nanna-up-north

I finally got the 15-91 cleaned up and moved it into the house yesterday. Having purchased this machine at an auction where the machine was in the basement, I shouldn't be surprised at the musty smell but I was hoping that it would subside sitting in the garage for the month that I was cleaning it between doing other things. The cabinet veneer on the back is bubbled about 2-3 inches from the floor and there are a lot of spots where the finish is worn off or scratched on the top. But refinishing will have to wait till next summer.... almost time to head back downstate. So, do any of you have any suggestions on how to lessen the musty smell? Maybe just sitting here over the winter will do it but if there is something I can do before we leave, I'm willing to give it a try.

I did plug it in and repaired my DS's jeans yesterday.... WOW! This one sure has the power!! I hope to get a chance to FMQ on it before we leave..... have the quilt all ready to start.

Cris

This is from Martha Stewart - but I was thinking of vinegar also: To remove musty smells from old furniture, fill plastic containers with white vinegar; seal, and punch holes in lids. Put one inside each drawer or cabinet overnight to absorb odors. For extreme cases, clean interiors with a vinegar-dampened cloth.

SueSew

I would go in the other direction chemically. If there are white spots or black spots inside the cabinet you may have mold or mildew which would respond to bleach. For general removal of musty smells I go by my favorite housekeeping book (whose name I can't remember) and use an open container of baking soda.

If one doesn't work the other probably will!

congratulations on a great find!

nanna-up-north

Thanks, Cris and Sue.... I've wiped it down with vinegar and put plastic bags with a vinegar soaked cloth in each drawer.... I'll report back in the morning ....

If that doesn't work, I'll try baking soda next. I don't see any white or black mildew spots so I'll leave the bleach treatment for last.

amcatanzaro

Would peroxide damage the finish? That would be my thing to try.

SHELTIE'SMAMA

Charcoal is what movers use to keep funky smells from unplugged fridges. Wonder if that would do any good?

tessagin

That bubbling and musty smell is due to mold and mildew. I would put some bleach in a spray bottle and squirt it up under the veneer. If you can remove some of the veneer, that would be better. Mold and mildew are very hard to get rid of. You don't necessarily have to see the mold and mildew on top of the veneer, it can be underneath. I would trim that bubbled part of the veneer away. If you don't get rid of all of it, you can transport it into the house and you do not want to ruin any of your equipment or stash or other clothes. After it has been successfully removed then dry it well with a fan or small space heater. I have seen what has happened to wood that has been in contact with mold and mildew!

sewmom

Try fabric softener sheets. Just general airing out over a period of time will help too.

Vridar

According to my wood finishing guru, Bob Flexner, wood rot, deterioration, water damaged wood, is normally caused by particular molds (fungus). If true, I agree with the bleach treatment. But, as indicated do the trial and error method. If the less invasive processes work, so much for the good.

Sheluma

Mold spores are everywhere, but they require the right environment to grow. If your garage is dry, it should air out eventually, but it can take a really long time if the smell is strong. Increasing ventilation in the garage will help. If you can put a fan on it and crack open a window or door it would help.

I would try either baking soda or charcoal in containers in the drawers. There is another odor adsorber -- some kind of rocks or zeolite -- but I can't remember what it's called. I think the activated carbon works a little better than baking soda, but I'm not positive. You can find it in pet stores that sell fish -- they use it in aquarium filters. You can find it elsewhere but offhand I can't think of where. The only problem is that its "range" of effectiveness might not be very far from where you put it. If the cabinet will fit in a giant garbage bag, you could put activated charcoal in the bag with the cabinet and seal it up. I've treated books this way, but they're small and easy to fit in a bag.

I have also used the carbon from spent Brita filters to treat books. My theory was that the molecules in water (such as chlorine) that are adsorbed on the the carbon might be a different size than odor molecules, so the carbon might still have some open "pores". I emptied the carbon into a bag, put the book in the bag, sealed it up and forgot about it for a few months. It did work, and one advantage of the brita carbon is that it doesn't have the carbon dust that the pet store carbon has. But of course this is not practical for your cabinet as you would need a ton of used brita filters! I have also tried the bag method with baking soda, and it worked, but the baking soda got into all the pages and it's impossible to get it all out. It's annoying but I think it's actually good for the book because it neutralizes the acids in the paper and air, for a while anyway.