Eww... Dolls from a non-smokefree home

I bought a few used dolls on eBay to add to my collection and they arrived today, but oh noes... They smell! The stench of cigarette smoke is all over all 8 of them. I hate that smell and I certainly don't want my dolls to smell this way. Does anybody have any tips, on how to get the smell away..?

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Permalink Reply by Pamela McLaughlin on February 4, 2011 at 22:54
Try putting them in a box with some dryer sheets, but don't let the dryer sheets touch the dolls. Leave for about 2 weeks and then check to see if the smell is gone. This has worked on drawers for me.
Permalink Reply by Tropical Thought on February 4, 2011 at 23:07
Its kind of iffy however, because if you try a tip and an expensive doll get ruined, it's like, what happened to me with stupid Barbie Bazaar Magazine. How was I to know they only meant for vintage hair and not for 90's hair? Unless it's the same doll and you know the hair is the same, it's always a big risk to do anything to a doll. And I would not subject a doll that cost 100's dollars to fabric softener, and all vintage stuff is pretty much those prices for Barbie. Other types of dolls can be even higher in price. I think it's a legal issue, you have to post that you are not responsible for damage from following advice.
Permalink Reply by Evelien on February 4, 2011 at 23:44
I already ruined a perfectly good Pam by putting her head in really hot (it had just been boiling) water, to style her hair. It was a tip I read somewhere. To keep the hair in shape I'd put a rubber band around her head... Now her forehead is BIG, it came forward lol, and her eyes are... well... weird. Stretched out and pinched together at the same time. Won't do that again.
Permalink Reply by Tropical Thought on February 4, 2011 at 23:53
I hear about the boiling water all the time. They call it a boil perm, but it can end in melting of the dolls, so I make the water hot tap water only.  I was told to sit my dolls under a light bulb also for a treatment and they started to melt as well, so many tips you hear are in fact dangerous.
Permalink Reply by Evelien on February 5, 2011 at 0:07
Haha, that reminds me... I had a Fleur doll in my childhood that I played with a lot, and one day I played that she was at some disco party, dancing under the disco lights, which was my desk lamp. I noticed too late that there was a hole in her head from the heat, it was at least an inch deep haha, and her hair got stuck in it and all... Such a shame. :P
Permalink Reply by Tropical Thought on February 5, 2011 at 0:11

The light treatment is supposed to remove ball point pen marks. You use acne medicine and put the doll under a hot lamp for days, but if it's too hot, then the doll is ruined. I tired it with a Darci who had a black toe from being packed in newspaper print, but it did not work. I think the ink had moved inside the doll from tiny cracks. Darci is a 70's doll and so she is kind of old.

Permalink Reply by Evelien on February 5, 2011 at 0:18
Eek. I'm not taking big risks anymore. I'll only wash my dolls and their hair using cold or slightly warm water now :P
Permalink Reply by Tropical Thought on February 5, 2011 at 0:20
Like! But, if the doll has straight hair sometimes the heat can kind of repair some of the frizz, but you just got to be careful. If the hair is not damaged to begin with and just dirty then warm or cool water is more safe.
Permalink Reply by Corrinne on February 5, 2011 at 16:22
Hi Evelien..I had some dolls that had the 'moldy basement' smell...and after researching a bit...this is what worked for me...get a plastic container with lid and put a few inches of baking soda on the bottom...wrap your dolls in white tissue (no color tissue as it can transfer to your dolls) and leave them in their with the lid on, for several weeks.  If they still smell...I think if it depends on how bad it is, you may have to do this several times and put fresh baking soda in the tub.  It worked for me.  I have also aired out my dolls outside in a protected area for several days and that has helped quite a bit, but they were not too bad...the dolls that I put with the baking soda..were really bad, and they turned out very well.  I have also given my dolls a bath with baby shampoo and a cloth and had them turn out fine too...but of course I would not do that with certain dolls!  I hope one of these helps!  Corrinne

Groups AdminPermalink Reply by Lilly, Chevalier-Fox on February 13, 2011 at 11:53

I bought dolls in second hand store (back in Canada) and they had a really strong smoke smell, I place one doll (Barbie) inside a Ziploc bag with a cheese cloth pouch full of coffee grinds (the left over after the coffee is done) I left it as is 2 days and when I opened it the doll smelled coffee and fortunatly this odor run out very quickly in natural air in a couple of days

this trick worked very well as well for a leather (suede) jacket, that got the strong smell of smoke from a BQ

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