How To: Wash Out the Smell From Thrift Store Furniture

Anjali of LA-based Giant Jeans Parlor sent us these helpful how-to instructions showing how to remove the characteristic thrift store bouquet that often accompanies a purchase, using two St. Vincent De Paul Warehouse armless chairs as examples...

First, Anjali recommends spot checking your upholstery (even though she didn't since her purchases were just $20 in value). The she goes onto describe the process as such:

Once you're ready to go, mix 1/4 cup laundry detergent with about 2 cups of water in a large non-plastic bowl.

Using an electric hand mixer, beat the mixture on low until the bowl is full of dry, fluffy foam.

Lift the foam from the bowl with a metal spoon (plastic or wood will absorb the detergent scent) and apply to the upholstery.

Rub the foam in gently with a clean rag. Repeat over the entire furniture piece, rewhipping the detergent mixture to get more foam as needed.

Empty the bowl and fill it with clean water. Dip a clean rag in the water, squeeze it out and rub it gently over the upholstery to remove the remaining dirt and detergent.

Repeat, refilling the bowl with fresh water as needed. Let the upholstery dry.

Thanks Anjali for sharing your tip!

Comments (13)

OMG - I thought that was Kitty-Urp on the cushion...

posted by bepsf on March 9th 2009 at 4:04pm
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me too. urp!

posted by tenderleaf on March 9th 2009 at 4:12pm
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I'm right there with you guys.

posted by lilacwire on March 9th 2009 at 4:17pm
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Cat foam = Kitty-Urp. What were we supposed to think!?

posted by nazrd on March 9th 2009 at 4:51pm
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This still won't get rid of the smoke, or god forbid cat pee, smell.

So far, I have found one product to get rid of it... it is actually organic, yet is used by the government to clean up anthrax. Yikes!

I posted about it here:
http://cottageofstone.blogspot.com/2009/01/diy-deordorizing-furniture-or-smoke-be.html

posted by puck on March 9th 2009 at 5:05pm
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Haha! Glad I'm not the only one who (before reading the headline) thought, "Cat Vomit Post Alert!"

posted by rosenatti on March 9th 2009 at 5:07pm
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Well I'm grateful for this! Thanks!

posted by mskk on March 9th 2009 at 5:54pm
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This works for fabric but not so well for wood. I once acquired a dresser that belonged to a smoker. No matter how often I rubbed the insides with Murphy's, I could never get rid of the smell. Yeech.

posted by dianalily on March 9th 2009 at 7:56pm
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Not thrift-store, exactly... but when my boyfriend inherited a sofa that had been in a storage trailer for a while, with a musty smell, I had him spray it thoroughly with Febreze a few times, and also had him keep baking pans full of white vinegar under the sofa for a while. The vinegar smell was never strong, and within a few days the mustiness was gone.

This will also work for removing mild smoke smells from upholstery, but not in situations like the wood dresser dianalily describes. (Even so, in a situation like that, I'd try keeping a bowl of vinegar in each drawer for at least a few days... or an open box of baking soda in each drawer for a bit longer.)

posted by Miranda on March 9th 2009 at 8:15pm
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Hahaha! I thought it was something gross but I didn't see the cat. Hey, what's all this? You can't BUY thrift store smell people! You must learn to appreciate it. Unless, of course, it smells like mothballs or wee.

posted by Julz on March 10th 2009 at 1:54am
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Didn't I read here recently that white vinegar will get rid of smells like this? That kitten is great and he co-ordinates with the chair too.

posted by hrhprincessfiona on March 10th 2009 at 9:07am
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ahaha. i also thought it was kitty spit up.

good ideas. febreeze also helps (i think nothing actually "gets rid" of the smell...).

posted by fuz17 on March 10th 2009 at 3:17pm
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Diana, if you still have that dresser, clean it inside and out with a mixture of bleach & baking soda. Let it dry, then wipe it off. Varnish (not poly) inside and out. It'll get rid of the odor for good!

I read about this on a woodworking website, because my old refurbished desk smelled musty. Worked like a charm, hasn't stunk for more than a decade now.

posted by madampince on March 11th 2009 at 12:07am
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