Maple dresser stinks

[JSpill]

My neighbor bought a maple dresser at a garage sale. Evidently the seller was a serious cigar smoker. When she got the dresser home she realized it wreaked of cigar smoke. The dresser is intended for her son's bedroom. It can't be used. She is wondering if there is any  way the smell can be removed from the maple furniture. It would be too much work and not worth it to strip it and refinish the piece. I figure someone here has encountered a similar situation and has a solution that worked for them.

[Woodworm!]

maybe an ozone machine?

[Willyou]

Try washing it down with alcohol. Test it first to make sure the alcohol doesn't dissolve the finish.
I had a computer some years ago that had been in a smokers possession. Alcohol cleaned it up. Granted that was all hard surfaces, but it might be worth a try. None of the common household cleaner I had at the time would do any good.

[Restorer]

My neighbor bought a maple dresser at a garage sale. Evidently the seller was a serious cigar smoker. When she got the dresser home she realized it wreaked of cigar smoke. The dresser is intended for her son's bedroom. It can't be used. She is wondering if there is any  way the smell can be removed from the maple furniture. It would be too much work and not worth it to strip it and refinish the piece. I figure someone here has encountered a similar situation and has a solution that worked for them.

wipe it down with rag well soaked in mineral spirits.  Get all the dirt and old pledge off the outside. Inside also.  use a 3m pad to really cut through the crud.  let it set outside but protected for a couple days.  then give a good wipe down with fabese.. spelled that wrong but I have key not working.  Use it inside an out on the dresser.  throw some unscented dryer sheets in the drawers.  This will usually take care of most odors or at least knock them down a lot.  I've heard of sitting charcoal inside to soak up odors, Ive never tried this.  If this doesn't work, and since the dresser should be nice an clean,  A coat of shellac or even a wipe on poly could be applied to encapsulate the piece. Or as a last resort maple paints really well.

[dlorenz]

My neighbor bought a maple dresser at a garage sale. Evidently the seller was a serious cigar smoker. When she got the dresser home she realized it wreaked of cigar smoke. The dresser is intended for her son's bedroom. It can't be used. She is wondering if there is any  way the smell can be removed from the maple furniture. It would be too much work and not worth it to strip it and refinish the piece. I figure someone here has encountered a similar situation and has a solution that worked for them.

Wife's sister (she smoked like a chimney) had a wicker chest that smelled to high heaven.  I soaked it with Fabreze (dripping wet) about 5 times - took away all the smoke smell.

[Ed in NC]

As Restorer said, shellac works well to encapsulate the smell, but you often have to do all the unfinished parts of the inside of the furniture piece for it to work.

Ed

[Cooler]

As Restorer said, shellac works well to encapsulate the smell, but you often have to do all the unfinished parts of the inside of the furniture piece for it to work.

Ed

It works.  A few rattle cans of shellac will take care of the interior.

Before I did that I would clean it well and aim a fan at it for a few days.  It might be enough to clear out the smell.

I made a sleeping bed for my dog and finished it with oil based poly.  I let it cure for a full week before offering it to my dog.  He refused to use it, and after a week I spray coated it with shellac and that same night he used it.  So it definitely works on odors.  It worked well enough to hide the smell from my Chesapeake Bay Retriever (and he had a really good nose).