I have handmade Christmas ornaments made of material, Styrofoam, and dress pins. They were in the basement and got wet and now smell musty. Any ideas on how to get rid of the smell?
Try the odor neutralizer product from BioWorld Products in Visalia, California. I've used it for several years for all types of musty smells and other household odor problems. It works great and is simple to use. I hate unpleasant odors, so I keep it on my shelf for whenever I need it. Hope this helps!
Spray them down with white vinegar and hang them outside under the carport or porch. I let some things hang about a week and when I went back they smelled so fresh.
Spray lightly, do not soak, with vinegar and let air dry. The vinegar will kill any mildew and the smell will disappate after it has been dry for a few hours. It may take a few applications but it will work. I used this on some ornaments that had gotten moldy (a snowglobe broke in the storage box) and it worked great!
Try sealing them in a plastic bag with either baking soda, or coffee grounds, or both. Both of these substances are good for removing all kinds of odors.
You might try wrapping them in newspaper for a few weeks. Someone on this site said using newspaper would remove musty smells. It worked for me. I put a quilt of my great grandmother's in my cedar chest. It did not smell, the next time i opened the chest everything smelt musty. I layered everything in newspaper. Now no musty smell. I thought everything was ruin. That tip saved my cedar chest and lot of quilts and clothes.
Last year I bought Christmas tree decorations from an ebayer which did not say she was a smoker and the string fake plastic candy garland just reeked of smoke. Knowing I could not wash it, I bought one of the air fresher that you lift the tops on with the gel freshers inside and I got a real strong order scent one like pine tree and then also got a cinnamon one too (I had 2 very long strands). I put each one in a new large garbage bag and open the fresher up all the way and set it inside the bag with the garland and closed it out tight with a strong knot.
I left it in the bags closed tight for 3-4 weeks and now they smell like the scent of the fresher not smoke. Try that maybe it will work for yours. Dollar store brands is what I used. each one was $1 and its holiday time now so they will have lots holiday scents to choose from.
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Request: Musty Odor on Christmas Decorations
Archived on 11/12/2008
I have a wool skirt that smells musty. It was stored in a plastic container along with some Christmas ornaments, magazines, stuffed animals, craft items. They all smell musty and the container also. Can these smells be removed and will it come back? I want to keep these items and not get rid of them.
Answers:
RE: Musty Odor on Christmas Decorations
I have never tried this, but read somewhere, that vinegar will remove mildew and the musty smell of mildew without the smell of vinegar lingering. I told this to a good friend who has a boat, and with the wetness on a boat, there was also mildew. So he tried it (could not use bleach on colored carpet) and said it worked great, and he was surprised. Now he keeps a spray bottle of vinegar on the boat to stay on top of the mess. (12/19/2004)
By Carol
RE: Musty Odor on Christmas Decorations
Try sprinkling some baking soda on the bottom of the bin, or get one of those Arm & Hammer fridge baking soda boxes. I use baking soda to eliminate odors around my house. (12/19/2004)
I would spray down the skirt & stuffed animals with some fabric freshener & toss them in the clothes dryer for a few minutes. I would also spray the other things with the freshener too. Of course, try it in an inconspicuous place first, to make sure it won't damage the color. (12/31/2004)
