Kilts and cigarette smoke

[Eric Peterson]

Now if she would just kick the cat off of her lap.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Barb,

I have altered kilts for people who either smoke, or live in the same house with a smoker. My experience with those is that even if the kilt only has a faint odor, as soon as I hit the cloth with an iron, the smell of the smoke comes out full force and literally fills the room. And the worst part is that it gets into the cover of my ironing board. I've even had to replace my ironing board cover because of it!

If someone is considering making kilts for others, and they smoke, they need to make the kilts in a location that is smoke free, for the sake of their clients!

[EagleJCS]

The smell lingers for years.

I can attest to this. My family recently sold my late uncle's house. Long story short, he passed about three years ago and it took Mom this long to finally say OK, it's time to sell it. Anyhoo, he was a pack-a-day smoker, on disability for MS, so he was at home basically 25 hours a day. Even after three years, with all of the furniture gone, changing the furnace filters on a regular basis, washing the walls and ceilings with soap & water, and having the carpets and drapes professionally cleaned, I could still smell the cigarette odor. (Maybe it was partly psychological on my part - expecting the smell to be there since it was still "his" house.)

I concur with others who have said that the even if the fabric is stored in a "smoke-free" room, and she doesn't smoke while working on the kilts, they can still pick up some of the odor because the smoke particulates (the things that our noses detect as an odor) are still on her hands, hair and clothes.

[GDub]

Interesting thread--especially after the several cigar smoking love fest threads of late. Thank your lucky stars she doesn't smoke cigars!

[Nighthawk]

Hey there, Barb. I have to chime in here as an ex smoker. I can smell it everywhere. About 6 months after I stopped, I started noticing that my whole apartment stunk. My clothes stunk. I had no clue when I was smoking.It was a normal part of things that I was acclimated to. I doubt your associate knows that she reeks. I had to replace my wardrobe because I couldn't get the smell out, and it just made me want to start smoking again, which I really didn't want to do. So to the smell- I found no way to get rid of it, and that was 9 years ago. Maybe there is something new, but I don't know about it. That stuff sticks to everything... It's just plain disgusting. Good luck with all that.

[Dixiecat]

Who quit his four pack a day habit back when the price of a pack went from 20 cents to 21 cents because he was too cheap to pay the extra penny a pack Philip Morris wanted for his precious Marlboros.

Wow. That's cheap!

[The Wizard of BC]

As a pipe smoker I am very aware of the smell of my addiction. I gave up cigarettes because Bobbie can't be around the smell.

I have had a few Kilts come into the shop with heavy cigarette smoke on them and found a way to get it out.

I have commercial irons in my shop. The kind with a separate tank where the water is boiled. I thought, "What the heck, steam is used in a autoclave to sterilize surgical instruments, why not try."

If I use a blast of steam (and I'm not talking the light pressure steam from a clothes steamer) from my iron I can eliminate the smell in about 30 minutes.

Most of you won't have access to this kind of steamer. They will shoot a blast of steam all the way across the room at moderate pressure. But I thought I would mention that it is possible to remove cigarette smoke smell from Wool.

Caution:::::: When using this sort of steam pressure you have to be very careful not to steam the pleats right out of your Kilt. This steam is VERY HOT!!! Please don't attempt to do this at home and always have adult supervision.

[Barb T]

If I use a blast of steam (and I'm not talking the light pressure steam from a clothes steamer) from my iron I can eliminate the smell in about 30 minutes.

I'm not sure that I could stand the smell for 30 minutes!!

[Smayniac]

I'm not sure that I could stand the smell for 30 minutes!!

Not really an option for you or the Wiz this time of year, but it could be done outside in the propper season, couldn't it?

I knew a construction man who used to tell the story of a family of smokers complaining of the fresh paint smell in their new house. He put a cigarette in an ashtray in the corner of each large room and let them burn down, the family was happy but he (nonsmoker) nearly choked getting out of the house at the end of the process.

Bob

[The Barry]

Please don't attempt to do this at home and always have adult supervision.

Well, there you go taking all of the fun out of it!