How To Get In On The Vintage Home Decor Trend Without The Weird Smells

Like anything, old interior design trends tend to come back around fairly often. What was once considered outdated, unfashionable, and like "something your grandmother would buy" soon becomes vintage, rustic, and timeless. Plenty of furniture companies make recreations of these vintage designs, but as more of us look to reduce our carbon footprint or save our hard-earned cash, we have turned to thrift stores to score the latest home design must-haves. Another benefit of shopping second-hand is that the pieces may be better quality. The only major downside of buying pre-loved furniture and décor? It may come with some unpleasant odors. Fortunately, there are many ways to clean upholstered and wooden pieces to remove these unwanted smells.

Over the years, furniture and decorative items absorb the smells of a home like kitchen grease, pet smells, and cigarette smoke, which can be very apparent when you move the items into your home amongst your new carpets and freshly-painted walls. The best way to eliminate these smells isn't to just tear them apart for parts or send them to a professional. Usually, these items just need a really good cleaning. If you're working with something that's ceramic or glass, simply wash it in the sink or dishwasher. Certain items can also be put in the washing machine, like some tablecloths or other fabric items. However, to help you clean upholstered or wooden pieces, we'll walk you through the best ways to wash them to eliminate odors.

One of the worst offenders for preowned smells is upholstery, like on a retro chaise lounge or an antique wool rug. That's because the porous fibers of the fabric can hold onto debris and trap smells. Beyond occasional vacuuming and spot treatment, many of these pieces never get a proper cleaning. But because the fabrics are aged and possibly fragile, you don't want to use any harsh chemicals on them. 

To gently clean vintage upholstery, start by vacuuming the piece really well. This will eliminate most physical particles that might be causing an unpleasant smell. If you have a top-rated upholstery cleaner, you can use that for a thorough washing. If you don't, try a viral TikTok upholstery cleaning hack using a simple solution of a mild laundry pod dissolved in warm water, and distribute it into the fabric with a microfiber cloth wrapped around a pot lid. This will prevent the solution from over-saturating the fabric, which can lead to mold, mildew, and other musty smells, while actually cleansing the fibers and providing efficient pressure and scrubbing. Allow the fabric to fully dry for 24 hours and then, as a final measure, sprinkle baking soda over the surface and work it into the fibers. This will effectively trap any lingering odors. Finally, vacuum up the excess baking soda, then spritz the piece with an odor-trapping fabric spray like Febreze. You will be left with a fresh-smelling, clean vintage piece. 

Though you might not think that wood is as susceptible to bad smells as an old sofa, wood is porous and can therefore also have an unpleasant, musty smell. First, wipe the wood furniture with a dry microfiber cloth that's dusted with baking soda to pick up any initial scents. Then, to clean the wood without damaging it, try rubbing the wooden furniture down with a very simple combo of equal parts white vinegar and olive oil. White vinegar is a multi-purpose cleaning tool that can handle surface stains and has antibacterial properties. By cleaning the surface with this household essential, you'll eliminate some of the smells. Olive oil will also condition the wood as you go, preventing the vinegar from drying out the wood. However, you may want to test this in an inconspicuous area first to avoid damaging the piece.

For credenzas and dressers or other wooden furniture pieces with drawers and doors, the smell might still be there even after a thorough cleaning. Try placing a small bowl of white vinegar inside the drawers or cupboards for a few days. You can also toss in some rolled up newspaper sheets, as the carbon in the ink absorbs odor as well, and you can easily recycle it afterwards. Other ideas include adding dryer sheets or fresh eucalyptus leaves inside the pieces. Combined, these steps should make your thrifted home décor smell fresh.