Getting Rid of Smoke Smell- Ideas?

Put them in hot water with a little soap and about a cup of vinegar per gallon of water. Soak them overnight and then just rinse off. We had a tenant that smoked heavily even though the lease said no smoking. I used this to get the smell off some plastic in the apartment. Be prepared to maybe washa second time though. The stuff I cleaned left the water yellow the first time.

I haven't had any experience with this, but I would put them in the dishwasher and see if that works. Hope this helps..good luck!!

Throw some vinegar in that bathwater and soak them.

You could put them in a mesh laundry bag and run them on your top rack of the dishwasher.

Not sure if this will work or not but I know that when I used to sell Tupperware I would tell the guests at a party to put newspaper in the container (you want just newsprint) and then seal it. I do not remember if this was over night or for a week, sorry. The charcoal in the newsprint absorbs the smell kinda like putting baking soda in a fridge or freezer.
If you have a container that would hold all or even most of the blocks you can try it. I know that it worked to get the onion smell out of one of my good bowls.

I hope you'll save chlorine bleach for a last, desperate move, because it's damaging the environment. In the wastewater stream it comes into contact with paper and other wood-based products and can create dioxins, which are some of the deadliest and most durable toxins, already in mother's milk around the world.

Vinegar, as others have suggested, is a very good and completely safe odor reducer and cleaner. More than one soak, or trip through the washer in mesh bags, may be needed, because plastics do pick up and hold smells and traces of chemicals (like chlorine bleach). You could alternate with a baking soda soak. These two ingredients clean almost everything in my home.

There are also hydrogen peroxide bleaches available in the natural section of the supermarket. These break down right away into oxygen and water, with no toxic residue.

If they are the logo typ blocks, like the Mega Blocks, you can toss them in the washer on hot water, add 1 cup of bleach, and put it on the gentle cycle.

If you are doing this with anything else, like the medium ones (I forget what they are called) or the real Legos, then put them in a lingerie bage before tossing them in the wash.

PS, you can also do this with bath toys, and any other plastic toys.

Fill the bathtub up with warm water and about 3/4 cup of baking soda. Let the block sit in the water for 2-3 hrs, then rinse. They should come out fairly scent free. The problem you're facing is that the smell has embedded into the plastic itself and you may not be able to remove all of it no matter what you do. Good luck!

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but baking soda has done wonders for getting rid of our odors. I would dump at least 1/2 cup in with your cleaning solution. Good luck!

I haven't read all the responses, but I would put them in the tub with a mild cleanser and add lemon juice concentrate. Citrus eliminates tobacco odor. You can also try baking soda or vinegar.

vinegar? spread them out in the grass for a couple of days? Maybe the chlorophyll and fresh air will help...

You said "big chunky plastic blocks". It depends on how big but consider this.

Dump them in your washing machine with hot water and a mild solution of bleach. Run a long cycle.

My husband was given a large barrel full of used muddy golf balls (a buddy lived right up on a golf course). He put them in the washer and it worked perfectly. Sounded alittle funny but worked fine. I hope it can work for your blocks.

This is from the Clorox website as a way to disinfect hard plastic toys, but bleach can also help neutralize odors so it may work on the smoke smell. Best of luck! :)

"To disinfect hard plastic toys use a solution of Clorox Regular-Bleach. Wash, wipe or rinse toys with water then soak in a solution of 3/4 cup Clorox® Regular-Bleach per gallon of water for 5 minutes. Rinse, then let air dry."
http://www.clorox.com/cleaner_home/article.php?subsection...

You might try dumping them in a tub of bleach & water. Check the Clorox Web site for the right ratio. * LOL first poster beat me to that tip :)

Vinegar is also used for smells, so perhaps that would work too?

put them in a bag of baking soda shake and rinse. I would say febreeze but they would touch them and then put thier hands in thier mouth so I would say no. try the baking soda first I would be hesitant of chemicals depending on the age of the child.

I havent read the other responses so I apologize if I am repeating! I would suggest cleaning everything celiing to floor, doing laundry, and fabreeze! If its too bad repaint the walls? OH, and the vents, change those out. Hopefully you get it out!

The dishwasher? If someway you could figure out how to put them in there.

I bought a baby swing from someone off ebay once, they said it was a smoke free home but it obviously wasn't. I threw whatever fabric items I could in the washer, the hard plastic toys in the dishwasher and tried to clean the actual swing and parts I could with Lysol wipes. It still smelled like smoke (the parts I couldn't throw in the dishwasher or washer) for a while. Just needed to air out. I also suggest putting them outdoors and airing them that would help a lot.

You've got a lot of great ideas. I second the dishwasher idea. My kids daycare puts plastic toys in mesh bags and lays them on the racks and runs them with a bleach solution. It keeps everything sterile and kids less sick than at other daycares. Good luck.