How do you get rid of smoke odor?

[jbear]

I just got a lens second hand and it reeks! It needs a good CLA and I think it'll be ok, but is there any way to clean the outer lens body to get rid of the smell?

 

[gaopa]

I would suggest you contact a camera store or camera repair shop and see if they can offer any suggestions. I would be afraid to put any cleaning solution on the lens barrel. Perhaps after it airs out for a while it will go away. Like you, I hate the smell of smoke. Good luck, Bill P.

 

[Gerald Plowman]

sit it out in the sun. . . . Mother Nature will take care of it I bet.

 

[lisantica]

I read somewhere that you can put the lens (or item) inside a sealed plastic bag, maybe a trash bag and seal it up, but fill the trash bag with crumpled newspaper and put your lens in it and the newspaper is supposed to absorb the smoke smell. Usually works overnight or within 24 hours.

Maybe others will chime in with additional ideas, but I always liked that idea since it didn't require any liquid.

Lisa

 

[vulturetec]

I wouldn't put anything directly on the lens either, but you can dampen a microfiber cloth with lens cleaning fluid, or glass cleaner (key word: dampen), then lightly buff the barrel. If it had been sitting in a room with a smoker for a long time you'll no doubt get a good brown/yellow stain on the MF cloth as you clean it.

Same goes for the glass: clean normally with a high quality fluid on a good quality lens cloth or paper, and see if you pull any yellow.

I bought a used radio (ham radio transceiver) a couple of months ago and never even thought about the smoking issue. The box and the radio were disgusting. I've found no problems with the radio (the controls are all pretty well sealed), but the smoke got into everything in that radio. For a month I ended up putting a bar of soap on top of it then covered it with a thin cloth, then I started leaving it uncovered for another month or so. Now if I open it up and really sniff it I can smell the smoke, otherwise the stench is pretty much gone.

 

[SRA]

I read somewhere that you can put the lens (or item) inside a sealed plastic bag, maybe a trash bag and seal it up, but fill the trash bag with crumpled newspaper and put your lens in it and the newspaper is supposed to absorb the smoke smell. Usually works overnight or within 24 hours.

Maybe others will chime in with additional ideas, but I always liked that idea since it didn't require any liquid.

Lisa

I've heard, although never tried it, that you can do the same but substitute coffee beans instead.

 

[jbear]

Thanks folks. The guy I bought it from is being very nice offering to take it back if I want or to pay for a CLA. Its a Sigma 300 f2.8 HSM...beautiful shape except for the smell and haze on the elements where the drop-in sits. I'm sure that's smoke too. I took some sample shots tonight and its a super piece of glass. I'd hate to send it back...but it sure stinks I'll try your suggestions.

 

[nancyr]

I've bought used lenses and even a car that were smoky. All cleared up pretty quickly on exposure to air. FWIW.

 

[Chris Pierce]

find someone with an ozone machine, I use to use them on used cars that smelled like smoke, put the ozone machine in the car for a few hours and the smell would be gone.

I still have an ozone machine, to bad your not close by...

do a search on it.

 

[Brandon Mizar]

You could spray some cheap cologne over it to mask the smell. At least that is what one of my co-workers does and you can't even tell he smokes.

 

[nancyr]

You could spray some cheap cologne over it to mask the smell. At least that is what one of my co-workers does and you can't even tell he smokes.

That's because you're choking on the cologne. Sucks all the air out of a room. Nasty, nasty stuff.

 

[Chris Pierce]

call an auto detailing place and ask if they have an ozone machine

 

[pplpilot]

:biggrin: Take up smoking, that'll hide it....:biggrin:


Only joking, good old mother nature's fresh air will shift it, i bought a backpack that stank, after a few long hikes the smell had gone,

 

[MiriamJ]

I was reading how to get rid of odor in a motorhome refrigerator that has been closed up and shut off for a long time, and they said if you put coffee grounds in the refrigerator, after awhile all the smells go away except the coffee smell, and then that goes away, too. So, I'd try Scott's method, first.

 

[Anthony747]

Do a search here! I remember reading a post from a person with the same problem but it was the camera that smelled

I'm not a smoker but how the hell do you get your lens to smell like smoke? GROSS!

Anthony

 

[BostonRott]

I'm not a smoker but how the hell do you get your lens to smell like smoke? GROSS!

Anthony

You smoke in the room with it.

I worked at a vet in high school. You could ALWAYS tell the poor animals that lived with a smoker b/c they stunk like an ashtray. The smoke was all in their fur, some of them were just eye-watering. :frown:

 

[Doug]

the easiest way to get rid of smoke oder is to get rid of the smoker! But if you have it now, I recommend cleaning with damp cloth, then get some Fabreeze and squirt on a clean cloth and with it just damp, not wet, go over the lens again, then leave maybe in a place that receives air, without dirt, let it air out. Whatever you do, keep away from the rest of your lenses, as they may start smoking too, haha.

I quit smoking 3 years ago, and clensing my aura, as well as my living space was a challenge. Thank goodness I quit before I became a serious photographer!

 

[Gr8Tr1x]

I had a lens that reeked of cigars...it never smelled right...after repeated attempts to clean it. I left it in a tupperware contaier with a box of baking soda, and it was alright for a while, but the smell came back...like it was seeping outward from the inside.

 

[Neil M.]

Try putting it in a sealed box with some 'odor eaters" for a while. Other than that, just leaving it out in the fresh air for a while will ultimately take care of it.

 

[Doug]

Actually Josh can be right, and here is the danger of buying a smoker's lens. IF it's a zoom, and they have operated the zoom in a smoking environment. (fairly likely if they smoke in house and touch their photo gear inside) It's entirely possible the inner lens cavity may have absorbed the smoke from the vent that allows the thing to push pull in and out. It's my understanding that they draw air, this is how they get dust inside. It's also how they can get smoke inside.

the real bad part is, it seems this could certainly leave a haze on the glass too. Trust me, smoke leaves a residue on EVERYTHING. I do not want a smokers lens or camera, and IMO, it should be required to declare if you are a smoker for all Cafe sales, or to declare any known smoke issues with equipment being sold.