How To Get Cigarette Smoke Smell out of Paper

My mother smokes and I'm concerned about my scrapping stuff smelling like an ashtray.. is there any proven way to remove the smell. I've googled and found putting cat litter in a bag with the items.

I had to move back in with my parents when my father had his stroke. I've got half of my scrapping supplies with me and turned a room over the garage into a scrapbook niche. My mother smokes in the house and previously smoked in this room and I'm concerned about it making my papers and embellies smell too.

For Christmas I made a PB album for a friend who isn't a smoker and she can smell the smoke in the mini album. I eventually want to try to make items for sell and swaps so what can I do to remove the smell?

If I can't get the smell out will anyone want to buy my projects? Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!!

I wish I could help, but I have no idea. I just wanted to commiserate with you. I went to the movies with some family over the weekend. My cousin and I were both wondering who was smoking in the theater. Then we realized the smell was coming from my aunt's coat, two seats over. My gram used to be a smoker and that smell permeated everything in her apartment. I wish I knew what to tell you to do!

I acquired a wonderful tea cart from my GGrandmother's estate settlement, problem.. my GGrandfather smoked like a chimney. When I went to refinish it, I had the same problem you are facing, every time I opened the little drawer, cigarette/cigar smoke emanated from it. I put a Bounce Fabric Softener sheet in it and closed it for a good month. I removed it about a month later and couldn't smell it anymore.

Perhaps you could take a poll of the people who read this post and find out which smell they find the least offensive. Vanilla, Patchouli, Clove, etc. and store your cards for a little while in an air-tight container with a tissue dabbed in essential oil of that smell.

Coming from a home where both of my parents smoked I never understood the big deal with cigarette smoke smell....until I quit smoking. It is by far one of the most nauseating smells I can experience. I think I'd rather smell poo than smoke! And that is coming from an ex smoker of 10 yrs! lol

The dryer sheet thing works wonders. I had to do that with my yearbooks. I put some dryer sheets in a storage tote with the yearbooks sitting up and open. I used gorilla tape and taped it up to completely seal it as best I could, and just let it set. I took them out after about a month and a half and they still smelled a little, so I put them back in. I actually ended up forgetting about them for another 3 months or so. Now they smell way better, and I can look through them without being ill. Well, besides seeing pics of my ex...but that is another story!

My parents smoke and used to smoke in the house when I was younger. I lived there, of course, and did all my scrapping from there. I participated in MANY swaps and not once did someone complain about the smell. However, my parents never smoked in the room my scrappy stuff was in.

NOW, as for getting rid of smoke smell... two things: dryer sheets and smokers spray!

At Rite Aid or pharmacies you can buy this spray that gets rid of cigarette smoke. It's only a few bucks. I'd buy some and routinely spray it on any fabric on the room, especially the carpet. Do it every day until you can no longer smell the smoke.

Then use the dryer sheets for your items if you feel they smell. Just stick some dryer sheets in each container you keep things in (I'd say one dryer sheet per square foot of space). This should help eliminate the smell in your papers/embellies.

Baking soda or coffee!

I've received cards and swaps which smell of smoke but I would never say anything. I just don't keep those items with the rest of my things.

It's good to know about dryer sheets, because I've never bought any (not having a dryer ) and I was sorting through things not long ago and those swaps still smell after 2 years.

For swaps some people might not complain, but when you are purchasing something any smell is not good. Unless of course, it is the smell of a product used to make the creation. That is why people list on auctions & in ad's...from a smoke free & pet free home. For my cousin, she will not buy anything that is not listed as pet free..her son is deathly allergic to dogs & cats.

I used to do swaps years ago and I never joined in swaps that certain people were in because I knew they were smokers and their stuff always smelled of smoke. Being an ex smoker, it gives me a really bad headache and I just can't handle the smell. So much so that I don't go to visit my grandma because she is a very heavy chain smoker and I end up with migraines for days afterwards.

Try a coffee cup or small glass about half full of vinegar. Make sure you set it where it won't get knocked over. You can't smell the vinegar but it soaks up the smell. My grandfather smoked liked a freight train and my grandmother did this all the time in her bedroom. Good Luck!

I don't how it works on paper, and I didn't live at home when I started scrapping but my mother smokes. A few years back she bought several of the air cleaners and runs them constantly. They have made a big difference in the way my parent's house smells. It might be something to look into for your scrapbooking niche.

Good luck!

Once that smell permeates paper or wood, it is almost impossible to get rid of.


In my opinion, the dryer sheets just mask the smell. So you end up with BOUNCE smell with a hint of cigarette.


Baking soda, charcoal, vinegar are all supposed to absorb odors. I used bowls of vinegar in my car to get rid of the previous owner musty/smoky smell. It smelled like a salad for a week or so but now the musty smell is mostly gone.




We've had clients who smoke return papers that just reek!! After 10 years in the file, they usually STILL smell (although somewhat less).

Thank you for all of the replies. I'd thought of vinegar, coffee and such. I used to sell things on ebay and learned some tricks to remove smells and spots on clothing. The dryer sheets would only mask and a lot of ebay sellers get complaints when it is used.

The room doesn't have carpet and only has 1 fabric covered chair which was previously in my parents room. I plan on febreezing it like crazy when the weather gets warm. I will also put the cups of vinegar out. Maybe wiping the walls and wood furniture and floor with vinegar will help the odor.

I'm going to search for the spray and spray it on some paper and see if it ruins it (bleeds, smells funny, curls up or whatever).

I honestly didn't realize cigarettes smelled when both parents smoked Viceroy when I was a kid. I figured it out when I married a man who didn't smoke, he really hated visiting here because of it.

I called DCWV and asked them if they had suggestions and they are supposed to get back with me. I had to ask several departments and supposedly product development will be returning my call!

Time. I bought a Cricut cartridge from someone once who obviously smoked. The book and cartridge both stunk so bad. I had to keep them out of the box and I fanned open the book and left it on my desk. The smell has finally faded for the most part, but I still get a whiff every once in a while. I've had the cartridge for probably a couple of years now.

fabric sheets work for the most part, i would highly recommend cutting off your crafting supplies in 1 room and as much as you can make it air tight from the rest of the house. when possible open a window. here's a product that can help with the seal to your door.
http://www.harrietcarter.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/categoryID/2DDC028A-541D-46CB-8BCC-172B2AA4D1DA/productID/6694A25D-0033-4FD3-9DC8-0DAE4FD8AD01

We cleaned the walls in my mother's house with scrubbing bubbles bathroom spray to get the nicotine off of the paneling. It smelled so much better after we were done cleaning. We also had the carpet vacuumed by professionals with vaccums with very good suction.

Friends in Georgia both smoked. When they quit they had to paint the complete interior of their home and replace the carpet to completely get the smell out.

I'm a real estate agent and many of my clients won't even go into a house where someone has smoked. If I have a listing and they are smokers I advise them to paint the entire inside and professionally clean the carpet, or if they can afford it, to replace it. It permeates everything and is extremely difficult to get rid of.

The ceiling is the worst in my experience.

Use the dryer sheets but if you mom is not smoking in your room set several containers of vinegar around your room. The vinegar will absorb the smells that's in that room including the smoke smell....believe it or not the awful smell that sickness in the house causes will disappear with vinegar.

wait till you move out to start vending. Customer will go nuts if anything smells like smoke.

Get a lot of 2 gallon zip lock bags. Keep paper in them with bounce sheet. When done with project seal it back in a bag with bounces.

Don't ask me how I know this, but charcoal briquettes will even take the smell of spoiled turkey out of a freezer that was accidentally unplugged and not discovered for 2 months! Just put a layer of briquettes into a bin, add a layer of newspaper over the top, and lay your paper on it. You can add more newsprint if you want and another layer of briquettes. Believe me when I say if it worked for my fiasco, it will work for yours!

This room only has 2 small carpet runners. It has a door way that leads directly to a set of stairs and a plexi-glass double door that opens to the vaulted kitchen ceiling. The room doesn't have heat or air as it isn't physically attached to the house and it doesn't have insulation. It has double windows but I can't leave them open because it makes the kitchen cold and I get yelled at. There is no way I can seal the room because neither of my parents would never permit that. I guess I just won't make any more projects and I'll stop scrapping and throw away everything I have since the smell will be in the ribbon, paper, and sticker sheets. I may try the charcoal for pages I will keep.

I once put an offer on a house that had extreme tar or nicotine stains on the walls, ceilings and well basically everything! My FIL talked us into buying saying it it was a good investment and when I figured how much work it would be to remove and sanitize I told the Home Inspector I wanted out of the deal and he found a lot of things wrong so we ended up not buying it!

Here is a suggestion, that may work. Vinegar at times gives off an unpleasant odor(personally don't like the smell). We moved into a house, where a smoker lived, the realtor suggested putting cotton balls soaked with peppermint extract around the house (of course after I had to Pine Sol everything and get the carpets cleaned professionally). The pepper mint smell worked. I am one who loves fresh, clean smells or pleasant smells. All of my closets have baking soda and a small box of potpourri (I have a teenage son, so he gets triple the amount). I keep dryer sheets in my carts that I take to crops and I actually have them conveniently placed in my scrapbooking area and the rubbermaid container where I keep my unused albums. Dryer sheets (especially from the Dollar Store) work wonders for all odors. It's very affordable and not offensive to nobody. I am a smoker, but do not smoke inside the house. Maybe that's why I am so sensitive to smell and why I have dryer sheets, potpourri EVERYWHERE!!!!! I also, will NEVER smoke around my scrapbooking stuff. All the above suggestions work. It doesn't hurt to try them all!

I will try the peppermint extract and the charcoal with the newspaper in a storage container. I also think wiping the walls down the vinegar will freshen things up!! I used to keep my cs and pp in the 2 gallon bags and think I have enough to put them back in for storage but I'm not sure what "smell" besides the dryer sheets to use. Wouldn't the smell seep in to the sheet(s) it is touching?

I'm hesitant to try the dryer sheets since they are so perfumy (is that a word? LOL). Smells trigger my asthma and migraines. Onion and perfume/cologne are two of those smells!!

I don't know if the baking soda would be enough to matter so I'll do experiments and post my results!

I just really wanted to try and sell my items since I need money or a job!

Did you find something that worked in removing the smoke scent from the paper?