Unglazed pots and raku absorbed cigarette smell

[Bonniebel]

Im a collector.  I can throw a pot against the wall. Lol.  I've a lot of stoneware and raku that were exposed to years of cigarettes.  The glazed is easy to clean but the"exposed" has absorbed the smell.  Does anyone know a solution that won't damage the art?

 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Bonniebel

[Pres]

I wouldn't use anything wet on them, but if you could find something like sand, cornmeal, or some other grainy materials known to absorb odors I would think that would be the best idea. I would totally immerse them for a few days or more.

IMHO.

best,

Pres

[Callie Beller Diesel]

If it’s just an odour and not layers of nicotine buildup, immersing it in bentonite based cat litter can possibly help. The other option might be to seal it in with something like varnish, if it’s really stinky, or if there is nicotine buidup. If you try scrubbing it off, you might also remove some of the carbon on the unglazed parts, or possibly damage certain glazes.

[High Bridge Pottery]

Dunno if it would work but you could put them in a box with an ozone generator, just be careful not to breathe the O3.

[Bill Kielb]

2 hours ago, Bonniebel said:

I've a lot of stoneware and raku that were exposed to years of cigarettes.

+1 for Ozone removing ALL of the odor (100%). Reasonable precautions of course - it is an irritant. The good news it’s used for water purification, removing smoke smell from fires, cars with years of cigarette smoke etc…. So extremely useful.

More good news, It’s hard to make more than about 3-4% concentration of O3  and it reverts to O2 in a fairly short time. If you set this up outside, then a box or simple plastic garbage bag is ideal. You do not want the generator to recycle its own output so basically a way to blow ozone / fresh air and let it leak out naturally.

Humans can smell extremely low concentrations of Ozone which contributes to its relative safety, sort of like mercaptan in natural gas products, most people can smell it very quickly. So if you do this, do it in a well ventilated area (outdoors) and stay clear while operating. 10-15 minutes exposure is often enough to remove any trace of odor and 30 - minutes post ozone production is often enough for all the ozone to revert to oxygen on its own.  A decent ozone generator ought to have specific warnings so read and follow all precautions for sure. 

Edited March 9, 2023 by Bill Kielb

[Mark C.]

Baking soda in a sealed bag and time-also  one can put it all in freezer to speed it up

Edited March 9, 2023 by Mark C.

[Kelly in AK]

My first thought was baking soda, but ozone generator is tops. I de-mildewed stacks of old notebooks someone gave me that way. I put them in a closed container with the O3 generator overnight. It seemed pretty miraculous, they went from stinking up the whole room to smelling fresh as a flower.