I used rice to help smoke odor from old D&B

#16
Love this idea! I'm not a coffee drinker - do you think instant coffee would work as well?

vintagewise said:
Unused coffee grounds are also great at getting rid of odors. Just make a little sachet ... tie a few tablespoons up in some nylon or cheesecloth (or any breathable type fabric...the more breathable the better) and close it up inside the bag for a week or so.
I've been able to completely get rid of musty smells, mothball odors, and even cigarette smoke this way. The bag will smell faintly like coffee for several days and then it will have really no odor at all.
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#17
shoppinggalnyc said:
Love this idea! I'm not a coffee drinker - do you think instant coffee would work as well?
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I don't know...I haven't tried it! Though I would think instant wouldn't work quite as well since it's less concentrated and more processed than regular coffee grounds.
Surely it would work to some extent, but you'd probably have to use quite a bit more for it to be as effective.
 
#18
Thanks - I'll go to Fairway and grab some fresh coffee beans to try it - do you think they have to be ground?

vintagewise said:
I don't know...I haven't tried it! Though I would think instant wouldn't work quite as well since it's less concentrated and more processed than regular coffee grounds.
Surely it would work to some extent, but you'd probably have to use quite a bit more for it to be as effective.
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#19
denton said:
Hi all:

A couple of weeks ago I got a AWL D&B bag from fleabay that 'comes from a smoke-free home'. lol.

It reeked reeked reeked of cigarette smoke. I was pissed but rather than get in a neg war over a $35 bag I decided to look in this forum and use it as practice.

I saw a lot of suggestions for wiping, for airing, and for baking soda.

I wiped the inside of the bag as best I could using paper towels dampened with water and dish washing soap. Didn't do much for the smell, but what a lot of gunk came off!

When my AC fan coil unit was on, I opened the purse up and laid it on top. When it wasn't, I left the bag in front of an open window.

A week or two of this, there was some improvement, but still a long way to go.

I kept scratching my head over the baking soda thing. If you know those vintage Dooney's they are not lined, and have lots of crannies, and I was afraid I would never get it out. Ditto with cat litter. I kept trying to think of another substance that I could experiment with.

It hit me to try rice. Rice is hygroscopic so I thought maybe it could absorb odors as well.

I filled the bag up 1/8th of the way and closed it. A couple of times a day, I shook it up to distribute the rice. I did this for about a week.

Yesterday I emptied the bag. I'm very pleased. The odor is not completely gone yet, but I'd say an 80% improvement. So rice is something to consider.

I'm going to give another wipe-down and do a rice repeat and see how much further I can get.
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So happy to see you got great results.

I was thinking I'd try this for the "no odor" perfume-reeking vintage clutches I scored cheap.
 
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