Besides fabric sheets I HATE that smell almost  as much as the ciggarette smoke. I have a book I can't even stand to OPEN it reeks so much. Is there anything I can do?

Try placing the book in a lidded plastic container with clean kitty litter for a couple of days.

Ive heard that:

Letting it sit outside for a day or two to air out

Putting it in a bag with crumpled newspaper

Putting it in a bag of kitty litter

all work. Havent tried them though.

You might consider adding this as a requestor condition if this happens often to you. That obviously won't help with this particular book, but would prevent you from receiving another one.

I usually let mine sit in the fresh air for as long as possible, up to a week. I have one now sitting fanned open on the table since its raining AGAIN. But I had it outside for a couple of days and its already better.

My ex-MIL always sent us stuff that reeked of smoke. I would leave it out in the garage for a week (even the kids x-mas gifts) to air out. I never had to do more than that, but I have heard the other methods mentioned work too. Good Luck.

I once put a hardcover book that reeked of smoke in a plastic bag after I sprayed it with Lysol.  I left it there for like a month and no more smokey smell.

Ewwww! You sprayed the book with Lysol??? That stuf stinks, didn't it linger on the book? Just curious hahaha

I have also done the "simply let it air out" on books reeking of smoke and it works. If I want it a bit faster tho, I use the paper bag and unscented kitty litter that I got from my friend that has a cat! Really does an amazing job! This way I don't have to add conditions and possibly miss out on a book I really want :)

I haven't tried this, but I was told to put it in a bag and stick it in the freezer.

I put one in a freezer bag with a bar of soap for a week.

This is great.  Kitty litter? Just the regular clay kind, I imagine? 

I would hesitate on the bar of soap, that would be adding a different smell, the nice thing about kitty litter (Yes, Allie, plain regular clay kind, unscented) is that it does not ADD any odor. If you put a fabric sheet or bar of soap, you are not simple remove the smell, you are ADDING a smell, and some people are just as allergic to soaps and perfumes as smoke. Better to just absorb the odor away from the book, IMHO :)

Baking soda works too

Ewwww! You sprayed the book with Lysol??? That stuf stinks, didn't it linger on the book? Just curious hahaha

It was the good smelling kind of Lysol!!  But seriously, it didn't smell like lysol afterwards.  Since it's a book I will keep (very hard to find - sells for a fortune on ebay), I'd rather have the Lysol smell than smoke!

The book I used the bar of soap with won't be listed again, it does not meet guidelines, I won't do to someone else what was done to me. It works in cars too. I have a friend who bought a car from a smoker and they put a bar of soap under each seat and after a week the smell was so much better. The soap smell doesn't bother me, I use scented book marks on my used books. I'd rather it smell clean like soap than nasty smoke. This book was so bad I had to wash my hands after handling. it. I still haven't read it yet.

I second the advice to shut it in a container with kitty litter for a day or two.

I was given a couple books by a friend about a month ago that just reeked of cigarette smoke. It was so strong I couldn't even start reading either of them. I couldn't stand the stink!! So I read through the forums here and saw that cat litter was mentioned.

We use Fresh Step clumping kitty litter. It has a sort of fresh perfumey scent to it. So I put the books down in the bottom of a packing box, and poured cat litter into the box and taped it shut. Then I shook it up a bit and let it sit, taped shut, in our storage closet for 3 days.

Then I opened the box, shook all the litter off, and out of the books.......

and they don't smell like smoke any more at all!!! They smell a bit perfumey, but it's a fresh scent that I don't mind. I would imagine unscented cat litter would work too.....if you don't want scented books. :o)

ok - I was wondering about this also. You guys better be right because I'm going to turn my conditions off!!! I've been missing out on too many of my books lately because of not wanting books that reek of smoke. even though I have on there that a light smell is fine, they still won't send.

off to buy kitty litter.....

you're sure, right????

Would those suggestions work with a musty smell?  I received 3 boxes of books that I am going through & they were stored in a garage, I think.  Some are going right to the Book Bazaar because of other conditions, but there are many that just have that musty smell.  What do you think?

Donna 

I have good luck with putting  the smoky-smelling book with  crumpled up newspapers in a ziplock bag fan out the pages of the book and leave it in the bag fro a few days- I actually left it for a week-

The newspaper DID NOT work on musty-smelling books-

  Kitty litter worked a little for musty smells--

I finally sprayed the book with "Smell Be Gone" and aired out the book-- The pages dried out and didn't wave or wrinkle - but, this method may only work (depending  on the type of paper the pages are made of )

I don't have any conditions because I don't want to miss a book - so, I get some smelly books at times- LOL