Kilts and cigarette smoke

**Barb T** · 6th February 09, 10:06 AM

Hi folks

I have been teaching a person how to make kilts, and she's a smoker. Although she doesn't smoke around me, when she comes to visit me, the reek of cigarette smoke is very strong, and the two kilts that she has made to date are smelly enough that I wouldn't want either one in my house. She's now about to make a whole bunch of kilts for her pipe band.

So, the question is this. What's your experience with cigarette smoke and kilts? Have any of you ever received a kilt that you've ordered and had it smell of cigarette smoke? Would airing such a kilt get rid of it, or would it stink every time you got it back out of a garment bag?

**george7** · 6th February 09, 10:16 AM

You have to get it to the dry cleaner and have tell them it needs to be deodorized. Otherwise she'll have to stop smoking, bathe, then work on kilts somewhere she doesn't smoke. That tar is sticky enough to stick to wet snot-covered surfaces in your lungs... it's not easy to get out of dry course fabric. I won't play smoke filled bars on my bagpipes, mostly for the health, but it's also $$$ I have to spend to smell good again.

**Kerr the Walker** · 6th February 09, 10:16 AM

I've never ordered a kilt and had it come smelling like cigarette smoke. But an all-out smoking ban has just gotten passed here in VA, and the bars I tend to frequent used to allow smoking. A strong measure of Febreeze and a good lengthy airing out (preferably in front of an open window) was needed to get the cigarette smoke smell out of the kilts.

**george7** · 6th February 09, 10:20 AM

The febreeze is probably a good home remedy... but these are for a pipe band. I would be offended if I ordered a brand new garment and it smelt like cigarettes and febreeze.

**Kerr the Walker** · 6th February 09, 10:50 AM

Originally Posted by georgeblack7

The febreeze is probably a good home remedy... but these are for a pipe band. I would be offended if I ordered a brand new garment and it smelt like cigarettes and febreeze.

Agree 100%. A new garment should be...well....new.

On the plus side, if the whole band ordered from her, at least they'd be uniform in their kilt's odor

**pastorsteve** · 6th February 09, 04:07 PM

Originally Posted by georgeblack7

... I would be offended if I ordered a brand new garment and it smelt like cigarettes and febreeze.

Me too. I would expect a new garment to be fresh and new. What an owner chooses to do with his/her clothing is up to them.

**Rex_Tremende** · 6th February 09, 10:40 AM

I've worn my kilt into places that could have used a lighthouse and fog horns to navigate through, and wouldn't go to bed without showering first. A day or two of airing out and there were no lasting effects. However, you're talking about how someone handles someone else's stuff, and I think that's a different thing. Beyond the engineering that goes into constructing a kilt, I hope she is also getting some coaching on customer service and expectations. I wouldn't want to receive brand new kilt smelled like a 1970s era bowling alley. She will need to take extra precautions in where she stores her tartan, not smoking while stitching, washing her hands after breaks, etc.

Regards
Rex.

duchessofnc · 6th February 09, 10:48 AM

Barb, while the woman probably won't appreciate the comment or critique of the garments she is producing are smelly, it would be doing her a disservice to her and her future clients if it wasn't gently commented on. I know for example, that I have asthma and just being in a space that is recently smoked in or sitting close to a person who is a heavy smoker can set my asthma off.

And I know that if I buy a fabric article that I expect said article to not smell of an individuals addiction ( I loathe the term habit ) . My concern about using a chemical like Febreeze is while Febreeze is fortunately not something that sets me off) that someone else may have an allergy to it and that the kilt may have to go to a professional dry clearner to deodorize.

**Barb T** · 6th February 09, 10:58 AM

Originally Posted by duchessofnc

Barb, while the woman probably won't appreciate the comment or critique of the garments she is producing are smelly, it would be doing her a disservice to her and her future clients if it wasn't gently commented on.

I agree totally, although I was a coward and didn't mention it face to face when I saw her yesterday because I was afraid she would actually be embarrassed. I emailed her this morning before I made this post and mentioned it to her. She hasn't replied yet - I just couldn't let it go, and I wasn't sure that she even recognizes that she has an odor issue.

I started this thread because I was curious about all y'all's experience in how lingering the smell is. I googled how to remove the smell, and it doesn't seem as easy as I thought it might be.

**1MUNK3** · 6th February 09, 11:14 AM

I personally would not tolerate it and that is coming from an ex smoker of many years. The mere smell disgusts me now. I have never received a garment that reeks of smoke, but after being around those that do smoke I take off what I'm wearing and throw it in the wash and then proceed to take a shower. Unless the whole pipe band are smokers, then I would most certainly refrain from smoking while working on the kilts PERIOD. If one needs one that bad, go outside, away from the work station, smoke, go to a sink and wash hands with SOAP and HOT water to get the stinky tar smell off. If it is bad you can also use rubbing alchohol to get the scent off and of course wash has usual. Febreeze will not cut it. It will end up smelling like fresh spring flowers (or whatever scent you choose) with a heavy dose of nasty smoke stench. Wool likes to keep a hold of smells. You have to be careful. I will not wear my kilt in areas filled with smokers.