removing smoke smell from bar stools

[severdhed]

My wife knew I had been looking for some bar stools for a while, ...around Christmas time, she stumbled across a deal she just couldn't pass up.  A local VFW club was remodeling and selling off their old bar stools, she ended up picking up 5 of them for $20.  They are very heavy duty swivel stools with vinyl seats with backs.  They are old and a little beat up, but still in decent shape.  The problem is, they have been sitting in a bar for over 20 years, so they smell horrible.  I cleaned them thoroughly with soapy water, sprayed them with febreeze, let them sit outside on the front porch for several weeks, but they still smell like cigarette smoke. 

My mom had been working at a place that did automotive upholstery, she was going to re-cover them for me, but she ended up changing jobs before we got a chance, and she no longer has access to the heavy duty sewing machines required for sewing the vinyl.  I don't think recovering them is an option for me at this point.  I was hoping to find a way to remove the smoke smell, but i fear that after that many years, it may be impossible to get rid of.

the other option i have is to remove the seats entirely, cut some wooden circles and foam and make new basic round stool tops..i can stretch and staple the vinyl...it will make them not as nice, but less smelly is always better.


so, any idea on how to remove the smoke?  or should i just make new seats and be done with it?

[XtraSmiley]

Hmm, maybe seal in a bag with baking soda in the sun for a week? I have no idea if that will work. Any searches on the internet?

Really, I was just posting to ask you to post pics!

Worst comes to worst, re do the seats, but damn, it seems like the smoke smell would wear off if you left them outside in the sun for a few days!

[mgb]

how about Simple Green

[Drnick]

You're going to need something a little specialised for this job.  I should know having had to do the same thing once.  My mothers a 60 a day smoker so after 5 years boy was the chair somewhat special  I used 2 bottles of febreeze and a week in the sun and still the smell was still there.

This stuff looks good

http://www.vamooseproducts.com/

The only issue I can think of is that you really need to get at the fibres of the cushion yet being vinyl its going to repel most water based products. If you can get at the material without having to remove all the vinyl that would be the way forward. 

[jennifer]

      Lets see if I get this... You go and buy barstools from a bar, and are suprised the smell like smoke?...Jennifer just laughs,and laughs.
What about spilled drinks, and the butcrack smell ??

[shponglefan]

I've used Mirazyme (i think that's how you spell it) to remove campfire smoke smell from a tent.  Only caveat is that I actually soaked it, whereas I'm not sure you can do that with a stool.

Part of the issue is probably the padding, not just the vinyl.

You could try letting them air out in the sun/wind and see how that goes.  Also try baking soda for a few days.

[jennifer]

    There is a few things you can do... If the vinyl is still good Id keep it original, But As stated above the foam under the seat is probibally the culprit... So flip it over remove the staples and replace that, Simple green ( the diluted version) will help too, For cleaning the back of the old vinyl... A vinyl guy shouldnt charge much to recover them if you choose that direction, They have been most likely recovered many times in there life already. Jennifer would be more concered with the condition of the chrome however, thats not a cheap fix. A little neverdull should bring it back to its former glory, dont over polish it however, It is possible to rub the finish right off it.

[Xiaou2]

For industrial fire or smoke damages,  they use an Ozone generator.   Ozone is like a bleach in electrical form.  heh
It will pretty much kill anything.    The devices may be expensive, and you have to leave the place while they are in operation, as
its bad for you to breath in Ozone.

 I know there are some Ion generators which produce Ozone... that may be affordable.   Surely not as powerful as the real deal.
A lot of these were made before regulations were put out on Ozone levels.   I remember going to this guys house who had such a
device...  and it was kind of hard to breath in there cause the ozone level was way too high.

 It probably easiest to just replace the foam and reupholster.

[sandheaver]

My brother happened upon some stools in a similar way.

Getting the smoke smell off the hardware was easy, but he had to have them re-stuffed; he could not get the smell out of the seat stuffing.  If you value your time, this may be the more economical solution.

[severdhed]

Here are the stools in question. There are two black ones that are both ripped like that, and 3 red ones that are in better shape.  Hard to pass them up at $4 each. (They only had 5 left)

[CpCaveman]

youre right $4 is GREAT DEAL, but let me get this straight, its actually the smell of smoke thats bothering you about them?  when you get rid of the smell of smoke you`re going to keep them original obviously , sorry... hate myself for how I said it, but seriously? 

[severdhed]

I would love to recover them eventually, but since I no longer have help doing it, I'm going to have to pay someone to do it, which could be expensive.  I'd like to get them to the point where they are usable, then worry about making them look nice. I can't stands the smell of them in my house.

[Kyle W]

+1 on the Ozone Generator.  Have used one before to get the smoke smell out of an apartment.  Crack that puppy up on high and leave for the weekend. 

[ChadTower]

Strip the foam and vinyl entirely off those suckers and have them redone.  The vinyl is permanently saturated as is the cushion.  Nothing you do, and I do mean nothing, is going to get rid of 20 years of cigarette smoke and old guy farts from those cushions.

Might want to strip and repaint the frames while you're at it.  That shouldn't take more than a couple hours.

If you don't want to pay someone you can do it yourself.  Cut some MDF in the shape of the supports that are inside the cushions.  Wrap some vinyl from the fabric store around them, staple half of it in place... stick some sponge material cut down to shape in there... staple the rest.  We're talking about $4 used stools here.  Clean 'em up and put 'em in place.

[JeebsFat]

TSP cleaner, rinse, TSP, rinse, TSP, rinse.

TSP does what all other cleaners wont for smoke smell. Sometimes can be hard to find. Don't get the TSP imitation though. Not as good.

I've heard the O-zone machine work, but never used them.