Karen asked: I accidentally left some combs/brushes in a pot of water on the stove (trying to kill lice/eggs) and they melted and caused the whole house to get smoky. How do I remove the odor from the curtains and rugs?
Burnt 
plastic is one of the worst smells and can quickly fill a house. There are several different odor fighting solutions and it may take one or several to tackle the smell. First, open all the windows and turn on fans (not A/C, or the odor can get into the system) to help dissipate the odor. It is best if you avoid the area if possible while the odor dissipates. Once the area has ventilated well, use the methods below to remove any odor that remains.
General Area
This method can be used for large areas like the entire kitchen or small ones, such as within the vents of a microwave.
You Will Need:
- An odor absorber:
- White vinegar
- Baking soda
- Fresh coffee grounds
- Activated charcoal
- A bowl or plate
Steps to Remove the Odor:
- Select an odor absorber from the list above. Baking soda works best for small confined areas, such as inside a microwave, whereas white vinegar works best for larger areas, such as an entire kitchen. For coffee, be aware that although it will remove the smell, it will deposit a coffee smell in its place.
- Fill a bowl or plate with the absorber.
- Set the bowl or plate near where the odor is the strongest. For large areas, you may need to use multiple bowls.
- Let the bowls sit for several hours or overnight.
- Repeat the process using fresh odor absorber as many times as needed.
Curtains and Fabrics
You Will Need:
- White vinegar
- Laundry detergent
- Washing machine
Steps to Remove the Burnt Smell:
- It is best to clean fabrics either by washing them or having them professionally cleaned.
- If they are washable, simply place them in the washing machine and add a cup of vinegar to the cycle in addition to the laundry detergent.
- Allow them to air dry until the odor is completely removed.
- Repeat the washing process if necessary.
Carpets and Rugs
You Will Need:
- Baking soda
- Vacuum
Steps to Remove the Odor:
- Sprinkle the rug/carpet with the baking soda and allow it to set for a couple of hours up to a couple of days, depending on the smell.
- Vacuum it away.
- If the smell remains, reapply.
Additional Tips and Ideas
- Burning candles or incense will not remove the smell, but it can mask it while you are working to remove it.
- Another way to clear the smell out of the air is to boil lemon juice and lemon peels.
- If your melted plastic item was a kitchen utensil like a spatula or cup, throw it out. The melted plastic can leach chemicals into your food later.
Is the smoke harmful to inhale?
Tiffany,
Yes, inhaling plastic smoke can be harmful, even toxic – and very quickly. Any fire will produce carbon monoxide (a toxic gas), but some plastics, like PVC pipe, will also produce cyanide gas. Depending on what materials are in the plastic, there are also other harmful chemicals that can be given off in plastic fires, such as dioxins, which are carcinogens.
Source: Daily KOS – PSA–Burning Plastic Can Kill You
Source: National Fire Protection Association – The consequences of fire
Source: Minnesota Department of Health – Carbon Monoxide (CO) Poisoning In Your Home
Source: plastic is rubbish – Dioxins & why you don’t want to be burning plastic
You’ll have some work cut out. Most fabrics absorb the smell and burning plastic usually puts off spider web-type residues. It will look like a dark cobweb. It’s fall cleaning time and that’s what you will need. There’s no quick fix. Like many said, you can mask it, but the first damp day, the stench overrides the masking. We had a fan ignite on the second floor. I still can smell traces on the lower level (after cleaning).
Thanks for the advice. I will have to try these.
Two days ago, I was warming a piece of bread in the microwave on top of the microwave food cover, which is made out of PP plastic. I accidentally left it in for far too long until I noticed the smell of burning plastic. When I opened the microwave, a cloud of smoke came out and I noticed that the plastic around the bread had melted and become black, and the bread had stuck to the melted plastic. The food cover naturally went into the trash, but the smell of the charred plastic still lingers in my apartment two days later. I have aired the apartment for hours and the smell doesn’t go away.
What worries me the most is the microwave. It works as well as before, but every time I warm something in it, it still releases a strong smell of plastic melting. So now I worry that the plastic fumes have created a layer of plastic inside the microwave, and that every time I use the microwave, the layer of plastic melts and creates more fumes, which both cause the smell as well as contaminating the food. I now have to test your cleaning advice when washing the inside of the microwave to see if the smell goes away.
How do you remove it from an oven … my husband melted a plastic diary last night in the oven and now every time we turn it on the smell is horrible.
Rose,
The good news is that removing the odor from the oven will be easier than removing it from an entire room because the oven is a small enclosed space.
Set a bowl full of either white vinegar, coffee grounds, or baking soda in the oven and leave it for several hours or overnight. Those are all natural deodorizers. Repeat the process using fresh deodorizer each time as many times as needed.
Once the smell is gone, you can fully clean the oven to remove every last bit of plastic that may remain. Take out the racks to wash and scrub them. Clean out the bottom of the oven to remove any drips. Even the tiniest drip will continue to produce strong fumes if allowed to remain in the oven. Then, wash the walls of the oven with soapy water to get off any plastic odor that may be clinging to the walls. Wipe the walls afterward with a wet cloth to rinse off any soap residue that may remain. Do NOT run a self cleaning cycle on the oven as that will only make the smell worse. This is a cleaning that will need to be done by hand.
Although cleaning the oven might also remove the smell, I am suggesting that you remove the odor first, then do the cleaning so that you are not breathing in the plastic fumes while you clean. The odor removal part is the easy part – just put in a bowl of deodorizer and wait.
I melted my pump parts and a plastic lid from my baby’s cup at night and I fell asleep. The pot was full of water at first. I’m not sure how long it was burning. I fell asleep at 12:00 and woke up at 3:30 to the baby crying. The house was filled with smoke. Should we take the baby to the hospital? Do we need to throw all of our clothes away?
I made some eggs so I used a plastic thing to dip the egg and it made a terrible smell. I removed the egg and threw it away and don’t know what else I should do.
Danny,
Ventilating the area (by opening windows/doors and if possible turning on a fan or kitchen vent) can help to dissipate the smell. You may also want to sit outside until the smell is gone to avoid breathing the fumes as much as possible.
I have very expensive luggage that I left in the attic during summertime and it has a terrible burnt chemical odor. I’ve tried everything. Has anyone else ever had this problem. I’m desperate!
Can any one tell me how to get plastic hem off trousers?
Irene,
Try the method in the guide How to Remove Melted Plastic from Fabric. Good luck!