I love Craigslist! And how do you remove smell of cooking?

[Britishmum]

Thanks to my 'what type of couch do I buy?' thread, I had a clear idea of what I wanted when surfing craigslist the past week.

Yesterday we scored. We bought a 3 yo couch and loveseat in green leather, in near-perfect condition, for $250. They are so nice - good quality, cushy, soft..... the kids love 'em too as they all fit on the big one in a line, with no complaints of "I'm squashed!"

The only negative is that they smell slightly of cooking. I love Indian food, but don't want to live with the stale smell of it on the couches. It's not terrible - ie you don't notice it on entering the house, but when you sit down and the sofa burps out air, it has a definite odor.

Any ideas on how to remove it? Is it better to clean and condition the couches on top of the smell, or to leave it to breathe a while first?

Either way, I'm psyched. I craigslist!

[cristeen]

Well, if it only really smells when you sit, then the smells are trapped inside the cushions. If they have zippers, I'd open them up, remove the cushions, turn the covers inside out and let them sun out for a couple days (covers and cushions). Only after doing that would you be able to determine if the rest of the couch needs to be treated for odors as well.

[painefaria]

I don't have any ideas but I wanted to thank you... I saw your post and went on our craigs list and I may have found 6 dining room chairs for $1 - $5 a piece! We have been looking for years. They may even match the table :

[Jyotsna]

I'm guilty of cooking Indian food nearly daily, and I've always wondered how other feel when they come to our house. I'm worried now that it smells offensive to others. I clean the house regularly, but don't know if the smells are present.

We love the smell of spices, so just curious if it bothers everyone?

Jyotsna

[Tangled Hill]

Originally Posted by Jyotsna

We love the smell of spices, so just curious if it bothers everyone?

I'm sure I'd love your house. I'd just be hungry the whole time I was there. :

[notwonamesalike]

Originally Posted by Jyotsna

I'm guilty of cooking Indian food nearly daily, and I've always wondered how other feel when they come to our house. I'm worried now that it smells offensive to others. I clean the house regularly, but don't know if the smells are present.

We love the smell of spices, so just curious if it bothers everyone?

Jyotsna

I LOVE Indian food. It's so yummy.

That being said, when we lived in our condo the neighbors next door cooked Indian food every day. And I must admit the smell wasn't pleasant to me. Probably because my very "Americanized (hamburgers, pizza, etc) nose wasn't accustomed to the smell on a regular basis. It was one thing for me to walk into an Indian restaurant and eat dinner - another thing to start smelling those same aromas that I loved for an evening out being prepared as early as 11:00am