Purefect Air, an indoor air and surface disinfecting company in Whitby, Ont. (True, Steve: one CL staffer sat by a single campfire this summer; months later? “My hair still smells every time it gets wet.”)
“I get questions like this, and people make an attempt using household products, but they usually end up going to a specialist,” says Thwaites. Restoration companies—they rehab structures and items damaged by fire, floods, and other natural disasters—have machines to de-stink items you can’t put into the washing machine.
But in your case, it’s probably far cheaper to try a dedicated odour-remover. Some are even specially designed to get rid of the smell of smoke. For example, Sootsoap Supply—the company owners have a firefighting background—sells a spray that contains odour-absorbing charcoal. Washington state-based Gear Aid, meanwhile, makes a multi-purpose odour-eliminator called Revivex. Scott Brown, with Gear Aid’s technical dealer services, busted it out during the U.S. West Coast wildfires. “Everything smells like smoke right now.”
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Last resort? You could always buy another winter coat, and relegate your smoky outerwear to campfire duty for the season. After all, you probably only notice the scent when you’re away from the cottage. Good luck.
Got a question for Cottage Q&A? Send it to answers@cottagelife.com.
This answer was originally published in the Winter 2022 issue of Cottage Life.
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