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    Smoke smell on photos

    Hey all,

    Does anyone have a sure-fire method to remove cigarette smoke smell from photographs? Some of my photos are actually Color photocopies and I would like to clean those up also.

    Thanks,
    Frank
    Frank Zwolinski
    Researching: Zwolinski, Zubris, Ward, Wichlacz, Six, Sidney/Sypniewskie, Rickner, Mulligan, McElroy, Maciejewski, Loisy, Lindsay, Konjey, Konieczki, Janick, Ellis, Cornish, Chlebowski, Sass, Soch.
    MacBook Pro, OS X 10.8.5, Reunion 11, FireFox 38.0.5, Safari 6.2.2

    #2
    Re: Smoke smell on photos

    hi there

    I'm sure we are all in agreement re the "foul" smell of tobacco, but I think, in this case, the smell is part of the history of the photograph .... it's life has gone through many cultural and accepted practice changes, and just like you would not want to "clean" the original image (possibly??), why eliminate the smell?

    p.s. I hate the smell of tobacco smoke!!!

    Comment


      #3
      Re: Smoke smell on photos

      Originally posted by Bill H View Post
      hi there

      I'm sure we are all in agreement re the "foul" smell of tobacco, but I think, in this case, the smell is part of the history of the photograph .... it's life has gone through many cultural and accepted practice changes, and just like you would not want to "clean" the original image (possibly??), why eliminate the smell?

      p.s. I hate the smell of tobacco smoke!!!
      Bill,
      While I respect your view, the smell is foul indeed and even removing them from envelopes fill the air with that smell. I believe that they were stored in a smoking home, but they are pictures from an earlier generation where the folks did not smoke.

      Any more ideas out there?

      Thanks,
      Frank
      Frank Zwolinski
      Researching: Zwolinski, Zubris, Ward, Wichlacz, Six, Sidney/Sypniewskie, Rickner, Mulligan, McElroy, Maciejewski, Loisy, Lindsay, Konjey, Konieczki, Janick, Ellis, Cornish, Chlebowski, Sass, Soch.
      MacBook Pro, OS X 10.8.5, Reunion 11, FireFox 38.0.5, Safari 6.2.2

      Comment


        #4
        Re: Smoke smell on photos

        Well every time you leave them out of the envelope and can smell the smoke, that's a few less smoke particles in the photo

        I would leave them out of the envelopes for a while -- not in direct sunlight. Maybe even have a fan going on them. Replace the envelopes if they're not special.
        Surnames Dresch, Eyden, Lunn, Mountfort, Page, Robinson, Ryan, Whitworth, and more.

        Comment


          #5
          Re: Smoke smell on photos

          You could try "washing" them.
          And thats a serious suggestion. In the days of film, any print used to be processed in a developer solution and then dried. There is no reason why this can't happen again. I've done this to flatten older prints that had been rolled and were too curly to mount. Giving them a good soaking might get rid of the smell ?
          Rupert

          Researching Large; Cuddon; Ford, Gadsdon and Fletcher

          Comment


            #6
            Re: Smoke smell on photos

            I googled this and found all sorts of suggestions. You might take a look, if you haven't already.

            Also, you might check with Maureen Taylor, photo guru, at her website - http://www.maureentaylor.com
            Kaye Mushalik
            -Muschalik (Poland), Stroop, Small (Ireland), Fitzsimons/Fitzsimmons (Ireland) Pessara/Pesaora/Pesarro/Pizarro (from Germany)
            -Dorrance, Eberstein, Bell
            -Late2015iMac27"Retina5K, MacOS10.14, iOS12.1, R12, Safari12.0

            Comment


              #7
              Re: Smoke smell on photos

              Why not have the photos scanned and then just discard the originals.

              I had a bad experience with some old negatives. They were my grandmother's from the early 30's. I was not aware that negatives that old could be flammable. I had them stored in archival pages in archival notebooks with slipcases. I wanted to have some of them printed and when I opened the notebook I found that some of them had melted. I believe that the only thing that kept them from catching on fire was because of the lack of oxygen because of the slipcases.

              Comment


                #8
                Re: Smoke smell on photos

                Originally posted by Nancy G Chesnutt View Post
                Why not have the photos scanned and then just discard the originals.

                I had a bad experience with some old negatives. They were my grandmother's from the early 30's. I was not aware that negatives that old could be flammable. I had them stored in archival pages in archival notebooks with slipcases. I wanted to have some of them printed and when I opened the notebook I found that some of them had melted. I believe that the only thing that kept them from catching on fire was because of the lack of oxygen because of the slipcases.
                Photos - message to all ReunionTalk readers: scanning them is a valid idea but PLEASE NEVER even think of discarding original photographs. This goes against every single convention utilised by everyone in the preservation field. The best method, as mentioned, is to re-wash and dry (to flatten).

                Negatives - PLEASE DO NOT throw out these 'nitrate' negatives. Store them temporarily in a metal box in a cool place away from your home. Locate a knowledgeable local person who may be able to salvage the images. They have not "melted" but have chemically deteriorated. (Actual combustion is quite rare but still possible). I sincerely hope they contain some surprising and welcome images for you. Please keep this thread posted.
                Nic Maennling
                Lanark, Ontario
                Canada

                Comment


                  #9
                  Re: Smoke smell on photos

                  Please do not 'wash' photographs. At least, test just a small portion of the photo first.
                  Of course we should have all scanned the images at the most suitable setting, 600 etc.
                  Professionally studio print originals may have been retouched.

                  Believe me when I tell you I spent years at the retouching desk at a photography studio taking out unwanted wrinkles and blemishes etc. particularly dust spots which are white and scratches on negs which are black etc.
                  The method most commonly used on prints was the application of watercolour retouching ink applied by fine pointed hair brushes.
                  If you now 'wash' a print retouched this way, all you will achieve is to undo that work.
                  If you want to do something like this, please get some professional advice first.

                  Negatives are more easily damaged and the I believe the best effort to remove 'smoke' is to air them with a very gentle fan but do not in drying or direct sun etc. they will curl and never flatten again.
                  Good luck
                  Noel
                  Noel Fields Australia
                  email > nefields@me.com <
                  Researching Fields, Majewski, Watson, Hurwood, Parker.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Re: Smoke smell on photos

                    I'm trying to remember what those companies do that work in house with smoke damage, or cars. There is a machine that produces some non-damaging element (negative ions?) that is often used to remove smoke smell, and I just can't remember. I suggest you look in your Yellow Pages (remember those? getting phased out) or google locally for companies that do restoration after a fire (like ServiceMaster). If they can't rent you a machine, they may have some ideas for you.

                    Also contact car detailing outfits in your area. They are often asked to remove cigarette smell from cars. They could have some ideas for you.

                    Do keep us posted on what you find out!

                    Susan

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Re: Smoke smell on photos

                      The ones that melted (that is what it looked like, images gone) were running into each other in the archival pages. Unfortunately there was nothing to save. I do have a couple of hundred black and white prints my grandmother took from 1908 until about 1950. Have negatives for some but not all. Some need to be restored which is expensive. I have decided to pick the best and have them fixed and continue to keep the original negatives in a fireproof box. I read about the dangers in a book about archiving everything from paper to prints to negatives to figurines, etc. Excellent book. I am working on what I call an ancestor photo album for each of my three children. Some pictures have been purchased from museums and some found in private collections. I have found both sources to be very generous when you tell them what you are planning to do. My oldest son will inherit and originals and the scanned images. This way I can give a CD of the pictures to my other two children.

                      Comment


                        #12
                        Re: Smoke smell on photos

                        Originally posted by Susan Freas Rogers View Post
                        I'm trying to remember what those companies do that work in house with smoke damage, or cars. There is a machine that produces some non-damaging element (negative ions?) that is often used to remove smoke smell, and I just can't remember. ...
                        I believe you're referring to an ozone generator. Motels with fireplaces sometimes use these to eliminate smoke odor; however, ozone exposure can be hazardous to health, so caution is in order.
                        Robert Godfrey

                        http://www.QuoddyLoop.com
                        A 3-Nation Vacation in Maine, Sipayik, & New Brunswick

                        Comment


                          #13
                          Re: Smoke smell on photos

                          A while back my cousin came across some silent films my family made in the late 1920s in my uncle's closet. She took them to a DVD transfer service and the guy did an amazing job. Not only did the old nitrate film smell horrible, it was brittle and cracking and some of the reels had chemically deteriorated so much that they had almost fused into a solid block. The transfer service was able to get most of what was on the film transferred to DVD though! We got about 2 hours of film that includes my grandfather who died ten years before I was born and three of my Great Grandparents and views of the family homes in Sweden and Yorkshire. There are also shots of the farm in Yorkshire that had been in our family for 400 years that was torn down in the 1930s. Even some footage of the 1928 Rose Parade in Pasadena where they lived. I consider our family very fortunate to have found these films and had them transferred before they completely deteriorated.

                          Some pictures and a couple of short video clips from the films here:





                          Don

                          Comment


                            #14
                            Re: Smoke smell on photos

                            If you live in Texas and have old home movies related to Texas I would like for you to know about the Texas Archive of the Moving Image. Their mission is to preserve moving images captured in Texas or by Texans or of Texans. In pursuit of that mission, they will digitize personal films and videos for free. They only require that they may have a copy of the resulting file with rights to share it.

                            Learn more at ...

                            Watch an ever-growing archive of Texas film and videos through the decades. Discover the experience of Texans, explore education and preservation resources.


                            Bill Nash



                            Originally posted by donworth View Post
                            A while back my cousin came across some silent films my family made in the late 1920s in my uncle's closet. She took them to a DVD transfer service and the guy did an amazing job. Not only did the old nitrate film smell horrible, it was brittle and cracking and some of the reels had chemically deteriorated so much that they had almost fused into a solid block. The transfer service was able to get most of what was on the film transferred to DVD though! We got about 2 hours of film that includes my grandfather who died ten years before I was born and three of my Great Grandparents and views of the family homes in Sweden and Yorkshire. There are also shots of the farm in Yorkshire that had been in our family for 400 years that was torn down in the 1930s. Even some footage of the 1928 Rose Parade in Pasadena where they lived. I consider our family very fortunate to have found these films and had them transferred before they completely deteriorated.

                            Some pictures and a couple of short video clips from the films here:





                            Don
                            Reunion 9, Macbook Air, OSX 10.8
                            Nash (NC)
                            Pennington (KY)
                            Routt (TN)
                            McIlheran (TN).

                            Comment


                              #15
                              Re: Smoke smell on photos

                              I think from I have read that you are fortunate that they did not catch fire and burn the house down. From what I have read of old movie film this is very possible.

                              Comment

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