A few weeks ago, I received an email asking me how I kept the odor of smoke to a minimum in my basement while smoking. My answer was that I use a typical box fan in one window to pull air across the room from another open window. As the air travels across the room it pulls the lingering smoke with it and the fan exhausts it out of the room.
This works well in the spring, but makes the smoking room very cold this time of year. During Winter I use a small air purifier, which works ok, but does not work as well as exhausting the smoke. After I finish smoking I generally spray the room with some Fabreeze and empty my ashtray. I own two air purifiers one for my room from Wallmart and the other brought online from research on Moonriver’s pet air purifiers review list for my cat, which truly was a great investment. The purifier keeps all the allergens and unhealthy air away from it.
As winter progresses, I’m left with a stale cigar smell that slowly gets worse. Because I wanted to get rid of the smoke smell all together, I decided it was time to test a new product to see if it was better or worse than the Fabreeze I currently use. The product I intended to test was Pure Ayre.
For the test I decided I wanted to try and generate an extreme case of stale cigar odor to run the test on. The first thing I did was, take two identical cotton undershirts and hang them in my smoking room. I had these shirts hanging up for about two weeks (and about 10 cigars) before smelling them to check their progress.
I was disappointed to find that the cigars did not smell like smoke. For another week I let the shirts hang next to me as I blew smoke on them. When the week ended I checked the progress again, and unfortunately they did not have any recognizable odor. I even had my girlfriend, who does not smoke, smell the shirts and she could not notice an odor either.
At this point I decided to take a different approach. I placed both shirts into a large Ziploc bag and fashioned a small funnel out of a sheet of paper. I then inserted the funnel into the bag and sealed it around the paper. I would take a big puff of smoke then blow the smoke into the bag while sliding out the funnel and sealing the bag. This left a plume of smoke inside the bag, which I was sure would cause the shirts to absolutely stink.
I continued to blow smoke into the bag for about a week before I got up the courage to remove the shirts and check for odor. To my amazement, the shirts mildly smelled of cigars, but had patches of brown and yellow from the direct contact with smoke. My only assumption at this point was that the shirts needed air in combination with the smoke to generate odor and stick to the shirts.
At this point I shared my dilemma with the guys over at Club Stogie and they made some excellent suggestions. I removed the shirts from the bag and misted them with some distilled water. I sprayed them just enough to be damp, then placed them back into the bag. After placing them back into the bag I took some old cigar butts from the ashtray, broke them apart and placed them into a smaller Ziploc bag, which was then placed into the larger bag with the shirts. I left the bag with the cigar butts in it open, but sealed the larger bag. I then placed the shirts next to my baseboard heater to allow the cigar butts to ferment. I let them rest for a week then checked the odor again.
When I opened the bag the odor took my breath away and made my eyes water. I was amazed by how awful the smell was and began to get a little skeptical that the Fabreeze or Pure Ayre was going to touch the odor.
I placed both shirts on a separate hanger and hung them up on opposite sides of the room. I spayed an even mist of Pure Ayre on one shirt and an even mist of Fabreeze on the other. After the shirts were misted I checked them for odor over a period of time and ranked them on a scale of 1 through 10 with 10 being the worst.
0 Minutes:
Pure Ayre: 10
Notes: Smell was awful. The product has not began working as of yet.
Fabreeze Shirt: 10
Notes: Smell was awful. The product has not began working as of yet.
5 Minutes:
Pure Ayre: 6
Notes: Smells a lot like vinegar, smoke smell reduced dramatically
Fabreeze: 8
Notes: Smells like smoke and perfume.
10 Minutes:
Pure Ayre: 3
Notes: Smell reduced much more, surprised how well the product is working.
Fabreeze: 7
Notes: Still smells like smoke covered up with perfume, but is a little better.
15 Minutes:
Pure Ayre: 1
Notes: Smell is almost gone. There are a couple spots that mildly smell like smoke, but are not too bad.
Fabreeze: 6
Notes: Smell not much better, still smells like smoke and perfume.
30 Minutes:
Pure Ayre: 1
Notes: No change
Fabreeze: 6
Notes: No change.
Overall I am amazed at how well Pure Ayre actually works. If I would not have done the test myself I would have never believed that it would have worked so well, especially after all I did to make the shirts smell in the first place.
I also want to thank Bob from DWSC for helping me out with a small bottle of Pure Ayre to test. Now that I am aware of how well the product works Ill be avoiding Febreeze in the future and using Pure Ayre exclusively.
I read a book when I was a cigar newbie (actually last year…) where the author demanded that you REMOVE ALL ASHES and anything else that may have been in contact with the cigar you smoked and its ashes, and get them completely out of the house. The author suggested flushing everything, including any ashtray contents, and then airing out the room. He lived in Long Island, and used an exhaust fan as you describe. He just vacated the room after smoking and the basic cleanup, and ran the fan for a while. I believe that he included winter time in his regimen.
I know when I have been inside with other smokers for a session, I actually disrobe in the garage and put all outer clothes into the washer for an immediate wash cycle. My wife may be shocked to see me come into the house stripped, but there is no smell problem this way.
So, perhaps the real key issue is to smoke in only one place and remove all traces after the session is over. Then, the room can be re-entered in the future without too much problem.
Walt – What does Pure Ayre smell like or is it a neutral smell? My wife’s new found sensativity to smell has had me ditch all fabreeze products in the house.
Jerry,
For the first 2 or 3 minutes Pure Ayre has a strong vinegar like smell. After that, I could not notice much odor at all.
Bob,
Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment.
I agree that keeping the smoke in one area (In my case, the basement) is the best option.
I know when I empty my ashtray, most of the smell goes away. Unfortunately smoking indoors leads to odors building within the carpet, in furniture, etc. For that situation, I think Pure Ayre works very well.
Great review Walt! I have been wanting to find a product like this for some time. My car could use this stuff too- I’m always avoiding being the driver with certain groups of friends since my car smells so strong with cigar smoke. Now I’ve got to go find out where to buy this stuff!
-Eric D.
Maryland
Eric,
I’m glad you enjoyed the review. You can pick up the product from Mark Neff at http://www.cigarmony.com
Thanks Walt, I just bought a Palio cutter from Cigarmony- great service (and cutter too)!
Take care!
Eric
i am SO GLAD ! that people are switching from febreeze – a stinky, lingering, dangerous rank that is formaldehyde based, and to sensitive noses does not go away for years – and i’m not kidding. i discovered pure ayre a few yrs ago and was amazed. it does smell lightly vinegary at first, but very briefly, and it takes so little to freshen things. have never seen it harm any surface i’ve used it on, and i’ve even used it to mist fine washables or dry clean only clothes. it is a bit spendy, but saves a lot in the long run. please let me reiterate, gentlemen, that febreeze smells truly disgusting, and your wife’s sensitive nose is actually really looking out for you. it is a very long term commitment sort of stench, is not good for you, and doesn’t work. can’t wait til that nasty stuff gets recalled. hate that smell. anyhoo. the pureayre stuff does exactly what it says & leaves the environment cleaner. thanks for reviewing. viva cigar smokers.
Hiya- while smoking does not go on in our home, I did find “Pure Ayre” on clearance at my local Walgreens this week, a 14 ounce bottle for less than $3.
I agree- It does work, and very well. My only complaint is that it has a slight vinegary smell while spraying, that does then (thankfully) blend out to a minty smell.
lys’s post above does scare the pants off me though, I love my Febreeze, and did some more research to find that another favorite, Ozium is bad for us too!
I probably should pay alot more attention to a favorite show of mine on BBCAmerica, “How clean is your house?” Because they show alot of tips for using natural (non- funerary chemicals) ingrediants to freshen the home…
I use an ozone generator. Not those expensive one that they sell with air filters but a simple basic unit from an aquarium shop. Just vacate the room after a smoking session leave the fan turn on low and turn on the ozone for an hour or so.
Just make sure there isnt a pet or family members in the room as ozone can be toxic. after the ozone has broken down the room should smell fresh. and i mean after the rain freshness. Ozone breaks down really fast so you dont have to keep the room empty for too long.
In fact i use ozone on my cigars too. so far i dont feel the alter taste and aroma. i live in the tropics so my humidor gets really warm so with ozone my stogies are sanitized and thus no moss.
You need to be careful with the standard Ozone generators as if you’re purchasing one too big for the room you could be poisoning yourself with the heavy toxins involved.
I always recommend doing your research with different review blogs like these but more specific for air purifiers and filters.
Good luck and keep stogin!
Those ozone generators give you a headache if you’re in it. I always had to leave the room when they were on.
I’m glad I found these postings, I tend to be sensitive to formaldehyde. found out while working with a Veternarian. I have been using Fabreeze in our basement bedroom, totally closed in, we run fans but the odor I started smelling wasn’t the smell of Fabreeze. After each spray I started noticing a foul odor that seemed to stay with me and in my nostrils no matter what I did or do. WE stopped spraying and I noticed that my nose was getting back to normal smells. It’s good to know it’s not my imagination. I just wonder way my husband did not loose his sense of good smells like I did.
Now you gotta check out a product I found the other day. Gonesmoke Smoke & Odor Eliminator http://www.gonesmoke.com . Finally, I found a product that’s safe AND effective. If you buy a large can, you get a Personal GoneSmoke free…so the great thing is, I use the Big GoneSmoke in my basement room on the sofa, chairs and in the air, and I carry the small one with me. I smoked at lunch the other day and sprayed my suit before heading back to the office…no one knew I had just had a cigar at lunch. Remarkable stuff. I found it at http://www.gonesmoke.com
I smoke in my house….all over in my house. When non-smokers come in, they can not tell that the house has ever been smoked in. First of all I have no fabric furniture. Everything is leather and wood. During winter I will usually start a fire in the fireplace, in the spring and fall I will frequently open a window or two but if I want to smoke indoors, I will. I follow one simple rule that I didn’t believe when my wife first wanted me to do it…but it has worked extremly well. When I am done with my stogies, I put the butt and ashes in a metal cookie tin. The tin seals up and no smells get out as long as it is closed. I reccomend opening the tin outside or at the very least holding your breath when you add to it as the smell is extremely vile.
You can find this product in most big pet stores I have been using this stuff for awhile and works great it’s really great for getting stubborn cigar odors out of your car fast
I love PureAyre! My fiance’ considered himself a non-smoker – then he got introduced to a great cigar! So now while he doesn’t smoke in the home it does linger in his hair and breath – more noticable to me when we kiss than talking. We already had PureAyre in the home for pets and wow it has worked great on the smoke smell. He will spray it in/on his hair (if it’s really bad) and even rinse his mouth with it. It is food grade so while not approved for ingestion there is nothing in it that will hurt you or have side effect if swollowed. I use it after cooking certain foods too and you can spray right on/over tables and counters and not worry about harmful ingredients. It is remarkable – I get it online at ThePureAyrestore.com – sometimes better deals. And it should smell a little pepperminty – if there is vinagar smell it still is good – it is just the active enzymes still being well, active. It leaves no residual odor. Great stuff!
I have been interested in an all natural product for quite some time. It is vital that there is no residual smell whatsoever.
Does the Pureayre product really leave NO residual odor?
Please advise.
Thank you,
A. Clark
I first tried Pure Ayre when nothing else worked for the smell of Kimchi in my linen closet from the last tenent that lived there. I cleaned and my landlord even sanitized the closet with an ozone generator. But nope nothing. So I found Pure Ayre at a vitamin store and yep, I was amazed. I sprayed into it a lot, and those enzymes are live. They continued to work over time. Thanks for this website. Now I can feel confident I can use this in my new apartment that has smoke from the last tenent.