Smokers Odour

Dennis Jorgensen

Does anyone have any good ideas for removing a heavy smokers odour from a collection of used stamps? Some are later day cancelled by the Philatelic Agency stamps with gum.


https://www.hipstamp.com/store/fatdanes-stamp-store

Paul Molloy

Try putting the collection in a paper bag (album opened) , then add lots of crumpled old newspaper to the bag. Seal the bag for a couple weeks. Reverse osmosis hopefully will transfer the odor to the newspaper. Remove the collection and recycle the newspaper.

Ron Carmichael

I had several 100 FDCs that were bad, I just left them "open to the air" in the warehouse for about a year, flipping the order of them from time to time. There were ok after that.....

Doug Noernberg

I've liberally sprinkled baking soda in large plastic bins and sealed the items inside for a period of time. Vacuum out and repeat every few weeks to refresh. Just be sure to prop the items up so they're not in direct contact. It helps, take the strongest bite off the scent, but it still lingers. Open air over time eventually helps, but it takes quite a while.

Phil Atarium

I've encountered this problem a few times over the years, and I've tried several different approaches. The only method that has seemed to work for me is to use "activated charcoal" (not briquettes for grilling).

Activated charcoal is used in aquarium filters, so you can find it at pet stores, but it's also used as a soil amendment, and so I've found it to be much cheaper for a larger quantity at home improvement/garden stores. (The last couple of times I've looked, I have not been able to find it at Home Depot or Lowe's, but did find it at Orchard Supply Hardware (a US West Coast chain). -- I realize those store suggestions are not particularly helpful to you, Dennis, being in Canada.)

Because there can be a problem with the dust from the activated charcoal getting in contact with the paper, I used containers with lots of openings (like what strawberries come in here, with something solid on the bottom) wrapped in fine mesh (like women's hose) and placed them all throughout a tote along with the offending material, then put the lid on the tote.

I checked them every couple of days and moved things around a bit, also stirring up the charcoal to create new areas of surface exposure (and being mindful of the possible dust). In about 2 weeks, there was only a tiny amount of smell remaining. I then exposed them to the fresh air for a day or two, and the problem was remedied.

I've found this method to work much more completely than baking soda or fresh air exposure alone, but I'd imagine it would depend on how bad the problem is. I was dealing with some particularly strong smoke odors, and the activated charcoal approach was the only thing that really worked for me. ("Your mileage may vary", as they say!)

-- Dave

https://www.hipstamp.com/store/the-philatarium/