posted on May 8, 2001 06:34:07 AM
Good Morning All!
I'm trying to de-stink my Grandfathers old Steamer trunks. They were stored in a basement (closed) for 40+ years. The kitty litter trick didn't work, nor has febreze, baking soda, or fresh air. The odor is strong enough to fill my garage when I keep just one open. Closed, they have -zero-smell, but the stench is in the fabric, wood, and drawers.
Anybody got some tricks up their sleeve for this?
TIA
val
posted on May 8, 2001 06:40:25 AM
Take some glass bowls and fill them full of bleach ~ put then in the trucks and close the lid for a few days. This has worked for me in the past. Hold your nose when you open the trunk ~ the bleach smell will knock you down! Remove the bowls and let them air out open a few days ~ The only thing I can figure is that the bleach fumes kill the cause of the smell.
posted on May 8, 2001 06:44:36 AM
thanks, katz!
Sounds like a good trick! BTW, I appreciate the warning about opening the trunks, too! I definitely would have been too anxious & curious to stand back ~ probably would've taken a great big sniff to see if it worked!
posted on May 8, 2001 10:27:17 AM
My aunt had a freezer die, and didn't know it. All the food was rotten and thrown away. The inside of the freezer smelled badly and she couldn't get rid of the odor. Finally, she used charcoal briquettes, the cooking kind, and put a bunch in the freezer. The briquettes eliminated the odor. Maybe that will work for your trunk, and it shouldn't damage it.
Not my name on ebay.
posted on May 8, 2001 03:30:11 PM
I have used the charcoal in the freezer myself! Someone kicked the plug and it wasn't discovered for days! Phew! It work like a champ.
I can see how the bleach would work too! I read an article that said many odors come from bacteria.
Maybe you should do the bleach first and then do the charcoal to get read of the bleach smell????
My caution about charcoal is "don't let it get wet!" I, again, read somewhere damp charcoal can cause spontaneous combustion. That was a few years back and right after reading it, I noticed our local stores putting their charcoal up off the floor. To keep it from getting damp during nightly moppings! To be honest, I have never heard of a fire caused by wet charcoal. I have trouble getting the darn stuff going with lighter fluid! Maybe I should start using H2O?????
Sure hope it works...I simply adore old trunks! I have a slew of them, but can't seem to bring myself to part with any of them! I keep getting asked "just how many trunks do you think you need" to which my answer is "as many as I can find!"
posted on May 8, 2001 04:48:47 PM
Instead of lining the trunk with plastic, wouldn't it be better just to put the charcoal in a flat container or something to keep it from touching the trunk?
Ain't Life Grand...
posted on May 8, 2001 04:57:37 PM
Yes, that's right, Twelvepole. An open, flat container which still allows for maximum exposure of the trunk liner to the charcoal would be best. Thanks for correcting me.
My point was that one should not just throw the briquets into the trunk willy-nilly.
posted on May 8, 2001 07:44:36 PM
Thanks for all of your help!
I think I'm going to try the charcoal first (if I mess up, it seems the least likely to do damage). I'll try the bleach if the briquettes don't work. That is the wildest story about charcoal being combustible ~ come to think of it, I don't think I've seen them stacked on the floors, either. Maybe the bleach in the water used to clean the floors is the catalyst? sheesh ~ I hope not considering that those are my two shots at de-stinking my trunks! Isn't that how Richard Pryor blew up? No, no. That was milk and Pepsi.
I'm a bit intimidated with the bleach idea. I have this awful feeling that I'll knock into the trunks. When I go to open them up, I fear I'll find the insides eaten up by spilled bleach!
(I can be pretty clumsy before my coffee!)
These trunks are just so cool!
Thanks again for all of your input/insight & sharing!!!
