Article: Dry cleaning may help remove smoke odors

Dear Heloise: I sure could use your help. My mother is a very heavy smoker. She just gave me about 10 very nice blazers that I would love to be able to wear -- but they reek!

I washed them with the best-smelling detergent, then rinsed repeatedly with softener, hung them up to dry -- and did it all again. I even put them in one of those home dry-cleaning kits, and nothing seems to work. I even put perfume in the rinse cycle and rinsed three times! -- T.A., Via e-mail

Many times, smoke can be a difficult odor to remove once it has adhered itself to a fabric. It sounds like you've done all the right things. Here are some other ideas:

-- Check with a dry cleaner in your area to see if employees ...

Related newspaper, magazine, and journal articles:

 
 
Newsweek Harper's Magazine The Washington Post Chicago Tribune Crain's Chicago Business PRNewswire Pediatric News The Nation Advertising Age The Economist (US) A FREE trial gives you access to over 80 million articles! Access over 6,500 publications with a FREE trial!