How to get that burnt smell

[TheNiteSiren]

I just had a housefire a few months ago and some of my cloths survived but i am having trouble getting out that burnt soot smell. Any suggestions?

 

[fire_breeze]

I just had a housefire a few months ago and some of my cloths survived but i am having trouble getting out that burnt soot smell. Any suggestions?

I am sorry to hear about your house fire. I hope that the damage was not severe.

One way is to put your clothes (not jammed pack but loosely) into plastic bag. Add baking soda and dryer sheets and shake the bag and leave it for 24 hours. After 24 hours, run it through a wash and your clothes should be smoke free.

Or, you can soak your clothes in baking soda, vinegar and water for about 2 hours before putting the clothes through the wash (I am not a fan of this method as it can make your clothes bleed).

Also, make sure your washing machine is clean, so run a self-clean cycle before and after washing your clothes.

It works for me after spending several weeks of intense camping and cooking over open fires.

 

[simplegirl]

This will sound strange but I've heard that freezing something will help remove odor. Maybe pop it in a plastic bag and stick it in the freezer for a bit, although this isn't practical if you have a large amount of clothing. There's also Nature's Miracle for laundry. It's a pet odor removal product available in pet supply stores. I figure if it removes pet odors, it *should* remove smoke.
http://www.natures-miracle.com/products/pet-odor-stain-removers/laundry-boost-additive.aspx

 

[Emerson40]

You can look around in your area to see who has an ozone machine.
Restoration companies use these to remove smoke smell and other organic odours from clothing and household goods.

Some larger sporting stores also have them, to remove the "stinky locker" smell on sports equipment. I get my hockey gear done a couple times a year for about $20 / session. Works great. I can fit a big bag of hockey equipment in the unit no problem, so a large bag of clothing would not be an issue.

Good luck

 

[SamScribble]

I've tried Fire Breeze's baking soda trick. It seems to work pretty well.

I hope that you didn't lose anything really important in the fire.