[gnychis]

Hey all,

I recently got a pair of HD650 off of the FS forum, and they are in flawless condition aside from the smell of smoke. One of the previous owners had to of been a chimney

Actually, they're not that bad but being a non-smoker I can definitely smell it in the cable and the headphones.

The cable is not a problem, I can simply replace it... same with the pads.

But as for the plastic, I'm not sure what to do here. I've cleaned it a bit with soap, but of course the smell is still there. I don't want to damage them in any way of course.

Anyone with any suggestions?

Thanks!
George

 

[ericj]

The smell of cigarette smoke is an aromatic oil, so in theory your best bet is to wipe down the headphones with a solvent containing d-Limonene - this is what the 'citrus' type solvents are based on.

Then to get the citrus smell off, wipe again with formula 409 or other general household surface cleaning solution.

If that doesn't do it, check the yellowpages for disaster recovery companies that do fire restoration, and ask them if they have an ozone chamber, and if you can stick your headphones in there with their next batch of smoke-damaged goods for a few bucks.

 

[jmpage2]

eric is right. the problem is that there is residue on all of the plastic.

You can hose it down with some citrus based cleaner, but even that is unlikely to remove it completely as it will have seeped into every nook and cranny of the housings.

Keep in mind that when someone smokes it up in a room the frequent remedy for the odor is to re-paint and re-carpet it.

 

[ericj]

I've had reasonably good luck getting cigarette stink off of headphones but usually i end up completely disassembling them so that i can liberally bathe all washable parts in solvents and cleaning solutions.

If it's gotten into the fabric on the baffle or the surface of the driver enough that you can still smell it after that, you could be left hoping that some time in an ozone chamber will fix it.

 

[el_matt0]

crud..i FORGET what its called and where i saw it (it may well have been on the forums here somewhere) but there is a product that apparently just works absolute wonders for neutralizing cigarette smoke...come to think of it im sure it was on the forums somewhere here that it was discussed....in retrospect totally useless post by me seeing that i dotn know the name of it, but i KNOW its out there

 

[gtp]

Fabreze works alright, doesn't totally neutralize the stink but covers it up pretty good.

 

[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif The smell of cigarette smoke is an aromatic oil, so in theory your best bet is to wipe down the headphones with a solvent containing d-Limonene - this is what the 'citrus' type solvents are based on. Then to get the citrus smell off, wipe again with formula 409 or other general household surface cleaning solution. If that doesn't do it, check the yellowpages for disaster recovery companies that do fire restoration, and ask them if they have an ozone chamber, and if you can stick your headphones in there with their next batch of smoke-damaged goods for a few bucks.

This' awesome. Are you a chemist ?

 

[ericj]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3x331m /img/forum/go_quote.gif This' awesome. Are you a chemist ?

No, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night . . . .

er, actually, some of my best friends are chemists.

but the truth is that i'm hardly the first person to make these suggestions here.

 

[Mik]

I was in the same position a few years ago. Bought some headphones from head-fi that smelled of smoke really bad. To get rid of the smell, I took a clean shipping box, put the headphones loose inside, and put a box of baking soda in with it (the kind that's designed to be put in freezers and closets). I closed up the box and left it like that for a week. By the end, the smell was still a little noticeable, but it was greatly reduced. If anything, it's less messy than spraying your headphones with something.

 

[jmpage2]

Maybe chain smokers should put a notice in their for sale listings?

 

[1012007]

Probably as it smells normal to them they dont think of it.

Say if you have a dog (i dont) but a lot of stuff that people own if they have a dog stink but it wouldnt be your 1st thing to think off while selling earphones.

 

[3x331m]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night . . . . er, actually, some of my best friends are chemists. but the truth is that i'm hardly the first person to make these suggestions here.

I stayed at the holiday inn express regularly, but still try to figure out a way to remove the stain on the bottom of my pants.

 

[karma]

A method I used when I had received an odorous pair of used headphones was to use vinegar, as had been suggested here in the past. I placed the headphones and a cup of vinegar in a box and left it in for 24 hours. Then I aired them out for several days before repeating the process again. No more smell.

In my case it was the smell of incense, not cigarettes.

I also tried the baking soda method prior to the vinegar, but that didn't do anything for me. I was worried that the vinegar odor would linger, but thankfully, it didn't and the headphones are now odor-free.

 

[karma]

Here are two threads I had bookmarked on this question:

Getting rid of smoke odor
Getting rid of smoking smells from headphones

 

[gnychis]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ericj /img/forum/go_quote.gif No, but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night . . . .

hahaha, you had me laughing on that.

Thanks for all the responses!

I'm going to try the vinegar trick first. Any advice for sticking the headphones and vinegar in a trash bag without making a mess? Or maybe I'll go with the box method.