Remopving the smell of cigarette smoke from books?

[frogbeastegg]

Anyone have any tips to remove the smell of cigarette smoke from a book? I recently got a history book I have spend years searching for but it's second hand and it stinks. I've had it parked next to an open window for several days now; the smell has abated somewhat but it still reeks.

[SwordsMaster]

Put some garlic on it, you will no longer notice the smoke....
No, seriously, the smell will take a while to fade off. Leave it on the open for a couple of days, thats all I can think of.

[Beirut]

Great question.

Depending on the material (and value of the book), you could wipe it off with a cleaner like Windex. Might help.

[Quietus]

Try putting it under the sun, see if that burns out the nasty organic molecules and poisonous toxins out. At least give it a try (same reason why people bleach their clothes under the sun).

[The Shadow One]

Lady Frog:

I work at a library and we have this problem on occassion, either through donated volumes or returned materials. (We actually had a rare volume returned with the unmistakably offensive smell of vomit). There are three or four things you can do to remove the stench:

(1) First, before you do anything, get a light cleaner (Windex or some spray-type household cleaner -- not a powerful bathroom cleaner) and dampen a paper towel. Lightlly clean every edge and the cover of the book. If the cleaner doesn't seem to be hurting the book any (test it on the back of the volume first), then give it a good stiff rub down, without too much cleaner on the rag.

(2) Baking Soda or charcoal: Place the volume in an air-tight container with several pieces of charcoal or an open box of baking soda. Depending upon the size of the volume, you can use a Zip-lock bag or something larger. We actually use an airtight beverage cooler (we have a plastic six pack cooler like you buy in a store with a lid that clamps down). Place the volume in the container, place the charcoal around it and leave it for a week or so. We use regular grilling charcoal like you buy in a store.

(3) If that doesn't work, you can buy several boxes of baking soda and literally cover the book with baking soda. Place a half-inch layer in the bottom of the air-tight container, place the volume on that layer, then cover the entire volume with baking soda. Again, leave it for a week or two. To completely remove the baking soda, use a blow dryer set on the coolest setting.

BTW, you didn't mention if the book had a dust jacket or not. If so, you may have to toss this. Sorry.

The benefit of using these two methods is your book will have no scent, if it works. If, by this time, you still have a scent with the book, here's what we do in hard-core cases (i.e. vomit, etc.):

(4) Mothballs and dryer sheets. The good thing about dryer sheets is you can place them between the pages of the book. (BTW, you didn't say what kind of paper it was printed on -- if the paper is glossy or has a finished (smooth) feel to it, you might try wiping each page with a the same cloth you cleaned the edges and cover with, taking care not to get the cloth too damp). Again, place the volume in the airtight container. Mothballs cover offensive scents very well but then the volume smells like, well, mothballs. I'd try the dryer sheets first, in a scent you can live with.

Let me know how it turns out.

The Shadow One

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

What book was it Froggy?

[frogbeastegg]

It's a simple paperback; aside from the stink it's in perfect condition. It's 'The medieval idea of marriage' by Christophere Brooke. I'm branching out from military to social history and this book is one I keep hearing rave reviews about. It was only £3 so if it's not too great it is no real loss. It look quite good, as far as I can tell from reading it at arms length while holding my breath; it's more varied than the title suggests. I got a few other books at the same time but they are all in as new condition minus the stink. Mmmmm, cheap second hand books from Amazon, mmmmmm.

Thanks for the suggestions; I shall start with windex, then baking soda, then dryer sheets, then an entire bottle of perfume, then a gas mask. It really does reek. I can smell it from :looks over at book: oh, about two feet away and that's after several days of airing.

[Big King Sanctaphrax]

Pfft, Social history is for wimps. War is where it's at.

[The Shadow One]

Lady Frog:

Since it's a paperback, I wouldn't use the Windex on the pages, although it should be okay on the cover and edges.

I suggest a large ziplock bag and either four or five pieces of standard grill charcoal or a box of baking soda. Place the charcoal or baking soda in the bag first, then place the book in the bag, squeeze as much air out as you can and close it. Leave it there for a week. If it still smells of smoke, replace the charcoal/baking soda and try another week.

One thing you may want to do -- if your brave and your nostrils can stand it -- is open to book to two or three random spots and try to sniff interior pages. The smell of smoke will probably overwhelm you, but try to see if the smell is coming from the pages themselves. If the book has simply sat on a shelf for eighteen years in smoke-filled environment, you should probably be okay. But if the smoke has permeated the interior of the book, you'll have to devil to pay trying to get it out.

By the way, I ran a check at the library this afternoon regarding the book, but no luck. We can get it in trade paperback, Oxford University Press, for about $25.00 American. Sounds like you got a better deal, if you can just get the stench out.

The Shadow One

[Kaiser of Arabia]

the smell of ciggerette smoke bothers you?
Then you should never meet me all my clothes reek of it thanks to the amount my family smokes.
I love that smell.
-Capo

[Mouzafphaerre]

-

Try putting it under the sun, see if that burns out the nasty organic molecules and poisonous toxins out. At least give it a try (same reason why people bleach their clothes under the sun).

Sun? In Britain?
_

[Teutonic Knight]

the smell of ciggerette smoke bothers you?
Then you should never meet me all my clothes reek of it thanks to the amount my family smokes.
I love that smell.
-Capo

I agree, I actually really like the smell of tobacco smoke in a book...

[frogbeastegg]

Capo, TK,

The book has been rubbed over with cleaner (I went through three tissues and they all ended up black with muck!) and is currently residing in an empty biscuit tin with some soda. After a week it will either smell better or have a unique blend of smoke and chocolate digestives making up the stink. If nothing else the stench is currently sealed away

I was brave; the inside of the book is not so bad; it's the cover and edges of the pages that really stink.

[mercian billman]

the smell of ciggerette smoke bothers you?
Then you should never meet me all my clothes reek of it thanks to the amount my family smokes.
I love that smell.
-Capo

Same here I've grown up around smokers all my life and I've never really noticed the smell of ciggarette smoke.

Cigarette smell is actually kind of nice and it's not much different from the way you would smell sleeping next to a camp fire.

[Teutonic Knight]

LOL, that makes three of us!

[LittleGrizzly]

i love the smell as well always have and now i always stink of it, my fault though. Book stopped smelling froggy ?

[frogbeastegg]

Let's see ... :opens tin ... foul smell floods the room: Nope, and now the tin stinks too.

Right, more windex and a load more soda. Good thing I've got the 4 medieval volumes of the Oxford history of England series to read plus the first medieval volume of the New Oxford history of England series. That's some 4,000+ pages. Should keep me occupied while I wait for this stink to shift.

[dessa14]

well i hate cigarettes.
smoked one in my life and hated it.
thanks,
dessa