Smell of cigarette smoke

[Celtigra3]

I bought a dictionary from a charity shop and thought I got a bargain at 50p. However, the previous owner must have been a really heavy smoker and the whole book stinks so badly I can't even bear to open it. Anyone got any tips on how to get rid of the smell?

Thanks.

[qapmoc]

This method is a bit drastic but sure to work - take the book to an open space, pour parafin over it and set fire to it, the smell will be gone in no time.
Otherwise there is really no way that is worth the cost for such a cheap book.

[andy-hughes]

You could leave it outside in the fresh air for twenty-four hours - weather permitting. If that doesn't work, you may have to cut your losses and re-donate it.

[stanleyman]

A heavy smoker with a dictionary, that's a novelty!

[Celtigra3]

Well qapmoc, I don't think we are in the Nazi era of burning books - yes it was cheap, but it is in excellent condition and I do want to keep it. I was brought up to recycle, having lived in Africa, and frankly today this is far too consumerist a society. I was actually looking for some help to get rid of the smell and if anyone out there has any ideas, I would appreciate it.

[Celtigra3]

Stanleyman - my late father smoked 90 a day and read a dictionary for pleasure - so it is not really a novelty - and no he did not die of Lung Cancer!

[shaneystar2]

Put the offending book in a sealed plastic bag of dry cat litter

Depending on how "bad" the book is, it usually comes out good as new without some horrible chemical smell. Try a couple of days for medium smell, maybe as long as 3 weeks for a really bad smell.

Also I am a smoker and possess about 15 dictionaries of different sorts and more reference books than I can shake a stick at .
Just because I like a fag now and again does that make me thick or something stanleyman.

[mgba_78]

what about put in a sandwich bag, spray with some air freshner or that odour remover products you can buy.. and seal it up for a while?

[Celtigra3]

Thanks ShaneyStar and mgba78 - I will try your suggestions. Luckily I have cat litter (having six of them)! I definitely know you are not thick ShaneyStar, you answer too many xword clues!!

[shaneystar2]

Thank you Cetigrada 3...glad to be of help

I was beginning to get an inferiority complex there !!!
Happy New Year.

[shaneystar2]

And apologies for spelling your name incorrectly ...must be that ciggie.....it has affected my typing !

[Robinia]

ahem!! - I'm watching you shaneystar!!

Do excuse me Celtigra, but shaneystar is trying to give up the cigs. I wish I'd known about that cat litter tip. My neighbour used to smoke like a chimney & all the books I lent her came back smelling of smoke. They had to be banished to the outhouse & I found it disappeared eventually.

[shaneystar2]

Oh dear .......I have been caught !!
I am trying Robinia...promise !
I won't be able to go anywhere now on AB without you hounding me down ..waving that air freshner !!

[Celtigra3]

Trouble with the outhouse though Robinia is that they come back smelling damp!!! I must admit I don't smoke despite my dad having been a heavy smoker and my ex hubbie smoked! I do drink though!

[Celtigra3]

Well ShaneyStar we all have our little vices!

[WendyS]

I see the sealed bag with air freshener has already been suggested. The other alternative is to store it in a sealed bag for a couple of weeks with an unwrapped bar of lavender soap, or some other perfumed medium such as a lavender sachet or pot pourri material. Apart from this I think it's best just to leave it, opened up, in the open air or possibly a dry shed or garage for a while. My husband still has some documents which belonged to his late mother who died 15 years ago. She was a very heavy smoker and every time we open the filing cabinet the smell of cigarette smoke is still detectable, so be prepared for a long wait.

[qapmoc]

HI Celtigra3, funnily enough I do live in an African country and I agree with you totally about the consumerist societies developing in the UK and other places. However I assumed that you would have the typical attitude of throw it away if it does not fit your requirements so my answer was really meant a joke against that kind of waste. And my last comment that the cost of fixing it would far outweigh the cost you paid for it was based on the same thing.
I do however think that referencing my comments to the Nazi regime is more than slighty an overreaction on your part or is burning a book somehow related to killing thousands of people in your eyes?
If you really want to try to salvage it be aware that antiques dealers regards tobacco smoke as the worst of all to remove, as mentioned cat litter or try dry carpet deodorizer in a bag and even after that always store the book in a bag with activated charcoal.

[stanleyman]

If smoking is so great then why is Shaneystar trying to give it up? And I wonder how many people were affected by Celtigra's father's 90 a day smoking. Don't try and defend it, it causes a lot of harm, anyone who smokes and knows the harm has to be a few fags short of a full packet. And yes I'd also burn the book, I wouldn't have anything smelling like that in my home and I'm a recycler, the smell will never go.

[stanleyman]

Dry cleaning might work.

[qapmoc]

Hi stanleyman, be careful here you might get called a Nazi with me if you suggest to burn the book.

I did wonder about dry cleaning as well but it seemed to me that the solvents used would probably disolve the inks or glues etc... and do major damage to the book structure.

[stanleyman]

Thanks qapmoc, I've been called worse, my son called me a baldyhead once, well he does quite frequently really, no respect these days. Yes, I know what dry cleaning will do.... naughty of me I know. I suppose a gas mask could be used while reading the dictionary.... bit awkward if you're a smoker though!