Cigar/Cigarette Smell on Chips (1 Viewer)

It's been a week! I am creating a rating system. If 0 = "zero cig smell" and 10 = "sticking my nose in a full ashtray" then the untreated chips I have are a 4. They don't reek, but have a discernible smell that bothers me and would bother a number of other players. So, for our tests, I'm going to rate them from 0 to 4.

0 = no discernible smell
1 = very slight smell. I can live with these.
2 = smell cut about in half
3 = slight reduction in smell, but disappointing
4 = Like the original chips. No improvement.

I have a stack of untreated next to me and am using it to compare to each batch. Here are the results:

AgentMethodSmell after 1 hourSmell after 1 weekComments after 1 week
Dish soapCleaned with dish soapstill smells like cig4chips smell "fresher" but cig smell just as strong
Simple GreenCleaned with Simple Greensmells cleaner, but I can detect cig3I think the simple green oil is masking cig slightly
VinegarSoaked 10 minutes in vinegar + water solutionsmells like vinegar mostly - I'm optimistic2noticeable difference, but cig smell def still there. Slight sour smell, but only if I put my nose on the chip.
Hydrogen PeroxideSoaked 5 minutes in hydrogen peroxide + watersmells distinctly different than others...like a new car smell. Not bad.4Smells just like my untreated batch. Weird since the 1 hour smell was so promising
OxycleanSoaked 5 minutes in oxyclean + watersmells much better, but I can detect some cig still2Comparable to vinegar. But no sour smell.
Dryer Sheet (not in photo)Cleaned with dish soap and then a dryer sheet is placed in the rackN/A. This one has to set?!Holy Laundry Fresh Scent Batman! I took the dryer sheet out 24 hours ago, but these chips reek of fake laundry perfume. I can't smell cig, but this is worse than cig smell for me. I'm going to let these air out for a few days and then come back.
Baking Soda +WaterSoaked in baking soda + water for 10 minutesmitigated smell some, but I can detect cig2Comparable to vinegar but no sour smell.
Baking SodaDusted with dry baking soda and set for 10 minuteseliminated most of the smell...I'm optimistic2.5Almost as good as baking soda+water, vinegar, and oxyclean.
WhiskeySoaked 10 minutes in 50.5% ABV bourbonsmelled like bourbon - no trace of cig. I could play with these all day! Dried the hell out of the chip though.1Barely perceptible cig smell. Def has a bourbon smell. Kind of pleasant.
Ever ClearSoaked 10 minutes in 95% neutral alcoholeliminated most of the smell, but I think I could detect a trace. Dried out the chip.0No smell of cig, even with my nose pressed against the chip. No trace of smell in the plastic container it was in. (as a comparison, ever other container had varying cig smell coming off the rack itself).

So, the treatment I did as a joke (whiskey) ended up leading me to the most effective treatment: almost pure ethanol (Everclear). I only treated 2 chips in the ethanol because it was an afterthought and mostly a joke. But I'm going to rerun the below again, treating them all for longer:

Ethanol (95%)
Vodka (40%)
Vinegar
Baking Soda + water
Oxyclean
Whiskey (why not?)

And I'm going to let the dryer sheet ones air out.

If anyone has a good idea for another treatment to try, please speak up now!
 
A couple more thoughts on the ethanol...

The ever clear and whiskey dried the chips out more than the other treatments. But an application of mineral oil should bring back the shine. I also recall getting a whiff of the ethanol I had soaked the chips in before tossing it out and the ethanol smelled strongly of cigarettes. Like I had made a cigarette infusion.

This leads me to think that the ethanol is acting as a solvent for oils and extracting oils from the chips. And these oils are what accounts for the smell. I'm not an expert...maybe someone who knows more about this can chime in.

Also, the containers. I did not rate the smell left in these racks, but I did notice some of the cigarette smell transferred to the plastic justin racks for every sample, except for the ever clear ones. It has no smell.
 
These three are probably worth consideration:
~ rubbing alcohol
~ Nature's Miracle
~ Pooph
I will see if the grocery store has these. Making a run today. I can add them and kitty litter to the experiment.

By the way, the seller of these chips reached out and offered to refund me. I said, "no way, I love these chips!" I really do. This thread is not to shame the seller. He fully disclosed the condition, priced these below value, and is a great chipper. I'm mostly having fun here and excited to turn these into a great limit set.
 
Alright, timer set for 20 minutes.

Back row, left to right:
Natures Promise, Kitty Litter

Front row, left to right:
OxyClean, Baking Soda + Water, Vinegar, Vodka, 95% ethanol, 97% isopropyl

1711316288259.png
 
I have taken out all the chips out of the various solutions, rinsed them, and have them drying on towels. In an hour I will give them a sniff test and then put them away to check them again in a few days.

The 95% ethanol continued to yellow. And when I took the chips out, there are little black specks. None of the other solutions have the little black specks. That is worrisome, athough I don't see initially any damage to the chips. The isopropyl solution started to turn a hint of yellow by 30 minutes. None of the other solutions changed color.

1711319734713.png
 
Okay, 1 hour sniff test done. I'm putting these into labeled baggies and I will check them again in a few days.

Alcohol continues to be effective, however, I can feel pitting on the chips left in the 95% ethanol for 30 minutes. They are damaged (for me usable still, but not a good result). Isopropyl and 40% ethanol seem effective with no visible or tactile damage to the chip. It may be that 95% works but for shorter period of time.

The real surprise here is the kitty litter. I thought a longer treatment would be needed. It is a pain to work with though, and I fear that the abrasive litter could scratch the chips when getting them in and out of the powder and rinsing them off.

I'll check back in after a few days.

AgentScore after 1 hourComments after 1 hourScore after 1 weekComments after 1 week
OxyClean2smell still disappointingly strong
Baking Soda + water1slight cig smell
Vinegar1slight smell + sour vinegar smell
Vodka (40% ethanol)0smell is gone
95% ethanol0smell is gone, but chips damaged
91% isoprophyl0cig smell gone, but there is isopropyl smell
Nature's Promise1slight cig smell
Kitty Litter0no smell, I'm surprised! Thought longer treatment would be needed
 
The 95% ethanol continued to yellow. And when I took the chips out, there are little black specks. None of the other solutions have the little black specks. That is worrisome, athough I don't see initially any damage to the chips.

View attachment 1298498
Watch for the original chips to possibly crumble when drinking a post-ethanol chaser.

Or maybe the remaining charcoal bits will simply self-ignite once dry.

Hard to tell; caution advised.
 
2 additional things:

I put another batch in kitty litter and I will let those sit for 12 hours, so we will have 2 kitty litter batches.

I just checked the dryer sheet batch. The perfume smell is gone and the smoke smell is as strong as the untreated. So fail for those.
 
2 additional things:

I put another batch in kitty litter and I will let those sit for 12 hours, so we will have 2 kitty litter batches.

I just checked the dryer sheet batch. The perfume smell is gone and the smoke smell is as strong as the untreated. So fail for those.
Sill think Pooph and Nature's Miracle are worth checking out. They both alter organics at a molecular level, and are quite effective at eliminating a wide variety of odors.
 
Sill think Pooph and Nature's Miracle are worth checking out. They both alter organics at a molecular level, and are quite effective at eliminating a wide variety of odors.
Grocery store does not carry Pooph. And I misread "Nature's Miracle" as "Nature's Promise." :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: My store does list Nature's Miracle on its website. Next run I'll get it.
 
Grocery store does not carry Pooph. And I misread "Nature's Miracle" as "Nature's Promise." :ROFL: :ROFLMAO: My store does list Nature's Miracle on its website. Next run I'll get it.

Added Nature's Miracle to the experiment. Submerged for 15 minutes (per the instructions on the bottle). After 1 hour I cannot smell cig. It has a strong but pleasant laundry detergent odor. I've set it aside with the other experiments to see how it does over time.

1711504021887.png
 

Create an account or login to comment

You must be a member in order to leave a comment

Create account

Create an account and join our community. It's easy!

Log in

Already have an account? Log in here.

Back
Top Bottom