Cigar Smell...How to get out of Maggies??

Very lightly try spraying or really misting Fabreze in front of panels.The stuff works great on clothes by oxidyzing ordors.If you want a clean house you could try one of thos expensive ionizers sold by the Sharper Image or a simmilar product.Particulates,which dust,smoke,and odors are, can be ionized and fall to ground or in the case of the Sharper Image product get collected on a strip.if you are in a warm climate the fabreze and putting them out in sun/fresh air might help.But I would be concerned with build up inside as somebody else noted.

Dan Heather -
http://www.magnepan.com/1-800-474-1646/index.html

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why don't you contact the manufacturer and see what the experts say?

and you raised a really interesting point that I have not thought of when "screening" gear before buying - ask if the gear has been exposed to cigarette or cigar smoke.

best of luck to you... I can't believe that this is the first time that they (magnepan) would have ever been asked or faced.
-aj

UPDATE...

I've got them in the garage airing out. I've added a couple of high velocity fans (one for each) blowing up at them 24hrs. It seems to be working. I'm going to look into the OZONE idea that Sean recommended, but need to talk to Magnepan first.

I don't think that there was any malicious intent on the part of the seller and i think that it would be a very valuable tool for AudiogoN to include a check box for equipment being sold by a smoker. That way, non-disclosure could be proved as intentional. It would certainly be helpful for unwary buyers. From now on, I will advertise my gear as being from a non-smoker and, when buying gear, will definitely remember to ask the seller to disclose the same.

I'll keep you updated.

Danheather,

I had the same experience except the ones I bought reeked of cigarette smoke. Brian hit it right on. . .you know it immediately. I emailed the seller about his failure to disclose and he never even responded. Anyway, I called Maggie and followed thier advice. I removed the cloth socks and washed them twice, letting them line-dry each time. That took the smell out of the cloth. I then CAREFULLY sprayed the wood frame with Fabreeze. I let the panels air without the socks on for a few days.

This process removed about 90% of the odor so I repeated the whole thing a few weeks later. That about took care of it. I ended up selling them and disclosed the now gone odor problem. I ended up paying for a new pair of socks and shipping them to my buyer just to make sure he was happy.

Anyway, the socks wash easily (at least my white ones did).

Good luck!

JJ and Highspeed are right: Fabreeze DOES work. I use it on auto upholstery if there's cigarette odor lingering.
I tried the coffee grounds idea...simply a cheap version of activated charcoal. Works well, but where do you put it?
(When I was a kid my aunt ran an order of nuns and told me they used a pinch of coffee grounds as a cheap breath freshener instead of wasting $ on Listerine, etc.!)
If the maggies actually have tar stains on them then Bleche White (tire whitewall cleaner) is the best stain remover I've found for both nylon material AND vinyl interiors.
I guess it's basically a very strong surfactant. It's MUCH better than 409, Fantastic, etc.
Good Luck