Hello guys, I had a dryer fire in my utility room, my heating/AC unit was in there too so it sucked the smoke thruout the house. It's ok, no one got hurt and after 2 months in a Residence Inn we are back now and have been unpacking the stowed boxes purging and cleaning all contents) But...
All my Boots, helmets, gloves heated gear got to meet the smoke, luckily I have some jackets that were taken away (put in some chamber for de-smoking) but I won't get them back in a week or so.
Not like a campfire or fireplace smell...well...it's kinda like that but with chemicals/plastic junk smell added on. Are they all a total loss? Easier to just get new gear? Or a way to get the smoke smell out?
If a few hours at highway speeds doesn't get rid of the odor then they may be a total loss. Wouldn't that be covered by your homeowners insurance anyway?
I was told anything cloth/plastic could not be cleaned 100% and the smell could come back again with moist air. We do have insurance but only the electronic products in our home were itemized. (via an electronic cleaning service) who also listed some items as total loss. Clothing and bedding should be delivered today. But everything else is considered "home contents" so I guess they lump it all together in a sum. We were told we would get about 30% of the actual cost especially if the items were old.
It is my gf's home so I am not dealing with the adjuster directly. We were delighted when approved the carpet replacement... however the installed carpet pails in comparison to the previous. (she won't complain!) Ugh.. other things were done well.
I know that smell, kind of sickening when combined with the memories. Wash your stuff, air it out or try an ozone air cleaner setup in a closet. Or do what the French do and perfume the heck out of it. I would think if the clothes didn't get hot, that smell/smoke could be removed.
Can you claim a cord of hickory, a box of cigars, and a firepit on your insurance? Hang the gear near the firepit after a nice day of riding. I'm here to help if you need it.
I had a coworkers wife install new zippers in a icon riding jacket and insulated coveralls. Kept them forever. Finally got them back and they stank of cigarette smoke. Bad. We wrapped stuff in newspaper, fresh mown grass and back in plastic tub for a while. Sunny days get them out and hang outside in breeze and change grass out. Took a long time but no smell. Might have trouble finding fresh mown grass still in certain areas. Ill check with wife to see what else we used but i think that was it. Good luck!
Great ideas... maybe the vinegar will work on my helmet (sealed in a bag)... will try odoban too... grass?... hmmm fresh cut grass in the morning, cant find any now. thanks guys.
Here's an old Truck Driver's trick, when we'd been carrying fish in a reefer & had no time or facility to get a proper washout we'd burn a carton or two to get rid of the fish smell, rinse with a hosepipe & scatter the contents of a jar of instant coffee & rinse/brush that out. It did the job, you could try washing in a coffee solution, it wouldn't cost much and couldn't be worse than the smoke, don't forget that it'll stain anything light coloured though.
I've had pretty good results with Febreze & Lysol products, again it's cheap to try & can't make things worse.
Oh & the above stated "French solution" can work as long as it's a fragrance you like, cheap perfume smells cheap, and may actually damage some materials.