Secondhand toys greatly save costs but come with peculiar old smells, including smoke. They might have absorbed the odor if kept in a room with smokers.
Not only is the smoke smell unpleasant, it’s also unsafe for your child’s health. In this case, the stuffed animals require cleaning, but some are delicate or not machine-washable.
This post explains different ways you can remove the smoke smell out of stuffed animals.
Materials you’ll need
- Drying rack or clothesline
- Baking soda or activated charcoal
- White vinegar or lemon juice
- Water
- Fabric cloth
- Scented laundry detergent
- Plastic paper
- Essential oil.
Procedure to get smoke smell out of stuffed animals
Smoke smell can be persistent, making it tedious to remove on stuffed animals like the squish mallow.
However, the materials and methods listed will do the trick and leave your squishmallow or stuffed animal with a lovely fresh smell.
Follow these steps to eliminate the smoke smell from stuffed animals:
- Air out the toys in the fresh air and direct sunlight for two days to remove the odor molecules. Remove the stuffing if possible and hang it in an open space for effective results.
- Place the stuffed animals in a plastic bag and pour two or three small cups of baking soda. Add 2 more cups of baking soda if the smell is intense.
- Close the plastic bag and leave the toys to sit for three or four days to get smoke smell out of the fur.
- Take them out if the smell has gone or is mild. Vacuum or shake off the remaining powder and wash the stuffed animals.
- If the stuffed toy is machine washable, wash it using a scented organic laundry detergent like Purex Natural Elements and let it run for 15 minutes in a gentle setting. Dry it in the sun if possible; otherwise, tumble it on a dryer in a similar setting.
- To get the smoke smell out of non-washable items, wipe it with a cloth or spray it with a vinegar mixture of ¼ cup of white vinegar and ¾ cup of water and hang it outside to dry. You can substitute vinegar with lemon juice, which is just as effective in odor removal.
You can also eliminate the smoke smell in stuffed animals by wiping them with dryer or fabric softener sheets and drying them in the dryer (if machine-washable) or air-drying them outside.
Once the stuffed animal has dried, spray it with a scented mixture of two or three drops of essential oil and water in a spraying bottle.
Additional tips and advice
- The intensity of the smoke odor is a huge factor in how many times you’ll repeat the above cleaning methods. The smellier the stuffed animal is, the more times you’ll clean it, as long as it isn’t damaged.
- Use white vinegar only to clean the toys. The other types of vinegar don’t have the same cleaning and odor-removing properties.
- If the stuffed animal is mildly affected by the smoke, get the smoke smell out of the fabric without washing it by air-drying it for a couple of days.
- If the stuffed animal’s stuffing smell does not suffice after using the above tips, replace it with new stuffing material. The best and most long-lasting one is polyester fiberfill, which you can fill in the toy and sew back in place.
- Citrus or lavender scents are the best for essential oils and laundry detergent to eliminate the smell. This is because they are the best to combat the smoke odors and remove them for good.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
This is the most common question about the smoke smell in stuffed toys.
Does smoke smell to go away from toys by itself?
If the smoke smells mild, leaving the stuffed animal outside to dry and air out for two or three days may make it disappear.
The fresh air and breeze help dissipate the odor molecules in the toy. However, you may still detect a faint smoke smell after that.
An effective way to remove the smell is by soaking it in laundry detergent and water.
Alternatively, seal it in a bag with baking soda, activated charcoal, or coffee grounds and spray it with vinegar to absorb the smell completely.