I just purchased a large group of n scale stuff and the previous owner smoked heavily. Anyone out there have a trick to neutralize the smell? Any help would be greatly appreciated. I plan to trial Zorbx (Spell??).
Try Vinegar: Get rid of smoke odor: If you’ve recently burned a steak — or if your chain-smoking aunt recently paid you a surprise visit — remove the lingering smoky odor by placing a shallow bowl about three-quarters full of white or cider vinegar in the room where the scent is strongest. Use several bowls if the smell permeates your entire home. The odor should be gone in less than a day. You can also quickly dispense of the smell of fresh cigarette smoke inside a room by moistening a cloth with vinegar and waving it around a bit. Maybe misting and letting it evaporate, or wiping with a damp cloth. I haven't tried it so I can't personally vouch for the results, but it may prove to be less harmful to paint/plastic than something like Febreeze. Mike
Hmmmm. I have always had great luck killing all kinds of odors (including those of a particularly horrible kind from my kids making biological messes when they were younger) with a product called Bac-Out. It is sold at natural grocery stores or places where the "hippie" crowd might shop for the organic foods. I have cleaned walls, carpets, toys, and all kinds of other stuff with it and its an enzymatic cleaner so I'm thinking it might do the trick, but I can't say one way or another what it would do to the paint and or decals. Just a though.
The key to removing any odor is to remove the source as in lift and remove. Ciggy smoke permeates everything and is the toughest odor to remove. I use a dishwashing soap and a quick bath to remove the ciggy smoke. Followed by a lukewarm water rinse. Allow to air dry. Caution: If you purchased cars where he or she did their own decals OR powder weathered the train cars...it will ALL wash off. Test some of the cars before giving them a bath. I hope that helps. The vinegar idea works to a point but basically it just covers the smell and replaces it. The ciggy smoke being the dominating odor will return.
