Kilts and cigarette smoke

[JelicoCat]

I am a smoker. I haven't smoked indoors for over 15 years. Trust me, smoke odor lingers for a long, long, long time. I have pulled a jacket out of storage from when I smoked a pack a day and even I could smell the smoke odor. If she wants to do this then she ought to be made aware. Just be gentle and hope for the best.

[Barb T]

I just got an email from her, and she was very nice about it. She said she had been totally unaware of the cigarette smell.

[gilmore]

I just got an email from her, and she was very nice about it. She said she had been totally unaware of the cigarette smell.

Good job! I am glad the story has a happy ending.

[Bugbear]

Good job! I am glad the story has a happy ending.

Same here, Barb.

[JelicoCat]

Kudos. Sometimes small actions take great courage.

[pastorsteve]

... 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.

[Eric Peterson]

Now if she would just kick the cat off of her lap.

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Barb,

I have altered kilts for people who either smoke, or live in the same house with a smoker. My experience with those is that even if the kilt only has a faint odor, as soon as I hit the cloth with an iron, the smell of the smoke comes out full force and literally fills the room. And the worst part is that it gets into the cover of my ironing board. I've even had to replace my ironing board cover because of it!

If someone is considering making kilts for others, and they smoke, they need to make the kilts in a location that is smoke free, for the sake of their clients!

[EagleJCS]

The smell lingers for years.

I can attest to this. My family recently sold my late uncle's house. Long story short, he passed about three years ago and it took Mom this long to finally say OK, it's time to sell it. Anyhoo, he was a pack-a-day smoker, on disability for MS, so he was at home basically 25 hours a day. Even after three years, with all of the furniture gone, changing the furnace filters on a regular basis, washing the walls and ceilings with soap & water, and having the carpets and drapes professionally cleaned, I could still smell the cigarette odor. (Maybe it was partly psychological on my part - expecting the smell to be there since it was still "his" house.)

I concur with others who have said that the even if the fabric is stored in a "smoke-free" room, and she doesn't smoke while working on the kilts, they can still pick up some of the odor because the smoke particulates (the things that our noses detect as an odor) are still on her hands, hair and clothes.

[GDub]

Interesting thread--especially after the several cigar smoking love fest threads of late. Thank your lucky stars she doesn't smoke cigars!