Newspaper: The Versatile Odor Remover!

I just wanted to share this trick with others. I received a 2C Maglite recently, and the seller did not mention that it reeked of cigarettes. I cannot stand the smell, so I put into action the "Newspaper Odor Attack." Here's how it works, and it works universally on any odor, on flashlights or other objects.

Directions

1) If there is something obvious on the object, in our example, a Maglite, remove it. You don't want the cause of the odor to be present in a form large enough to see, so wash or brush it off.

2) Put it inside fresh newsprint. Comics, stocks, currents events, they all do the trick.

3) Crumple the paper around the object firmly, and squish in the sides. You want to suffocate it in newspaper uniformly.

4) Place it in a plastic bag, and surround it with more sheets of newspaper. Pack it in.

5) Give the bag a twirl, knot it, and put it someplace out of the way for the next week.

6) After a week, remove and recycle the newspaper. Sniff item.

7) If the item smells lightly of newspaper/ink or not at all, congratulations! If it still smells of the original odor, return to Step 2 and repeat.

Do I guarantee this method for removing undesired smells? No.

Is used newspaper available everywhere and cheaply/free? Well, the electronic revolution hasn't eliminated it entirely.

Give it a shot, and if it works, post back and let us know.



LEDAdd1ct

I had this problem with some new luggage that I recently bought; the inside of the luggage smelled so strongly of caustic chemical plastic that anything stored in them would come out smelling like it'd been washed in gasoline. I'm quite sure the newspaper trick would work in this case, since that was the most frequently recommended remedy, but I had only a few hours, so here's the time-sensitive solution: spray the item thoroughly with Febreze, then wipe it down with a dryer sheet, and set it in front of a fan set on high in such a way that the most air flows through it - using this method, after a couple of hours, the luggage had no smell whatsoever, there would be no way to tell it was the same luggage by scent alone.

And a friendly reminder to you smokers, yes everyone (except other smokers) can smell it on you, and yes anything you have smoked around is now saturated in the smell. I know that the guy who delivers my newspaper at four in the morning smokes - the newspaper smells of it.

I removed the 2C Maglite, and the cigarette odor was gone from the tailcap, body, and head. When I unscrewed the tailcap and head, the inside of the flashlight barrel and head still reeked. Rolled up the now soiled print, stuck in the bag downstairs to go out in Friday's recycling, and stuffed the disassembled light parts in fresh newspaper.

I'll check again Sunday evening, but I expect the cigarette stink to be entirely absent.

There are countless other ways a flashlight can wind up stinky, and I am hoping this method helps others who might otherwise not use a flashlight because of its stench.

How did it smell of ciggarettes? was he using it as an ashtray? I guess smoking hand was his torch hand too. Good tip, I think stripping it down and soaking it for a while would probably do the same thing, or maybe even a bag of rice or other dessicant?

I honestly don't know how it is that it came to smell that way. I bought the flashlight from a gentlemen who had one for sale, through the mail, and only communicated electronically. I never saw more than a token photo of the light, from one angle, and no comments were made in the course of the sale about any lingering odors. What shocked me the most was the tobacco embedded in the threads on the top of the body, where the main tube slides under the head. The person who sold it to me is a merchant who trades in many household goods, and though likely not an expert in flashlights or their interior workings, I would have preferred to been told about the residue present on the light prior to sale, instead of finding out when I unwrapped the box.

I am not sure about other techniques to remove odors from objects, though I have no doubt there are many. One of the reasons I favor the newsprint method is that there are no toxic or corrosive chemicals which might damage the Type II finish. While in my youth I have been lectured about leaving newspapers on the couch lest they leach onto the upholstery, I have no such fear with wrapping a flashlight in paper. Solvents and liquid cleaners pose a potential threat via oxidation, not to mention that many such chemicals are better left outside the body. If I can avoid using something potently harmful on a material object I will be touching regularly, I choose to do so.

Really? You could smell cigarette on your new light???? What?? I admit - I'll smoke a cigarette here and there, but usually only if I'm drinking (well, I smoke one every morning, but it's a tradition) - I'll smoke a nice cigar as well, if offered one. But honestly, I may be able to smell the funk of tobacco on permeable items such as clothing, stuffed animals, and pillows - but... a Maglite???? It's made from aluminum man! I consider my olfactory senses to be quite sharp - but what planet to you come from where you can smell cigarettes on a metal object??? I'm confused!!! Maybe I need to get my nose checked out... Maybe it's the same reason why I don't know why people have such a problem with PWM...

Yes, it definitely smelled immediately upon removing it from the box, and there was no obvious staining or particles on the light's body. I imagine it is like hydrogen sulphide, where initially the smell is overpowering, but you don't even notice it after continuous exposure. One of my friends who quit smoking in anticipation of a pregnancy said that after a few weeks she could smell it everywhere cigarettes had been smoked, and very strongly on her husband's clothes.

As for the planet I come from and my legendary olfactory sense—

I've already said too much!

I can tell if you smoke just by working on your computer. And the newspaper trick works great even with ice chests that have had fish in them too long.

I received a special vintage piece of telephone equipment yesterday, and though the seller did an excellent job of packing the item, boy does it smell! Grabbed last week's newspaper, scrunched it up tightly, and set it on the floor for the 24 hour treatment. Will put the soiled newsprint in the recycle bag and apply fresh paper tonight. After 48 hours, I find most of the odor is gone, but kicking it up to four days, changing the pair every day or every couple does get that extra little bit out.

—just got a wireless receiver for a fixed lighting project. Reeks of cigarettes, and, there are tobacco stains visible on the unit. Yuck!

Took a Q-tip and wiped the obvious places as best I could, and then wrapped it up tightly in several layers of newsprint.

Let it sit for...oh...a couple weeks...and 90% of the cigarette smell should be gone.

Hard for me to understand how an item billed as "New!" could have this stink.

Good information to know. Thanks, LEDAdd1ct.

~ CG