How to Get Smoke Smell Out of Clothes and Fabrics
Shake off loose soot outside, then wash washable items in the warmest water the label allows, with detergent plus a cup of baking soda or white vinegar. Repeat if needed, and air-dry until the smell is completely gone, because dryer heat can lock odor in. Dry-clean-only, heavily sooted, or valuable fabrics should go to a professional restoration cleaner.
Before you wash anything
- Photograph it first if you're making an insurance claim. Professional cleaning of clothes is often covered as part of a fire claim, so check with your adjuster before you spend hours doing it yourself.
- Take items outside and shake them gently to remove loose soot. Wear gloves and a mask. Soot is irritating to breathe.
- Don't rub soot stains. Rubbing pushes soot deeper into the fibers.
- Sort by how bad it is. Light smoke smell is a home job. Visible black soot, burned spots or a strong odor usually need a professional.
Washing smoke out at home
- Step 1Air them out. Hang clothes outside for a few hours in fresh air if the weather allows. Light odor sometimes fades a lot from this alone.
- Step 2Wash with an odor booster. Use your normal detergent plus either about a cup of baking soda or a cup of white vinegar (not both in the same load). Use the warmest water that's safe for the fabric.
- Step 3Smell before you dry. If you can still smell smoke, wash again. Heavier odors often take two or three washes.
- Step 4Air-dry until it's gone. Only use the dryer once the item smells completely clean. Dryer heat can set leftover odor and soot stains.
What to send to a professional
- Dry-clean-only items: suits, wool coats, silk, formal wear.
- Heavily sooted items with black residue you can see or feel.
- Leather, suede and fur.
- Wedding dresses, christening gowns, quilts and heirlooms. Anything you can't replace deserves a specialist.
- Large items like comforters, curtains and drapes that won't wash well in a home machine.
Restoration cleaners use special detergents and odor treatments, such as controlled ozone rooms, that aren't available or safe at home. Regular dry cleaners can handle light smoke, but heavy fire odor is a job for a cleaner that specializes in fire restoration.
Mistakes that make it worse
- Using the dryer too early. This is the most common mistake. Heat can bake odor into the fibers.
- Spraying fabric fresheners to cover the smell. They mask it for a while, then the smoke smell comes back.
- Washing smoky clothes with clean ones. Odor and soot can transfer.
- Mixing vinegar and bleach. Never mix them. It releases a dangerous gas.
Curtains, bedding and other fabrics
Washable curtains, sheets and blankets follow the same steps as clothes. Upholstered furniture is different, because the smell gets into the foam inside. See can smoke-damaged furniture be saved? Rugs need their own approach too: here's how rugs are cleaned after damage.
The bottom line
Shake, wash with baking soda or vinegar, smell, repeat, and air-dry. If the smell won't budge after a few washes, or the item is delicate or precious, hand it to a fire restoration cleaner, and ask your adjuster whether it's covered.
General information only. Always follow the care label, and test cleaning methods on a hidden spot first.