Stinky curtains

[TheGreenNinja]

We have moved into a house which had an open fire and heavy velvet curtains in the lounge. The fire has gone, and the curtains reek of woodsmoke, it's really strong. We will be replacing the curtains at some point when we get round to decorating so have just been living with it, but they are really stinky today!

What can I do to lessen the smell? I febreeze them regularly and that knocks it on the head for a day or two but it must be well and truly locked in there because it always comes back strongly!
There are 4 sets, one is a full-length one. I'm sorely tempted to just stick the others through the washing machine, will they end up a hideous crumpled mess? I couldn't fit the full-length one in anyway but even if some of them are improved it should help.

Are there washing instructions? I have literally just taken down a pair of curtains and put them through the wash since a cat had thrown up on them (yuck!). Should be ok on a cool wash.

The danger is they shrink and never look the same again. Often the weave will tighten up.

If not, can't you dry clean them?

Do you have access to an outside washing Line? Hang them out on a really windy day for a few hours.

Mine are now out of the washing machine again and hung back up on the pole to dry out (windows open)

There's no label at all, they're probably around 30 years old like everything else in the house! I could get them dry-cleaned but would really prefer to save the money and spend it on new curtains if it came to that.
It doesn't matter too much if they shrink a bit, we will only hopefully be living with them for a max of 6 months before we can replace them.

Mine went through on a 30 degree delicates wash and don't seem to have shrunk at all (polyester and cotton mix).

Cotton velvet can be washed and tumbled at home or in a laundrette.

Mine have been up for 15 minutes and the whole room smells lovely so Id definitely recommend rehanging them whilst damp (if you can keep the doors and windows open until they're dry).

30 degrees?

Right, I've bitten the bullet and washed the smallest set at 30 with a 600 spin cycle. They've come out a bit scrumpledbut not too bad. Hung on the line now, hope some of the scrunches will drop out as they dry

Great!

I put our dry clean curtains through the washing machine and they came out fine. If you're thinking about replacing them sometime, then I'd personally risk it. Chose a day when it's windy (and preferably sunny) and wash on a low temperature to reduce the risk of shrinkage - also someone once told me washing on a high temperature seals in smells!

Three sets are washed, dried and re-hung - they haven't shrunk at all but the lining on a couple of them ripped. They are very old curtains though! After hanging for a few days, the scrunches have all dropped out again and the room smells soooo much nicer.