Eliminating campfire odor?

[force]

Not sure if this is unique to hybrids or not, but DW and I are having a hard time figuring out how to remove campfire odors from our Roo.

Seems anytime we are downwind of a campfire, the odor will linger for days. DW has tried every cleaning product she has including Febreeze but no luck. We are guessing it's the bunk ends that are holding on to the odor, as our non-hybrid friends don't seem to have this problem.

Obviously not getting the smoke into the camper in the first place would be the best solution, but that's not always possible (we were at Nascar last weekend and were surrounded by campfires)

Any tips on products or methods to bring back that new camper smell?

Thanks!

[Oakman]

While it might not bring the new smell back, we find Fabreeze does a good job of eliminating bad smells and odors. Are you spraying the Fabreeze directly on the fabric.

[Arefbee]

The smoke residue probably is the bunk ends so a good wash on the outside with approved cleaner may help. If it is OK by the manufacturer, Pine-Sol would probably work.

Air the unit out best possible too - smoke smells fade eventually. At home we often use a wood stove and after a good windy day the house will be pretty smokey smelling just from opening the box to feed the fire when the draft is low. It fades pretty quickly.

[JEFF1508]

A small room size electronic air cleaner works wonders. We use them in the hotel industry for room odor removal.

[rattleNsmoke]

That's a tough one. Try Lysol spray? The Roo might smell like a hospital room for a day or so but might solve the problem.

[Bryan2503S]

small cups of white vinegar left in there a couple days will absorb some of the odor.

[PineForestCamper]

One mans odor is another mans fragrance. We have camped 30 nights in our inaugural season in our Roo with many of those engulfed in smoke and windows wide open. I have been rather surprised how when loading up for the next adventure that new smell lingers and is as strong as day one. Hope you get that smell you are looking for back.

[Brother Les]

It is the pull out bunk areas. I can see washing the canvass areas with a good cleaner when you get home, but will this cause the waterproofing on the canvass to break down and then you will have a leaking problem?

Be careful of what you use to clean the sides with.

[force]

Thanks for all the ideas, will give a few of these a try and report back. I do have all the windows open, but haven't opened the bunk ends up. Looks like a few dry days ahead so I'll do that too.

[dezolen]

One way to eliminate the odours is to ban the campers with their smudge pot fires.
Nothing more anoying than someone who does not know how to burn a proper campfire. No need to have a smoky stinky fire.
See people burning all their garbage all the time and not adding enough wood to make it burn cleanly.
Would be nice to sleep with my windows open but that does not happen very often

[Witch Doctor]

I always thought that the smell of a camp fire is a great part of camping, but I wouldn't want the smell inside my unit. I can understand your problem. Look up products on line that are use to get rid of a smell in your home after a fire. They must have a spray that would be safe for your roo. But again maybe not. and only washing and airing it out will work. GOOD LUCK

[Weezer]

Try the old tried and true remedy;

Charcoal (oddly enough) is a *great* odor absorber. Try placing pans of charcoal briquettes in pans near the bunk ends.

I've used charcoal to remove some awful odors, and it worked for me!

[force]

Originally Posted by dezolen

One way to eliminate the odours is to ban the campers with their smudge pot fires.
Nothing more anoying than someone who does not know how to burn a proper campfire. No need to have a smoky stinky fire.
See people burning all their garbage all the time and not adding enough wood to make it burn cleanly.
Would be nice to sleep with my windows open but that does not happen very often

Funny you say that, because that was happening all around us last weekend. The leftover smell this time was far worse than any of our past trips.

While I'd not go so far as to ban folks, I do agree if you're going to have a fire, have a FIRE!

[Rugged Brown]

When I have a fire, I have a fire. It just might melt the siding off your camper, but I guarantee no lingering smoke from the campfire.

[PineForestCamper]

I really am surprised that the smell would be in your canvas. I know you use PUGS as you posted pictures of them in a post of mine and cant help but believe that having those on reduces the chances of that being the case. I use them and have had lotsa smoke hovering around my 233s all summer. We've had it smell pretty smoky inside our Roo including all three beds and yet after we get home the smell dissipiates. In my experience with smoke of any kind that smell gets into fabric. Smell your clothes after being in a smoke filled bar or after sitting next to a campfire. But then it also takes a couple of showers to get the smell out of my hair too so its more than fabric. I've also burned a few things on the stove/in the oven over the years and what I do to eliminiate/reduce that odor is to burn a couple of big fragrance candles (vanilla) and that seems to do the trick too. I used to burn a candle in our popup to get rid of that sweaty teenager smell in there. Bleh. Burning a candle wouldnt bring back that "new smell" but it would leave another. Of course it leaves a new smell because of the soot that is emitted from those candles. We smell things because of residue left in our midst..thats what it boils down to. Please correct me if I'm missing something.

As for smudge fires we camp in national/state forests mostly and gather up our own firewood and depending on recent precipitation it may or may not be a little wet which will determine how smoky it is.

[force]

I don't think you've missed anything. I had the PUGS on, and the canvas zipped up probably 90% of the time. The smell may eventually dissipate on its own but as mentioned it's really strong this time, and this is 3 days after coming home. I would describe it as the smell you get after putting a campfire out with water...smells like burnt, wet wood.

And no surprise but DW's hair smelled like smoke for a few days after, as did our clothes, though we can usually correct that with one washing.

I have opened the bunks back up, and will try the vinegar trick today (don't have any charcoal). Failing that, DW has lots of Yankee candles we can burn, so masking the smell can certainly be achieved, hopefully longer than temporary.

Btw, we had guests who had never camped before, and they loved how dark the PUGS kept their bunk end. If it weren't for the 50 generators firing up around us at 7AM they'd have probably slept half the morning lol.

[youroo]

The Insurance cleanup Co.(Servpro) has a product for (Fire damaged homes). Call them. Youroo!!

[149252]

What I use is SANFAX ODOR-ZONE. I place some pellets on a plate and leave it on the table, after a couple days odors are gone. The company is OdorZone out of Memphis, TN 38111 OdorZone Home Page

[force]

Thanks 149252.

This probably can't be said enough, but this forum is AWESOME for getting feedback

Update: opened the bunks today, and the odor is more noticeable on the OUTSIDE of the canvas fabric. I guess shutting the bunks down and leaving them that way the past few days is what made it smell so bad inside the camper. The inside already smells better just opening the bunks. I also put out some vinegar in a cup.

Going to try a simple wash-down of the bunk ends next.

[awschucks]

HI,
I have done several 'burnt' projects that had a terrible smoke smell. I found an easy way to get rid of the smell is to use an Ozone generator. I have a commercial model that runs around a hundred bucks, but I needed a bigger one for a 65 foot Hatteras yacht that I rebuilt. ( first part of the project was to replace 700 lbs of burnt wiring) You can get by with a much smaller one.

Here's what I use:
Commercial Industrial Ozone Generator Pro Air Purifier Mold Mildew Odor 100 New | eBay

Again, you don't need one like this. Look for a smaller one and don't leave it on all winter or you might see some adverse results. Ozone attaches it self to organic compounds and 'rusts' it. It produces the sweet smell of a thunder storm which is ozone. Smoke odor is totally neutralized.

Dave