Cleaning cigarette smoke smell

[Graham Atwater]

Hi all,

My wife and I recently inherited some older, nicely seasoned skillets from my wife's grandmother. The only problem with them is that her grandmother was a very heavy smoker in a smaller house and these pans are coated in cigarette smoke remnants pretty heavily.  Is there any way to salvage the good coat of seasoning and clean the smell off of them? Thank you in advance and Happy Independence Day WAGS!!!

[C. Perry Rapier]

Hello Graham. Welcome to WAGS. I see this is your first visit. We're glad you stopped by.  :)

I have been a member here for at least twelve years or longer and I don't ever recall that question being asked before. Its a good question. I like it. But I don't know the answer. How about somebody else?  :-/

[Clay Coppage]

I haven't been doing this nearly as long as others here on the threads, but I can't think of any way to strip off cigarette smoke smell without stripping the seasoning too.

You could try to maybe cook a bunch of bacon on them? Or do a couple rounds of reasoning yourself. Hope this helps

[Jim Glatthaar]

Welcome to the Forum, Grahan.  You have asked an excellent question, Graham.  I'm suspicious that you can ever get the cigarette smoke odor out without stripping the seasoning.  I bought a Griswold ashtray (OK, I bought several of them) and it they reeked so badly of cigarette smoke I put them in the lye bath for a few days and they cleaned up beautifully with no cigarette odor.

Maybe someone with direct experience can weigh in.

[Graham Atwater]

Perry,
Thank you for the quick response. And I'm very glad to be a part of this community.  I've just recently been bitten by the cast iron bug but it's taken hold rather fiercely  :D. Frankly, I'm a little surprised this hasn't come up before.  If all else fails I am prepared to toss them in a lye bath/electrolysis tank, but that certainly defeats the purpose of getting old, seasoned pieces.

[Graham Atwater]

Clay + Jim,

I was kind of thinking the same thing, that the smell is likely integrated into the seasoning layers.  These haven't been used in quite sometime, evident by a thick layer of dust on them, but I would imagine that cigarette smoke was likely present while they were being cooked in (and therefore part of the seasoning).

[Jim Glatthaar]

I hear you Graham.  Every now and then I have to strip seasoning off a piece I have worked on for months and it just kills me.

[Cheryl Watson]

hello Graham...

Now I must confess that I am a 'smoker'... but only in certain places... like in front of the exhaust fan, and out doors.....

But... I have developed a lot of expertise in cleaning and restoring... so..

IMO.. if the smell is latent in the old seasoning, then I would bet that the seasoning was beginning to 'turn' thru lack of use, and allowed the 'smell' to be absorbed.

I would strip completely and restore.  That will git er done for sure.

My Grandmothers pans were highly suspect as to what uses the 'menfolk' put them to use as, thru the years,(as in drip pans for oil changes, etc) so I had zero compunction with stripping those puppies and restoring them to their former glory.

Just my 2 ¢

They came out so nice, that my Mom reclaimed her Griswold "Cornbread" skillet for further use! (Indian Giver!)

[Cheryl Watson]

Oh, and Graham!  Welcome to the world of 'Castironitis'.... you realize that there is no known cure, right?  :D ;) ;)