6 Ways to Remove Smoke Smell from Your Clothes

Quickly get your clothes smelling clean and fresh again

Co-authored by Cleanzen Cleaning Services and Sam Waddoups

Last Updated: July 11, 2024 Fact Checked

Smoky smells stick around on clothes for a while–it can feel like the odor is still there even after you’ve washed them several times! Luckily, there’s way more you can do to get rid of the smell than just running the laundry again. Whether the smell is from a campfire, cigarette smoke, or a mystery odor in a jacket you just thrifted, there are a variety of ways to get your clothes smelling fresh again. This article has tons of suggestions that work for all kinds of clothes, so use more than one in combination with each other to finally ditch that ‘Smokey the Bear’ smell.

Things You Should Know

Machine wash your clothes with 1 cup of baking soda to remove smoke odors. Add 1 cup of vinegar during the rinse cycle for even more odor-fighting power.
Alternatively, hang your clothes outside to let them air out.
Wash your clothes in hot water if possible. Hot water will help break down the smokey odors.

1

Wash your clothes with baking soda.

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Baking soda is a great odor eliminator. When you’re doing your laundry, add ½ to 1 cup (115 to 230 g) of baking soda into the load to cut the odor. Another option is to soak the clothes for 3-6 hours in your sink or tub with hot water and ½ to 1 cup (115 to 230 g) of baking soda.^{[1]
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- For extra odor-fighting power, add ¹⁄₂ to 1 cup (120 to 240 mL) of vinegar during the rinse cycle.^{[2]
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2

Air out your clothes.

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Fresh air can carry the smell away naturally. Put your clothes on a clothesline outside or use a hanger to put them on a fence, tree, or awning to let the smoke air out.
- If the weather doesn’t allow for outdoor clothes hanging, inside will do! Hang them up in a large room with the windows open.
- While this may not get rid of the smell completely, it’s a good first step that can be surprisingly effective.

3

Machine-wash your clothes with vinegar.

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White vinegar works well as a deodorizer as well as a disinfectant. Put your clothes in the laundry normally with your detergent, but add ¹⁄₂ to 1 cup (120 to 240 mL) of white vinegar to the machine before the rinse cycle. When you take your clothes out of the laundry, the smell should be gone!^{[3]
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- If your clothes are delicate or the smoke smell is still strong, soak your clothes for 3-6 hours in vinegar. Fill a bucket or bathtub with hot water and add ¹⁄₂ to 1 cup (120 to 240 mL) of white vinegar. Then soak the clothes until the smoke odor has lessened.^{[4]
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- If there is a vinegar smell after washing with vinegar, don’t worry. It will go away quickly as the leftover vinegar dissipates into the air.^{[5]
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- Be careful using vinegar on athletic or athleisure wear because vinegar can wear down some elastic fabrics like lycra and spandex.
- Never mix vinegar with bleach! They combine to create a highly toxic chlorine gas. Check if your detergent has bleach in it before mixing it with vinegar.^{[6]
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4

Wash your clothes in hot water.

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Hot water dissolves smelly substances and kills bacteria. Wash your clothes with detergent on the ‘hot’ setting of your washer, or heat water up to 130 °F (54 °C) and wash your clothes by hand. The hot water should break down the odor-causing molecules.^{[7]
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- Read your clothes’ tags first to check if you can wash them in hot water without damaging them.

5

Bag your clothes with dryer sheets or baking soda.

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Baking soda and dryer sheets will absorb bad odors. Seal your clothes in a plastic bag with 1 dryer sheet or 1 tablespoon (14 g) of baking soda per clothing item. Let your clothes sit in the bag for 1-2 days, and the odors should be gone!^{[8]
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- Activated charcoal,^{[9]
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- There are also a variety of commercially available odor-absorbing packs that you could use to absorb the smells from your clothes.^{[11]
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6

Spray your clothes with a deodorizer.

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Chemical deodorizers (or diluted rubbing alcohol) can help remove smokey smells. Hang up the clothing, then spray it with a commercial deodorizing fabric freshener. Alternatively, use diluted rubbing alcohol or even white vinegar. Once you’ve sprayed your clothing, let it sit for a couple of hours, smell it again, and respray if needed.^{[12]
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- Make sure that the commercial spray has a chemical deodorant in it, rather than just scented water. Only the chemical spray will cut the odor.^{[13]
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7

Take them to a dry cleaner.

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This is especially helpful if you’re in a hurry or if the clothing item has a delicate fabric. Make sure to talk to someone at the dry cleaners’ to communicate specifically that you want them to get the smoky smell out.^{[14]
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Tips

Some people recommend freezing your clothes to get the smoke smell out, but most experts say that it doesn’t work. Feel free to try for yourself, but you’re probably better off with the other tips in this article.^{[15]
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