The tennis ***** help to distribute the stuff in the dryer sheets, plus being soft & fuzy they won't damage the leather. Used to work part time with a guy that made leather racing suits and he used to clean them and used that method. Works pretty good helping to keep the leather soft.

 

I opened the box that held my leather Harley jacket and the smoke smell nearly knocked me down. I had purchased the jacket off Ebay and forgot to check for the non smoking clause. I called the cleaners and they said it would have to be sent to St. Louis MO. and it would cost $60.00 and would be gone a month. Then she told me to stuff the sleves and all the pockets with Bounty sheets, then put in the dryer for an hour. I took her advise and the jacket came out smelling like stinking bounty and smoke!
When I read your idea on the three tennis ***** and six sheets, I really didn't believe it would work. My wife wasn't home so I thought what the heck, so I went to Wal Mart and got the cheapest tennis ***** I could find. Guess what, I wore the jacket to church last night! The smell of smoke is no more! Thank you for the information, I shall pass it on.

 

Very cool thread and a brilliant method, especially since it works and has been proven!!

 

Perfect thread for me. Got a great leather jacket at a flea mkt and it stinks of smoke. Has to be kept outside. Yesterday, One Hour Martinizing who I trust said, "40 dollars, three weeks, and NO GUARANTEE." So folks, today my job is to go and get the tennis *****. I'll report back tomorrow.

 

Here's the report: The tennis ***** and drier sheets did nothing for me so I put the jacket back into the garage and went back to Walmart, (smelling like cig smoke all the way), and got a tin of Kiwi saddle soap. I was surprised while looking for the saddle soap to see that they also sell the familiar looking Kiwi tins mink oil on the rack in the shoe section. The saddle soap and frequent rinsing of the wash-cloth helped greatly and I'll do this again today and finish up with the black Harley leather conditioner, (you nead to use a disposable glove with this black stuff), and the neutral colored Harley conditioner for protection. I've used them both before. This is a lot of work and time to be spending downstairs at my laundry tub--but it's winter. That is what winter is for.

 

I also bought a used jacket which reeked and had no success with any of the methods described here and elsewhere. I decided that I had nothing more to lose and tossed the whole jacket in the wash by itself with some Tide or Gain or whatever was on the shelf at the house. Bear in mind this was a very thick leather Alpinestars jacket and not suede or real lightweight leather.

It took nearly a week to dry out on its hanger and was extremely stiff when it finally did dry. I figured I'd ruined it. But I worked in a bunch of Bickmore's Bick 4 leather conditioner on it, and when that soaked in, I put another coat on and kept going with the Bick 4. I bet it absorbed 4 coats of conditioner! But when I was done, the jacket had a really nice, soft feel to it, was not stiff at all, and -- more than anything else -- was finally rid of the smoke odor.

I'm certain not all leather jackets could handle this, and there's no way I'd even think of doing it on a suede jacket, but for this particular A-Stars jacket it turned out to be a perfect solution for me.

Hope this helps,
'fooz

 

This is an old thread but one I stumbled across while looking for how to get rid of the smoke and God knows what other odors on a leather vest we just bought for $20. I tried cleaning it with Fantastic (which has peroxide in it) but that didn't help. Next I tried Murphy's Oil and rinsed it but that didn't help. Since I felt like I had nothing to lose, today I sprayed Tilex (commercial one for mildew) on a rag and wiped down the leather part, being careful not to touch the lining. As soon as I had wiped down the front and back, I wiped it with a wet towel and then towel dried. Next, I gave it a coat of mink oil and hung it outside.

I can't say there is NO odor (not sure if it's the leather smell or something else) but I don't detect a smoke odor now.

I've tried a whole lot of things for pet accidents and when all else failed, I've used Tilex. I've created some light spots on some of our carpet but I would rather have that than a poop stain or urine odor.

Round Two: Still didn't like the smell of this vest so I put it through the washer on the "hand wash" cycle with some bleach, detergent and a little OdoBan. Next morning I put it through the washer on a regular cycle with bleach and detergent. It definitely doesn't have a smoke odor but has an odd odor. All I have done to it makes me wonder what kind of leather it is or if it's really leather as it hasn't gotten stiff or dried out or anything. I'm considering spraying it with a matte acrylic to seal the strange odor.

 

Ketchup worked to remove skunk smell from clothing. I would like some fries with my leathers.What does the dryer sell like?

 

I always use Leater-Clean to remove smoke oder. With this solution I can easily wash my leather jacket, bags, shoes, seat. After washing there is a god smell from those. I strongly recommend you to use this solution.

 

I registered just to add my appreciation for this advice! I thought my new leather jacket was ruined by a New Years Eve party we attended. There were loads of people smoking all sorts of things (cigarettes, cigars, and who knows what else), my jacket stunk so bad I couldn't even have it in my bedroom. Danier suggested "airing it out" ... ummm, ok Danier.


Anyhow, thank you again!
Heather