How to Remove Smoke Odors from Wood Furniture

Wood is a porous material that traps smoke odors very easily. The finished wood exterior will keep smoke residue, while unfinished wood surfaces, such as the surfaces of wood drawers, are soft surfaces that absorb and retain smoke odors. It is very important to properly clean any furniture that has been affected by smoke so that you can fully remove the odors from it, and it can still be used.

How to Clean Wood Furniture from Smoke Odors

It is very easy to clean wood furniture and remove odors using soap and water. Here are some supplies you will need to clean smoke odors from wood furniture: a soap such as Murphy Oil Soap, a sponge, an old towel, a bucket or some type of container for water, essential oil, and a microfiber cloth.

The process of cleaning wood furniture with soap and water:

• Pick a nice sunny day and do the cleaning outside. If the weather or space you have available does not permit you to do this work outside, then go ahead and use a drop cloth or a piece of plastic to cover the area you will be using for cleaning your wood furniture.
• Fill a container with warm water and mix 1 tsp of Murphy Oil Soap for each cup of warm water. This soap will help remove the odors from the furniture.
• Get the sponge wet and lather it up in the water container. Now scrub the wooden furniture with the lathered-up sponge and work in sections. Next, dry the whole wet area with a towel, and keep repeating the process until you’ve covered the whole surface of the furniture. Once you’ve done this process, you will notice the water getting dirty and you can smell the furniture to ensure it no longer smells like smoke.
• Once you’ve cleaned and dried the furniture, you can use a few drops of an essential oil on a microfiber cloth and rub it on the whole surface of the furniture. This will make it smell nice.

Other Methods to Remove Smoke Odors from Furniture

There are other methods you can use to remove lingering smoke odors from wood furniture. Here are a few:

• Vinegar:

This is a great way to get smells out of furniture. You can put a few bowls of vinegar inside your furniture and leave it for 48 hours to get any bad odors out. You can also use equal parts water and vinegar and wipe down every area of the furniture piece. This helps get rid of the chemicals that caused the odor.

• Coffee grounds and newsprint:

You can line each drawer and shelf with newsprint and put some coffee grounds on it and let it sit for 48 hours; all the smells should be gone.

• Baking soda:

Sprinkle a good amount of baking soda on your furniture piece and then let it sit for 48 hours. After that, you can vacuum it up which should remove the odor with it.

• Shellac:

You can use a shellac-based product to get any bad odors out. You must apply the primer to every surface to get rid of the smell completely. Keep in mind that shellac products may be very expensive, however they can last a long time.

• Steam cleaning:

Steam cleaning is a great way to get smoke odors removed from your furniture. Steam permeates into the wood just like smoke so you can be sure it will be removed. The steam will remove any odor-causing molecules, so you are left with odorless furniture. This is a very quick process and all you need to do is put the steam nozzle on the surface and difficult to reach places. It’s a great way to get rid of bad odors that have settled on wood.

• Activated charcoal:

This is a natural way to deodorize a surface, including wood. You can purchase activated charcoal from Amazon in powder form. Another easy solution is to buy charcoal-embedded puppy pads or litter box mats which can be purchased on Amazon or other online retailers.

• Essential oil:

You can also remove smoke odors by using essential oils. This is a natural way to add a nice scent to wooden furniture. You can choose any brand you feel comfortable with and always make sure to test a small area first.

• Air fresheners:

You can always use an air freshener to remove smoke odors. Air fresheners such as Ozium, can be purchased as spray canisters or gels, which can provide a clean smell.

At least one of the ways outlined above should work to remove bad odors from your wood furniture. Keep in mind that you may need to take some time and put in some work to make sure your wooden piece becomes odor free. You will be glad once the process is done and all the elbow grease you put in will be worth it.

Professional Odor Removal

Have you experienced a fire at your home or business, and you need to get the smoke odors removed RestorationMaster can help. No matter what caused the fire, our highly trained technicians will arrive quicky, they will clean, disinfect, deodorize, and fully restore your property. Call us for all of your fire damage and deodorization needs.

About Vince Sandri

Vince Sandri is a content writer and blogger with more than 12 years of experience. His expertise is in creating content related to disaster restoration, including information about preventing and reacting to natural disasters like flooding, water damage, fire and smoke damage, mold growth, storm damage and more.
Vince has been the main contributor to RestorationMasterFinder.com since 2014. Over that time, he has written numerous service pages and blogs for disaster restoration providers featured on RestorationMasterFinder.com. Vince has done extensive research and covered a wide range of topics relating to disaster restoration to help homeowners, business owners, and property managers better protect their property. He understands the problems that disasters like flooding, fire, smoke, and mold can cause as well as the best ways to respond to these issues to limit the damage.
Vince completed his Bachelor of Arts degree at Aurora University and his master’s degree at DePaul University. He has been writing SEO website pages, blogs, and press releases since 2012. Vince is also a musician and can be seen playing in the Chicago, IL area.