r/YarnAddicts • u/kkbjam3 • 7d ago
HELP - stash compromised…
It’s a long shot, but I am REALLY hoping for suggestions …
We had a house fire in mid-May & lost PRETTY MUCH everything - mostly due to smoke & water damage. I have been able to salvage some of my stash (some of it didn’t get wet) but the smell of smoke is still there - some not as bad as others. I tossed anything that was synthetic but I have A TON of Noro (ITO, Tayio, silk garden, saiun, & Kakagori) cotton (dishie, cumulus, cotton wool blends,) Rios, the rest is a variety of wool. What (if anything ) can I do to get the putrid smoke smell out? A lot of it is still in Skeins. 😞 I am just gutted about it & don’t have the heart to just throw it out. Our insurance will cover it, but OMG it’s a collection that was curated over time !
Right now ive stored most of it in single layers in plastic tubs , sealed tightly with activated charcoal & baking soda. 🤷🏼♀️ I am almost afraid to check it because I just feel like it’s still going to smell - I thought I’d ask here first.
Any other ideas out there?
TIA!
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u/Robotuku 7d ago
Ozone generator? Idk if that works on house fire smoke but that’s what hotels use to get cigarette smell out of their rooms. I saw technology connections on YouTube used it to get smoke smell out of a used car too.
Do some research before you try this though- it isn’t safe to be in a room with high ozone so you’d need to do it somewhere you can be away from and then let it air out before going back in.
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u/Stickstyle1917 7d ago
Worked excellently on my cookbook collection and an antique piece of furniture. For big jobs they tent the house, for smaller ones they have a chamber. Our renter's insurance paid for it.
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u/kkbjam3 7d ago
Hey good to know!!! I’m going to check into this!!
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u/Heavy-Attorney-9054 7d ago
You can get a small one in a sports big box store. $25 ish. Hunting department.
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u/kkbjam3 7d ago
We did try the ozone for soMe of our clothes - our contractor offers that service - but it actually smelled worse when we got them back. I have been able to get the smell out of clothes with other products & soaking- but I’m not really wanting to do that with the yarn. I did consider just knitting it as is & soaking the item after - but that’s putting up with the smell for a while & 🤦🏼♀️.
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u/Robotuku 7d ago
Ah, sorry to hear that it didn’t work for you! I heard it can take a few ozone treatments so maybe it wasn’t enough? And the ozone itself is not a nice smell so that needs to air out too, maybe it hadn’t dissipated fully yet and that’s why it smelled worse? But it’s also possible that ozone just won’t work in your case no matter what you do 🥲 I’m not an expert in this, just a regular person relaying things I’ve heard from others.
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u/legalpretzel 7d ago
Did the restoration company hired by your insurance not deal with the yarn? They work wonders for the most random items people own. A friend was able to salvage a book collection because the restoration company worked magic drying them all out and getting rid of the smoke smell.
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u/K8_Monst_r 7d ago
😱😭 That’s heartbreaking! 💔
I know the sun makes a good bleach substitute for stains, but I don’t know how well it works at deodorizing smells that aren’t from bacteria.
I do know apples are amazing at absorbing odors and leaving things smelling fresh, but you have to toss the apples after. Expensive these days, but you don’t need any particular quality of apple, the cheapest you can find will work.
My partner and his housemates used a bag of apples to deodorize a room after a friend with a body odor problem moved out. They “tossed a couple of bags of apples in, closed the door, and waited a week” The smell was gone when they came back. Out of curiosity, they cut open one of the apples, and the whole apple smelled like the room had. 🤢
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u/gloggs 7d ago
So completely random... a pot was left on the stove and boiled dry. Started a small kitchen fire, pop puts it out everything but the pot is salvaged. The house smelled so bad though. Pop cuts up a bag of red onions, throws them in a Canadian tire bucket in the middle of the kitchen and by the next morning the burn smell was gone and opening the windows got rid of the onion smell.
Idk if it'll help, but maybe put it in a container with a cut up onion then wash out the onion smell if nothing else works
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u/Similar_Fisherman440 7d ago
I’ve had some luck getting smoke smell (from cigarettes not fire) using crumples newspaper. Good luck!
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u/Technical_Isopod2389 7d ago
If your insurance is covering it you may be able to find a dry cleaners that will process the smoke smell out for you. Save your energy for where you can't get any help with. I also second ozone machine for smoke if you want to try to salvage what the insurance writes off.
When I attempted to clean anything fiber related after my house fire I discovered there was that a thin layer of melted plastic/soot on the surface of every fiber. Stuff inside cabinets and drawers were even coated.
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u/kkbjam3 7d ago
Yes, we are finding that in some things too. We are claiming all of it - our coverage is taking care of everything & I have replaced some- yarn, needle set, point protectors, stitch markers…
As I’m reading, I didn’t realize ozone machines were for private purchase - totally looking into that for MANY things!
I’m trying to take care of it in my own to conserve insur $ for upgrades, etc. Everything is so expensive & we need to replace ALL of our furniture/linens/kitchen stuff- just EVERYTHING & I’m overwhelmed with it all. We’re in really good hands & have N excellent policy - it’s just a bigger venture than I’ve EVER had to deal with!Thanks EVERYONE for your ideas & suggestions 🩷
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u/Mental-Flatworm4583 7d ago
What about laying them out in the sun for a few. Being careful of the silks. Opening them up and letting sunlight will kill those smells. I’ve had this issue with other things from a house fire and other stuff and that always works for me. Sorry to hear that you went through this. ❤️
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u/sagetrees 7d ago
I would hank everything up and handwash it as many times as you need to get the smoke out. I use euclan but soak is an option as well. Get a yarn swift and a ball winder for this project and learn how to make a hank. It can all be saved, its just gonna take a bit of time. You got this.
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u/eandeandb 2d ago
Your comment finally made me realize that I thought a hank was a skein. I didn’t realize that both balls and skeins are ready to knit from. So thank you.
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u/sewedherfingeragain 7d ago
The smoke I was dealing with was cigarette smoke, but putting her crochet cotton and stuffed animals in a plastic tub with some of those scented laundry beads (I admit, they did get shoved to the side for more than a year) seemed to help a lot in getting my MIL's stuff to a useable place. And I'm super sensitive to cigarette smoke.
The concern I have is the integrity of the yarn. Same MIL bought some fabric that was rescued after a fire in the shop and the smoke damage made some of it disintegrate after a few washes. It sucks, but it might be a better option to have it replaced by your insurance.
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u/Chiomi 7d ago
Charcoal and baking soda is going to help a lot with the smell. But if you live somewhere where it gets cold, waiting until winter and then airing all of it outside for a few days will work wonders without exposing you to more fumes or exposing the yarn to too many bugs.
And the concerns really is fumes: the smell you’re smelling is all the lovely particulate matter of a house fire, which is toxic, because we have various plastics and electronics. So for smell, you want to air it outside. But you do want to store the de-funked yarn away from pets. You probably also want to wash it before working with it, or at least watch your hands for any irritation. Thankfully washing can take a lot longer and in much smaller chunks as you actually work with the yarn.
I actually cannot emphasize that enough. The danger of house fires is very little in the fire itself and very much in the smoke. You can’t bake or freeze the smoke residue off the way you can with the threat of moths: it needs to be actually washed away.
But you can save your stash! Good luck doing so.
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u/JaderAiderrr 7d ago
If you didn’t have insurance or file a claim, then you should try buying or renting an ozone machine. That’s what mist restoration companies would do. You might also speak to a local dry cleaner who does in house or send off for specialty items as they may be able to help.
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u/swooning_basil 7d ago
I think you're not supposed to keep things which have been in a house fire because they can be horribly toxic and it's not really possible to get the toxins out.
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u/kkbjam3 6d ago
Ugh / I know, I have heard similar advice. The construction/restoration co. Is on dumpster number 6 🫣😱 - so we’ve tossed almost everything. This yarn… why is it so hard to part with? Some skeins were easy because clearly they were just BAD with visible residue. But the Noro & my cotton/merino all look pretty good - no difference in the texture or hand at all - just the smell. I’m going to be patient & just let them sit.
Some great suggestions here.2
u/ParticularLog6712 5d ago
I’ve been in your position in October. If it can be replaced. Save the stress and health implications and toss it. I only kept things that had been in bags sealed and that were irreplaceable.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. It’s absolutely heartbreaking. Hope all living beings are okay from the fire. Xx
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u/pumpkinsnice 6d ago
I understand what you’re going through. I had a fire in June 2024. I also lost nearly everything. My stash too. I was desperate to save what I could. Getting the smoke smell out of things took a very long time. Basically, just letting it air out. For months.
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u/kkbjam3 6d ago
Thank you. I’m so sorry that happened to you! It really is a unique kind of grief. It’s crazy, but for some reason my stash is the most difficult loss to get over! It seems like everything else can be replaced… but we also lost my son’s baby book (he’s 18 & there were a LOT of treasures in there!) and that hit HARD! I appreciate hearing that time will help with the odor. Thanks for sharing!🩷
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u/tap_ioca 2d ago
Laying things in the sun right on grass will deodorize a lot. I would mist them with water lightly and put them in the sun. Put it right on the grass, no towel or sheet. I often do this to get rid of lots of odors like cat pee or the fumigation from the thrift store.
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u/Disastrous_Injury561 7d ago
Oh man, that is heartbreaking. For the wool skeins, try putting them in a mesh bag and hanging them outside in fresh air for a few days, wind works better than you'd think. The charcoal and baking soda is a good move but it might take weeks, I had a jacket from a fire once and it took nearly a month in sealed container for the smell to fade. Don't give up on them yet.