I recently purchased some beautiful used wood furniture from Facebook Marketplace, but unfortunately, it reeks of cigarette smoke, likely from being stored in a garage by previous owners who were heavy smokers. I've found a lot of conflicting information about what cleaning methods are safe for finished wood, but I'm specifically looking for ways to eliminate these odors. Does anyone have effective tips or methods for tackling this issue?
4 Answers
Honestly, it might be tough to completely eliminate the smell since it can seep into the wood itself. If you're willing to give it a shot, I’d recommend using an ozone generator. Just tent the furniture, place the generator inside, and let it run. You can find some reasonably priced ones on Amazon that could do the trick.
A good starting point might be to disassemble the furniture as much as you can and put it outside in the fresh air for a week. This could help to air out some of the smell naturally.
For serious odor issues, like after a house fire, we often use ozone generators to tackle smoke smells. If you really want to go deep, you can strip the furniture of its finish first, use the ozone treatment, and then refinish it with a shellac-based product to seal in any remaining odors.
Have you thought about lightly sanding the furniture and then resealing it? That might help lock in any remaining odors while refreshing the finish.