The nationally syndicated advice column “Hints from Heloise” featured ozone for smoke odor removal in its Aug 10 article. The letter is from a reader with experience in the laundry and drycleaning industry, adding that ozone machines can be effective in removing smoke odor from clothing and other items. A copy of the article can be found here. (Thanks to Marie from OH for mentioning it!)
After a fire, it is common for clothing and personal items to retain a smoke or soot smell. Getting the smell out of those items hinges on many things, including how hot the fire got, how close the items were to the fire, and whether the items themselves were scorched. For large-scale soot cleanup and deodorizing, you may need to call in a Disaster Recovery specialist.
If instead you need to remove a smoke smell from a few articles of clothing, here are a few pointers:
- Is the item salvageable? If the item itself is scorched, then the item will likely continue to emit odor regardless of the treatment used.
- Check if your local dry cleaner or launderer utilizes ozone treatments. If so, then they should be able to properly clean and deodorize your clothing.
- If not, ozone them yourself after they are cleaned by renting an ozone machine.
