How To Get Rid Of Smoke Smells From Clothes

You know the feeling. You come home after a barbecue, bonfire or evening somewhere smoky, hang up your jacket, and the next morning the smell is somehow even more noticeable. Learning how to remove smoke smell from clothes can save your favourite garments from repeated washing, overuse of fragrance sprays and, in some cases, unnecessary damage.

Smoke odour removal is slightly different from dealing with an ordinary laundry smell. Smoke can leave tiny particles and chemical residues on fabric, which means simply covering the smell with perfume or fabric spray may only disguise it temporarily. The encouraging news is that many smoky clothes can be refreshed at home. The trick is knowing when to air, when to wash, when a cupboard ingredient may help and when the garment needs professional care.

Why Does Smoke Smell Stick to Clothes?

Smoke is made up of gases, particles and chemical compounds that can settle on textile fibres. This is why cigarette smoke, barbecue smoke and bonfire smoke can remain noticeable long after you have left the smoky environment. Cigarette smoke can be particularly persistent. Researchers use the term ‘third-hand smoke’ for residual tobacco pollution that remains on surfaces and materials after the visible smoke has disappeared.

A 2022 study examining smoke-exposed clothing fabrics identified 66 volatile compounds associated with third-hand cigarette smoke. It also found that natural fibres, such as cotton and wool, retained and released more of the measured compounds than some synthetic fabrics. That helps explain why your wool coat may still smell smoky the following morning while another garment seems to recover much faster.

What Should You Do First When Clothes Smell of Smoke?

Do not throw everything straight into the washing machine. Start with the garment care label. The American Cleaning Institute recommends following the fabric care instructions when choosing how to wash and dry clothing.

Then:

1. Take the garment out of the smoky environment.
2. Empty the pockets.
3. Hang it somewhere with decent airflow.
4. Check whether it is washable, hand-wash only or dry-clean only.
5. Separate heavily smoke-exposed clothing from the rest of your laundry.
6. Smell the garment again after several hours of ventilation.

For very light exposure, fresh air may do most of the work before you even reach the washing stage.

How Do You Wash Smoke Smell Out of Clothes?

For washable clothes, a proper wash is usually the most reliable way to remove smoke odour, rather than simply covering it.

Follow this routine:

1. Check the care label and choose the warmest water temperature that is safe for the garment.
2. Use a good-quality laundry detergent in the amount recommended on the detergent label.
3. Leave enough space in the drum for the clothes to move freely.
4. Choose the appropriate cycle for the fabric and level of soiling.
5. Remove the clothes promptly when the cycle finishes.
6. Let them dry completely.
7. Check for smoke smell before putting them away.

Do not assume that extra detergent means extra cleaning. The American Cleaning Institute advises using the correct detergent quantity because both too much and too little detergent can leave clothes less clean.

If the smoke smell remains, wash the item again rather than immediately reaching for stronger chemicals.

Avoid storing clothing while it still smells smoky. Enclosing it in a wardrobe, drawer or suitcase can make the odour more noticeable later.

Can Baking Soda or Vinegar Remove Smoke Odour?

Both ingredients regularly appear in laundry advice, but neither should become a universal treatment for every fabric. Baking soda can help absorb and neutralise odours on some sturdy washable fabrics. For suitable garments, you can try a short soak in water with baking soda before laundering normally. However, avoid automatically using baking soda on delicate clothing. Silk, wool, cashmere, satin and other sensitive materials may require gentler care. Laundryheap’s guide to baking soda explains why it is not suitable for every textile.

Diluted distilled white vinegar may help with some odours and laundry residue, but use it carefully. If the fabric permits it, use a diluted solution as a short pretreatment before washing. Avoid pouring concentrated vinegar directly onto delicate garments. Most importantly, never mix vinegar with chlorine bleach. Combining an acid such as vinegar with chlorine bleach can release dangerous chlorine gas.

Also avoid mixing baking soda and vinegar simply because the fizz looks powerful. The acid and alkali react with each other, reducing much of what makes each ingredient useful on its own. When in doubt, use one treatment at a time and follow the garment’s care instructions.

How Can You Remove Smoke Smell Without Washing?

Sometimes the jacket smells of the pub, bonfire or barbecue, but the care label says dry clean only. Sometimes you simply do not need another full wash. Start with ventilation. Hang the garment outdoors when conditions allow, or place it in a well-ventilated indoor space. Give it plenty of room instead of leaving it folded over a chair.

You can also try:

• Hanging the item away from other clean clothes.
• Using a fabric-safe deodorising product exactly as directed.
• Using gentle steam only when the care label allows steaming.
• Taking dry-clean-only garments to a professional cleaner.

Steam may help freshen some fabrics and release trapped odours, but it should not be relied on as a guaranteed method for removing all smoke residue. For more ways to refresh clothes between washes, read Laundryheap’s guide to removing odour from clothes.

Why Do Clothes Still Smell Smoky After Washing?

If you washed your clothes and they still smell like smoke, do not panic. One cycle does not always remove heavy exposure.

Common reasons include:

• The garment absorbed a large amount of smoke.
• The washing machine was overloaded.
• You used too little or too much detergent.
• The wash temperature was too low for the level of soiling.
• The fabric naturally holds odours strongly.
• Other smoke-exposed items contaminated the load.
• The clothing dried slowly and developed an additional musty smell.

Your washing machine can also contribute to unpleasant smells if the drum, seals or detergent drawer need cleaning. For a mildly smoky T-shirt, one good wash may be enough. A wool coat exposed to cigarette smoke for several hours is a very different laundry problem. Treat the fabric, not just the smell.

When Should You Use Professional Smoke Odour Removal?

Home smoke odour removal works best on ordinary washable clothing with mild to moderate exposure.

Professional cleaning makes more sense when:

• The care label says dry clean only.
• The garment contains silk, wool, embroidery or delicate construction.
• Smoke smell remains after repeated washing.
• The item is expensive, vintage or difficult to replace.
• A suit, coat or formal garment needs treatment.
• Clothing has been exposed to heavy soot or a building fire.
• You are unsure which treatment is safe.

Heavy fire and soot contamination is particularly different from coming home smelling of a barbecue. Do not aggressively brush, shake or experiment with severely contaminated clothing indoors.

For everyday laundry and suitable garments, Laundryheap offers doorstep collection, professional cleaning and delivery, taking another round of washing off your list. Its UK laundry service currently includes professional wash-and-fold services with collection and delivery.

What Do the Numbers Tell Us About Smoke on Fabric?

Here is the part that makes that stubborn smell easier to understand.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that commercial tobacco smoke contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds considered toxic and around 70 that can cause cancer. (Source: CDC, 2024.) In the 2022 clothing study mentioned earlier, researchers identified 66 volatile components associated with third-hand cigarette smoke on exposed fabrics. Cotton and wool also showed greater retention than some synthetic materials.

This does not mean that every garment that smells smoky represents the same level of exposure. It does explain why cigarette smoke can behave very differently from an ordinary temporary clothing odour. It also gives you a good reason to deal with smoke-exposed clothes properly instead of repeatedly covering the smell with fragrance.

Ready to Get Rid of Smoke Smell for Good?

The best way to remove smoke smell from clothes is to act early, check the care label and match the treatment to the fabric. Start with fresh air for mild smells, wash washable clothes correctly and reserve baking soda or vinegar for fabrics that can safely handle them.

If your favourite coat still smells like last night’s bonfire or you simply do not fancy washing the same load twice, let someone else handle it. Book a Laundryheap collection and have your clothes professionally cleaned and delivered back to your door.