Cigarette Smoke Smell

[Dan R]

I purchased a Zpacks Sub Nero 30L from eBay. It was a good deal, but the previous owner was clearly a smoker.

Any tips on ridding the interior of the pack of the strong smell of smoke? It’s made of the Ultra fabric. Can I use Fabreeze on Ultra fabric? Any advice is welcomed and thanks.

Dan

[dirtbag]

Make a fire outside and sit pack next to it ( not too close )

Keep it natural.  I would NOT fabreeze or perfume ANY of my outdoor gear!!

[MJ H]

Does anyone know if bears like the scent of Fabreeze?

Maybe baking soda and water would help?

[dirtbag]

I think if you take the pack out for even a short weekend trip,  the odor will dissipate.  Nature will do it’s thing.

[Kelly G]

Baking soda. Place the bag and a dish of baking soda in a box? Maybe a cotton storage bag. Leave it there for a few days. I’d probably rearrange the bag too, getting different spots closer to the dish. Might work.  Definitely  couldn’t  hurt. Good luck.

Kelly G.

[Dan R]

^^^ great idea!

[Dan]

You can buy unscented Febreze. Notably, Febreze is not a typical deodorizer that applies a scent to mask another scent. The main ingredient is a cyclodextrin, which is a cyclic molecule with a “hole” in the center that serves as a “host” for “guest” scent molecules. So it literally traps odors, molecule by molecule.

There is a famous story about the initial marketing of Febreze. When they did consumer tests with it, people didn’t like it because it made their house smell like nothing. So they added scent.

[Ryan Jordan]

Same experience, but with used down jackets.

I renovated an Old House a few years ago and used an ozone generator to “treat” the old house smell when I replaced wallboards, etc. Worked like a charm, so I figured I’d give it a go on a ciggy down jacket.

So I put the ozone generator in an empty box out in the garage, with the jacket, turned it on, and left for the day.

Came back many hours later (after a long hike). It worked great, cig smell was barely detectable.

And the elastic cuffs, hem, and hood aperture were all fried. Too much ozone.

I repeated again with another jacket that had a cig smell to it, and instead cycled it:

* 30 minutes of ozone treatment, quick wash cycle, repeat

I did this 3 times, no damage to the fabrics or elastics, and came out smelling pretty good. Not perfect, but 90% better and certainly wearable for me (a non-smoker).

I christened it with some campfire smell the first time I used it, and it was good to go from there :)

I have this one.

[JCH]

Hahahaha…Ryan’s statement of success got turned into a link to a freeze-dried food company!

[JG H]

NilOdor. Water it down in a bottle mister. Turn the pack inside out, spray it down, and then let it dry. If you have covered area outdoors, hanging it outside to dry is even better. Turn it right side out, spray it again, and let it dry again. Should work like a charm.

[AK Granola]

I’d just get rid of it and find something else. I would smell the tobacco forever. I guess it depends how sensitive you are to it. On airline flights I have to ask to move seats if seated next to a smoker, or I get hives. My parents lost a lot of money when they sold their home due to my mom’s lifelong cig smoking habit. It was in the sheetrock, the oak flooring, everything. No way to eliminate it.

[Justin W]

Activated carbon/charcoal might work. Put the activated carbon in a fabric that is porous enough to breath but tight enough weave to keep most of the powder within, and surround the pack with that on all sides, and then seal it all up within a closed up (preferably with a seal) container of some kind. Let it sit in there for at least a few days (preferably longer), and then hang up the pack outside in a shaded, dry area for a few more days.

The combo should significantly reduce the smell. Not sure you’re going to completely eliminate it except through a lot of time/use.

[Bill Budney]

Ozium is (mostly) ozone in a can — no generator required for small jobs.

It smells like the ozone created by electric motors, if you are familiar with that. Don’t breathe a lot of it, though — it’s all free radicals.

That is what makes it work, though.

[Terran Terran]

It should be mostly nonporous. Soap and water. Dawn dish soap works pretty good.

[David Thomas]

Modern laundry detergents are great for removing oils, odors and stains, but they are also good at removing waterproof fabric coatings.  So limit yourself to repeated washing with soap and water.  Leaving it out in the sunlight and air while inverting inside out can also help, but limit exposure to UV – don’t leave it out for many weeks.

[Brad W]

I would soak the backpack in a luke warm tub with a good laundry detergent. Gently go over the material with your hand, cold rinse, hang dry and in the backpacks case, set it in the sun for a few hours each side. I like Persil detergent. I have cleaned used DCF tents this way and it’s gotten all the funk out of them, although it wasn’t cig. smoke.

[Dan R]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I am currently on day two of the baking soda treatment as suggested by @Kelly G and will move up from there if this doesn’t work. So far, the baking soda in a dish sealed inside the pack has decreased the odor, but it’s not gone. Next step is hanging it outside while turned inside out and allow Mother Nature to take over.

My dad smoked two packs of Marlboro reds per day, so I’m not over sensitive to the smell, but “This isn’t just an odor, you need a priest to get rid of this thing.” – Jerry Seinfeld

[Terran Terran]

Smoke leaves a film that needs to be washed off. ZPacks suggests laundry soap while HMG recommends Dr. Bronners or tech wash. (DCF). I’ve used tech wash on mine. Mainly because I was washing other stuff as well. It did clean my pack with no damage. My main concern would be the tape. I’ve left damp stuff in my pack and had some of the tape peel. I’d wash it and hand dry it. Soak it, but not for long. Mostly I wouldn’t use anything with added scent.

[Paul S]

We were out in our DurstonXmid-2 when the wind shifted and it was like a fire hose of forest fire smoke aimed right at us! Couldn’t see more than 100′ or so (the smoke was so think). It was the first time out in the tent.

We had to bail from the trip. The tent stank of smoke. We had an ozone generator and threw it and the tent into our car and ran it for 1/2 hour or so. We had to do that a few times, and also set the tent up in the yard and put the ozone generator inside the tent inner. Finally it doesn’t smell of smoke!

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