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A friend of mine rented my rig to do a show earlier this week. While the gear came back in good condition functionally, the wretched smell of smoke billowed from my trailer when I opened it. I can't even stand to get close to the doors at the moment without retching, but I managed to get a fan in there.

Any tips on getting the odor out? My guess is the primary culprit is a couple of carpeted cases and blankets, grill cloth, etc.

BrentEvans wrote:A friend of mine rented my rig to do a show earlier this week. While the gear came back in good condition functionally, the wretched smell of smoke billowed from my trailer when I opened it. I can't even stand to get close to the doors at the moment without retching, but I managed to get a fan in there.

Any tips on getting the odor out? My guess is the primary culprit is a couple of carpeted cases and blankets, grill cloth, etc.

You could use Fabreeze or something like that, but usually time will fix it. Leave the trailer open and let it air out.

It will stick to anything....even guitar cases.

Yeah, that's what I was afraid of. I don't do pub gigs, most of my clients are churches, and you can't stink up a church like that. This was a dry rental, so I wasn't thinking about that part of it. Plus, in our state smoking in most commercial buildings has been banned for years. This was out of state though, so again, it didn't enter my mind.

Fortunately I have a bit of time before the next gig, so everything can have a good scrub and plenty of time to air out...

What a pain...

something like this should work.

It probably doesn't matter for your needs, but Fabreze is highly toxic to birds. If you have any feathered pets, make sure they're nowhere near the gear during or after the application.

Dehumidifiers can help get smells out. I'd leave it out in the open to air out first.

Well, half a gallon of vinegar and almost a whole bottle of Febreze later, and the worst of it has abated. I can walk into the trailer without a gas mask (I did actually have to put on a painter's respirator to start the job) and the only thing that has a whiff of smoke are the speaker grills and packing blankets. I hit the grills pretty heavy with the Febreze twice and it didn't seem to do much. I guess I'll have to take them off and soak them in the vinegar solution and rinse them. Cable cases are opened up outside and the trailer is airing out.

As I said... what a pain.

How do smokers stand it? While it's not the stinkiest stink, it is absolutely revolting and gagging.

BrentEvans wrote:Any tips on getting the odor out?

Buy an Ozone generator. Place the output tube going straight into the trailer, run the unit overnight to fumigate the entire lot and check back in the morning.

Radian wrote:

BrentEvans wrote:Any tips on getting the odor out?

Buy an Ozone generator. Place the output tube going straight into the trailer, run the unit overnight to fumigate the entire lot and check back in the morning.

+1

Glad that you got rid of most of the smell. Is there brown residu of smoking on the grills? Degrease them, window cleaner (glassex it's called here) might do.

For all heavier degreasing, I use

As it is very gentle for the aplied surfices and cleanes almost anything like magic.
From household use to degreasing car engines, car wheels, rubber (hypalon and pvc) inflatable boats, yachts, fiberglass, sports shoes, whatever.... and €2 / $2.30 for a liter or a bit more then 1/4 gallon.
In Holland "Wibra" sells it;s and it looks like all stores run on selling just this product, as it is piled up on pallets next to the entrance in every shop.
But maybe it allready conquered the US ..... it's italian.

//edit: spreading around used coffee grounds can also nutralize smells. (maybe fresh coffee also works, I don't know)
Thx, for the bird warning alexk. Ventilate well then, because it's not only birds.....

Radian wrote:

BrentEvans wrote:Any tips on getting the odor out?

Buy an Ozone generator. Place the output tube going straight into the trailer, run the unit overnight to fumigate the entire lot and check back in the morning.

If you want to accelerate the aging process on the equipment 100,000 fold, this would work.

Keep in mind Ozone is O3. Nasty stuff that causes everything to oxidate so much more easily. Fastest way to make copper go green. Fastest way to make iron rust.

There's a reason ozone is an irritant and tracked the world over as a component of smog. Nasty stuff.

When I find something's picked up smoke, I try to dry it out the best I can and keep fresh air blowing over it. Given that I run with rennies, *everything* soaks up smoke of all kinds. Tobacco, the fun stuff, wood smoke, treated lumber smoke, burning flesh when an idiot decides to sit in the bonfire....

Think wrote:.

//edit: spreading around used coffee grounds can also nutralize smells. (maybe fresh coffee also works, I don't know)....

That would be replacing one offensive smell with another. My wife is a coffee drinker, and i make her brush her teeth and mouthwash after she drinks it before she comes near me. Well.... I try to anyway. You all know how that works.

It really doesn't help matters any at all with smoke or coffee that I am hypersensitive to certain odors. We were at my son's ball game a few weeks ago and I smelled cigarette smoke. I looked around to see where it was because it was pretty strong to me... there was only one guy smoking and he was at least 50 feet away. I was still about to gag.

When we washed the gear, we had to change water several times because it turned nicotine yellow. And I was told they weren't smoking in the bar.

BrentEvans wrote:

Think wrote:.

And I was told they weren't smoking in the bar.

And they very well might not have been.

Years ago, we were booked at a local bar. We went in early in the afternoon to set up - nobody was there but us. Got home and smelled like we'd spent the night in the gutter.

The smell is in the walls, the chairs, the tables, anything wood or fabric......and it transfers easily.

That said, I still smoke cigars...

It's still replacing one for another but back in my youth I hide my smoking cigarettes from my parent by pit stopping at a McDonald's on my way out. I'd get an order of french fries to leave a few in my car so any smell of me in the car after smoking was replace by the fries. Sadly, worked like a charm.

Vinegar is usually a natural kill all for odors once it has time to dissipate to not smell like vinegar. You might try that.

Not sure how that helps, but I guess it boils down to either finding something to replace it or air it out...

Well, as I said, the vinegar wash worked well for the hard surfaces. It's mainly in the grill cloth now. which I'll have to take apart and spray down with the vinegar rinse.

And I have to re wash the cases with a light detergent because the vinegar rinse didn't eliminate all the dirt, and now they look like they were washed by a 5 year old.