posted on September 8, 2001 06:31:01 AM
I just bought some gorgeous leather shoes at a yard sale and didn't realize until I got home that they smell of smoke. Any ideas how to get rid of the smell? Thanks for any help!
posted on September 8, 2001 07:21:51 AM
Buy some extra strength Fabreze, then soak some cotton balls, and place the cotton balls & the shoes in a plastic bag for 24 hours. Make sure the cotton balls don't come in contact with the leather as the liquid might stain them.
There's other products out there, but I've had great success with Fabreze in the past.
posted on September 8, 2001 08:06:15 AM
Three ways to get rid of smell:
1. crush up newspaper (do not just wrap in newspaper). Put the shoes in a plastic bag and cover well with crushed newspaper. Close the bag as tightly as possible and let it stand 24 hours. If there is still a smell, discard newspaper and use fresh batch of paper.
2. Put in sealed plastic bag with unused coffee grounds. ( Number 1 is cheaper, less messy, and I have had great success with it.)
3. Seal in plastic bag with Bounce or otheer fabric softner. (Again, I usualy use newspaper and it workds)
posted on September 8, 2001 08:35:02 AM
Also you can seal them in a bag full of and surrounded by kitty liter. It really is not all that hard to clean up if everything is dry. I would let them for a week or two. Pull the laces out and wash or replace them.
posted on September 8, 2001 10:16:40 AM
Thanks for all of the advice. I am trying the newspaper in the plastic bag since it was the least messy and I had both items handy!
When I bought these shoes, I assumed they were boy's shoes. They are marked a 6.5 and are equal to about a Women's 7.5. I didn't know boys shoes were sized that way. Do Men's shoes start at a 6.5? Thanks again.
posted on September 8, 2001 10:28:40 AM
You can try this at your own risk:
I received a leather purse once that REEKED of tobacco smoke. I tried everything above, couldn't get it out, so figuring the purse was unuseable anyway, went ahead and sprayed Febreeze directly on the leather......in fact I pretty much DRENCHED it.
I had to give it two treatments......
Surprise! It worked! And the leather quality actually looked better! Again, proceed at your own risk, but if all else fails and the shoes are not useable because of the smell, it's worth a shot.
I've never had Febreeze hurt anything. What a fabulous product!
